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Lessons

LESSON

Lesson Learned: Raising Awareness about Women's Social, Political and Economic Rights in Afghanistan

The Project Document indicated the intention to conduct activities in 15 of 34 of Afghanistan’s provinces, situated in all four geographic regions of the country. In mounting such an ambitious effort, the grantee reduced the prospects for achieving results through a scattering of activities in locations throughout the country. It is apparent that the grantee failed to appreciate the scale of the risk it was taking on. Beyond this, weak integration of activities by project management, and a failure by the grantee to collaborate closely with its implementing partners, limited both the effectiveness and the impact of the project.
Project Partner
Development and Public Awareness
Project Description
The project Raising Awareness about Women's Social, Political and Economic Rights in Afghanistan’s overall objective and outcomes were relevant to the development problem of women’s empowerment and facilitating a greater presence for women in public life. However, the evaluation concluded that the project was not implemented in full. While it appears to be the case that the radio and television roundtables planned for production and broadcast in the 15 target provinces did take place, other activities have been implemented in no more than six, and as few as three, of the provinces.
Evaluation Date
April 2014
Country
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Citizen Journalists for Free and Fair Elections in Georgia

The project inputs were consistent with the delivery of the activities but not with the intent of developing citizen journalism. Embedding citizen journalism would have required more than a one-time training and payment for verified reports. In this regard, the project in Georgia lacked clarity of purpose and should have conceptualized a fully comprehensive development programme.

Project Partner
Civic Development Institute
Project Description
The project’s objective was to promote free and fair elections in Georgia. The project aimed to reduce electoral fraud and increase trust in the election results by involving citizens in monitoring and reporting on elections in cooperation with professional journalists. The citizen journalists, who included media professionals, NGO members and political party representatives, received training and some technical resources, including a memory stick and the grantee’s contact information. They were then left alone to report to the grantee about problems they have witnessed. The intervention was directly relevant to the need to strengthen the integrity of the electoral process and ensure the dissemination of objective information. Georgia lacked a tradition of citizen engagement or peaceful transfer of power through the ballot box. A financial incentive was used by the grantee, paying USD 40 for each verified report.
Evaluation Date
April 2014
Theme
Country
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Grassroots Gender Accountability in Uganda

Although written in English, Village Budget Club members found the budget monitoring and service tracking manual easy to use, because (i) English-speaking training facilitators were recruited from within the local community to address possible language and literacy issues; and (ii) at trainee stage, monitors teamed up in pairs comprising of one English speaker, thus enabling easy reference to the manual as and when needed
Project Partner
Forum for Women in Democracy
Project Description
The project worked to help women district councillors acquire knowledge and to push the equality agenda with policy makers. The project’s advocacy activities led to improved gender-sensitive service delivery, as the local government budgeted for enhanced services for women and girls. In September 2016, two years after the end of the project, the Government announced that gender sensitive indicators will be used to ensure that all sectors adhere to gender equality in decision making and service delivery in the country.. Visibly empowered district and sub-county councillors expressed with pride their new influence on the gender-sensitive application of laws, policies and local budgets. Former women MP trainees proudly cooperated across party lines on priority issues of the Ugandan women in parliamentary committees. The approach of putting in place a monitoring system that was run by Village Budget Clubs (VBCs) and district councillors alike was appropriate. The project’s training methodology ensured the transfer of necessary skills such as gender-sensitive analysis, budgeting, caucusing, lobbying and advocacy.
Evaluation Date
April 2014
Country
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Grassroots Gender Accountability in Uganda

All Village Budget Clubs and caucuses of women councillors from the districts of Gulu, Kibaale and Kibuku, continue to use the monitoring approach to jointly identify and address gender-specific local service needs. There are individual cases, in which Village Budget Clubs (VBC) have shared their knowledge with neighbouring counties, whose representatives visited to observe VBC members during the conduct of service monitoring assignments.
Project Partner
Forum for Women in Democracy
Project Description
The project worked to help women district councillors acquire knowledge and to push the equality agenda with policy makers. The project’s advocacy activities led to improved gender-sensitive service delivery, as the local government budgeted for enhanced services for women and girls. In September 2016, two years after the end of the project, the Government announced that gender sensitive indicators will be used to ensure that all sectors adhere to gender equality in decision making and service delivery in the country.. Visibly empowered district and sub-county councillors expressed with pride their new influence on the gender-sensitive application of laws, policies and local budgets. Former women MP trainees proudly cooperated across party lines on priority issues of the Ugandan women in parliamentary committees. The approach of putting in place a monitoring system that was run by Village Budget Clubs (VBCs) and district councillors alike was appropriate. The project’s training methodology ensured the transfer of necessary skills such as gender-sensitive analysis, budgeting, caucusing, lobbying and advocacy.
Evaluation Date
April 2014
Country
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Citizen Journalists for Free and Fair Elections in Georgia

The system of using the grantee’s institutional website as a place where concerned persons could have their reports posted was sustainable as long as the grantee in Georgia is in a position to continue to maintain its website. At the time of evaluation, the reports were still posted there and available to read. Having gained the experience of operating this type of a project, the grantee has extended also extended to other projects related to civic education.
Project Partner
Civic Development Institute
Project Description
The project’s objective was to promote free and fair elections in Georgia. The project aimed to reduce electoral fraud and increase trust in the election results by involving citizens in monitoring and reporting on elections in cooperation with professional journalists. The citizen journalists, who included media professionals, NGO members and political party representatives, received training and some technical resources, including a memory stick and the grantee’s contact information. They were then left alone to report to the grantee about problems they have witnessed. The intervention was directly relevant to the need to strengthen the integrity of the electoral process and ensure the dissemination of objective information. Georgia lacked a tradition of citizen engagement or peaceful transfer of power through the ballot box. A financial incentive was used by the grantee, paying USD 40 for each verified report.
Evaluation Date
April 2014
Theme
Country
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Grassroots Gender Accountability in Uganda

The fact that budgeting is usually based on annual cycles always comes to play when new service needs are discovered. Village Budget Clubs in at least 3 of the 4 target districts as a result of their local service monitoring activity had launched initiatives to fund identified service needs privately, should they face limited availability or flexibility of public financing.
Project Partner
Forum for Women in Democracy
Project Description
The project worked to help women district councillors acquire knowledge and to push the equality agenda with policy makers. The project’s advocacy activities led to improved gender-sensitive service delivery, as the local government budgeted for enhanced services for women and girls. In September 2016, two years after the end of the project, the Government announced that gender sensitive indicators will be used to ensure that all sectors adhere to gender equality in decision making and service delivery in the country.. Visibly empowered district and sub-county councillors expressed with pride their new influence on the gender-sensitive application of laws, policies and local budgets. Former women MP trainees proudly cooperated across party lines on priority issues of the Ugandan women in parliamentary committees. The approach of putting in place a monitoring system that was run by Village Budget Clubs (VBCs) and district councillors alike was appropriate. The project’s training methodology ensured the transfer of necessary skills such as gender-sensitive analysis, budgeting, caucusing, lobbying and advocacy.
Evaluation Date
April 2014
Country
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Raising Awareness about Women's Social, Political and Economic Rights in Afghanistan

The focus on “Afghan women” was hardly a focus at all. Findings of a baseline study, which indicated the particular need for learning about their rights on the part of less-educated women, were ignored. In fact, during implementation, project beneficiaries were principally better-educated, younger women.
Project Partner
Development and Public Awareness
Project Description
The project Raising Awareness about Women's Social, Political and Economic Rights in Afghanistan’s overall objective and outcomes were relevant to the development problem of women’s empowerment and facilitating a greater presence for women in public life. However, the evaluation concluded that the project was not implemented in full. While it appears to be the case that the radio and television roundtables planned for production and broadcast in the 15 target provinces did take place, other activities have been implemented in no more than six, and as few as three, of the provinces.
Evaluation Date
April 2014
Country
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Raising Awareness about Women's Social, Political and Economic Rights in Afghanistan

Single television or radio programmes, with no linkage to ongoing campaigns or educational work, are unlikely to make a difference in enhancing the knowledge of viewers or listeners in Afghanistan.
Project Partner
Development and Public Awareness
Project Description
The project Raising Awareness about Women's Social, Political and Economic Rights in Afghanistan’s overall objective and outcomes were relevant to the development problem of women’s empowerment and facilitating a greater presence for women in public life. However, the evaluation concluded that the project was not implemented in full. While it appears to be the case that the radio and television roundtables planned for production and broadcast in the 15 target provinces did take place, other activities have been implemented in no more than six, and as few as three, of the provinces.
Evaluation Date
April 2014
Country
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Raising Awareness about Women's Social, Political and Economic Rights in Afghanistan

The Project Document would suggest that the grantee was to take a strong role in the coordination of the project, as well as in management and monitoring of all activities. In practice, for the most part, the grantee contracted out responsibility for design and implementation of activities to its three partners, and that it played a minimal role in direct engagement with project activities, even where its specific role was explained in the Project Document.
Project Partner
Development and Public Awareness
Project Description
The project Raising Awareness about Women's Social, Political and Economic Rights in Afghanistan’s overall objective and outcomes were relevant to the development problem of women’s empowerment and facilitating a greater presence for women in public life. However, the evaluation concluded that the project was not implemented in full. While it appears to be the case that the radio and television roundtables planned for production and broadcast in the 15 target provinces did take place, other activities have been implemented in no more than six, and as few as three, of the provinces.
Evaluation Date
April 2014
Country
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Grassroots Gender Accountability in Uganda

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.
Project Partner
Forum for Women in Democracy
Project Description
The project worked to help women district councillors acquire knowledge and to push the equality agenda with policy makers. The project’s advocacy activities led to improved gender-sensitive service delivery, as the local government budgeted for enhanced services for women and girls. In September 2016, two years after the end of the project, the Government announced that gender sensitive indicators will be used to ensure that all sectors adhere to gender equality in decision making and service delivery in the country.. Visibly empowered district and sub-county councillors expressed with pride their new influence on the gender-sensitive application of laws, policies and local budgets. Former women MP trainees proudly cooperated across party lines on priority issues of the Ugandan women in parliamentary committees. The approach of putting in place a monitoring system that was run by Village Budget Clubs (VBCs) and district councillors alike was appropriate. The project’s training methodology ensured the transfer of necessary skills such as gender-sensitive analysis, budgeting, caucusing, lobbying and advocacy.
Evaluation Date
April 2014
Country