design

The project’s goal was to increase the capacity of NGOs in Moldova and Ukraine to network among themselves to enhance their advocacy skills and to improve the functioning of existing mechanisms for engagement between civil society and governments. The project resulted in a range of concrete initiatives, both at the local level and at the level of improved NGO representation in national policy making. Concrete impacts ranged from promoting the participation of blind voters to making amendments to the new law on associations in Ukraine and the human rights action plan in Moldova.

The project organized training for judges and activities to create discussion among magistrates on the adoption of the Ethical and Deontological Code in Niger. The project objectives were: to improve the capacity of investigating judges, prosecuting attorneys and state prosecutors to fight economic and financial crimes related to public finance; to increase the magistracy body’s knowledge of the Ethical and Deontological Code’s principles; and to establish a network of specialised judges to fight economic and financial crimes related to public finance. These thematic areas, such as the fight against economic and financial crimes and the raising of moral standards among the magistracy, were relevant for the country in terms of building judicial transparency. While the training and awareness-raising activities aimed to improve the functioning of justice and at improving ethics, the project’s design was not based on a thorough screening of available information about the main issues faced by judges, and also lacked a clear methodological approach.

The project organized training for judges and activities to create discussion among magistrates on the adoption of the Ethical and Deontological Code in Niger. The project objectives were: to improve the capacity of investigating judges, prosecuting attorneys and state prosecutors to fight economic and financial crimes related to public finance; to increase the magistracy body’s knowledge of the Ethical and Deontological Code’s principles; and to establish a network of specialised judges to fight economic and financial crimes related to public finance. These thematic areas, such as the fight against economic and financial crimes and the raising of moral standards among the magistracy, were relevant for the country in terms of building judicial transparency. While the training and awareness-raising activities aimed to improve the functioning of justice and at improving ethics, the project’s design was not based on a thorough screening of available information about the main issues faced by judges, and also lacked a clear methodological approach.

The grantee aimed to strengthen public participation in local governance and policy-making by facilitating stakeholder dialogue and fostering civic engagement and activism in various towns located in the seven oblasts of Kyrgyzstan. Exchange and cooperation between Kenesh deputies, members of village/city councils, and the local population was initially almost absent in the local areas covered by the project. With a 25% higher than planned participation in the Local Action Groups (LAGs) and higher than envisaged membership the project proved highly effective in establishing an enabling environment for improved citizen participation in local decision-making processes.

The project sought to strengthen university students and youth Civil Society Organization (CSO) leaders for active and democratic citizenship and community development. It aimed to do this by: improving their capacity and raising their awareness of participation in democratic processes and community development; increasing emerging leader (EL) representation in existing political and civil society institutions; and developing and strengthening existing networks to build alliances of youth-led and youth-directed CSOs for more effective programming and sustained participation. The project also intended to increase the awareness of CSO and local leaders on the value of youth involvement. The project reached youth across Jordan and from very different socio-economic conditions and the activities reflected the needs and interests of its participants and their locality. Addressing both the supply and demand side of the youth issue seemed to be effective. Participating youth seemed empowered by their training and the use of sub-grants to CSOs opened the door for youth participation.

The project aimed to enhance the legitimacy of the judicial system in order to reinforce democratic processes in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Specifically, the project was designed to improve the legal knowledge and sense of responsibility on the part of civil society actors by raising awareness of human rights among citizens and by improving trust between citizens and judicial institutions, as well as better liaison between judicial actors and civil society. The beneficiaries included the population of two municipalities in suburban Kinshasa, as well as families of military and police personnel housed in camps in the area; police officers, prosecutors and judges; and a group of trained NGO resource persons. The project was based on a sound strategy, which identified explicitly the institutional weaknesses that were to be addressed, and proposed realistic steps to address them. The training sessions for NGO resource persons and the seminars bringing together civil society, police and members of the judiciary were implemented to a particularly high standard, as they were both innovative in their field, and carried out with appropriate levels of skills and monitoring.

The project was designed to engage young people from marginalized populations in four regions of Thailand, to empower them to voice their needs, access their rights, participate in political processes, and improve their lives and communities. The grantee set out to create new leaders among young people to lead actions in the disenfranchised communities. While the project supported the implementing partners financially and to a lesser extent with expertise, it did not demonstrate significant added-value in the area of democratic development. The trainees were by and large already engaged in development work in their communities and, once the project ended, the partners and the young people continued as before. The project designers would have been more aware of this, and potentially had a chance to rethink the relevance of the design, if they had reviewed existing and earlier practice in this area, and had considered in more depth the way NGOs in the regions work and from where they get their funding. The project fell into the trap of becoming, essentially, a short-term provider of funds.

The project was designed to engage young people from marginalized populations in four regions of Thailand, to empower them to voice their needs, access their rights, participate in political processes, and improve their lives and communities. The grantee set out to create new leaders among young people to lead actions in the disenfranchised communities. While the project supported the implementing partners financially and to a lesser extent with expertise, it did not demonstrate significant added-value in the area of democratic development. The trainees were by and large already engaged in development work in their communities and, once the project ended, the partners and the young people continued as before. The project designers would have been more aware of this, and potentially had a chance to rethink the relevance of the design, if they had reviewed existing and earlier practice in this area, and had considered in more depth the way NGOs in the regions work and from where they get their funding. The project fell into the trap of becoming, essentially, a short-term provider of funds.

The project organized women into informal Women's Democracy Forums to build a culture of collaboration between marginalized women from different social backgrounds in five Nepalese districts. It intended to give women a voice at the district and village level by providing information, education, and communication materials and offering training courses on women's rights. Project activities combined traditional and alternative means of communication, such as street theater. This oral mode of education was adapted to the needs of remote communities. The project's visibility was also enhanced by the production of weekly radio programs; 72 episodes on the political empowerment of women and democratic processes were produced and broadcast over a six–month period. Local authorities and grassroots resource persons increased their commitment to the political inclusion of women. All of these activities were innovative in these Nepalese districts and were skillfully carried out by the implementing team. All activities were successfully concluded and delivered results over and above expectations.

The project aimed to identify new youth fellows, train them in leadership and concepts of democracy and governance, and prepare them to lead development projects in their communities. The strategy to do this was through "placements" with local grassroots organizations. The 130 trained youth fellows were supported through the fellowship network, including meetings at local and state levels and by identifying 400 youth volunteers through community "reflect circles" that the fellows facilitated. Together, the fellows and volunteers led and established a large number of development projects within the communities, ranging from pig rearing to the building of early education centres. The model is ideally suited to both produce the expected outcomes and also lay the groundwork for potential future representation at national level. The project far exceeded its own expectations, reaching more than 100,000 people through project activities. However, planned training of journalists and the development of a website proved not to be possible in the political climate in Myanmar and were replaced by the production of a series of newsletters for the fellows and for broader dissemination.