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Lessons

LESSON

Lesson Learned: Strengthening Democratic Participation Among Indigenous Peoples of Oaxaca, Mexico

Another activity that did not materialize out was participation in international events. Although the grantee considered it important to get to know and share experiences with other stakeholders committed to promoting indigenous rights, it received no invitation to participate in international events and thus made no effort to attend any – probably due to the turnover in its Board of Directors and the team’s excessive workload during the project execution period.
Project Partner
Servicios del Pueblo Mixe
Project Description
The project sought to empower indigenous people from the State of Oaxaca, Mexico. Through jurisdictional resolutions or agreements, the project worked to reduce the number of conflicts between the indigenous legal system, on the one hand, and the state legal system, on the other, seeking to establish precedents for harmonizing the two systems. The project’s intervention was very timely and highly relevant, given the recent changes in the legal framework, especially the passage of subsidiary legislation and a new energy policy. It provided legal assistance and representation before jurisdictional, judicial, and administrative bodies in the State of Oaxaca. Politically, the project made it possible to include the indigenous peoples’ perspective and expectations in the Constitutional Reform proposal for Oaxaca. The project’s support for empowering indigenous women’s groups had a major impact on the lives of the beneficiaries as well as the development and improvement of institutional and democratic life in the State of Oaxaca.
Evaluation Date
May 2014
Country
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Strengthening Democratic Participation Among Indigenous Peoples of Oaxaca, Mexico

While the grantee had a clearly defined mission and institutional objectives it lacked a strategic plan that enabled it to clearly define its interventions and the budget needed to implement them in the short, medium, and long term. Up to now the NGO has been funded entirely with donor resources. This poses a risk to its sustainability, given the changing international cooperation priorities and the current adverse environment of budgetary constraints facing all donors.
Project Partner
Servicios del Pueblo Mixe
Project Description
The project sought to empower indigenous people from the State of Oaxaca, Mexico. Through jurisdictional resolutions or agreements, the project worked to reduce the number of conflicts between the indigenous legal system, on the one hand, and the state legal system, on the other, seeking to establish precedents for harmonizing the two systems. The project’s intervention was very timely and highly relevant, given the recent changes in the legal framework, especially the passage of subsidiary legislation and a new energy policy. It provided legal assistance and representation before jurisdictional, judicial, and administrative bodies in the State of Oaxaca. Politically, the project made it possible to include the indigenous peoples’ perspective and expectations in the Constitutional Reform proposal for Oaxaca. The project’s support for empowering indigenous women’s groups had a major impact on the lives of the beneficiaries as well as the development and improvement of institutional and democratic life in the State of Oaxaca.
Evaluation Date
May 2014
Country
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Strengthening Democratic Participation Among Indigenous Peoples of Oaxaca, Mexico

Legal establishment of the association of Mixe authorities and the association of Zapotec authorities could not be carried out. While this had its roots in the electoral process and was beyond the control of grantee, these were specific outcomes directly related to the project’s objective. To anticipate this situation, the NGO would probably have had to fine-tune its risk analysis of certain foreseeable events during the project formulation phase.
Project Partner
Servicios del Pueblo Mixe
Project Description
The project sought to empower indigenous people from the State of Oaxaca, Mexico. Through jurisdictional resolutions or agreements, the project worked to reduce the number of conflicts between the indigenous legal system, on the one hand, and the state legal system, on the other, seeking to establish precedents for harmonizing the two systems. The project’s intervention was very timely and highly relevant, given the recent changes in the legal framework, especially the passage of subsidiary legislation and a new energy policy. It provided legal assistance and representation before jurisdictional, judicial, and administrative bodies in the State of Oaxaca. Politically, the project made it possible to include the indigenous peoples’ perspective and expectations in the Constitutional Reform proposal for Oaxaca. The project’s support for empowering indigenous women’s groups had a major impact on the lives of the beneficiaries as well as the development and improvement of institutional and democratic life in the State of Oaxaca.
Evaluation Date
May 2014
Country
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Youth Action for Democracy (YAD) - Strengthening Democracy by Empowering Youth in Pakistan

The website that was reportedly created for the project was no longer accessible due to the expiration of the domain.  There was a record of some project activities on the grantee’s Facebook page, but those posts are very dated and not easy to find.
Project Partner
Youth Parliament of Pakistan
Project Description
The objective of the project was to increase the participation of youth in the democratic processes in Pakistan. The project was relevant as it started two years before the national election, which was expected to be the first time that a civilian government would hand over power to another civilian government through the ballot box. The project was also relevant to the need to strengthen the democratic awareness and understanding of the youth in Pakistan: youth form the majority of the population and in surveys less than a third thought that democracy was the best form of government. The project strategy was to form Youth Democracy Teams which would then organize meetings with other youth in the districts, and extending project reach through the use of theatre, print, broadcast, and social media. However the project was not properly documented and activities and outputs were not recorded so it is impossible to assess if the project had any impact.
Evaluation Date
May 2014
Country
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Youth Action for Democracy (YAD) - Strengthening Democracy by Empowering Youth in Pakistan

There was very little hard data available for the evaluators’ use. The Final Narrative Report was not completed until more than a year after the project was finished and the report was completed by remaining grantee staff and youth district managers, primarily on recollection and what was in the midterm report. If the grantee recorded activity level data, this did not appear to have been systematically collected and aggregated or used for project management or monitoring purposes.
Project Partner
Youth Parliament of Pakistan
Project Description
The objective of the project was to increase the participation of youth in the democratic processes in Pakistan. The project was relevant as it started two years before the national election, which was expected to be the first time that a civilian government would hand over power to another civilian government through the ballot box. The project was also relevant to the need to strengthen the democratic awareness and understanding of the youth in Pakistan: youth form the majority of the population and in surveys less than a third thought that democracy was the best form of government. The project strategy was to form Youth Democracy Teams which would then organize meetings with other youth in the districts, and extending project reach through the use of theatre, print, broadcast, and social media. However the project was not properly documented and activities and outputs were not recorded so it is impossible to assess if the project had any impact.
Evaluation Date
May 2014
Country
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Empowerment of Women in India through Innovative Vocational Education and Training

The women participants who graduated from the programme in India were not only more employable; they also were better able to take informed decisions and actively engage in the identification and resolution of most pressing community issues.

UNDEF/ India
Project Partner
Amrita University (Amritapuri Campus)
Project Description
The project aimed to provide socially and economically impoverished women in India with the ability to participate in the democratic process and to strengthen their capacity to make decisions at individual, family and community levels. In addition to Computerized Vocational and Educational Training (CVET), which qualified beneficiaries for a wider range of employment opportunities and thus widen for them the scope of possibilities to achieve financial independence, Life Enrichment Education (LEE) activities, which comprised of video lectures and animated group discussions, complemented the women trainee’s entrepreneurial skills with democratic values and civic awareness, in order to transform them post-graduation into empowered participants of their local communities.
Evaluation Date
May 2014
Country
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Empowerment of Women in India through Innovative Vocational Education and Training

The grantee in India expanded the definition of existing target indicators for women’s participation by adding a variety of measurement options, which made the reporting of project outcomes less pertinent, as it lacked clear responses to the project document’s initial results framework.
Project Partner
Amrita University (Amritapuri Campus)
Project Description
The project aimed to provide socially and economically impoverished women in India with the ability to participate in the democratic process and to strengthen their capacity to make decisions at individual, family and community levels. In addition to Computerized Vocational and Educational Training (CVET), which qualified beneficiaries for a wider range of employment opportunities and thus widen for them the scope of possibilities to achieve financial independence, Life Enrichment Education (LEE) activities, which comprised of video lectures and animated group discussions, complemented the women trainee’s entrepreneurial skills with democratic values and civic awareness, in order to transform them post-graduation into empowered participants of their local communities.
Evaluation Date
May 2014
Country
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Empowerment of Women in India through Innovative Vocational Education and Training

Over 80% of the project’s enrolled trainees in India completed the course. Many former trainees praised the courses for delivering skills and providing them with employment opportunities, and acknowledged that the life enrichment courses and subsequent gatherings provided them with a much needed space, in which they could discuss how to resolve their social and economic issues.

Project Partner
Amrita University (Amritapuri Campus)
Project Description
The project aimed to provide socially and economically impoverished women in India with the ability to participate in the democratic process and to strengthen their capacity to make decisions at individual, family and community levels. In addition to Computerized Vocational and Educational Training (CVET), which qualified beneficiaries for a wider range of employment opportunities and thus widen for them the scope of possibilities to achieve financial independence, Life Enrichment Education (LEE) activities, which comprised of video lectures and animated group discussions, complemented the women trainee’s entrepreneurial skills with democratic values and civic awareness, in order to transform them post-graduation into empowered participants of their local communities.
Evaluation Date
May 2014
Country
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Promoting Freedom of Information Activism at the Local Level in Brazil

One of the major problems the project encountered was in setting up and running the Citizens’ Help Center website so that it could serve as a platform for exchange among the focal points. The grantee sub contracted this work and the contractor failed to complete the work. While the website became operational, it was not clear how it would be updated and maintained.
Project Partner
ARTICLE 19: Global Campaign for Free Expression
Project Description
The aim of the project was to promote the development of a more inclusive and equal society through promoting the free flow of information to the general public so that individuals, civil servants and civil society groups acting at the local level can hold their government to account, advocate for their rights and entitlements more effectively and influence policy-making processes. Specifically the project set out to foster local activism on freedom of information and to use access to information and transparency tools to strengthen participation within municipal governments across Brazil. The project strategy was built around four specific components: a strengthened and effective network of local activists working on access to information; increased public understanding of the importance of freedom of information and how to use the concept to encourage transparency and accountability; increased public demand for governments’ responsiveness to information requests at the local level; legislative and policy reform initiatives to promote transparency at the local level. The project was highly relevant since the Access to Public Information Act had recently come into effect. This Act required each municipality to draft regulations ensuring its proper enforcement. Yet surveys had indicated a lack of interest and knowledge in many municipalities about enforcing this law.
Evaluation Date
April 2014
Country
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Promoting Freedom of Information Activism at the Local Level in Brazil

One of the major problems the project encountered was in setting up and running the Citizens’ Help Center website so that it could serve as a platform for exchange among the focal points. The grantee sub contracted this work and the contractor failed to complete the work.
Project Partner
ARTICLE 19: Global Campaign for Free Expression
Project Description
The aim of the project was to promote the development of a more inclusive and equal society through promoting the free flow of information to the general public so that individuals, civil servants and civil society groups acting at the local level can hold their government to account, advocate for their rights and entitlements more effectively and influence policy-making processes. Specifically the project set out to foster local activism on freedom of information and to use access to information and transparency tools to strengthen participation within municipal governments across Brazil. The project strategy was built around four specific components: a strengthened and effective network of local activists working on access to information; increased public understanding of the importance of freedom of information and how to use the concept to encourage transparency and accountability; increased public demand for governments’ responsiveness to information requests at the local level; legislative and policy reform initiatives to promote transparency at the local level. The project was highly relevant since the Access to Public Information Act had recently come into effect. This Act required each municipality to draft regulations ensuring its proper enforcement. Yet surveys had indicated a lack of interest and knowledge in many municipalities about enforcing this law.
Evaluation Date
April 2014
Country