Strengthening Participation of Women in Geographically Deprived Communities in Local Governance in Ghana

Initially, transport allowances for participants were useful to motivate beneficiaries, but in the long-term individual contributions should be requested to build a spirit of self-sufficiency and self-reliance.

A lack of qualitative monitoring tools and practices prevented a deeper assessment of the impact of the project. Project indicators should have been designed that were appropriately matched to the available tools for data collection and analysis, such as perception surveys, media monitoring and regular field inspections. These tools should have been budgeted for in the project and rigorously implemented.

In future similar projects in Ghana there should be more focus and resources given to capacity building, to support training on CSO management, the development of board charters for CSOs, training on proposal writing training and basic financial management for CSOs.

The challenge of how to sustain the Women’s Group Advocacy Platforms was not well addressed in the project design and implementation. The grantee’s project document anticipated that the operational cost of sustaining a women’s advocacy group would reach $10,000 US per year; however no activities were conducted to raise these funds nor were any staff members given responsibility for the development and implementation of the sustainability activities.

It is recommended that women participants who were elected into public office in Ghana are invited by the grantee and other women’s NGOs to serve Women Group Advocacy Platforms as ambassadors, mentors, and role models, also in order to mobilise resources and support for these groups.

Some Women’s Group Advocacy Platforms have registered as Community Based Organizations with the District Assembly. Official registration enhances the stability, legitimacy and credibility of these women groups, and makes them an attractive partner to other development actors looking to support women in Ghana.

Women’s Group Advocacy Platforms’ public service monitoring led to concrete actions by the local authorities. This has served as a disincentive for corruption and misappropriation of public goods in the districts. By tackling corruption and misuse of public goods there was better access to and quality of services.

The Women’s Group Advocacy Platforms opened channels of communication with local authorities in Ghana and their activities led to changes in public service delivery in areas of child care, education, health and domestic concerns, but also other issues were discussed such as duties on farms and in trading, and non-traditional areas such as contesting for and winning political office. In this respect, the platforms achieved creditable results including a reduction of the structural marginalisation of women.