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Community activism

LESSON

Lesson Learned: Campagne d’Education au respect des Principes Démocratiques et Promotion du dialogue Démocratique au Burundi

The project strategy assessed the needs of municipal elected councillors’ through a survey. Based on this the project undertook trainings, meetings, and debates amongst political leaders and Parliamentarians. The project also translated the Electoral Code into Kirundi from French to make it more accessible to citizens. This activity was not foreseen in the project document. The project aimed to propose improvements to the electoral code however, the electoral code was already modified by the authorities and agreed political parties when the project started.
Project Partner
Coalition de la Société civile pour le Monitoring Electoral
Project Description
This project was focused on the preparations for the general election planned for 2015 in Burundi. The project’s objective was to empower local councilors in the Municipality of Bujumbura, leaders of political parties and parliamentarians and educate them regarding the importance of democratic culture within the political bodies and to create dialogue between political leaders so as to build a climate of trust and cooperation in the 2015 general elections.
Evaluation Date
November 2014
Country
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Campagne d’Education au respect des Principes Démocratiques et Promotion du dialogue Démocratique au Burundi

The grantee did not differentiate between political leaders and elected members when targeting participants. All elected members are not always political leaders and vice versa. The grantee did not take into account the pyramidal structure of political parties in Burundi in which only few people decide for all members. Interviewees’ comments showed that beneficiaries do not consider themselves as autonomous political actors who can activate internal changes within their own political parties. The change of beneficiaries’ perceptions is essentially individual opinions, which are not able to have an impact on political parties’ practices.
Project Partner
Coalition de la Société civile pour le Monitoring Electoral
Project Description
This project was focused on the preparations for the general election planned for 2015 in Burundi. The project’s objective was to empower local councilors in the Municipality of Bujumbura, leaders of political parties and parliamentarians and educate them regarding the importance of democratic culture within the political bodies and to create dialogue between political leaders so as to build a climate of trust and cooperation in the 2015 general elections.
Evaluation Date
November 2014
Country
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Empowering Civil Society Groups to Promote Social Accountability

A number of government officials from Papua, Indonesia, indicated their desire to do more in utilizing the Citizen Reporting Cards beyond the project, but there has been no follow up. Similarly, none of the members of the CSO Forum have taken the initiative to meet, or to establish the organization on a more formal basis.
Project Partner
Centre for Strategic and International Studies
Project Description
The overall goal of the project was to improve governance in Papua, Indonesia. Specifically, it focused on developing and implementing a practical strategy to build a forum for civil society organizations where civil society could develop skills in social accountability and promote accountability and transparency of the provincial and city governments. Given the deep suspicion of civil society on the part of government in Papua, the intention of the project was to establish the CSO Forum as a legitimate body in the eyes of both decision-makers and the public. Training was provided to all stakeholders – including government officials and a series of dialogue sessions was also organized. However, gaps in the initial baseline analysis and stakeholder consultations, along with a decision to implement the project without a local partner, reduced the project’s relevance to the Papuan context and the needs of beneficiaries. Eight visits to Papua over a two-year period by members of the Jakarta-based project team limited opportunities for contact between the visiting team and beneficiaries, and a lack of continuity across activities restricted what the project was able to accomplish.
Evaluation Date
June 2014
Country
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Empowering Civil Society Groups to Promote Social Accountability

A weakness in the project was the over-estimation by the Jakarta-based project team of the level of interest of Papuan decision-makers in reform. The project also failed to understand that middle-level officials in Indonesia could not make commitments on behalf of the government.
Project Partner
Centre for Strategic and International Studies
Project Description
The overall goal of the project was to improve governance in Papua, Indonesia. Specifically, it focused on developing and implementing a practical strategy to build a forum for civil society organizations where civil society could develop skills in social accountability and promote accountability and transparency of the provincial and city governments. Given the deep suspicion of civil society on the part of government in Papua, the intention of the project was to establish the CSO Forum as a legitimate body in the eyes of both decision-makers and the public. Training was provided to all stakeholders – including government officials and a series of dialogue sessions was also organized. However, gaps in the initial baseline analysis and stakeholder consultations, along with a decision to implement the project without a local partner, reduced the project’s relevance to the Papuan context and the needs of beneficiaries. Eight visits to Papua over a two-year period by members of the Jakarta-based project team limited opportunities for contact between the visiting team and beneficiaries, and a lack of continuity across activities restricted what the project was able to accomplish.
Evaluation Date
June 2014
Country
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Empowering Civil Society Groups to Promote Social Accountability

The project worked constructively to draw attention to deficiencies in governance in Papua, and contributed to building a broader awareness of social accountability and what it entails. There was potential for the project to have a catalytic effect. As the grantee represented a highly-credible, mainstream Indonesian policy research institution, it would have been in a position to facilitate dialogue between government and civil society in Papua in a way that locally-based organizations might find more difficult. Had it managed to secure additional funding, lessons learned from the project could have represented a beginning rather than an end.
Project Partner
Centre for Strategic and International Studies
Project Description
The overall goal of the project was to improve governance in Papua, Indonesia. Specifically, it focused on developing and implementing a practical strategy to build a forum for civil society organizations where civil society could develop skills in social accountability and promote accountability and transparency of the provincial and city governments. Given the deep suspicion of civil society on the part of government in Papua, the intention of the project was to establish the CSO Forum as a legitimate body in the eyes of both decision-makers and the public. Training was provided to all stakeholders – including government officials and a series of dialogue sessions was also organized. However, gaps in the initial baseline analysis and stakeholder consultations, along with a decision to implement the project without a local partner, reduced the project’s relevance to the Papuan context and the needs of beneficiaries. Eight visits to Papua over a two-year period by members of the Jakarta-based project team limited opportunities for contact between the visiting team and beneficiaries, and a lack of continuity across activities restricted what the project was able to accomplish.
Evaluation Date
June 2014
Country
LESSON

Lesson Learned: JOINT Contribution to Strengthen and Expand Democracy in Mozambique

Some of the local NGOS involved gained a degree of recognition from the local authorities which was important. Most local NGOs operate without official registration, or with registration only at provincial level. Some interviewees suggested that the project helped them achieve a degree of credibility and legitimacy with local authorities, which might be conducive to them developing a better working relationship with government.
Project Partner
JOINT, Mozambican NGOs league
Project Description
The project aimed to increase the knowledge and capacities of local organizations and marginalized groups; enhance dialogue among civil society and marginalized groups, private sectors and the government; and ensure participation of marginalized groups in the democratic processes and achievement of advocacy for civil rights protection and promotion. The project was implemented in seven districts of Manica province, in central Mozambique. While the project correctly identified issues of political participation and NGO capacity building that were of genuine concern in Manica province, there were weaknesses in project design - the project did not directly address the structural and operational weaknesses of NGOs. And while the project’s expected outcomes were weaker than planned, the fact that the activities that were planned in a remote province, in locations that were sometimes difficult to to access because of weather conditions and occasional political violence, was in itself a significant achievement
Evaluation Date
June 2014
Country
LESSON

Lesson Learned: JOINT Contribution to Strengthen and Expand Democracy in Mozambique

Staff and lawyers from NGOs working in remote districts were very pro-active in engaging with vulnerable groups. This had a marked impact on local community members who were clearly interested in legal assistance. Their awareness of the legal framework – even in the absence of actual lawsuits – may be considered a form of impact. Similarly, the involvement of staff and lawyers in local dialogue forums has contributed, according to some participants, to local officials’ enhanced awareness of the legal framework concerning accountability on such issues as disclosure of budgets and expenses.
Project Partner
JOINT, Mozambican NGOs league
Project Description
The project aimed to increase the knowledge and capacities of local organizations and marginalized groups; enhance dialogue among civil society and marginalized groups, private sectors and the government; and ensure participation of marginalized groups in the democratic processes and achievement of advocacy for civil rights protection and promotion. The project was implemented in seven districts of Manica province, in central Mozambique. While the project correctly identified issues of political participation and NGO capacity building that were of genuine concern in Manica province, there were weaknesses in project design - the project did not directly address the structural and operational weaknesses of NGOs. And while the project’s expected outcomes were weaker than planned, the fact that the activities that were planned in a remote province, in locations that were sometimes difficult to to access because of weather conditions and occasional political violence, was in itself a significant achievement
Evaluation Date
June 2014
Country
LESSON

Lesson Learned: JOINT Contribution to Strengthen and Expand Democracy in Mozambique

The project would have benefited significantly from a more rigorous design, including a more specific analysis of the conditions that need to be achieved to fulfill planned outcomes. Specific activities should have been built in, such as an advocacy and media strategy. Training sessions and workshops should have been repeated and followed up. The project would have been more effective if the grantee had ensured more ownership of the project design by partner NGOs.
Project Partner
JOINT, Mozambican NGOs league
Project Description
The project aimed to increase the knowledge and capacities of local organizations and marginalized groups; enhance dialogue among civil society and marginalized groups, private sectors and the government; and ensure participation of marginalized groups in the democratic processes and achievement of advocacy for civil rights protection and promotion. The project was implemented in seven districts of Manica province, in central Mozambique. While the project correctly identified issues of political participation and NGO capacity building that were of genuine concern in Manica province, there were weaknesses in project design - the project did not directly address the structural and operational weaknesses of NGOs. And while the project’s expected outcomes were weaker than planned, the fact that the activities that were planned in a remote province, in locations that were sometimes difficult to to access because of weather conditions and occasional political violence, was in itself a significant achievement
Evaluation Date
June 2014
Country
LESSON

Lesson Learned: JOINT Contribution to Strengthen and Expand Democracy in Mozambique

The government dialogue element relied on a degree of goodwill on the part of provincial executives. This was not always forthcoming The project design had made little contingency provision to address a lack of political will to cooperate with the project.
Project Partner
JOINT, Mozambican NGOs league
Project Description
The project aimed to increase the knowledge and capacities of local organizations and marginalized groups; enhance dialogue among civil society and marginalized groups, private sectors and the government; and ensure participation of marginalized groups in the democratic processes and achievement of advocacy for civil rights protection and promotion. The project was implemented in seven districts of Manica province, in central Mozambique. While the project correctly identified issues of political participation and NGO capacity building that were of genuine concern in Manica province, there were weaknesses in project design - the project did not directly address the structural and operational weaknesses of NGOs. And while the project’s expected outcomes were weaker than planned, the fact that the activities that were planned in a remote province, in locations that were sometimes difficult to to access because of weather conditions and occasional political violence, was in itself a significant achievement
Evaluation Date
June 2014
Country
LESSON

Lesson Learned: JOINT Contribution to Strengthen and Expand Democracy in Mozambique

The main partner NGOs in Manica and the grantee designed the project collaboratively. The NGOs in Manica were concerned that their capacity would be stretched by the ambitious expected project outcomes. Their concerns were not reflected in the design, and the final proposal to UNDEF maintained the three-pronged approach of NGO capacity building, government dialogue and legal aid. The capacity building provided to NGOs was essentially on specific rights awareness and governance skills, but was not designed to address NGOs' structural/operational weaknesses.
Project Partner
JOINT, Mozambican NGOs league
Project Description
The project aimed to increase the knowledge and capacities of local organizations and marginalized groups; enhance dialogue among civil society and marginalized groups, private sectors and the government; and ensure participation of marginalized groups in the democratic processes and achievement of advocacy for civil rights protection and promotion. The project was implemented in seven districts of Manica province, in central Mozambique. While the project correctly identified issues of political participation and NGO capacity building that were of genuine concern in Manica province, there were weaknesses in project design - the project did not directly address the structural and operational weaknesses of NGOs. And while the project’s expected outcomes were weaker than planned, the fact that the activities that were planned in a remote province, in locations that were sometimes difficult to to access because of weather conditions and occasional political violence, was in itself a significant achievement
Evaluation Date
June 2014
Country