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LESSON

Lesson Learned: Water and sanitation for all: for a strong and heard civil society in West Africa

Minor adjustments to project design can reinforce effectiveness – including for example the use of social networks to share information, as well as work with community radios. The project’s effectiveness varied notably between countries, as a result of both external and internal factors, such as governments’ degree of openness to dialogue with NGOs on WASH issues and the management skills of platform leaders.
Project Partner
Secrétariat Permanent des Organisations Non Gouvernementales
Project Description
The general objective of the project was to reinforce the voice and influence of civil society in West and Central Africa to improve access to water, hygiene and sanitation (WASH). While the project addressed clearly defined needs for reinforcing capacity of WASH platforms and the platforms’ presence in consultation processes, its design did not sufficiently emphasize the needs for organizational capacity building, gender concerns in the consultation processes, and exchanges of information among participating platforms on issues of lobbying strategy. Achievements were adequate, especially in view of the vast geographical area covered by the project and the fact that the budgets devolved to each country were relatively limited. In terms of direct impact the project contributed to making attitudes within civil society organizations evolve towards a greater understanding of WASH access as a human right.
Evaluation Date
April 2016
Country
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Strengthening Democratic Processes for Bangsamoro Government in Lanao Lake Watershed Reservation in the Philippines

While the project recognized the rich cultural traditions of the people of the Lake, the grantee underestimated the time and resources needed to overcome the challenges and divisions, which characterize the political and societal context. This is why in some areas the project fell short of its objectives.
Project Partner
Tanggol Kalikasan
Project Description
The goal of the project was the objective was to build a strong coalition to ensure the efficient management, conservation and protection of the Lake Lanao Watershed Reservation – through democratic processes involving community integration and the introduction of partnerships, pre-consultation, capacity building, the promotion of micro-projects, and monitoring of policy implementation. The design of the project’s training methodology was appropriate to introduce the basic concept of ecology, best management practices, and to raise awareness of applicable environmental laws, rules and regulations. The project contributed to the joint elaboration and adoption of environmental action plans, as well as supporting policies and ordinances on watershed, fisheries and solid waste management. Print and radio media outputs also facilitated the wider public’s key role in the protection of the environment and to empower individual citizens to participate in the enforcement of environmental laws. The grantee managed to work with the full range of different political, religious and social leaders in the Lanao Lake Watershed Reservation. This was reported by the beneficiaries as an unparalleled achievement.
Evaluation Date
March 2016
Country
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Strengthening Democratic Processes for Bangsamoro Government in Lanao Lake Watershed Reservation in the Philippines

According to implementing partners and beneficiaries, one of the main reasons for the project’s limited effectiveness was that the project missed a fully empowered local manager and/or coordinator, in order to allow for swift integration with the local population, adjustment with local customs, and acknowledgment of highly sensitive social and political-religious sensibilities in the target area.
Project Partner
Tanggol Kalikasan
Project Description
The goal of the project was the objective was to build a strong coalition to ensure the efficient management, conservation and protection of the Lake Lanao Watershed Reservation – through democratic processes involving community integration and the introduction of partnerships, pre-consultation, capacity building, the promotion of micro-projects, and monitoring of policy implementation. The design of the project’s training methodology was appropriate to introduce the basic concept of ecology, best management practices, and to raise awareness of applicable environmental laws, rules and regulations. The project contributed to the joint elaboration and adoption of environmental action plans, as well as supporting policies and ordinances on watershed, fisheries and solid waste management. Print and radio media outputs also facilitated the wider public’s key role in the protection of the environment and to empower individual citizens to participate in the enforcement of environmental laws. The grantee managed to work with the full range of different political, religious and social leaders in the Lanao Lake Watershed Reservation. This was reported by the beneficiaries as an unparalleled achievement.
Evaluation Date
March 2016
Country
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Strengthening Democratic Processes for Bangsamoro Government in Lanao Lake Watershed Reservation in the Philippines

The capacity building programme successfully increased the’ levels of environmental awareness and stewardship, as evidenced by a municipality being awarded as the cleanest in Lanao del Sur, and the creation of a dynamic and vibrant environmental youth organization.
Project Partner
Tanggol Kalikasan
Project Description
The goal of the project was the objective was to build a strong coalition to ensure the efficient management, conservation and protection of the Lake Lanao Watershed Reservation – through democratic processes involving community integration and the introduction of partnerships, pre-consultation, capacity building, the promotion of micro-projects, and monitoring of policy implementation. The design of the project’s training methodology was appropriate to introduce the basic concept of ecology, best management practices, and to raise awareness of applicable environmental laws, rules and regulations. The project contributed to the joint elaboration and adoption of environmental action plans, as well as supporting policies and ordinances on watershed, fisheries and solid waste management. Print and radio media outputs also facilitated the wider public’s key role in the protection of the environment and to empower individual citizens to participate in the enforcement of environmental laws. The grantee managed to work with the full range of different political, religious and social leaders in the Lanao Lake Watershed Reservation. This was reported by the beneficiaries as an unparalleled achievement.
Evaluation Date
March 2016
Country
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Strengthening Democratic Processes for Bangsamoro Government in Lanao Lake Watershed Reservation in the Philippines

Although the youth responded strongly to the project’s capacity building offer, acceptance was less pronounced among local government officials at the barangay level, as well as among traditional/religious leaders. Only 58% of the targeted barangay officials and 71% of the targeted religious/traditional leaders attended the grantee’s training. Leaders expressed to evaluators their frustration about the spill-over effects of environmental degradation originating from neighbouring barangays that were remiss on environmental protection.
Project Partner
Tanggol Kalikasan
Project Description
The goal of the project was the objective was to build a strong coalition to ensure the efficient management, conservation and protection of the Lake Lanao Watershed Reservation – through democratic processes involving community integration and the introduction of partnerships, pre-consultation, capacity building, the promotion of micro-projects, and monitoring of policy implementation. The design of the project’s training methodology was appropriate to introduce the basic concept of ecology, best management practices, and to raise awareness of applicable environmental laws, rules and regulations. The project contributed to the joint elaboration and adoption of environmental action plans, as well as supporting policies and ordinances on watershed, fisheries and solid waste management. Print and radio media outputs also facilitated the wider public’s key role in the protection of the environment and to empower individual citizens to participate in the enforcement of environmental laws. The grantee managed to work with the full range of different political, religious and social leaders in the Lanao Lake Watershed Reservation. This was reported by the beneficiaries as an unparalleled achievement.
Evaluation Date
March 2016
Country
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Strengthening Democratic Processes for Bangsamoro Government in Lanao Lake Watershed Reservation in the Philippines

The youngest beneficiaries trained by the project have shown their ability to organize themselves as an environmental youth organization (RYTK), in order to network with other partners, and to increase membership to support their activities (such as clean up drives, environmental leadership seminars, and environmental youth summits). While this is a promising starting the leaders and members of RYTK are too young and too inexperienced to be the sole carriers of such a responsibility.
Project Partner
Tanggol Kalikasan
Project Description
The goal of the project was the objective was to build a strong coalition to ensure the efficient management, conservation and protection of the Lake Lanao Watershed Reservation – through democratic processes involving community integration and the introduction of partnerships, pre-consultation, capacity building, the promotion of micro-projects, and monitoring of policy implementation. The design of the project’s training methodology was appropriate to introduce the basic concept of ecology, best management practices, and to raise awareness of applicable environmental laws, rules and regulations. The project contributed to the joint elaboration and adoption of environmental action plans, as well as supporting policies and ordinances on watershed, fisheries and solid waste management. Print and radio media outputs also facilitated the wider public’s key role in the protection of the environment and to empower individual citizens to participate in the enforcement of environmental laws. The grantee managed to work with the full range of different political, religious and social leaders in the Lanao Lake Watershed Reservation. This was reported by the beneficiaries as an unparalleled achievement.
Evaluation Date
March 2016
Country
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Strengthening Democratic Processes for Bangsamoro Government in Lanao Lake Watershed Reservation in the Philippines

The fact that the grantee and its implementing partner failed to devise a strategy to secure additional resources for the capacity building of those barangay officials not covered by the project, has left the Institute for Environmental Governance (IEG) without a clear work plan and direction. Mindanao State University has yet to fully integrate IEG in its strategic planning; and to raise IEG’s planning capacity to enable it to elaborate annual work plans, which are backed by a permanent donor screening activity that identifies potential sources of funding to support its training programme for those barangays not yet covered by the project. It is necessary to integrate previous and future trainees, to ensure the continued participatory development, implementation, and actual monitoring of the region’s local and area-wide environmental action plans.
Project Partner
Tanggol Kalikasan
Project Description
The goal of the project was the objective was to build a strong coalition to ensure the efficient management, conservation and protection of the Lake Lanao Watershed Reservation – through democratic processes involving community integration and the introduction of partnerships, pre-consultation, capacity building, the promotion of micro-projects, and monitoring of policy implementation. The design of the project’s training methodology was appropriate to introduce the basic concept of ecology, best management practices, and to raise awareness of applicable environmental laws, rules and regulations. The project contributed to the joint elaboration and adoption of environmental action plans, as well as supporting policies and ordinances on watershed, fisheries and solid waste management. Print and radio media outputs also facilitated the wider public’s key role in the protection of the environment and to empower individual citizens to participate in the enforcement of environmental laws. The grantee managed to work with the full range of different political, religious and social leaders in the Lanao Lake Watershed Reservation. This was reported by the beneficiaries as an unparalleled achievement.
Evaluation Date
March 2016
Country
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Judicial Reform: empowering magistrate-civil society collaboration for Guinea’s new democratic future

Reform of the judiciary was one of the key priorities announced by the President of the Republic of Guinea in 2010. Following the legislative elections of September 2013, which marked a turning point in the process of transitioning the country from the earlier dictatorship, the focus on judicial reform became more relevant. The project’s complex but well-articulated process used to identify the specific scope of action ensured that the project was aligned with government objectives regarding reform.
Project Partner
The BEFORE Project in Guinea
Project Description
The project aimed to contribute to the judiciary reform process in Guinea through establishing a new social contract on justice linking CSOs, magistrates and auxiliaries of justice. Strategically, the project was based on two outcome components, to support increased capacity for advocacy, monitoring and judicial oversight, and enhanced capacity for dialogue and collaboration between civil society and the judiciary on ways to improve the judicial system in order for it to become more responsive to the needs of civil society. This strategic approach appropriate for the limited scope of the project; its key points of strength were the acknowledgement that training was a first step before the setting up a platform for dialogue and the inclusion of a mini-grant scheme. The project was ambitious but realistic. However, the methodology did not include a mechanism to replicate project experiences beyond the target areas of Conakry and Kankan - the most important judicial districts in Guinea - once the project ended.
Evaluation Date
August 2014
Country
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Judicial Reform: empowering magistrate-civil society collaboration for Guinea’s new democratic future

The project team were able to adapt to unforeseeable events and to minimize their impact on the project activities. Throughout 2013 Guinea experienced political and social turbulence including mass protests against the elections and ethnic tensions. These events had an impact on the activities planned for the second year of the project with many events needing to be rescheduled. However, this did not impact the overall project efficiency.
Project Partner
The BEFORE Project in Guinea
Project Description
The project aimed to contribute to the judiciary reform process in Guinea through establishing a new social contract on justice linking CSOs, magistrates and auxiliaries of justice. Strategically, the project was based on two outcome components, to support increased capacity for advocacy, monitoring and judicial oversight, and enhanced capacity for dialogue and collaboration between civil society and the judiciary on ways to improve the judicial system in order for it to become more responsive to the needs of civil society. This strategic approach appropriate for the limited scope of the project; its key points of strength were the acknowledgement that training was a first step before the setting up a platform for dialogue and the inclusion of a mini-grant scheme. The project was ambitious but realistic. However, the methodology did not include a mechanism to replicate project experiences beyond the target areas of Conakry and Kankan - the most important judicial districts in Guinea - once the project ended.
Evaluation Date
August 2014
Country
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Civil Society Monitoring of Governorate Councils in Iraq

As civilian oversight was a politically sensitive issue in Iraq, the support from an international third party like UNDEF added explicit value to the project. The legitimacy provided by the UN label alongside the grantee’s credibility and networking skills gave reassurance to both government and civil society partners in undertaking or supporting the initiative.
Project Partner
UM-Alyateem Foundation
Project Description
The project sought to enhance government transparency at provincial level in Iraq by training civil society organizations in monitoring and accountability. This approach was particularly relevant in the Iraqi political context, where provincial legislatures’ (Governorates Councils) capacities are weak. Although impact was difficult to measure for the evaluation team, and much work remains to be done in order to meet overall objectives, the short-term achievements of the project were considerable. The project illustrated how civil society monitoring of provincial authorities in Iraq effectively can enhance government accountability – if both civil society and authorities are willing to make the effort.
Evaluation Date
August 2014
Country