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Afghanistan

LESSON

Lesson Learned: Involving women and youth CSOs in strengthening democratic debate and public news media around elections in Afghanistan

The 2014 presidential elections were a critical benchmark in Afghanistan’s democratic transition as they marked the first transfer of power from one democratically elected government to another. A credible election with good participation was critical for the continued stability of its political system. The use of radio to diffuse information was particularly relevant given Afghanistan’s difficult terrain and the rural nature of much of its population, who rely primarily on radio for information.
Project Partner
Development Humanitarian Services Afghanistan / The Killid Group
Project Description
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.
Evaluation Date
March 2015
Theme
Country
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Involving women and youth CSOs in strengthening democratic debate and public news media around elections in Afghanistan

Although women and youth have gained significant rights in the democratic system, they are still marginalized by tradition and culture. The 2014 presidential elections were also a critical benchmark in Afghanistan’s democratic transition as they marked the first transfer of power from one democratically elected government to another. A credible election with good participation was critical for the continued stability of its political system. The use of radio to diffuse information was particularly relevant given Afghanistan’s difficult terrain and the rural nature of much of its population, who rely primarily on radio for information.
Project Partner
Development Humanitarian Services Afghanistan / The Killid Group
Project Description
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.
Evaluation Date
March 2015
Theme
Country
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Raising Awareness about Women's Social, Political and Economic Rights in Afghanistan

The project was poorly managed, and there was little apparent coordination among the partners in Afghanistan. Contracts were agreed between the grantee and two of its implementing partner yet management denied their existence, and no reference to them is made in project reports.
Project Partner
Development and Public Awareness
Project Description
The project Raising Awareness about Women's Social, Political and Economic Rights in Afghanistan’s overall objective and outcomes were relevant to the development problem of women’s empowerment and facilitating a greater presence for women in public life. However, the evaluation concluded that the project was not implemented in full. While it appears to be the case that the radio and television roundtables planned for production and broadcast in the 15 target provinces did take place, other activities have been implemented in no more than six, and as few as three, of the provinces.
Evaluation Date
April 2014
Country
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Raising Awareness about Women's Social, Political and Economic Rights in Afghanistan

The Project Document would suggest that the grantee was to take a strong role in the coordination of the project, as well as in management and monitoring of all activities. In practice, for the most part, the grantee contracted out responsibility for design and implementation of activities to its three partners, and that it played a minimal role in direct engagement with project activities, even where its specific role was explained in the Project Document.
Project Partner
Development and Public Awareness
Project Description
The project Raising Awareness about Women's Social, Political and Economic Rights in Afghanistan’s overall objective and outcomes were relevant to the development problem of women’s empowerment and facilitating a greater presence for women in public life. However, the evaluation concluded that the project was not implemented in full. While it appears to be the case that the radio and television roundtables planned for production and broadcast in the 15 target provinces did take place, other activities have been implemented in no more than six, and as few as three, of the provinces.
Evaluation Date
April 2014
Country
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Raising Awareness about Women's Social, Political and Economic Rights in Afghanistan

Single television or radio programmes, with no linkage to ongoing campaigns or educational work, are unlikely to make a difference in enhancing the knowledge of viewers or listeners in Afghanistan.
Project Partner
Development and Public Awareness
Project Description
The project Raising Awareness about Women's Social, Political and Economic Rights in Afghanistan’s overall objective and outcomes were relevant to the development problem of women’s empowerment and facilitating a greater presence for women in public life. However, the evaluation concluded that the project was not implemented in full. While it appears to be the case that the radio and television roundtables planned for production and broadcast in the 15 target provinces did take place, other activities have been implemented in no more than six, and as few as three, of the provinces.
Evaluation Date
April 2014
Country
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Raising Awareness about Women's Social, Political and Economic Rights in Afghanistan

The focus on “Afghan women” was hardly a focus at all. Findings of a baseline study, which indicated the particular need for learning about their rights on the part of less-educated women, were ignored. In fact, during implementation, project beneficiaries were principally better-educated, younger women.
Project Partner
Development and Public Awareness
Project Description
The project Raising Awareness about Women's Social, Political and Economic Rights in Afghanistan’s overall objective and outcomes were relevant to the development problem of women’s empowerment and facilitating a greater presence for women in public life. However, the evaluation concluded that the project was not implemented in full. While it appears to be the case that the radio and television roundtables planned for production and broadcast in the 15 target provinces did take place, other activities have been implemented in no more than six, and as few as three, of the provinces.
Evaluation Date
April 2014
Country
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Raising Awareness about Women's Social, Political and Economic Rights in Afghanistan

The Project Document indicated the intention to conduct activities in 15 of 34 of Afghanistan’s provinces, situated in all four geographic regions of the country. In mounting such an ambitious effort, the grantee reduced the prospects for achieving results through a scattering of activities in locations throughout the country. It is apparent that the grantee failed to appreciate the scale of the risk it was taking on. Beyond this, weak integration of activities by project management, and a failure by the grantee to collaborate closely with its implementing partners, limited both the effectiveness and the impact of the project.
Project Partner
Development and Public Awareness
Project Description
The project Raising Awareness about Women's Social, Political and Economic Rights in Afghanistan’s overall objective and outcomes were relevant to the development problem of women’s empowerment and facilitating a greater presence for women in public life. However, the evaluation concluded that the project was not implemented in full. While it appears to be the case that the radio and television roundtables planned for production and broadcast in the 15 target provinces did take place, other activities have been implemented in no more than six, and as few as three, of the provinces.
Evaluation Date
April 2014
Country
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Enhancing the Capacity for Inclusive Local Governance through Synergies and Sustainable Linkages between Communities and Government in North Afghanistan

A major deficiency in overall management rested with the centralization of decision-making by ACTED Kabul. The project design had a “generic” quality to it, and it is apparent that operations managers in the field had no input into decision-making, including work and expenditure planning. The weakness of two-way communications at this level reduced the opportunity for the project to learn from experience and adapt operational plans accordingly.
Project Partner
ACTED
Project Description
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.
Evaluation Date
April 2013
Country
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Enhancing the Capacity for Inclusive Local Governance through Synergies and Sustainable Linkages between Communities and Government in North Afghanistan

Other risks identified related to the attitude of local leaders, who might object to the focus of training on gender issues, and limited cooperation on the part of Afghan government at provincial and district level. Strong and effective preparatory work by the project and thorough advance consultations enabled the grantee to overcome these potential problems. It might be noted that early consultations included a meeting with other international non-governmental organizations and donor agencies active in the region, to allow the grantee to brief its peers on the project and its contents, and to avoid duplication. This also reduced the risk to project effectiveness and impact.
Project Partner
ACTED
Project Description
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.
Evaluation Date
April 2013
Country
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Enhancing the Capacity for Inclusive Local Governance through Synergies and Sustainable Linkages between Communities and Government in North Afghanistan

While the project may have helped to encourage informal linkages across the three sets of stakeholders listed, there is little evidence of “enhanced mechanisms” or the ability of the project to “enable synergies”. Further, the activities designed to bring the stakeholders together after training was completed, the forums, seemed to add no significant value to the project, although, as suggested in the Final Report, they may have helped to build connections, and to bring new initiatives proposed at community and district levels to the attention of government officials in Afghanistan.
Project Partner
ACTED
Project Description
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.
Evaluation Date
April 2013
Country