credibility

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.

The overall objective of the project was to reinforce community dialogue and participatory democracy in the Western part of Cote d’Ivoire, with a view to enhancing social cohesion and the enhancement of democratic values at local level. To achieve this objective, the project had three outputs: Civil society organizations (CSOs) and the authorities are better equipped to use community support techniques; CSO’s providing support to communities on the management of conflicts; and enhanced involvement of local communities in development initiatives. The project was remarkably relevant, in that it correctly identified the lack of social cohesion as a major risk for conflict returning to the target areas. The project developed strategies and activities that specifically addressed the needs of the local communities and those of the CSOs working with them. However, the project design phase did not sufficiently involve the communities and CSOs, and the project should have involved more technical experts.

The project was motivated by women’s low political representation in Egypt. Despite women's active participation as voters and change-makers during the Arab Spring, their representation in Parliament deteriorated following abolition of the quota from around 12% in 2010 to 2% of the 2011/2012 parliament. The project built on the recommendations and results of as previous (2009-11) UNDEF-funded project. A significant proportion of women who received training as part of the project ran for political office, and a significant proportion of these succeeded, demonstrating concrete project impact. While many other factors were at work, based on figures analyzed that training made at least some direct contribution to female success during the 2015 elections. Combining party and individual candidates, the UNDEF project financed the training of 16% of the successful 56 party list candidates and 21% of the 19 successful independent candidates.

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

The project aimed to obtain measurable improvements in Ghana’s constitutional and governance mechanisms by providing technical input and advocacy platforms for civil society actors to research and build a constituency for constitutional and legal reform in key governance areas. The project related closely to the grantee’s mission, i.e. the promotion of democracy, good governance and the development of a liberal economic environment. The grantee’s intervention was relevant in its focus on efforts to take practical action to address priorities in democratic development, and in ensuring that the priority concerns of Ghanaian civil society, as well as the interests of ordinary citizens - through a national public opinion survey that the grantee organized - were heard. The strategy adopted by the project was judged to be appropriate and its reports to the Constitutional Review Commission and the proposals which they contained were seen as highly relevant to its deliberations.

Enhancing the Capacity for Inclusive Local Governance in Northern Afghanistan was generally effective as a training project, but its overall design was not well-aligned with the overall objectives specified. The project made a difference for the trainees who benefited from the course provided, but did not contribute much to the institutional results linked to enhancing inclusive local governance. The grantee was a well-known international NGO. This was strength in some ways, but may have been a weakness in others. The project design had a “generic” quality to it, suggesting a lack of attention to the specific needs in the project sites that were addressed. Further, the lack of engagement with the project by ACTED Kabul at a management level, along with the absence of decentralization of decision-making to the local level, undermined project effectiveness.

The project was timed to coincide with UN processes related to follow-up of the outcome document of the Third UN Conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDC-III) in Brussels in 2001, known as the Brussels Programme of Action (BPoA) and preparations for the Fourth UN Conference on the LDCs (LDC-IV) held in Istanbul in May 2011. The project aimed to build the capacity of civil society organizations in Least Developed Countries to mobilize and consolidate their energy, expertise and commitment to achieving quality inputs to the Comprehensive Review Summit in 2010, and strengthening democratic decision making in international development processes. It had three intended outcomes: Enhanced capacity of CSOs and CBOs; Increased awareness and coverage of LDC issues; Progress and setbacks on MDGs and BPoA reviewed. The project aimed to undertake activities in 20 countries: 13 in Africa, 2 in South Asia, 2 in South-East Asia and 3 in Pacific Island Countries (PICs). However planned activities changed throughout the project.

The project tackled the issue of women’s political participation from a broader, more inclusive perspective, moving beyond the national level to analyze developments in the provinces and municipalities. This approach responded to the unmet needs and challenges of the Argentine context, and led to greater equality in real terms and improved women’s participation in society and politics at the local level. The project strategy focused on consolidating and advancing a new view and understanding of the essential role of women leaders in social and policy-making bodies in Argentina. It pursued two main objectives: (a) to promote women’s leadership in civil society by identifying and sharing relevant experiences in leadership-building with this group at the local level; and (b) to provide tools for improving women leaders’ ability to promote the issues on their agenda through advocacy with national and local government agencies.  At the technical and institutional levels, the project yielded results that will support the continuity and replication of its initiatives.

The project’s overall objective was to increase the effectiveness of procurement monitoring by non-state actors following the Public Procurement Act (PPA) 2007 in Nigeria. The project was built on a thorough analysis of the current situation regarding government procurement and mechanisms for monitoring and reporting on the process. The publication of two carefully researched annual assessment reports on the state of public procurement and stakeholder knowledge of PPA requirements proved effective for connecting public procurement and integrity in governance. The development of new tools for training of trainers in procurement monitoring and the training of 33 monitors were also valuable. Efforts to work closely with the legislature began well. However, the 2011 Parliamentary Elections brought about a wholesale change in the membership of both houses of the National Assembly. The leading champions of reform in regard to public procurement were defeated, and there was no longer an interest among elected members in working closely with PPDC, although a positive working relationship was established with the parliamentary secretariat.