Project: Promoting democratic and human rights values among Rwandan youth
Evaluation Date: February 2014
Report: [report link]
Lesson Learned:

A project team made up of the grantee’s Executive Director and the Project Director was responsible for project management, while relevant board members provided strategic direction. The team was widely appreciated by project participants and trainers for its willingness to engage with them and its pro-active approach to dealing with young people’s concerns and needs. The quality of project management was also visible in how the grantee dealt with the political sensitivity of the issues raised.

Theme: Youth engagement
Project: Promoting Women's Participation in Local Budgetary Processes
Evaluation Date: March 2016
Report: [report link]
Lesson Learned:

The project in Niger has empowered women through giving them skills to analyse budges based on the issues that affect their daily life. However, gender responsive budget analysis alone does not change budget priorities and the decision-making process in ways that truly promote gender equality. Municipal budgets are still a political product and budgetary commitments are allocated according to political priorities. Relevant decision makers could be addressed through evidence-based round-table discussions and lobbying.

Theme: Women's empowerment
Project: Human rights and democracy campaign
Evaluation Date: October 2011
Report: [report link]
Lesson Learned:

Democracy and human rights monitoring centres were not established, because they were considered highly political by local officials. It was probably overambitious on the part of the project to seek the establishment of formal structures to monitor governance. A more detailed analysis, carried out by researchers or organizations with specialist expertise in local governance issues, would probably have led to a better understanding of the power politics at stake. The grantee reacted ad hoc, and took an alternative approach requesting trained community leaders present in the field to act as focal points in the monitoring of governance.

Theme: Rule of law
Project: Campagne d’Education au respect des Principes Démocratiques et Promotion du dialogue Démocratique au Burundi
Evaluation Date: November 2014
Report: [report link]
Lesson Learned:

The grantee did not differentiate between political leaders and elected members when targeting participants. All elected members are not always political leaders and vice versa. The grantee did not take into account the pyramidal structure of political parties in Burundi in which only few people decide for all members. Interviewees’ comments showed that beneficiaries do not consider themselves as autonomous political actors who can activate internal changes within their own political parties. The change of beneficiaries’ perceptions is essentially individual opinions, which are not able to have an impact on political parties’ practices.

Theme: Community activism