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Ghana

Project: Addressing Ghana’s Governance Deficits through Constitutional Reform
Evaluation Date: July 2013
Report: [report link]

Lesson Learned:

The unexpected announcement by the government that there would be a Constitutional Review led to the grantee to refocusing its project design since the initial project document was developed before the government had made a firm commitment to a constitutional review process. The project was initially designed to make the case for the urgency of governance reform and to identify the most critical issues. With the surprise announcement of the Constitutional Review, the grantee had to engage in in a process of identifying priorities for constitutional development and undertake advocacy in their support.

Theme: Interaction with government

Ghana adapt, advocacy, government

Project: Addressing Ghana’s Governance Deficits through Constitutional Reform
Evaluation Date: July 2013
Report: [report link]

Lesson Learned:

The organization of a national public opinion survey – the only one which took place in Ghana related to the constitutional review – and the publication of its results derived played a significant role in bringing the voice of the wider public to the proceedings of the Constitutional Review Commission and the national debate on priorities for reform.

Theme: Interaction with government

Ghana constitution, public, survey

Project: Addressing Ghana’s Governance Deficits through Constitutional Reform
Evaluation Date: July 2013
Report: [report link]

Lesson Learned:

The forming of the Civil Society Coalition in Ghana, which included around 40 major national organizations from a variety of backgrounds, demonstrated the grantee’s convening power. All project events and documents were presented under the auspices of the Coalition. This gave considerable weight and legitimacy to the proposals presented in the eyes of the public, the media and the Constitutional Review Commission itself.

Theme: Interaction with government

Ghana coalition, legitimacy, reform

Project: Addressing Ghana’s Governance Deficits through Constitutional Reform
Evaluation Date: July 2013
Report: [report link]

Lesson Learned:

The Project Advisory Committee in Ghana played an active and constructive role and made a difference in strengthening the final design of activities.

Theme: Interaction with government

Ghana design, leadership

Project: Addressing Ghana’s Governance Deficits through Constitutional Reform
Evaluation Date: July 2013
Report: [report link]

Lesson Learned:

By building a platform providing credible research to inform the advocacy efforts of a broad-based coalition of civil society organizations in Ghana, the grantee had a significant impact on the constitutional review process.

Theme: Interaction with government

Ghana constitution, platform, research

Project: Promoting the African Charter on Democracy, Elections, and Governance
Evaluation Date: June 2012
Report: [report link]

Lesson Learned:

A thorough inventory of the websites of six participating national NGOs was disappointing. Only one referred to the project, and then only in a brief summary identifying UNDEF as the funder. More worrisome, none of the websites made reference to the African Charter at all. This suggests that the empowerment that undoubtedly occurred was more an empowerment of individuals than an empowerment of institutions. It also underscores the point that most (not all) African democracy NGOs are focused on national issues.

Theme: Community activism

Burundi, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Namibia, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa democracy, regional

Project: Promoting the African Charter on Democracy, Elections, and Governance
Evaluation Date: June 2012
Report: [report link]

Lesson Learned:

A thorough inventory of the websites of the six participating national NGOs was disappointing. Only one referred to the project, and then only in a brief summary identifying UNDEF as the funder. More worrisome, none of the websites made reference to the African Charter at all. This suggests that the empowerment that undoubtedly occurred was more an empowerment of individuals than an empowerment of institutions. It also underscores the point that most (not all) African democracy NGOs are focused on national issues.

Theme: Community activism

Burundi, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Namibia, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa capacity, institutions

Project: Promoting the African Charter on Democracy, Elections, and Governance
Evaluation Date: June 2012
Report: [report link]

Lesson Learned:

The project empowered individuals more than institutions. Much of this empowerment occurred in the context of international travel and meetings financed by the project (including CIDA funding). It is likely that impacts would have been greater had there been more funds available to finance in-country activities.

Theme: Community activism

Burundi, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Namibia, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa institutions, sustainability, travel

Project: Promoting the African Charter on Democracy, Elections, and Governance
Evaluation Date: June 2012
Report: [report link]

Lesson Learned:

The sustainability of the project will depend on continued political will both of the governments involved but also of the African Union who would need to put in place monitoring and enforcement mechanisms.

Theme: Interaction with government

Burundi, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Namibia, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa network, political will, sustainability

Project: Promoting the African Charter on Democracy, Elections, and Governance
Evaluation Date: June 2012
Report: [report link]

Lesson Learned:

Too much money was spent on travel and meetings so the amount available for in-country for advocacy activities was reduced. This might have accounted for the high number of planned in-country activities that were not implemented. Additional funds spent in-country would have leveraged what the project achieved and, by increasing impact, would have increased efficiency as well.

Theme: Community activism

Burundi, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Namibia, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa budget, impact, travel

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