participation

Project: Citizen Participation to Improve Local Governance
Evaluation Date: January 2014
Report: [report link]
Lesson Learned:

There was a risk that the newly introduced Citizen Participation Cells (CPC) would be manipulated by local authorities in Benin. They were often called on by municipal governments to assess the compliance of municipal investments or to raise awareness among citizens. In order to be seen as an independent mechanism, the CPCs should be more proactive rather than reactive when dealing with municipal administrations.

Theme: Community activism
Benin  
Project: Citizen Participation to Improve Local Governance
Evaluation Date: January 2014
Report: [report link]
Lesson Learned:

The vast majority of the grassroots organizations involved valued how the project promoted public participation as a counterweight to public authorities. Most of the targeted municipalities in Benin have organized public hearings on budget resources. In addition, the participation mechanism has enabled elected officials to use consultative methods to determine local priorities with the participation of the grassroots population.

Theme: Community activism
Benin   ,
Project: Citizen Participation to Improve Local Governance
Evaluation Date: January 2014
Report: [report link]
Lesson Learned:

Through participation in training sessions on advocacy and public information campaigns, members of the Citizen Participation Cells in Benin improved their ability to participate in the municipal decision-making process, to monitor the compliance of municipal investments – e.g. water and sanitation, education – and to put pressure on local politicians to carry out public hearings on budget policies.

Theme: Community activism
Benin   , ,
Project: Promoting Freedom of Information Activism at the Local Level in Brazil
Evaluation Date: April 2014
Report: [report link]
Lesson Learned:

While the network of grassroots organizations was involved in the design of the project, local stakeholders did not participate directly in the process and were not consulted. The different context in each of the five states in which the project was implemented demanded specific competencies that in many cases were not sufficiently developed. The focal points had no political experience. They needed skills to constructively participate in public debate, so that they would not be confined simply to reporting misconduct but could also offer solutions.

Theme: Women's empowerment
Brazil   , ,
Project: Empowering Civil Society and Women to Engage in Policy Processes
Evaluation Date: August 2011
Report: [report link]
Lesson Learned:

Despite the coup d’état in Honduras, the project built up and maintained ‘spaces for visibility on women’s issues’. Thus the project strengthened women’s knowledge of their rights and their capabilities to defend and exercise these rights. It also provided women with a privileged place to participate in politics. The project therefore greatly contributed to the empowerment of women in a socio-political context that was characterised by the weakening, instability and lack of legitimacy of the spaces for democratic participation.

Theme: Women's empowerment
Honduras   , ,