PROJECT
MDG Unions: Building Participatory Democracy From the Bottom Up in Rural Bangladesh
LESSON
Lesson Learned: MDG Unions: Building Participatory Democracy From the Bottom Up in Rural Bangladesh
The grantee presented data, which demonstrated an increasing presence of women advocating gender- and youth-specific concerns in the Ward Shavas. There is also quantitative and qualitative evidence of enhanced local government accountability and service delivery. In addition, volunteer animators, civil society group representatives and self-help group members, with whom evaluators have met, continue to mobilise local community members to participate in local governance, and to hold local decision makers accountable. Interaction among local Bangladesh government, Union Parishad representatives, and all segments of the local population worked and changed the way in which local governments make their annual budget planning choices.
Project Partner
The Hunger Project (THP) - Bangladesh
Project Description
The project improved the awareness of Union Parishad (UP, local government) decision makers about participatory democracy and their attitudes towards basic human rights. It also established participation mechanisms for the local population (Ward Shavas) and groups (Standing Committees) representing their interests. The visibly high degree of commitment among UP chairs to advocate for decentralization impressed the evaluators. Trainee assessments evidenced successful clarification of the roles and responsibilities of Standing Committee members. Ward Shavas not only provided grass-roots input to the annual budget and the five-year planning process, but led also to the posting of citizen charter displays in all ten Unions supported by the project. Given this success, it will be appropriate to investigate long-term options introducing enhanced cooperation in local governance to a wider circle of beneficiaries. For such purpose it would be necessary to improve the existing qualitative evidence of case studies of the project beneficiaries’ achievements, and to actively disseminate it to facilitate efficient replication for the benefit of sustainability elsewhere.
Report
Evaluation Date
May 2015
Theme
Country
LESSON
Lesson Learned: MDG Unions: Building Participatory Democracy From the Bottom Up in Rural Bangladesh
A donor expectation has been generated by the grantee’s cash payments to grassroots beneficiaries in compensation for transportation and subsistence needs. There is a question if participation was because of the cash incentives and if such participation would be sustainable without the project funds.
Project Partner
The Hunger Project (THP) - Bangladesh
Project Description
The project improved the awareness of Union Parishad (UP, local government) decision makers about participatory democracy and their attitudes towards basic human rights. It also established participation mechanisms for the local population (Ward Shavas) and groups (Standing Committees) representing their interests. The visibly high degree of commitment among UP chairs to advocate for decentralization impressed the evaluators. Trainee assessments evidenced successful clarification of the roles and responsibilities of Standing Committee members. Ward Shavas not only provided grass-roots input to the annual budget and the five-year planning process, but led also to the posting of citizen charter displays in all ten Unions supported by the project. Given this success, it will be appropriate to investigate long-term options introducing enhanced cooperation in local governance to a wider circle of beneficiaries. For such purpose it would be necessary to improve the existing qualitative evidence of case studies of the project beneficiaries’ achievements, and to actively disseminate it to facilitate efficient replication for the benefit of sustainability elsewhere.
Report
Evaluation Date
May 2015
Theme
Country
LESSON
Lesson Learned: MDG Unions: Building Participatory Democracy From the Bottom Up in Rural Bangladesh
There is a lack of basic fund management skills among several self-help group and civil society initiative leaders, who had launched who have established community-owned funding initiatives to support the solution of urgent community needs. The project could have organized more capacity building for self-help groups and civil society organisations representatives, in order to enable them to transparently and securely manage funds they have been entrusted with.
Project Partner
The Hunger Project (THP) - Bangladesh
Project Description
The project improved the awareness of Union Parishad (UP, local government) decision makers about participatory democracy and their attitudes towards basic human rights. It also established participation mechanisms for the local population (Ward Shavas) and groups (Standing Committees) representing their interests. The visibly high degree of commitment among UP chairs to advocate for decentralization impressed the evaluators. Trainee assessments evidenced successful clarification of the roles and responsibilities of Standing Committee members. Ward Shavas not only provided grass-roots input to the annual budget and the five-year planning process, but led also to the posting of citizen charter displays in all ten Unions supported by the project. Given this success, it will be appropriate to investigate long-term options introducing enhanced cooperation in local governance to a wider circle of beneficiaries. For such purpose it would be necessary to improve the existing qualitative evidence of case studies of the project beneficiaries’ achievements, and to actively disseminate it to facilitate efficient replication for the benefit of sustainability elsewhere.
Report
Evaluation Date
May 2015
Theme
Country