Rule of law

Supplementing training through follow-up coaching and mentoring and by creating platforms for ongoing dialogue and engagement can build and sustain networks that are driven by shared understandings on key human rights and LGBTQI+ issues across the political spectrum.

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.

Engagement with, and mapping of, prospective national institutional stakeholders in advance of a project taking place is critical to ensuring that the activities proposed align with their interests and priorities and are feasible in the timeframes proposed.

Access to online training and engagement activities are limited by financial and logistical obstacles, a challenge sharply accentuated for marginalized groups in rural communities. Such activities should remain in-person where possible, and in scenarios where this is not an option, resources should be set aside to encourage grassroots participation.

Financial obstacles remain a significant barrier to building community networks and grassroots movements on LGBTQI+ rights issues in challenging economic contexts. Support to empower grassroots mobilisation of resources should be part of efforts to mitigate this challenge which risks impacting on an intervention’s sustainability.

Elderly welfare and fulfilment of their rights is a complex matter that require multi-dimensional interventions. Based on the experience of the elderly project implemented by LBH Apik, “soft” entry points like health, social gatherings, and economic opportunities have proven to be much effective as a way to gather and motivate the elderly to learn more about their rights. This can be a model for future interventions.

The grantee organization LBH Apik and its local chapters are well-established grassroots organizations with internal systems and procedures in place. Building good rapport with local stakeholders was one of the key strengths of LBH Apik and a good strategy to secure commitment and can be continued in future programmes.

The elderly project should be a source of learning for both UNDEF and the grantee organization LBH Apik, since both parties have not dealt exclusively with elderly before. In a short project such as this (especially with an unexpected challenge like the pandemic), the Donor and Implementing Agency should conduct more frequently periodical pause and reflection to assess direction, progress, challenges, and lessons learnt in order to be able to manage the project adaptively. Ideally this is done every quarter. Sessions for the purpose of learning need to be intentionally planned from the outset. It is unclear whether programmatic learning is being performed from the bottom to the top, and vice versa. It is useful however to cohesively provide a picture on the differences and similarities, and what worked and what did not work.

There are important elements that influence the effectiveness of the implementation of an advocacy project other than the technical and financial capacity of the funded organisation. They include:
- The clarity of the organisation's internal strategy and the consistency of its positioning regarding the project’s objective.
- The credibility of the organisation and its members among CSOs and drivers of change relevant to the intervention.
- The social capital of the organization, which enables it to mobilize key stakeholders and allies in the field.
- The capacity of the organisation to analyse the political context, manage risks, and adapt activities to the situation.

External coherence and synergy between the organisation’s different projects/interventions require a minimum of formal and systematic coordination such as the collaboration that took place with a feminist platform in the case of this project.