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Involving women and youth CSOs in strengthening democratic debate and public news media around elections in Afghanistan sought to strengthen the voice of civil society and foster sustainable democratic practices within Afghanistan by generating a deeper public debate among women and youth groups around the 2014 presidential electoral process. The project lost relevance however in implementation. Only a few activities were done in the pre-electoral period and only a portion of the intended CSO-journalist elements were done. In addition, the predominate use of Pashto in the round tables and reporting, narrowed its relevance to the two-thirds of the country that use Dari.

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.

The project worked to help women district councillors acquire knowledge and to push the equality agenda with policy makers. The project’s advocacy activities led to improved gender-sensitive service delivery, as the local government budgeted for enhanced services for women and girls. In September 2016, two years after the end of the project, the Government announced that gender sensitive indicators will be used to ensure that all sectors adhere to gender equality in decision making and service delivery in the country.. Visibly empowered district and sub-county councillors expressed with pride their new influence on the gender-sensitive application of laws, policies and local budgets. Former women MP trainees proudly cooperated across party lines on priority issues of the Ugandan women in parliamentary committees. The approach of putting in place a monitoring system that was run by Village Budget Clubs (VBCs) and district councillors alike was appropriate. The project’s training methodology ensured the transfer of necessary skills such as gender-sensitive analysis, budgeting, caucusing, lobbying and advocacy.

The main objective of the project was to strengthen the capacity grassroots organizations, and enhance the participation of citizens in governance to promote a democratic culture in Kenya and in eastern and central Africa. While some project activities were highly relevant and empowering to individual beneficiaries, others lacked follow-up. Among the project’s successes were the election observation trainings which had a multiplier effect with grassroots organizations. Following the workshop trainings, 12 observation groups were established to monitor the Kenyan election of 2013, all of which later obtained a long-term accreditation status as election observers. In general, the project was activity-driven which made outcomes and institutional impact difficult to assess. Project design showed some weaknesses, as several challenges that appeared during implementation could have been anticipated by the grantee beforehand. For example, the shortage of staff and a better coordination with the electoral timeline in Kenya could have ensured a smoother implementation.

The project’s general objective was to increase access to justice for marginalized groups among the rural population of the southern district of Kamonyi, including people living with HIV/AIDS and the Twa ethnic minority. The project document highlighted that access to justice in Rwanda was a privilege reserved for the elite: an urban prerogative that discriminates against uneducated, low-income populations living largely in rural areas. The project was built around three main areas of activity: providing direct access to free legal assistance, through the opening and daily operation of a Legal Aid Clinic in the rural district of Kamonyi; setting up a citizens’ system and strengthening local capacity to address judicial issues through the education and training of paralegals; and creating a responsible and solidarity-based dynamic where law students provided direct legal as part of their school curriculum. The project was highly relevant, as it was tailored to local legal mechanisms put in place by the national framework to reform and decentralize the justice system. Overall the project improved legal structures and services in the Kamnoyi district and contributed to greater justice at the local level.

The main objective of the project was to strengthen the capacity grassroots organizations, and enhance the participation of citizens in governance to promote a democratic culture in Kenya and in eastern and central Africa. While some project activities were highly relevant and empowering to individual beneficiaries, others lacked follow-up. Among the project’s successes were the election observation trainings which had a multiplier effect with grassroots organizations. Following the workshop trainings, 12 observation groups were established to monitor the Kenyan election of 2013, all of which later obtained a long-term accreditation status as election observers. In general, the project was activity-driven which made outcomes and institutional impact difficult to assess. Project design showed some weaknesses, as several challenges that appeared during implementation could have been anticipated by the grantee beforehand. For example, the shortage of staff and a better coordination with the electoral timeline in Kenya could have ensured a smoother implementation.

The main objective of the project was to strengthen the capacity grassroots organizations, and enhance the participation of citizens in governance to promote a democratic culture in Kenya and in eastern and central Africa. While some project activities were highly relevant and empowering to individual beneficiaries, others lacked follow-up. Among the project’s successes were the election observation trainings which had a multiplier effect with grassroots organizations. Following the workshop trainings, 12 observation groups were established to monitor the Kenyan election of 2013, all of which later obtained a long-term accreditation status as election observers. In general, the project was activity-driven which made outcomes and institutional impact difficult to assess. Project design showed some weaknesses, as several challenges that appeared during implementation could have been anticipated by the grantee beforehand. For example, the shortage of staff and a better coordination with the electoral timeline in Kenya could have ensured a smoother implementation.

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 general objective was to support the development of good governance in Myanmar through civic education and building advocacy skills of civil society. Activities included civic education trainings and township level meetings to support good governance; organization of core leader meetings; training in how to write policy papers to strengthen policy advocacy; and the creation of a website for civil society to exchange experience and knowledge. All quantifiable targets were reached or surpassed, and the participants interviewed spoke highly of the training. The project implementation team overcame significant bureaucratic and logistical obstacles, as well as difficult operating conditions. The project appears to have had a great deal of positive 'knock-on effects’. Although the training program attracted a large number of participants, participation was dictated by informal networks and affinities. The township-level forum did not succeed in soliciting initiatives and brainstorming on regional/local issues. Likewise, the policy papers exhibited significant weaknesses in particular a lack of readers. The website was also not used as an effective tool for knowledge and information sharing by any of the participants interviewed.

The grantee hoped to empower Civil Society Organizations and community leaders in Lao PDR and, to give them the skills and knowledge to contribute meaningfully to the country’s development. The project involved training various levels of staff in Lao non-profit associations to ensure that they would be able to share the technical knowledge and practical skills needed to transform their organizations into professionally run civil society organizations. The long term goal of these interventions was to build the capacity of the non-profit associations so that were managed in a more business-oriented manner. The participants in the project were satisfied by the organization of project events. Many of them had never been involved in training that combined lectures with practical, hands-on activities.