Building Stronger Local Institutions for Lasting Peace
Strong communities need strong local organisations. That is why the Peacebuilding Opportunities Fund 2 (POF2) is investing not only in community peacebuilding and livelihoods, but also in the people who will continue supporting those communities into the future.
From 16 to 21 November 2025, the POF2 Livelihood Lab brought together 31 staff members from Peace Canal and TOCH South Sudan for a five-day training in Juba on the Community Institution Model, a practical approach that integrates livelihoods and peacebuilding across Jonglei, the Greater Pibor Administrative Area (GPAA), Lakes and Warrap.
The Community Institution Model supports communities to organise themselves around locally owned institutions that strengthen cooperation, improve livelihoods and build resilience. Rather than creating dependency on external support, the approach equips communities to identify their own priorities, strengthen local leadership and develop sustainable solutions to the challenges they face.
Throughout the training, participants explored community mobilisation, institutional development, Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs), producer associations, micro-enterprise development, and monitoring and evaluation. The sessions combined practical tools with reflection on how communities organise, make decisions and work together to address shared challenges.
The 31 participants will now serve as master trainers within their organisations, supporting community facilitators to apply the Community Institution Model across South Sudan. As knowledge is shared more widely, communities will be better equipped to establish stronger economic groups, improve local governance, strengthen peaceful coexistence and build more resilient local economies.
By investing in the capacity of national organisations, POF2 is helping ensure that knowledge, relationships and leadership remain rooted in South Sudan. Strong local institutions are essential to creating communities that can sustain both peace and development long into the future.
For more on the POF Livelihoods Lab approach, visit www.pofss.org/livelihoods-lab