The support provided by MS should always build on the needs of the partner.

Through discussions between MS and the partner, it must be established whether and to what extent MS is able to provide the necessary assistance.

Being mainly a personnel assistance organisation, emphasising development of human resources, MS's financial means are limited.

Assistance may take place within a number of areas and sectors, but it always builds on the four MS development principles and emphasises organisational and institutional capacity building.
Consequently, the support provided by MS builds on the strength and resources of the partner.

The MS in the South Partnership Programme enables MS to offer different types of personnel assistance to partners:

Long-term Danish DWs: Skilled and experienced and recruited to work on contracts of 1-5 years.

Short-term DWs: Skilled and experienced (from previous postings abroad) on contracts of 1-9 months.

Rainbow volunteers: Young Danes with relevant educational backgrounds but little practical experience, on 3-12 months contracts.

It is the intention that long-term DWs will continue to form the main part of the MS programme, supplemented by a number of short-term DWs and rainbow volunteers.

Financial and material support

MS support funds can be applied for by MS-partners and may be used as seed money to test new ways of doing things, to support the building and strengthening of organisational capacity, to enable the partner organisation to employ local consultants and resource people, to promote and preserve skills and knowledge, finance investments (to a limited extent) and other types of partner activities.

The granting of support funds is based on long-term planning, starting with early partnership activities and followed by partnership agreements.

MS's financial resources are, however, limited and MS does not aim to develop into a more traditional type of donor organisation where financial in-put forms the crux of the support offered.

Work camps and Rainbow volunteers

Apart from personnel and some financial support, MS offers its partners the experience of young Danes participating in a work camp.

The idea of a work camp is to offer young people the opportunity to live and work with a local community in the South, thereby promoting voluntary development work, as well as cultural exchange.

The work carried out varies from building community halls to preventing erosion and establishing water supply.

The work camps - as well as the rainbow volunteer programme - (see 'Types of personnel support' page...) have strong elements of cultural and skills exchange, and the activities aim to allow the Danish participants to benefit from staying and living in a local community which is very different from their home environment.

As a means to strengthen MS's solidarity and information work in Denmark, these programmes are seen to be of major importance.