Our Approach

BRUCI works with and through five hundred and forty eight (548) Neighborhood Assemblies (NAs) spread across the country using a bottom-up and holistic empowerment approach termed as “Neighborhood Assembly (NA)” that is community led, focusing on individual behavior change amongst vulnerable communities and groups for sustainable livelihood transformation.

A Neighborhood Assembly is a peoples’ democratically elected parliament operating at a local community (village) level. It is a local community parliament by the people and for the people. A NA brings many benefits to the community which includes leaders taking responsibility for community development and also a good way to start and maintain good community leadership, extending from the local community level to the national level. NAs transform the community in a simple but coordinated ways where involvement and participation are important and initiated by an individual or an organisation. NAs build peoples’ knowledge and capacities which the community, region or country needs in order to challenge or question what their leaders do and how they represent the community interests and concerns.

We also use other approaches like Enabling Rural and Urban Innovation (ERUI), Village Saving and Loan Associations (VSLAs), Community Model Gardens (CMGs) Managed Tree Nurseries for indigenousness, Community Events (cultural, sports, talk shows, dialogues, Parliaments etc.) on peaceful coexistence, Mobile Health Clinics and Gender Action Learning System (GALS) among others. We deliver grassroots programs i.e. capacity building for grassroots structures, youths and leaders in some of the hard to reach and underserved areas in collaboration with local governments, other CSOs, CBOs, NGOs, religious and cultural leaders to enhance capacities at both institutional and community levels for inclusive and effective service delivery. We strongly believe in partnerships and networking to achieve our objectives since we contribute and complement the work of government and other development actors in realizing the set broader development agenda at national and international levels.

BRUCI conducts research to generate information for evidence based advocacy to engage government in the formulation, review and implementation of policies and programs in favor of marginalized groups like young mothers, women, children, persons with disabilities among others. BRUCI partners with MGs to implement projects that address community challenges and make a difference in the lives of the people. Reflection meetings between the implementing organizations are organized for peer review and to come up with collective actions and voice.

BRUCI advocates for a conducive environment for civil society to operate. It amplifies voices from the grassroots through the media, publications, BRUCI website and networks at the national, regional and international levels. BRUCI is a member of Development Network of Indigenous Voluntary Associations (DENIVA) and as undergone the Quality Assurance Mechanism (QuAM) as a credible and effective organisation in Uganda.
BRUCI aims at building an empowered, courageous and vibrant citizenry that demands for a Uganda that is democratic, accountable and with efficient institutions that serve its people. BRUCI is a member of regional and international partnerships that foster mutual learning, sharing of best practices and documentation of experiences.

BRUCI impacts the Civil Society in three broad spheres that are interconnected. At community level working with indigenous groups where real-life issues are felt, contested and prioritized, and solutions are negotiated. The second sphere is the public sphere where we advocate, engage and seek to understand the nexus between policy and practice. Here we amplify our ideas, lessons and challenges that arise from the community level work and thus contribute to building a strong network of partners to contribute to the broad democratic and citizen wellbeing agenda. The third sphere is the policy sphere where we work intentionally to engage with targeted public officials as a way of building pro-people policy and regulatory frameworks that allow indigenous organizations to thrive.

BRUCI is governed by Annual General Assembly that comprises of all BRUCI members and led by the Board of Directors comprised of five eminent members that serve for a period of three years. The BRUCI secretariat that comprises of 15 staff and 15 volunteers is led by the Executive Director, who coordinates BRUCI’s interventions and reports to the Board on a quarterly basis.