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The project’s overall objective was to increase the participation of Vietnamese civil society organizations (CSOs) in democratic policy-making. The grantee sought to achieve this through: building the capacity of CSOs to advocate for democratic participation in the policy development process; enhancing networking, cooperation and communication among CSOs and related government bodies; implementation of existing legal frameworks and policies; and actual, successful participation of CSOs in the policy-making process. The objectives of the project were directly relevant to exploring new possibilities in civil society engagement with government agencies in Viet Nam on public policy, at both local and national levels. The project helped facilitate CSOs voice in discussions and problem-solving on issues of concern to particular disadvantaged and vulnerable communities.

The project sought to empower indigenous people from the State of Oaxaca, Mexico. Through jurisdictional resolutions or agreements, the project worked to reduce the number of conflicts between the indigenous legal system, on the one hand, and the state legal system, on the other, seeking to establish precedents for harmonizing the two systems. The project’s intervention was very timely and highly relevant, given the recent changes in the legal framework, especially the passage of subsidiary legislation and a new energy policy. It provided legal assistance and representation before jurisdictional, judicial, and administrative bodies in the State of Oaxaca. Politically, the project made it possible to include the indigenous peoples’ perspective and expectations in the Constitutional Reform proposal for Oaxaca. The project’s support for empowering indigenous women’s groups had a major impact on the lives of the beneficiaries as well as the development and improvement of institutional and democratic life in the State of Oaxaca.

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.

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 aimed to support six existing street papers in African cities as well as to establish a new paper in Lagos. The overall development goal was to support people selling newspapers to earn a living and at the same time fulfil a broader social need for independent information on social issues The project involved: sharing of stories among the participating papers, through a regional coordination unit in Zambia; training for vendors and journalists, through a regional training coordinator and with support from outside journalists; a feasibility study and establishment of the Lagos paper; and advocacy to the broader public through the regional news service.. The International Network of Street Papers Foundation – the umbrella group managing the coordination among papers – was in a position effectively to support the project by obtaining funding and by taking on project coordination and supervision tasks. These factors ensured the overall relevance of the project. The project’s achievements, in the face of complex logistical challenges, demonstrated that groups of committed, skilled civil society activists can achieve significant results, as the sections below will highlight. However, the project’s relevance was diminished by a number of design flaws. There was an imbalance between the objectives of the project – which concerned the development of media freedom and independent news, as well as empowerment of the poor – and the project activities, which were directed towards capacity building of the papers themselves and towards training.

The project was to promote journalistic content countering negative images of women and reinforce the role of women journalists in the media, including at leadership level. The project’s impact was very clear in Niger were it contributed to the publication of a “Charter for the Improvement of the Image of Women in the Media”. In Mali and Burkina Faso, stakeholders mentioned positive changes in relation to journalists’ training on the use of oral testimony. The Femedia prizes given as part of the project had an impact beyond those journalists and media houses that participated in the competition. However, the overall impact of the project could have been greater if the grantee had developed and implemented an explicit advocacy strategy addressing government authorities and media regulators. As it was, the project only addressed these stakeholders indirectly.

The project’s principal objectives were to enhance civic participation among Himalayan tribes and empower marginalized groups (women, people with disabilities and nomads); and to engage with governance issues and democratic dialogue. To this end, the project aimed to build a supportive environment for enhanced democratic participation through supporting state and non-state actors. The project consisted of 10 core components creating a continuum of involvement from awareness of rights to access to those rights, supported by the training and mobilization of relevant support actors and those who could make the rights a reality. The project design was logical and very much tuned to the needs of the beneficiaries and other stakeholders in this challenging region. There were no delays in project delivery, since it had been designed with the seasonal obstacles relevant to the target region in mind.

The Electoral Justice Principles for Trust in the Electoral Process project sought to raise the integrity standard of the electoral processes in Africa by addressing the relations between the key electoral justice institutions and their relevance and accessibility to the electorate. Its main objectives were to: produce a set of electoral justice principles drafted by a group of chief justices and senior electoral and political leaders from Africa and other continents; and support the implementation of these principles in two African countries. Its intended outcomes were to increase trust in electoral justice authorities; reduce violence related to electoral dispute settlements, and to have political parties, candidates and civil society organizations (CSOs) in the pilot implementation country able to claim, advocate and defend rights for public integrity consultations. The project undertook minimal consultations with the large and dynamic electoral assistance sector and missed opportunities to tap its experience, explore collaboration and develop synergies with other efforts, such as the Global Commission on Elections, Democracy and Security that promote the integrity of elections. The norms themselves were not disseminated as planned so awareness of them is extremely limited and they were not endorsed by any international organization as anticipated. Most of those interviewed felt the principles needed wider consultations and did not have the weight required to make significant changes. The project was not Africa-specific and African involvement was limited primarily to the launch in Ghana and the APEJ-SL. The principles and guidelines were global in scope, and were not tailored to Sierra Leone for the pilot. It also focused on general electoral integrity issues and lacked a clear focus on electoral justice and how specifically this could be achieved through the creation of a steering committee.