Lessons

Newspaper coverage of a certain issue will have a wider reach than simply the number of copies printed. Stories about controversial or pertinent issues are often debated and discussed on community radio stations which have wider coverage.

The county/local level can be a more effective playing field on which to make improvements to government transparency and accountability. Not only are county/local level efforts more attainable than changes to national ones, but they often have more direct and bigger impacts on citizens lives on a day to day basis. This strategy can be made even more effective by making requests for these improvements in the run-up to election proccesses. These commitments can in turn be used to hold officials accountable when in office.

Community-based radio is a key tool for raising community level awareness and promoting citizen engagement in debates around issues of corruption due to high levels of local listenership. Organizations should take care to conduct community radio programs in local languages in order to ensure maximum engagement with the local community.

The capacity-building process is a marathon, not a sprint. It must involve regular coaching of trainees and performance monitoring in order to ensure sustainability. In order for capacity-building activities to achieve their intended results, one must ensure the activities are inclusive to all, including the vulnerable and illiterate. The use of audio-visual approaches in social media has proved to reach a larger number of people than the 'class-format' approach.

Full scale mobilization and engagement of relevant stakeholders throughout all regions of the target country (Morocco) is crucial to project success. The creation of structures of coordination and new civil society networks has been a key factor in successful implementation of the project throughout Morocco.

Awareness of existing power dynamics with communities is important for effective implementation. When organizing community-based activities in which elected representatives and officials are present, one must be aware of existing power imbalances and mitigate these imbalances by facilitating activities in a way that doesn't reinforce existing power structures.

Project outcomes should be captured on a continuous basis, rather than only at the end of the project. It is vital to capture the difference made by a project intervention at different stages of the project (immediately after the event and at further times). Otherwise, it is impossible to distinguish between the effects of different project interventions.

In all projects that involve challenging established power structures, staff members that are most visible in project implementation ('frontline staff') face a high risk of personal reprisals. It is essential for grantees to be aware of these risks and take the appropriate measures necessary to protect frontline staff, for example ensuring the backing of a larger organization or having senior management playing a frontline role in project implementation as well.

Civil society organizations have the unique ability to act as a 'bridge' between service providers and users, building the capacity of marginalized groups that do not have the capacity to take advantage of the services available to them as well as helping service providers reach beneficiaries.