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Project: Strengthening Local NGOs in Areas Where Extractive Industries Operate
Evaluation Date: June 2013
Report: [report link]

Lesson Learned:

The project travel budget was high because of the widely dispersed geographic areas that were selected. The high travel budget took away resources from the NGO microprojects and concrete corporate social responsibility field activities and therefore reduced the project’s impact.

Theme: Community activism

Indonesia budget, travel

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

Lesson Learned:

Travel restrictions were imposed on the majority of participants and in particular on travel into Jerusalem. Because of these difficulties, the project’s activities were decentralized as far as possible, although security disruptions during the project meant that some training had to be relocated to Ramallah. The grantee therefore opened a project office in Ramallah.

Theme: Women's empowerment

Palestine decentralize, travel

Project: Promoting the African Charter on Democracy, Elections, and Governance
Evaluation Date: June 2012
Report: [report link]

Lesson Learned:

Too much money was spent on travel and meetings so the amount available for in-country for advocacy activities was reduced. This might have accounted for the high number of planned in-country activities that were not implemented. Additional funds spent in-country would have leveraged what the project achieved and, by increasing impact, would have increased efficiency as well.

Theme: Community activism

Burundi, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Namibia, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa budget, impact, travel

Project: Promoting the African Charter on Democracy, Elections, and Governance
Evaluation Date: June 2012
Report: [report link]

Lesson Learned:

The project empowered individuals more than institutions. Much of this empowerment occurred in the context of international travel and meetings financed by the project (including CIDA funding). It is likely that impacts would have been greater had there been more funds available to finance in-country activities.

Theme: Community activism

Burundi, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Namibia, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa institutions, sustainability, travel

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

Lesson Learned:

The restrictions on travel imposed on participants required the grantee to spend more on transport and accommodation than originally budgeted for. This put the project seriously at risk. While the grantee was able to cover some of this shortfall through its own funds this was not without consequences for the financial well-being of the organization. While including logistics expenditure from the outset in the budget projections may have helped, in situations where movement is restricted, transport and accommodation costs are unavoidable.

Theme: Women's empowerment

Palestine travel

Project: Empowering Civil Society Groups to Promote Social Accountability
Evaluation Date: June 2014
Report: [report link]

Lesson Learned:

A small number of activities, including a national seminar in Jakarta, a study-tour to Australia, added little to project results and diverted resources which might have been better used elsewhere.

Theme: Community activism

Indonesia budget, travel

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

Lesson Learned:

Restrictions on movement in Palestine were taken into account in project implementation as far as possible, however they are a significant hurdle to full implementation and effectiveness as well as to impact.

Theme: Youth engagement

Palestine design, rights, travel

Project: Developing alternative models of natural resource governance based on indigenous community participation in Aceh
Evaluation Date: July 2016
Report: [report link]

Lesson Learned:

The reasons for selecting the five Mukims from among the 755 that exist in Banda Aceh, were not clear. The locations of the five chosen led to high expenditure on travel with little left for actual on site activities and microprojects. Given the grantee had longstanding working experience with Mukims, it was surprising that the grantee did not select those Mukims with which it had already collaborated in the past.

Theme: Community activism

Indonesia budget

Project: Women in Democratic Transition in Egypt
Evaluation Date: July 2015
Report: [report link]

Lesson Learned:

Thanks to the grantee’s dense network and strong capacity of local NGOs this project was able to effectively implement activities in rural areas, even in traditional and remote regions. By reducing travel costs and enhancing the participation of women at grass-roots level, this contributed to positive findings related to effectiveness, efficiency, and ultimately impact and sustainability.

Theme: Women's empowerment

Egypt capacity, decentralize, participation

Project: Enhancing the Capacity for Inclusive Local Governance through Synergies and Sustainable Linkages between Communities and Government in North Afghanistan
Evaluation Date: April 2013
Report: [report link]

Lesson Learned:

A minority of as many as 25-30 per cent of the beneficiaries in the project in Afghanistan, were thought by project managers to be friends or relatives of those who nominated them, and had little interest in proceedings, being motivated by the travel expenses and food provided.

Theme: Community activism

Afghanistan staff

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