advocacy

Project: Addressing Ghana’s Governance Deficits through Constitutional Reform
Evaluation Date: July 2013
Report: [report link]
Lesson Learned:

The grantee’s influence was partly because of the high quality of the research undertaken as a basis for the proposals it put forward to the Constitutional Review Commission. The range and number of civil society partners in the Coalition also added to the credibility of the project. This project was a thoroughly professional and unique initiative. Its findings were of crucial importance in demonstrating to the Constitutional Review Commission the weight of public support for some of what became the key issues addressed in its recommendations.

Theme: Interaction with government
Ghana   , ,
Project: Addressing Ghana’s Governance Deficits through Constitutional Reform
Evaluation Date: July 2013
Report: [report link]
Lesson Learned:

The unexpected announcement by the government that there would be a Constitutional Review led to the grantee to refocusing its project design since the initial project document was developed before the government had made a firm commitment to a constitutional review process. The project was initially designed to make the case for the urgency of governance reform and to identify the most critical issues. With the surprise announcement of the Constitutional Review, the grantee had to engage in in a process of identifying priorities for constitutional development and undertake advocacy in their support.

Theme: Interaction with government
Ghana   , ,
Project: Citizen Journalists for Free and Fair Elections in Georgia
Evaluation Date: April 2014
Report: [report link]
Lesson Learned:

It is important to conduct systematic analysis and to synthesize information that can be used by advocacy and electoral observation groups to improve the electoral process. In this project no links were made with advocacy or other groups in Georgia who could use the project’s information to promote electoral reform. Some of its efforts also worked in parallel to other efforts done in the sector.

Theme: Media
Georgia   ,
Project: Strengthening Somali Media Capacity for Democracy and Human Rights
Evaluation Date: October 2011
Report: [report link]
Lesson Learned:

The promotion of the role of the media and freedom of expression should have been the object of advocacy activities beyond the workshops. The grantee did conduct some advocacy activities, but these were not part of the UNDEF-funded project and addressed mainly the international community. Any follow-up project should include an advocacy dimension directed at government and local authorities, and should consider ways in which training sessions can be followed-up to further support participating journalists, for example through the use of social networks.

Theme: Media
Somalia   , , ,
Project: Civic Involvement for Transparency and Accountability in Kosovo
Evaluation Date: August 2015
Report: [report link]
Lesson Learned:

The emphasis on advocacy built on the experience participants had gained in monitoring, reporting and community engagement. It focused on enabling the CSOs to identify the most pressing issues, to conduct further research, and to identify practical options through which the problem might be addressed. Policy briefs were produced to a set format, and these formed the basis for an advocacy process, during which the CSOs were often accompanied by the grantee in key meetings.

Theme: Rule of law
Kosovo   , ,
Project: Promotion of Women’s Empowerment and Rights in Somalia
Evaluation Date: June 2016
Report: [report link]
Lesson Learned:

Training materials focused only on upgrading the CSOs’ skills in governance, leadership and gender mainstreaming within their organizations. Advocacy was the only element of the project that looked beyond the organizations to wider political frameworks such as to national and local authorities. This seems to have been something of a missed opportunity; some specific training on, for example, media relations and campaigning might also have been useful.

Theme: Women's empowerment
Somalia   ,
Project: Towards Collaborative and Transparent Local Development Planning
Evaluation Date: December 2015
Report: [report link]
Lesson Learned:

The project avoided the political dimension of decentralization, although its consideration would have been important to ensure relevance over time. While the project helped local areas to move towards a decentralized governance system, steps remain to be taken to institute genuine decentralization – particularly the election of local officials and adequate transfer of resources. Therefore the inclusion of an advocacy component would have greatly strengthened the programme.

Theme: Community activism
Togo   , ,