DENIVA focuses on the following thematic areas to realize it’s vision and objectives towards a strong network of indigenous voluntary associations and organizations

1. Governance and Human Rights

The Governance and Human Rights Program advocates for a democracy that serves all citizens of Uganda;  promotes respect of human rights and calls for adherence to Constitutionalism.

The program has the following objectives:

• To promote civic and voter education among Ugandan citizens in order to actively participate in democratic governance at all levels.
• To empower citizens to demand for the respect of their human rights as stated in the Uganda Constitution and International Conventions.
• To promote quality service delivery and accountability at local and central government levels in the sectors of Education, Health and Agriculture.
• To advocate for a favorable operating environment for civil society organizations in Uganda.
• To promote women’s participation in local and national politics and build their capacity in transformative leadership.

2. Sustainable Livelihoods and climate change Adaptation 

The Sustainable Livelihoods Program aims at supporting local communities with skills and knowledge on climate change adaptation, resilience, disaster risk reduction and economic empowerment. The program has the following objectives:

• To building the capacity of local communities to adapt to climate change through awareness campaigns, piloting of adaptation actions, and strengthening public private
• To strengthen the resilience of local communities and build capacity for disaster risk reduction.
• To mobilize local communities to protect the environment, utilize and preserve natural resources for the benefit of national development and for posterity.
• To analyze the impact of agricultural policies and programs on local populations in order to make proposals for reform and food security in favor of the poor.
• To promote women’s economic empowerment programs and support youth groups with innovative entrepreneurship initiatives.

3. Strengthening Civil Society Organizations

DENIVA is committed to institutional strengthening of its Member Organizations and the wider Civil Society by providing technical support in the development of Policies, Programs and Processes. Support in organizational development is provided to develop Strategic Plans, Finance Policies, Human Resource Policies, Gender Policies, Monitoring & Evaluation Frameworks, among others. In additions, skills and knowledge are shared in Communication, Networking, Advocacy, Proposal Writing & Resource Mobilization. The program has the following objectives:

• To build the capacity of Civil Society Organizations in Organizational Development so as to comply with Quality Assurance Mechanism (QuAM) standards.
• To align QuAM standards with the Global Standard for CSO Accountability and create awareness of the Global Standard at the national and regional levels.
• To create a platform where DENIVA member organizations exchange ideas and information to promote the development of Uganda.
• To support communication, information sharing and co-operation between indigenous voluntary associations, government, development partners and the international community on Uganda’s development.
• To strengthen DENIVA’s strategic and operational management for an efficient organization that effectively delivers its mandate.

4. DENIVA as host of the Quality Assurance Mechanism (QuAM) Secretariat.

In 2006, DENIVA and Uganda National NGO Forum as co-promoters developed the Quality Assurance Mechanism (QuAM) for Civil Society Organizations working in Uganda. QuAMis a voluntary self-assessment and regulatory mechanism designed to strengthen the internal governance, professionalism, transparency, integrity and accountability of NGOs to stakeholders.

DENIVA hosts the secretariat for the NGOs Quality Assurance Mechanism (QuAM) and is responsible for certifying all CSOs operating in Uganda based on a set of standards. QuAM certification of NGOs enhances their capacities, standards and ethical conduct and consequently raises their credibility and legitimacy. QuAM has three certificates, namely: Basic, Standard and Advanced.

DENIVA/QuAM is proud to be a partner of the Global Standard for Civil Society Accountability that brings together nine civil society accountability networks from around the world to develop a commonly accepted Global Standard for CSO Accountability.

5. DENIVA as host of the Secretariat for the Regional Network on Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR).

DENIVA is a member of the Global Network on Disaster Risk Reduction (GNDR) and currently hosts the Regional Network on Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), that brings together representatives from over eight countries from Eastern Africa to share experiences and plan strategies on resilience and disaster reduction.