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LESSON

Lesson Learned: Citizen Participation to Improve Local Governance

Despite a sense of ownership, most of the Citizen Participation Cells did not plan to become autonomous from the grantee that remained in charge of the future direction of the Cells. Sustainability therefore was still fragile and CPC members recognized that more time was needed to consolidate the work which had been started.
Project Partner
Association de Lutte contre le Racisme, l’Ethnocentrisme et le Régionalisme
Project Description
The project’s objective was to promote democratic governance by supporting and encouraging the creation of Citizen Participation Cells (CPC), as a facilitation mechanism among grassroots communities and local authorities, in order to address the low level of accountability of local authorities towards citizens. The project was implemented in 35 municipalities located in four departments of Benin. The grantee’s strategy focused on empowering citizens by fundamentally strengthening the grassroots communities. This was highly relevant in view of the profile of the beneficiary groups, vulnerable rural communities for the most part, which rarely had a voice in public affairs and had limited access to channels of influence. Supporting the practical skills of CPC members as well as municipal officials working at the local level allowed participation in local governance to take place more effectively and in a collaborative way.
Evaluation Date
January 2014
Country