Community activism

The project had the overall development goal of facilitating the recognition and replication of the Peoples Council in the country as a democratization mechanism in local governance. The immediate project objective was to establish, expand and institutionalize the Peoples Council in 21 barangays in the city and six municipalities in the Metro Naga area. In Naga City, the People’s Council proved itself as an effective mechanism for public participation, particularly for representatives of poor and other vulnerable groups. The project’s initiative to replicate the success of the Naga City People’s council was a relevant contribution to the broader aim of enhancing local democracy in the Philippines. The project had mixed success in achieving its targets and encountered some major disappointments in reaching the goal of institutionalizing the People’s Council in the 27 target local government areas. However, the People’s Councils were officially recognized in the case of four of the six municipal people’s councils, but only in five of the 21 barangay people’s councils. Despite this, grantee cannot be faulted on its effort to achieve the project goals, and, given the scope of what the project sought to achieve, a great deal was accomplished.

The project's objective was to strengthen institutional capacity of three independent CSOs working with rural women’s groups so that they could establish associations of self-help groups and promote inclusive participatory dialogue with authorities. Working from a UNDP model, the project focused on three aspects: transparency and accountability; rights awareness and advocacy; and linkages with other community-level groups. The project was exemplary in its effectiveness, both in terms of the clarity of outcomes to be achieved (and activities to achieve them) and of quantitative and qualitative standards of achievement. It raised awareness of voters’ and women’s rights, and initiated engagement between local officials and rural communities. This is also an example of a project where sustainability was included in the design. The capacity building activities included supporting partner organizations achieve a degree of financial independence, by providing technical advice on project design and management, and by helping them develop internal governance and accountability systems.

The project aimed to strengthen the ongoing decentralization process by involving the local population in local development planning. Activities included setting up and training members of cantonal / communal development committees and prefectural development committees in charge of identifying and prioritizing local development needs in order to enhance democratic governance. Support to the annual local development planning process included the implementation of 15 micro-projects which were part of the agreed local development plans, as well as awareness-raising campaigns on decentralization, local development and the roles of local civil servants and citizens. The project strategy was coherent and designed to complement the grantee’s ongoing local governance support programme. The project was implemented by an international and a local partner NGO. The lack of a specific agreement between the grantee and its local partne, however, contributed to a lack of attention to the project specific elements within the wider development programme.

The project aimed to strengthen the ongoing decentralization process by involving the local population in local development planning. Activities included setting up and training members of cantonal / communal development committees and prefectural development committees in charge of identifying and prioritizing local development needs in order to enhance democratic governance. Support to the annual local development planning process included the implementation of 15 micro-projects which were part of the agreed local development plans, as well as awareness-raising campaigns on decentralization, local development and the roles of local civil servants and citizens. The project strategy was coherent and designed to complement the grantee’s ongoing local governance support programme. The project was implemented by an international and a local partner NGO. The lack of a specific agreement between the grantee and its local partne, however, contributed to a lack of attention to the project specific elements within the wider development programme.

The project aimed to strengthen the ongoing decentralization process by involving the local population in local development planning. Activities included setting up and training members of cantonal / communal development committees and prefectural development committees in charge of identifying and prioritizing local development needs in order to enhance democratic governance. Support to the annual local development planning process included the implementation of 15 micro-projects which were part of the agreed local development plans, as well as awareness-raising campaigns on decentralization, local development and the roles of local civil servants and citizens. The project strategy was coherent and designed to complement the grantee’s ongoing local governance support programme. The project was implemented by an international and a local partner NGO. The lack of a specific agreement between the grantee and its local partne, however, contributed to a lack of attention to the project specific elements within the wider development programme.

The project aimed to strengthen the ongoing decentralization process by involving the local population in local development planning. Activities included setting up and training members of cantonal / communal development committees and prefectural development committees in charge of identifying and prioritizing local development needs in order to enhance democratic governance. Support to the annual local development planning process included the implementation of 15 micro-projects which were part of the agreed local development plans, as well as awareness-raising campaigns on decentralization, local development and the roles of local civil servants and citizens. The project strategy was coherent and designed to complement the grantee’s ongoing local governance support programme. The project was implemented by an international and a local partner NGO. The lack of a specific agreement between the grantee and its local partne, however, contributed to a lack of attention to the project specific elements within the wider development programme.

The project aimed to strengthen the ongoing decentralization process by involving the local population in local development planning. Activities included setting up and training members of cantonal / communal development committees and prefectural development committees in charge of identifying and prioritizing local development needs in order to enhance democratic governance. Support to the annual local development planning process included the implementation of 15 micro-projects which were part of the agreed local development plans, as well as awareness-raising campaigns on decentralization, local development and the roles of local civil servants and citizens. The project strategy was coherent and designed to complement the grantee’s ongoing local governance support programme. The project was implemented by an international and a local partner NGO. The lack of a specific agreement between the grantee and its local partne, however, contributed to a lack of attention to the project specific elements within the wider development programme.

The project aimed to strengthen the ongoing decentralization process by involving the local population in local development planning. Activities included setting up and training members of cantonal / communal development committees and prefectural development committees in charge of identifying and prioritizing local development needs in order to enhance democratic governance. Support to the annual local development planning process included the implementation of 15 micro-projects which were part of the agreed local development plans, as well as awareness-raising campaigns on decentralization, local development and the roles of local civil servants and citizens. The project strategy was coherent and designed to complement the grantee’s ongoing local governance support programme. The project was implemented by an international and a local partner NGO. The lack of a specific agreement between the grantee and its local partne, however, contributed to a lack of attention to the project specific elements within the wider development programme.

The project aimed to strengthen the ongoing decentralization process by involving the local population in local development planning. Activities included setting up and training members of cantonal / communal development committees and prefectural development committees in charge of identifying and prioritizing local development needs in order to enhance democratic governance. Support to the annual local development planning process included the implementation of 15 micro-projects which were part of the agreed local development plans, as well as awareness-raising campaigns on decentralization, local development and the roles of local civil servants and citizens. The project strategy was coherent and designed to complement the grantee’s ongoing local governance support programme. The project was implemented by an international and a local partner NGO. The lack of a specific agreement between the grantee and its local partne, however, contributed to a lack of attention to the project specific elements within the wider development programme.

The project’s goal was to increase the recognition of traditional authorities and women of the Indigenous Communities of northern Alta Verapaz and their participation in decision-making processes and administration of justice. The grantee targeted groups who have historically lacked opportunity to participate in the decision-making at the local and national level, including leaders from the 33 indigenous communities officially recognized by the municipalities of Chisec and Raxruhá in northern Alta Verapaz, and the Maya women´s groups belonging to the Association of Organized Q´eqchi’ (AQT) in Chisec. The overall objective of the project was to promote the recognition of indigenous groups. In practice, the project established conditions for inclusive urban and rural development council systems, encouraging indigenous peoples and women in particular, to voice their concerns and get involved in decision making processes. This approach filled a gap in the existing consultation mechanisms and conveyed the needs of communities to the authorities in charge of the design of local development projects.