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Project: Civil society advocating for quality education & healthcare in Mexico
Evaluation Date: February 2012
Report: [report link]

Lesson Learned:

The electoral process is a part of the political process, and should be seen as an opportunity for public debate on agenda issues, obtaining candidate endorsements should be done for agenda items and following up on those commitments once they enter office.

Theme: Tools for knowledge

Mexico debate, elections, leverage

Project: Using Access to Information to Foster Open Expenditure and Budget Transparency in Liberia
Evaluation Date: December 2018
Report: [report link]

Lesson Learned:

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.

Theme: Rule of law

Liberia debate, radio

Project: Using Access to Information to Foster Open Expenditure and Budget Transparency in Liberia
Evaluation Date: December 2018
Report: [report link]

Lesson Learned:

Utilizing local structures can have both positive and negative effects. Although utilizing local structures can ensure that key project messages become ingrained in community debates and discussions, they may also serve to reinforce existing power structures (in this case, male-dominated decision-making spaces).

Theme: Rule of law

Liberia debate, decision making, local government, local knowledge

Project: Strengthening Dialogue for Community Decision-Making
Evaluation Date: June 2013
Report: [report link]

Lesson Learned:

The broadcasts based on the community debates complemented the training sessions on human rights and democracy. Together, they contributed to developing the capacity of the radio listeners’ clubs, so that the members had an improved understanding of democratization.

UNDEF/DRC

Theme: Media

Democratic Republic of the Congo capacity, debate, radio

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

Lesson Learned:

While the network of grassroots organizations was involved in the design of the project, local stakeholders did not participate directly in the process and were not consulted. The different context in each of the five states in which the project was implemented demanded specific competencies that in many cases were not sufficiently developed. The focal points had no political experience. They needed skills to constructively participate in public debate, so that they would not be confined simply to reporting misconduct but could also offer solutions.

Theme: Women's empowerment

Brazil design, participation, stakeholder

Project: Supporting local democratic governance in the mining regions of northern Upper Guinea
Evaluation Date: September 2016
Report: [report link]

Lesson Learned:

The project established Reflection Circles on the topics of civic participation and consultation. These Circles were one of the project’s strong points. The Reflection Circles provided a link between the citizens and the municipal authorities and enhanced public debate on issues of local interest. Each Circle was led by a facilitator and applied a dynamic, participative methodology focused on debate in order to organise an optimal and effective framework for learning, making it possible to identify and analyse situations and problems in the daily life of the communities.

UNDEF/Guinea

Theme: Rule of law

Guinea inclusion, transparency

Project: Am I Equal in Kosovo Society?
Evaluation Date: July 2018
Report: [report link]

Lesson Learned:

When attempting to introduce or change perceptions of previously controversial and/or ‘taboo’ topics, organizations should highly consider the use of radio and TV in order to remove these concepts from social marginalization/isolation and encourage public debate on these topics.

Theme: Media

Kosovo communication, media, radio, TV

Project: Promoting democratic and human rights values among Rwandan youth
Evaluation Date: February 2014
Report: [report link]

Lesson Learned:

The project design did not explicitly outline what it meant by empowering young people to engage in “democratic processes”. In practice, the project encouraged its beneficiaries to raise concerns and consult with the authorities at local level and to debate issues of concern but there was little emphasis on citizens’ right to demand accountability from government.

Theme: Youth engagement

Rwanda Accountability, design, youth

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 authority, budget, institutions

Project: Civil Society Engagement for Democracy and Good Governance
Evaluation Date: January 2013
Report: [report link]

Lesson Learned:

The project successfully engaged with local state authorities in Côte d’Ivoire, notably the Ministry of the Interior, the Union of Cities and Communes, and members of the national monitoring Committee. These groups provided support to the trainings for elected representatives and civil society actors. This paved the way for establishing the monitoring Committees which allowed for practical dialogue and debate on local issues.

Theme: Community activism

Côte d'Ivoire dialogue, government

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