LESSON
Lesson Learned: Strengthening Participation of Women in Geographically Deprived Communities in Local Governance in Ghana
The challenge of how to sustain the Women’s Group Advocacy Platforms was not well addressed in the project design and implementation. The grantee’s project document anticipated that the operational cost of sustaining a women’s advocacy group would reach $10,000 US per year; however no activities were conducted to raise these funds nor were any staff members given responsibility for the development and implementation of the sustainability activities.
Project Name
Project Partner
Gender Centre for Empowering Development
Project Description
The project’s objective was to increase participation of women in decision making to develop sustainable, decentralized, bottom-up planning processes in Ghana. The grantee institutionalized Women’s Group Advocacy (WOMGA) Platforms to engage and dialogue with local government authorities in decision making processes on public service delivery. At the heart of the project strategy was the mobilization and empowerment of 150 women, who were trained and deployed to monitor policy implementation at the district level using a Gender Monitoring and Tracking Tool, and to champion the participation of women in local planning and implementation processes. The project’s intervention logic was sound and had clarity and coherence. Institutionalizing the WOMGA Platforms facilitated regular engagement with local government authorities, and hence effectively contributed to the overall development goal of increasing women’s participation in decision-making process on public service delivery. Local officials commended the high level of preparation they had to undertake for the public sessions the project held, during which they faced thorough questioning by the WOMGA members and the community.
Evaluation Date
June 2017
Theme
Country