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Project: Creative Communication of the Nigerian Budget
Evaluation Date: July 2018
Report: [report link]

Lesson Learned:

Grantees should assess financial risks to the project well in advance of implementation, especially the inflation rate. In financially volatile situations, be cautious about setting very ambitious targets and instead seek to deepen rather than broaden project engagements. This is especially important for activities that involve a high level of travel and administration at field level as these costs tend to inflate the budget, lending it inadequate for the entire funding period.

Theme: Media

Nigeria budgeting, Inflation, Risks

Project: Learning Democracy DemoLab in Hungary
Evaluation Date: September 2020
Report: [report link]

Lesson Learned:

Experimentation is an important element of innovative projects that necessarily brings risks. Both the project promoters (grantees) and the donor organisations should take these

into account. It is crucial to allow sufficient time for the preparation of certain experimental education activities, especially as capacity-building is often needed also for the ‘facilitators’ (e.g. teachers, artists), i.e. ‘train-the-trainers’ activities should be considered.

Theme: Youth engagement

Hungary artist, capacity, donor, education, experiment, Risks, teacher, training

Project: Strengthening Democracy Through LGBT Political Participation in South Africa
Evaluation Date: August 2023
Report: [report link]

Lesson Learned:

Efficient communication between project and finance management staff, and between grantees and implementing partners, is key to ensuring the delivery of projects in challenging conditions, such as during a global pandemic or when significant staff changes take place, especially when adaptive programming is required.

Theme: Rule of law

South Africa budget, collaborate, communicate, complex, Coordinate, decision making, funding, monitoring, outputs, partnership, planning, project management, resources, results, Risks, transparency

Project: Improving Maya Women's Access to Justice in Rural Guatemala
Evaluation Date: March 2022
Report: [report link]

Lesson Learned:

Risk assessments can include a do no harm analysis: The implementing agency had a risk assessment which identified potential risks to not achieving project targets. A risk assessment could also be expanded to identify potential risks to participants for their participation in the project. These risks can be identified initially and then continuously monitored throughout project implementation through feedback mechanisms and special studies.

Theme: Women's empowerment, Rule of law

Guatemala awareness, beneficiaries, challenge, controlling, detect, failure, goals, issues, measures, mitigation, monitoring, prevention

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

Lesson Learned:

Consultation among implementing partners at project design stage and application of a less theoretical approach to project design might have mitigated the external risks threatening the delivery of the project.
It is vital to assess external risks and develop risk management plans for all projects at design stage. Depending on location, consider: the potential for natural disaster; political change, instability or hurdles; the capacity of partner organizations; and possible access restrictions on intended participants.

Theme: Women's empowerment

Fiji, Kirbati, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu design, risk

Project: Strengthening Democracy through Freedom of Expression and Peace Agenda for Journalists in Colombia (Colombia)
Evaluation Date: August 2017
Report: [report link]

Lesson Learned:

Projects related to a peace process, or other sensitive volatile context-related projects, may require “thinking the unthinkable”. Be innovative but include relevant mitigation measures in planning from the earliest stage. To ensure innovative and creative thinking processes to identify risks, to challenge received wisdom, and apply flexibility to problem-solving.

Theme: Media

Colombia conflict, innovation, risk

Project: Strengthening Young Women’s Civic Participation and Leadership in Uganda
Evaluation Date: May 2017
Report: [report link]

Lesson Learned:

Male perceptions regarding the risks encountered by politically empowered women within their communities need to change. Active involvement of men and boys in the needs assessment would have helped in identifying from the very beginning, specific risks related to sexual and gender based violence that challenged the project, and would have helped gain active support of young men in preventing SGBV and discrimination against young female leaders in Uganda.

Theme: Women's empowerment

Uganda design, SGBV

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

Lesson Learned:

Grantees should conduct a pre-project assessment that establishes what the project activities’ inherent risks are (e.g: non-participation, disinterest, feasibility issues) as well as the underlying reasons for said issues in order to mitigate project risks.

Theme: Media

Kosovo local knowledge, objectives, planning, risk

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

Lesson Learned:

A project where approximately 90% of human resources are volunteers, entails risks of lack of motivation and commitment. This should be included in the project risk assessment and it must be defined as measures to mitigate these risks.

Theme: Interaction with government

Brazil commitment, measure, motivation, project design, resources, risk, staff, volunteers

Project: Water and sanitation for all: for a strong and heard civil society in West Africa
Evaluation Date: April 2016
Report: [report link]

Lesson Learned:

The project achieved genuine added value, despite the risks inherent to activities thinly spread across eight countries. Project management was good, the grantee’s management team was committed and effective, as demonstrated by the level of satisfaction with management expressed by participating platforms’ representatives.

Theme: Interaction with government

Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal, Togo commitment, management

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