Skip to main content

Interaction with government

LESSON

Lesson Learned: Water and sanitation for all: for a strong and heard civil society in West Africa

Project achievements were positive; especially in view of the vast geographical area covered by the project and the fact that the budgets devolved to each country were relatively limited Some of the implementing partners took innovative approaches as they knew their efforts could not be compensated financially.
Project Partner
Secrétariat Permanent des Organisations Non Gouvernementales
Project Description
The general objective of the project was to reinforce the voice and influence of civil society in West and Central Africa to improve access to water, hygiene and sanitation (WASH). While the project addressed clearly defined needs for reinforcing capacity of WASH platforms and the platforms’ presence in consultation processes, its design did not sufficiently emphasize the needs for organizational capacity building, gender concerns in the consultation processes, and exchanges of information among participating platforms on issues of lobbying strategy. Achievements were adequate, especially in view of the vast geographical area covered by the project and the fact that the budgets devolved to each country were relatively limited. In terms of direct impact the project contributed to making attitudes within civil society organizations evolve towards a greater understanding of WASH access as a human right.
Evaluation Date
April 2016
Country
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Water and sanitation for all: for a strong and heard civil society in West Africa

Several platform representatives noted that the UNDEF project led to enhancing their professional skills across the region. The capacity building also helped enhance platforms’ resilience and technical capacity and also their capacity to attract the attention of other development actors, including future donors. Enhanced technical capabilities generate research and strategy development capacity, which should be directed towards the elaboration of future projects in order to reinforce sustainability and credibility vis-à-vis government authorities and potential donors.
Project Partner
Secrétariat Permanent des Organisations Non Gouvernementales
Project Description
The general objective of the project was to reinforce the voice and influence of civil society in West and Central Africa to improve access to water, hygiene and sanitation (WASH). While the project addressed clearly defined needs for reinforcing capacity of WASH platforms and the platforms’ presence in consultation processes, its design did not sufficiently emphasize the needs for organizational capacity building, gender concerns in the consultation processes, and exchanges of information among participating platforms on issues of lobbying strategy. Achievements were adequate, especially in view of the vast geographical area covered by the project and the fact that the budgets devolved to each country were relatively limited. In terms of direct impact the project contributed to making attitudes within civil society organizations evolve towards a greater understanding of WASH access as a human right.
Evaluation Date
April 2016
Country
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Water and sanitation for all: for a strong and heard civil society in West Africa

Minor adjustments to project design can reinforce effectiveness – including for example the use of social networks to share information, as well as work with community radios. The project’s effectiveness varied notably between countries, as a result of both external and internal factors, such as governments’ degree of openness to dialogue with NGOs on WASH issues and the management skills of platform leaders.
Project Partner
Secrétariat Permanent des Organisations Non Gouvernementales
Project Description
The general objective of the project was to reinforce the voice and influence of civil society in West and Central Africa to improve access to water, hygiene and sanitation (WASH). While the project addressed clearly defined needs for reinforcing capacity of WASH platforms and the platforms’ presence in consultation processes, its design did not sufficiently emphasize the needs for organizational capacity building, gender concerns in the consultation processes, and exchanges of information among participating platforms on issues of lobbying strategy. Achievements were adequate, especially in view of the vast geographical area covered by the project and the fact that the budgets devolved to each country were relatively limited. In terms of direct impact the project contributed to making attitudes within civil society organizations evolve towards a greater understanding of WASH access as a human right.
Evaluation Date
April 2016
Country
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Strengthening Democratic Processes for Bangsamoro Government in Lanao Lake Watershed Reservation in the Philippines

The capacity building programme successfully increased the’ levels of environmental awareness and stewardship, as evidenced by a municipality being awarded as the cleanest in Lanao del Sur, and the creation of a dynamic and vibrant environmental youth organization.
Project Partner
Tanggol Kalikasan
Project Description
The goal of the project was the objective was to build a strong coalition to ensure the efficient management, conservation and protection of the Lake Lanao Watershed Reservation – through democratic processes involving community integration and the introduction of partnerships, pre-consultation, capacity building, the promotion of micro-projects, and monitoring of policy implementation. The design of the project’s training methodology was appropriate to introduce the basic concept of ecology, best management practices, and to raise awareness of applicable environmental laws, rules and regulations. The project contributed to the joint elaboration and adoption of environmental action plans, as well as supporting policies and ordinances on watershed, fisheries and solid waste management. Print and radio media outputs also facilitated the wider public’s key role in the protection of the environment and to empower individual citizens to participate in the enforcement of environmental laws. The grantee managed to work with the full range of different political, religious and social leaders in the Lanao Lake Watershed Reservation. This was reported by the beneficiaries as an unparalleled achievement.
Evaluation Date
March 2016
Country
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Strengthening Democratic Processes for Bangsamoro Government in Lanao Lake Watershed Reservation in the Philippines

The youngest beneficiaries trained by the project have shown their ability to organize themselves as an environmental youth organization (RYTK), in order to network with other partners, and to increase membership to support their activities (such as clean up drives, environmental leadership seminars, and environmental youth summits). While this is a promising starting the leaders and members of RYTK are too young and too inexperienced to be the sole carriers of such a responsibility.
Project Partner
Tanggol Kalikasan
Project Description
The goal of the project was the objective was to build a strong coalition to ensure the efficient management, conservation and protection of the Lake Lanao Watershed Reservation – through democratic processes involving community integration and the introduction of partnerships, pre-consultation, capacity building, the promotion of micro-projects, and monitoring of policy implementation. The design of the project’s training methodology was appropriate to introduce the basic concept of ecology, best management practices, and to raise awareness of applicable environmental laws, rules and regulations. The project contributed to the joint elaboration and adoption of environmental action plans, as well as supporting policies and ordinances on watershed, fisheries and solid waste management. Print and radio media outputs also facilitated the wider public’s key role in the protection of the environment and to empower individual citizens to participate in the enforcement of environmental laws. The grantee managed to work with the full range of different political, religious and social leaders in the Lanao Lake Watershed Reservation. This was reported by the beneficiaries as an unparalleled achievement.
Evaluation Date
March 2016
Country
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Strengthening Democratic Processes for Bangsamoro Government in Lanao Lake Watershed Reservation in the Philippines

While the project recognized the rich cultural traditions of the people of the Lake, the grantee underestimated the time and resources needed to overcome the challenges and divisions, which characterize the political and societal context. This is why in some areas the project fell short of its objectives.
Project Partner
Tanggol Kalikasan
Project Description
The goal of the project was the objective was to build a strong coalition to ensure the efficient management, conservation and protection of the Lake Lanao Watershed Reservation – through democratic processes involving community integration and the introduction of partnerships, pre-consultation, capacity building, the promotion of micro-projects, and monitoring of policy implementation. The design of the project’s training methodology was appropriate to introduce the basic concept of ecology, best management practices, and to raise awareness of applicable environmental laws, rules and regulations. The project contributed to the joint elaboration and adoption of environmental action plans, as well as supporting policies and ordinances on watershed, fisheries and solid waste management. Print and radio media outputs also facilitated the wider public’s key role in the protection of the environment and to empower individual citizens to participate in the enforcement of environmental laws. The grantee managed to work with the full range of different political, religious and social leaders in the Lanao Lake Watershed Reservation. This was reported by the beneficiaries as an unparalleled achievement.
Evaluation Date
March 2016
Country
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Strengthening Democratic Processes for Bangsamoro Government in Lanao Lake Watershed Reservation in the Philippines

Although the youth responded strongly to the project’s capacity building offer, acceptance was less pronounced among local government officials at the barangay level, as well as among traditional/religious leaders. Only 58% of the targeted barangay officials and 71% of the targeted religious/traditional leaders attended the grantee’s training. Leaders expressed to evaluators their frustration about the spill-over effects of environmental degradation originating from neighbouring barangays that were remiss on environmental protection.
Project Partner
Tanggol Kalikasan
Project Description
The goal of the project was the objective was to build a strong coalition to ensure the efficient management, conservation and protection of the Lake Lanao Watershed Reservation – through democratic processes involving community integration and the introduction of partnerships, pre-consultation, capacity building, the promotion of micro-projects, and monitoring of policy implementation. The design of the project’s training methodology was appropriate to introduce the basic concept of ecology, best management practices, and to raise awareness of applicable environmental laws, rules and regulations. The project contributed to the joint elaboration and adoption of environmental action plans, as well as supporting policies and ordinances on watershed, fisheries and solid waste management. Print and radio media outputs also facilitated the wider public’s key role in the protection of the environment and to empower individual citizens to participate in the enforcement of environmental laws. The grantee managed to work with the full range of different political, religious and social leaders in the Lanao Lake Watershed Reservation. This was reported by the beneficiaries as an unparalleled achievement.
Evaluation Date
March 2016
Country
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Strengthening Democratic Processes for Bangsamoro Government in Lanao Lake Watershed Reservation in the Philippines

The fact that the grantee and its implementing partner failed to devise a strategy to secure additional resources for the capacity building of those barangay officials not covered by the project, has left the Institute for Environmental Governance (IEG) without a clear work plan and direction. Mindanao State University has yet to fully integrate IEG in its strategic planning; and to raise IEG’s planning capacity to enable it to elaborate annual work plans, which are backed by a permanent donor screening activity that identifies potential sources of funding to support its training programme for those barangays not yet covered by the project. It is necessary to integrate previous and future trainees, to ensure the continued participatory development, implementation, and actual monitoring of the region’s local and area-wide environmental action plans.
Project Partner
Tanggol Kalikasan
Project Description
The goal of the project was the objective was to build a strong coalition to ensure the efficient management, conservation and protection of the Lake Lanao Watershed Reservation – through democratic processes involving community integration and the introduction of partnerships, pre-consultation, capacity building, the promotion of micro-projects, and monitoring of policy implementation. The design of the project’s training methodology was appropriate to introduce the basic concept of ecology, best management practices, and to raise awareness of applicable environmental laws, rules and regulations. The project contributed to the joint elaboration and adoption of environmental action plans, as well as supporting policies and ordinances on watershed, fisheries and solid waste management. Print and radio media outputs also facilitated the wider public’s key role in the protection of the environment and to empower individual citizens to participate in the enforcement of environmental laws. The grantee managed to work with the full range of different political, religious and social leaders in the Lanao Lake Watershed Reservation. This was reported by the beneficiaries as an unparalleled achievement.
Evaluation Date
March 2016
Country
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Strengthening Democratic Processes for Bangsamoro Government in Lanao Lake Watershed Reservation in the Philippines

According to implementing partners and beneficiaries, one of the main reasons for the project’s limited effectiveness was that the project missed a fully empowered local manager and/or coordinator, in order to allow for swift integration with the local population, adjustment with local customs, and acknowledgment of highly sensitive social and political-religious sensibilities in the target area.
Project Partner
Tanggol Kalikasan
Project Description
The goal of the project was the objective was to build a strong coalition to ensure the efficient management, conservation and protection of the Lake Lanao Watershed Reservation – through democratic processes involving community integration and the introduction of partnerships, pre-consultation, capacity building, the promotion of micro-projects, and monitoring of policy implementation. The design of the project’s training methodology was appropriate to introduce the basic concept of ecology, best management practices, and to raise awareness of applicable environmental laws, rules and regulations. The project contributed to the joint elaboration and adoption of environmental action plans, as well as supporting policies and ordinances on watershed, fisheries and solid waste management. Print and radio media outputs also facilitated the wider public’s key role in the protection of the environment and to empower individual citizens to participate in the enforcement of environmental laws. The grantee managed to work with the full range of different political, religious and social leaders in the Lanao Lake Watershed Reservation. This was reported by the beneficiaries as an unparalleled achievement.
Evaluation Date
March 2016
Country
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Civil Society Monitoring of Governorate Councils in Iraq

The grantee faced some challenges during project implementation in Iraq, but due to a well-developed risk mitigation plan, the grantee was able to manage. For instance, the grantee had anticipated the risk of the non-cooperation of some Governorate Councils, so when two of six identified Councils withdrew from the initiative, the grantee took rapid action to replace them. The Councils were absorbed into project activities without much loss of time, and the grantee and its partner organizations managed to build trust and understanding with the two added Councils rather quickly.
Project Partner
UM-Alyateem Foundation
Project Description
The project sought to enhance government transparency at provincial level in Iraq by training civil society organizations in monitoring and accountability. This approach was particularly relevant in the Iraqi political context, where provincial legislatures’ (Governorates Councils) capacities are weak. Although impact was difficult to measure for the evaluation team, and much work remains to be done in order to meet overall objectives, the short-term achievements of the project were considerable. The project illustrated how civil society monitoring of provincial authorities in Iraq effectively can enhance government accountability – if both civil society and authorities are willing to make the effort.
Evaluation Date
August 2014
Country