collaborate

The inclusion of political parties in the development and planning of activities during the project design phase could have further enriched the initiative's relevance and ensured a broader and more inclusive platform for youth participation in Mozambique's democratic development processes. In this project, specific activities aimed at encouraging youth involvement in political parties resulted in eighty-nine percent of the project beneficiaries registering with political parties. However, the potential for even greater youth involvement in political activities could have been realized by involving political party representatives in the design of tailored activities to promote active participation and enhance engagement in party-related initiatives.

The project experience revealed that regular follow-up with project partners to monitor key activities, such as beneficiary selection, ensures accountability and maintains alignment with project goals and objectives. In this case, the project focal points across the provinces undertook the task of beneficiary selection without the consistent guidance and follow-up from the grantee. This led to the adoption of diverse selection criteria, some of which inadvertently contributed to higher participant turnover rates.

Clear communication with project stakeholders is essential to foster effective collaboration and mitigate potential misunderstandings or disputes. This should include a clear description of their roles and responsibilities, benefits, and timelines. In this project, discrepancies in the beneficiary selection and external consultant management would have been improved if all the stakeholders had received and signed specific Terms of Reference (ToR) outlining their duties, responsibilities, compensation, expected deliverables, and timeline.

The challenges posed by an unexpected event, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, underscored the importance of fostering strong connections with project stakeholders, adaptability, and proactive engagement. In this case, faced with a lockdown and the inability to conduct planned activities, the project successfully maintained its course, sustained stakeholder engagement, and capitalized on unforeseen opportunities to achieve enhanced outcomes.

The project has highlighted the receptiveness of municipal governance structures to the voices of young people. It is, therefore, opportune to invest in initiatives that actively incorporate youth perspectives into the development of public policies concerning youth affairs.

Integrating project activities with existing municipality initiatives involving youth has proven to be a successful strategy for ensuring project sustainability. In addition to creating new dialogue spaces between municipal authorities and youth, this project leveraged existing platforms, such as annual meetings with the local councilors, to include youth consultation in the municipal annual activity plans. This approach fostered stronger youth participation following the project capacity-building activities.

Meaningful and transformative change to safeguard rights of transgender community is possible through legislative action. Creating adequate legal frameworks and making justice work for transgender community requires rigorous policy advocacy and extensive engagement with policy and law makers. In this case, while the grantee took a number of initiatives including legal and policy review as well as development of a draft law on Transgender Rights, it met with limited success to generate ownership to steer the legal reform process due to limited engagement with parliamentarians and policy makers.

Connected, aware and empowered CSOs and Human Rights Defenders can become a strong catalyst for change at the grassroots level in order to promote local action aimed at promoting transgender persons’ rights. In this case, the engagement provided them a chance to liaise and establish a link with government officials and departments which continued beyond the project.

Organizations with “niche” expertise in complex contexts and with a high capacity for access can prove decisive for project success: A convincing example is Balai Citoyen, whose ability to operate in difficult-to-access areas, its technical, administrative and financial expertise, as well as its vast institutional network have considerably expanded the scope of the project. This approach highlights the importance of choosing strategic partners who can provide significant added value in varied contexts.

The establishment of an institutional consultation strategy between the project and institutional, social and international stakeholders has emerged as a key element to optimize resources, avoid redundancies and strengthen coordination. This approach, which encourages collaboration and close communication with various stakeholders, should be actively promoted in all projects to maximize the impact and sustainability of interventions.