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Project: Transparency and Public Accountability in Education in Brazil
Evaluation Date: June 2020
Report: [report link]

Lesson Learned:

When the accomplishment of specific outcomes is contingent on the collaboration of an external party, such as the governmental authorities, it is essential to make additional efforts setting up partnerships from the onset of the Project. UNDEF (or United Nations Country Team) may play an important role in meeting directly the country local or Federal authorities at the beginning of the project.

Theme: Interaction with government

Brazil collaborate, Coordinate, government, local, local government, partnership, relationships

Project: Addressing Ghana’s Governance Deficits through Constitutional Reform
Evaluation Date: December 2018
Report: [report link]

Lesson Learned:

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.

Theme: Rule of law

Liberia Accountability, local, local government, transparency

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: Empowering Local CSOs in Yemen through Participation in Local Governance
Evaluation Date: May 2015
Report: [report link]

Lesson Learned:

The project document succinctly set out the key needs addressed by the project: to support the role of NGOs in post-2011 Yemen and to respond to the challenge of widespread poverty. However, the project document did not sufficiently analyze the challenges and opportunities related to local government structures in Yemen – in particular the difference in role between Local Councils (LCs) and Local Executive Offices (LEOs), which together form the Local Government Authorities (LGAs). LEOs are decision-making structures, which may access central government funds. By contrast LCs’ role is merely consultative.

Theme: Community activism

Yemen analysis, conflict, government, local

Project: Strengthening Advocacy Capacity of Civil Society in The Gambia
Evaluation Date: December 2013
Report: [report link]

Lesson Learned:

External factors relating to the implementation by the government of civil society legislation limited the impact of joint dialogue between civil society and government in Gambia. Those local government administrations, which have already responded to advocacy efforts by introducing new services, mostly do so by financing through local tax income. As these resources are scarce, they are usually insufficient to meet the local needs NGOs have identified.

Theme: Community activism

Gambia government, local, policy, risk

Project: Development Pacts: An accountability tool in the hands of local communities in Kyrgyzstan
Evaluation Date: November 2013
Report: [report link]

Lesson Learned:

By being more aware of the responsibilities of local government in Kyrgyzstan individuals involved in the project engage actively to identify the most pressing local service needs. Reducing the gap between demand for and supply of public services has increased the public’s satisfaction with local service delivery

Theme: Community activism

Kyrgyzstan engagement, government, local

Project: Strengthening women’s empowerment in municipal government
Evaluation Date: October 2011
Report: [report link]

Lesson Learned:

The women in the project who worked in local government stated that the training had significant impact on them and that membership of the network helped them integrate what they had learned – and continued to learn – into their daily work.
At an individual level, women across the Pacific provided examples of follow-up training, briefings and actions they are taking regularly to promote understanding of the role of women in local government.

Theme: Women's empowerment

Fiji, Kirbati, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu local government, women

Project: Promoting Women's Participation in Local Budgetary Processes
Evaluation Date: March 2016
Report: [report link]

Lesson Learned:

The project in Niger has changed stakeholders’ perceptions by opening up new opportunities for cooperation between women and local officials and has reinforced social and economic cohesion. After the project, the women of research/action groups were invited by other development partners to share their experience with others municipalities.

Theme: Women's empowerment

Niger cohesion, local government

Project: Empowered Civil Society Addressing the Democratic Needs of Rural Women in Myanmar
Evaluation Date: January 2016
Report: [report link]

Lesson Learned:

A strong focus on the local – village and tract – in Myanmar made the project relatively independent of political developments at the national level, since activities such as capacity building could be carried out in a self-contained manner.

Theme: Community activism

Myanmar government, local, scope

Project: Advancing the rights of women in the West Bank periphery, Palestine
Evaluation Date: February 2015
Report: [report link]

Lesson Learned:

There will need to be more effort to engage men in understanding both the importance of urban planning and the need to involve women in urban planning processes. While some of the women believed that the best way to do this is to offer training to the men too, this would reduce the women’s comparative advantage. A better way to proceed may be to consider a focus on youth in the community who are more open to the concept of gender equity and who will be the local councillors of the future.

Theme: Women's empowerment

Palestine equality, local government, youth

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