The project’s overall objective was to establish a robust civil society, to hold government to account and to effectively involve citizens in decision-making. The project design was built, around the central role of a group of 18 facilitators, drawn from nine member organizations of the grantee’s own Iraq Civic Action Network, each of them based in one of the target provinces in Iraq. Each of these organizations was also the implementing organization at the project level. All of the stakeholder groups confirmed that the project provided practical knowledge on how to play an effective role in the political process and on how to become involved in decision-making. The grantee’s experience in organizing activities to strengthen local leadership and build up the knowledge and skills of representatives of local organizations, including political parties, proved to be an important asset in supporting a project strategy which fitted well with overall objectives, as well as the priorities of beneficiaries.