Skip to main content

Lessons

LESSON

Lesson Learned: Strengthening Local NGOs in Areas Where Extractive Industries Operate

The project did not fully appreciate the complexity of the companies’ corporate social responsibility activities―which are patchy, sector-based, and influenced by the political climate in each extractive area. Nor did the project take into account how complex NGO and community based organization participation would be. Changes in corporate social responsibility governance will not come about without concerted advocacy on the part of civil society groups that come together with an understanding of challenges for society as a whole. The kinds of activities that NGOs engage in could be used to improve information to raise awareness about corporate social responsibility, facilitate dialogue, and promote advocacy skills to tackle performance on poverty issues.
Project Partner
Institute for Research and Empowerment
Project Description
The objective of the project was to enhance trust-building and cooperation among local government, nongovernmental organizations and extractive industries in Indonesia, by strengthening the capacity and credibility of NGOs as partners in corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs. The focus was on improving the ability of local NGOs to forge permanent partnerships with companies and local governments in CSR policy design and implementation. The project was relevant, given the legal and fiscal requirements governing CSR, the degree of poverty in extractive areas, the lack of enforcement of CSR policies, and the lack of attention paid to civil society engagement and NGO involvement as direct benefits of CSR policies. However, the project risks and problems in terms of corporate and local government commitment were neither adequately identified nor addressed during the design and implementation phase.
Evaluation Date
June 2013
Country
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Supporting civic participation of grassroots communities in the Democratic Republic of Congo

Whereas many women joined the project’s newly established Democratic Action Clubs (DACs), few of them were among DAC coordinators and none among DAC leaders. The grantee was aware of this issue, which it said had cultural roots. However, the project itself did not address this problem proactively – it could have for instance required DACs to elect an equal number of men and women coordinators.
Project Partner
Organisation Paix, Unité, Réconciliation, Reconstruction
Project Description
The objective of the project was to enhance citizens’ access and involvement in local governance in 50 communities in Kinshasa and Maniema Provinces. According to the grantee’s analysis elections were a time of apparent democracy, because neither the administration nor elected officials were actually accountable to citizens for their actions. Therefore, the project aimed to raise awareness among grassroots communities about the importance of participating in local governance; to involve grassroots communities in identifying information, training and support needs for participatory governance; and to document and learn from local experience in relation to participatory governance. The project’s relevance, however, was limited as its scale of action was too small to enhance democratic culture at the level of entire communities, as suggested by the grantee; and it failed to highlight the need for women’s participation in governance.
Evaluation Date
June 2013
Theme
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Strengthening Local NGOs in Areas Where Extractive Industries Operate

The project travel budget was high because of the widely dispersed geographic areas that were selected. The high travel budget took away resources from the NGO microprojects and concrete corporate social responsibility field activities and therefore reduced the project’s impact.
Project Partner
Institute for Research and Empowerment
Project Description
The objective of the project was to enhance trust-building and cooperation among local government, nongovernmental organizations and extractive industries in Indonesia, by strengthening the capacity and credibility of NGOs as partners in corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs. The focus was on improving the ability of local NGOs to forge permanent partnerships with companies and local governments in CSR policy design and implementation. The project was relevant, given the legal and fiscal requirements governing CSR, the degree of poverty in extractive areas, the lack of enforcement of CSR policies, and the lack of attention paid to civil society engagement and NGO involvement as direct benefits of CSR policies. However, the project risks and problems in terms of corporate and local government commitment were neither adequately identified nor addressed during the design and implementation phase.
Evaluation Date
June 2013
Country
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Strengthening Dialogue for Community Decision-Making

The broadcasts based on the community debates complemented the training sessions on human rights and democracy. Together, they contributed to developing the capacity of the radio listeners’ clubs, so that the members had an improved understanding of democratization.

Project Partner
Radio Canal Revelation
Project Description
The objective of the project was to involve grassroots communities with democratization processes across the Ituri District in the Province Orientale of the Democratic Republic of Congo. To achieve this, the grantee planned to strengthen the capacity of radio listeners’ clubs through training and practical support; to organize community debates using the radio listeners’ clubs; to produce radio broadcasts based on the community debates and on roundtable meetings between communities and officials; and to produce a range of news and educational broadcasts. The project provided local communities with knowledge they could use to convey their concerns to the authorities. It encouraged dialogue by inviting local political leaders to debate with communities and members of radio listeners’ clubs. The various elements of the project formed a well thought-out and organic whole, which was able to foster positive changes at community level. The focus on women’s participation in democratic debates was also relevant, and connected to the emphasis on access to broadcast news.
Evaluation Date
June 2013
Theme
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Strengthening Local NGOs in Areas Where Extractive Industries Operate

The specified outcomes were ambitious, given the outputs that were designed to achieve them. The project assumed that putting stakeholders together and sharing knowledge through local and national workshops, NGO training activities, and micro project experiences would be sufficient to alter perceptions and create stakeholder partnerships for joint corporate social responsibility policy design and practices in Indonesia.
Project Partner
Institute for Research and Empowerment
Project Description
The objective of the project was to enhance trust-building and cooperation among local government, nongovernmental organizations and extractive industries in Indonesia, by strengthening the capacity and credibility of NGOs as partners in corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs. The focus was on improving the ability of local NGOs to forge permanent partnerships with companies and local governments in CSR policy design and implementation. The project was relevant, given the legal and fiscal requirements governing CSR, the degree of poverty in extractive areas, the lack of enforcement of CSR policies, and the lack of attention paid to civil society engagement and NGO involvement as direct benefits of CSR policies. However, the project risks and problems in terms of corporate and local government commitment were neither adequately identified nor addressed during the design and implementation phase.
Evaluation Date
June 2013
Country
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Supporting civic participation of grassroots communities in the Democratic Republic of Congo

The efficient use of resources was complemented by good project management. The grantee’s project team was competent and motivated, and appropriately supervised by the grantee’s President, who was himself answerable to the organization’s board.
Project Partner
Organisation Paix, Unité, Réconciliation, Reconstruction
Project Description
The objective of the project was to enhance citizens’ access and involvement in local governance in 50 communities in Kinshasa and Maniema Provinces. According to the grantee’s analysis elections were a time of apparent democracy, because neither the administration nor elected officials were actually accountable to citizens for their actions. Therefore, the project aimed to raise awareness among grassroots communities about the importance of participating in local governance; to involve grassroots communities in identifying information, training and support needs for participatory governance; and to document and learn from local experience in relation to participatory governance. The project’s relevance, however, was limited as its scale of action was too small to enhance democratic culture at the level of entire communities, as suggested by the grantee; and it failed to highlight the need for women’s participation in governance.
Evaluation Date
June 2013
Theme
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Strengthening Dialogue for Community Decision-Making

The project’s relevance was undermined by weak risk management. Some predictable risks in the Democratic Republic of Congo, including armed violence, were mentioned in the project document, but no specific mitigation strategies were developed. It would be appropriate in the future for project applicants to more systematically develop fully-fledged risk mitigation strategies.
Project Partner
Radio Canal Revelation
Project Description
The objective of the project was to involve grassroots communities with democratization processes across the Ituri District in the Province Orientale of the Democratic Republic of Congo. To achieve this, the grantee planned to strengthen the capacity of radio listeners’ clubs through training and practical support; to organize community debates using the radio listeners’ clubs; to produce radio broadcasts based on the community debates and on roundtable meetings between communities and officials; and to produce a range of news and educational broadcasts. The project provided local communities with knowledge they could use to convey their concerns to the authorities. It encouraged dialogue by inviting local political leaders to debate with communities and members of radio listeners’ clubs. The various elements of the project formed a well thought-out and organic whole, which was able to foster positive changes at community level. The focus on women’s participation in democratic debates was also relevant, and connected to the emphasis on access to broadcast news.
Evaluation Date
June 2013
Theme
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Strengthening Local NGOs in Areas Where Extractive Industries Operate

The project considered NGO capacity weakness as an obstacle to implementation rather than a need that should be addressed. A wide range of topics, including an understanding of CSR policies and practices, could have been addressed in training courses – such as budget analysis, monitoring of oil and mining operations, tax laws, public information on government revenues and payments by extractive companies, information on other CSR networks - for NGOs in Indonesia.
Project Partner
Institute for Research and Empowerment
Project Description
The objective of the project was to enhance trust-building and cooperation among local government, nongovernmental organizations and extractive industries in Indonesia, by strengthening the capacity and credibility of NGOs as partners in corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs. The focus was on improving the ability of local NGOs to forge permanent partnerships with companies and local governments in CSR policy design and implementation. The project was relevant, given the legal and fiscal requirements governing CSR, the degree of poverty in extractive areas, the lack of enforcement of CSR policies, and the lack of attention paid to civil society engagement and NGO involvement as direct benefits of CSR policies. However, the project risks and problems in terms of corporate and local government commitment were neither adequately identified nor addressed during the design and implementation phase.
Evaluation Date
June 2013
Country
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Supporting civic participation of grassroots communities in the Democratic Republic of Congo

Gender issues were not addressed substantially during the training sessions, though there were general references to the need for women to play a greater role in governance in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The grantee’s analysis of the country’s democratic deficit had also failed to identify women’s participation in political decision-making processes.
Project Partner
Organisation Paix, Unité, Réconciliation, Reconstruction
Project Description
The objective of the project was to enhance citizens’ access and involvement in local governance in 50 communities in Kinshasa and Maniema Provinces. According to the grantee’s analysis elections were a time of apparent democracy, because neither the administration nor elected officials were actually accountable to citizens for their actions. Therefore, the project aimed to raise awareness among grassroots communities about the importance of participating in local governance; to involve grassroots communities in identifying information, training and support needs for participatory governance; and to document and learn from local experience in relation to participatory governance. The project’s relevance, however, was limited as its scale of action was too small to enhance democratic culture at the level of entire communities, as suggested by the grantee; and it failed to highlight the need for women’s participation in governance.
Evaluation Date
June 2013
Theme
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Strengthening Local NGOs in Areas Where Extractive Industries Operate

The project’s strategy of identifying and working directly with local NGOs community based organizations, local government, and commercial companies at the district level in Indonesia made project activities more relevant to beneficiaries.
Project Partner
Institute for Research and Empowerment
Project Description
The objective of the project was to enhance trust-building and cooperation among local government, nongovernmental organizations and extractive industries in Indonesia, by strengthening the capacity and credibility of NGOs as partners in corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs. The focus was on improving the ability of local NGOs to forge permanent partnerships with companies and local governments in CSR policy design and implementation. The project was relevant, given the legal and fiscal requirements governing CSR, the degree of poverty in extractive areas, the lack of enforcement of CSR policies, and the lack of attention paid to civil society engagement and NGO involvement as direct benefits of CSR policies. However, the project risks and problems in terms of corporate and local government commitment were neither adequately identified nor addressed during the design and implementation phase.
Evaluation Date
June 2013
Country