Latin America and the Caribbean

Project: Promoting Freedom of Information Activism at the Local Level in Brazil
Evaluation Date: April 2014
Report: [report link]
Lesson Learned:

The project made good use of the focal points in each municipality. They developed contacts and worked with municipal governments, public prosecutors’ offices, tax courts, educational centers, and civil society groups, giving birth to a widespread movement to fight corruption and the adoption of a wide range of citizen oversight activities. The most impressive experiences were observed in Mandaguari-PR, (ADAMA) and Fortaleza-CE (ACECCI). For example in Mandaguari-PR, the focal point helped create a standing civil society committee to monitor public procurement.

Theme: Community activism
Brazil   , ,
Project: Promoting Freedom of Information Activism at the Local Level in Brazil
Evaluation Date: April 2014
Report: [report link]
Lesson Learned:

The grantee partnered with the AMARRIBO network, which is the largest network fighting corruption in Brazil. An umbrella organization for some 200 grassroots groups, its purpose is to foster local participation in the fight against municipal corruption. The two organizations complemented each other well. The grantee contributed its experience and knowledge about civil rights issues, access to public information, and the law as well as experience in training and legal advice in these areas. AMARRIBO has a broad social base and extensive experience with intervention at the municipal level, especially as a leader and advocate with public entities. Its knowledge of the local context and stakeholders was a very positive factor in the implementation of the project.

Theme: Community activism
Brazil   , ,
Project: Promoting Freedom of Information Activism at the Local Level in Brazil
Evaluation Date: April 2014
Report: [report link]
Lesson Learned:

The project directly contributed to local enforcement of the Access to Information Act and public transparency policies. This clearly has a positive effect on strengthening Brazil’s democratization process. The project also facilitated the integration of two social intervention practices that had not been used before in this context: the experience of punishing and fighting corruption through the grantee’s network and the preventive approach offering technical assistance to the governments and monitoring agencies to create an oversight system for curbing corruption.

Theme: Community activism
Brazil   , ,
Project: Empowering Civil Society and Women to Engage in Policy Processes
Evaluation Date: August 2011
Report: [report link]
Lesson Learned:

To promote the actual application of human rights in Honduras, a debate should be organised to improve links between the actions achieved for and with women -their community-based organisations and networks – and the actions intended to strengthen the institutional mechanisms that guarantee their rights. The aim would be to get local authorities to sustainably integrate a pro-woman agenda both in terms of political representation and municipal budgeting. Democratic participation is fragile and currently depends on the willingness of the authority in power. But this willingness could be replaced by a framework of legitimate and lasting good governance.

Theme: Women's empowerment
Honduras   , ,
Project: Empowering Civil Society and Women to Engage in Policy Processes
Evaluation Date: August 2011
Report: [report link]
Lesson Learned:

Project follow-up should have included applied research. The goal of such research would be to analyse critically and comparatively the various experiences and advances encountered by the project. This exercise should identify, in the context of a fragile democracy, the modalities and the possible alternatives for optimising women’s empowerment and guaranteeing as much as possible the application of the legal framework, as well as following up and carrying out the recommended support or judicial measures.

Theme: Women's empowerment
Honduras   , ,
Project: Empowering Civil Society and Women to Engage in Policy Processes
Evaluation Date: August 2011
Report: [report link]
Lesson Learned:

One of the grantee’s implementation partners perpetrated significant fraud and had to be excluded from the project. Thanks to the solvency of the grantee, its organisation was able to find appropriate solutions to respond to these situations: using its own funds, it paid out an amount equivalent to the fraud in order to guarantee the implementation of the activities that had been initially planned. Financial and technical follow-up procedures were developed to ensure transparency in the management and to guarantee a good level of efficiency. Moreover, the grantee provided support and reinforcement of the capabilities of its implementation partners in financial and technical areas as well as in managing human resources.

Theme: Women's empowerment
Honduras   , ,