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Project: Strengthening Grassroots Women’s Groups to Promote and Protect Civic Space in Uganda
Evaluation Date: July 2023
Report: [report link]

Lesson Learned:

WhatsApp can be a key project management tool that delivers support to both cost-effective monitoring of implementation and the building of networks and structures. But this is most effective when combined with occasional in-person meetings or visits, to ensure personal relationships are built offline, before they are maintained, sustained, and developed online.

Theme: Women's empowerment

Uganda approach, commitment, dialogue, digital, engagement, impact, interaction, logistics, monitoring, online, participants, participation, project management, remote, social media, tools, virtual

Project: Your Local Representative, Strengthening Citizen Participation in Ukraine
Evaluation Date: October 2013
Report: [report link]

Lesson Learned:

Project implementation followed the outputs listed in the project document but the aspects related to citizen participation and the lobbying of parties were missing. These activities had not been included in the request for proposals (RFPs) issued by the grantee. Conceptually, the project seemed to think these elements would emanate from website use but without a critical mass of users, this did not occur.

Theme: Community activism

Ukraine lobbying, online, participation

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: Training of Justice System Professionals to Litigate before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights
Evaluation Date: January 2013
Report: [report link]

Lesson Learned:

The professional competence and the quality of the infrastructure provided by the grantee was excellent The grantee made available a modern E-learning platform for the online phase of the international human rights training courses and personalized assistance to the beneficiaries. This methodological approach yielded excellent academic results, striking a balance between the online and in-person training.

Theme: Rule of law

Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay learning, training

Project: Grassroots Gender Accountability in Uganda
Evaluation Date: April 2014
Report: [report link]

Lesson Learned:

Investigative journalism was intended to critically review shortcomings discovered by VBCs throughout the project’s target districts; TV and radio shows were meant to overcome the lack of interfaces between the local population and duty bearers and to serve as a strategy for increased accountability. Furthermore, NGOs are still inviting the grantee’s Kibaale field officer to radio shows to share the approach and achievements of the monitoring work with a wider audience. One particular radio station has even offered free airtime. There is hence relevant impact towards transparent, gender-responsive local service provision in the form of vivid online readership discussion and comments in relation to the project’s investigative journalism outputs.

Theme: Interaction with government

Uganda journalism, media, radio

Project: The National Campaign towards Muslim Family Law Reform (MFL Campaign) in Malaysia
Evaluation Date: March 2016
Report: [report link]

Lesson Learned:

Grantee has a unique niche but other NGOs working for gender equality and legislative reform can also help deliver the message through their different channels and constituencies. Expand reach by training partner NGOs in every state to deliver project workshops. Harness the power of celebrities for public service announcements. Continue to leverage social media and build an online site for persons to find information on the Muslim Family Law, join the network, register complaints, lobby their policy maker and endorse legal reform.

Theme: Rule of law

Malaysia collaboration, social media

Project: Civil Sector Capacity Building Initiative in Kazakhstan
Evaluation Date: March 2016
Report: [report link]

Lesson Learned:

There was limited interest by the targeted beneficiaries in participating in the project. The grantee therefore had to abandon some of its activities and adapt others. Only five of the NGOs from the initial training for Accountability Coaches continued to participate in the second training on monitoring and evaluation; a third training focused almost exclusively on how to produce better annual reports for the NGOs chosen as subgrantees. Only three out of 75 contacted donors responded to the online survey of donor practices.

Theme: Community activism

Kazakhstan outreach, relevance

Project: Democratic dialogue in Palestine: Acculturation towards tolerance
Evaluation Date: February 2013
Report: [report link]

Lesson Learned:

The grantee had set indicators for sustainability that related to individual follow-up, and these were largely met. There were many examples of participants following up the project with individual initiatives, and additionally the grantee continues to engage with the participants through a monthly discussion group, on-line forum and informal contacts in Palestine.

Theme: Youth engagement

Palestine sustainability

Project: Democratic dialogue in Palestine: Acculturation towards tolerance
Evaluation Date: February 2013
Report: [report link]

Lesson Learned:

The impact of the project was significant at an individual level, with a number of participants putting their training into action within their communities in Palestine – through training, organization of meetings, campaigns and on-line exchange.

Theme: Youth engagement

Palestine activism, impact

Project: Empowering Rural Communities in Bhutan through Mass Media
Evaluation Date: December 2022
Report: [report link]

Lesson Learned:

As digital technologies take hold, two ways media-community audience engagement will only become richer and more complex. New technology can upset the methodology and content of any capacity-building programme approved and designed by the grantee. Therefore, there is a need to remain alert about new technology and devise innovative forms of audience research online and offline.

Theme: Interaction with government, Media

Bhutan adapt, app, application, approach, audience, capacity, community, content, digital, engagement, innovation, journalism, method, project design, social media, training

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