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Project: Engendering democratic governance in South Asia
Evaluation Date: May 2012
Report: [report link]

Lesson Learned:

Review the budget monthly and, when it becomes clear that there will be unspent funds, discuss immediately with the donor how these funds might be reallocated within the project to reinforce other components of the project.

Theme: Women's empowerment

Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan budget, donor, planning

Project: Engendering democratic governance in South Asia
Evaluation Date: May 2012
Report: [report link]

Lesson Learned:

When planning and managing the budget, emphasis quality rather than quantity – for example, fewer meetings but more hands on support to the Watch Groups and journalists.

Theme: Women's empowerment

Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan budget, training

Project: Engendering democratic governance in South Asia
Evaluation Date: May 2012
Report: [report link]

Lesson Learned:

The regional components of the project were limited. There remain untapped regional synergies that would add value to the project’s outcomes. In particular, there is great potential for a regional network to be created bringing together the members of Watch Groups in the three countries. Journalists also indicated an interest in developing a regional network of media professionals interested in women’s issues and participation in government.

Theme: Women's empowerment

Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan networking, online, sustainability

Project: Engendering democratic governance in South Asia
Evaluation Date: May 2012
Report: [report link]

Lesson Learned:

The media training was well received by the participants. Journalists are often limited by the views of their editors, producers and other “gatekeepers”. Bringing together media gatekeepers (editors, sub-editors, executive producers and others in decision-making roles in the media) would further reinforce the mobilization of journalists in the project and increase the likelihood of their developing gender-sensitive coverage and women’s stories. This should not be promoted as training but might perhaps take the form of a modest ”retreat” at which information can be shared and trust built.

Theme: Women's empowerment

Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan decision makers, gender, media

Project: Engendering democratic governance in South Asia
Evaluation Date: May 2012
Report: [report link]

Lesson Learned:

The local level Watch Groups and meetings created evidence and data on the status of women in grassroots democratic institutions which was used by the National Watch Groups built on the local data with analysis of the situation in national politics and democratic institutions. This provided a significant evidence-based advocacy platform, which was then reinforced and supplemented by newspaper features, radio profiles and debates, generated by the media people who had gone through the training.

Theme: Women's empowerment

Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan evidence, grassroots, women

Project: Enhancing Dialogue for Inclusive Constitution
Evaluation Date: February 2012
Report: [report link]

Lesson Learned:

The grantee focused on the empowerment of marginalized groups. The main project output – the alternative constitution – was drafted without including country’s dominant political parties. This weakened the chances of the project to establish a lasting effect on Nepal’s constitutional drafting process.

Theme: Interaction with government

Nepal inclusion, marginal, politics

Project: Enhancing Dialogue for Inclusive Constitution
Evaluation Date: February 2012
Report: [report link]

Lesson Learned:

The grantee seemed to have missed the opportunity to convince the project’s former beneficiaries of the importance of continued dialogue, negotiation and networking to ensure sustainability. Since the Constitutional Assembly in Nepal failed and, taking into account the project’s long-term objective to establish a mutually shared vision of Nepal’s future form of governance, the project’s former beneficiaries could have played a lasting key role in further disseminating relevant knowledge and information, in particular at the grass-roots level.

Theme: Interaction with government

Nepal constitutional reform, dialogue, networks

Project: Enhancing Dialogue for Inclusive Constitution
Evaluation Date: February 2012
Report: [report link]

Lesson Learned:

Report on achievements systematically to improve the quantitative and qualitative assessment of impact and of the needs that remain. This may also help to refine long-term strategy. The grantee did not keep track of results-oriented monitoring documentation relative to the initial baseline contextual analysis.

Theme: Interaction with government

Nepal impact, monitoring

Project: Enhancing Dialogue for Inclusive Constitution
Evaluation Date: February 2012
Report: [report link]

Lesson Learned:

Examples witnessed at grass-roots level demonstrate that beneficiaries used their knowledge, both to build relationships and to deepen interaction with stakeholders. These interactions directly affected the general public and political debate, as well as the constitutional drafting process in the thematic committees of the Constituent Assembly in Nepal.

Theme: Interaction with government

Nepal constitutional reform, Dalit, indigenous

Project: Enhancing Political Participation of Marginalised Women in Nepal
Evaluation Date: September 2010
Report: [report link]

Lesson Learned:

The sustainability of these networks was already jeopardized by the lack of financial and organizational resources locally. The pyramidal organization designed by the project is fragile. However, numerous beneficiaries declared that the project created networks that will enable them to continue to share ideas and undertake initiatives, even if funding does not continue. Thus, the sustainability may be based more on human capital and relationships than on questions of funding.

Theme: Women's empowerment

Nepal impact, relationships, sustainability

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