research

Project: Civic Education and Civil Society Empowerment in Remote Areas in Myanmar
Evaluation Date: December 2012
Report: [report link]
Lesson Learned:

Research that addresses local concerns and brings them to the forefront of national debate is greatly needed. Although policy papers were drafted by September 2012, the papers’ quality was low, and the lack of dissemination wasted potential impact at states/regions level. The only distribution was a compendium of policy papers without foreword or explanation of the aim and the process which led to their drafting. Papers should be presented directly to local government, with abstracts published in local newspapers, and distributed widely to CSOs and political parties.

Theme: Community activism
Myanmar   , ,
Project: Deepening Democratization Processes Through Youth Leadership in Myanmar
Evaluation Date: September 2010
Report: [report link]
Lesson Learned:

Where academic research is useful to initiate policy dialogue with the authorities, action-research can provide the opportunity for capacity building of the fellows and can also be a useful tool in deciding, designing and promoting community initiatives. Reliable research by a recognized researcher is more likely to be usable in policy dialogue with the authorities; action-research facilitated by trained fellows is more likely to be valid for informing community-level actions and discussion. There should be a clear distinction between the two, and better strategizing/positioning of the research within the project design.

Theme: Youth engagement
Myanmar   ,
Project: Cultivating Democratic Leaders from Marginalized Groups in Thailand
Evaluation Date: December 2010
Report: [report link]
Lesson Learned:

The one potentially new element of the project – the participant survey – did not underpin the activities of the project participants; the issues actually addressed were those that have been the focus of actions in this region for some time and which are the focus of other local projects. Trainees were already engaged in development work in their communities and, once the project ended, continued as before. The project designers would have been more aware of this if they had reviewed existing and earlier practice in this area, and had considered in more depth the way NGOs in the regions work and their funding sources.

Theme: Youth engagement
Thailand   , ,
Project: Towards a better electoral process in Mongolia
Evaluation Date: November 2011
Report: [report link]
Lesson Learned:

The efforts to develop a new module for civic education, that contained the information on the structure of government and voter’s rights, roles and responsibilities, directly addressed the lack of a civic education program in the schools that was relevant to Mongolian democracy in the 21st century. The grantee worked directly with the Ministry’s Institute of Educational Research which increased its relevance and significance for the Ministry and for the national school system.

Theme: Community activism
Mongolia   , ,
Project: Civil Society to Monitor and Contribute to Transparency and Anti-Corruption Policies in Moldova
Evaluation Date: January 2015
Report: [report link]
Lesson Learned:

The project demonstrated how civil society could contribute to public policy on corruption. For example, the preparation and publication of three monitoring reports on progress made between late 2012 and December 2014 on the implementation of the government’s National Anti-Corruption Strategy (NACS) in Moldova were very effective. The reports facilitated more comprehensive, precise and reliable reporting on the progress made during the reporting period by the 36 state institutions responsible for implementation of the Strategy. It also encouraged and produced improved performance in achieving the benchmarks set out in the official national Action Plan.

Theme: Rule of law
Moldova, Republic of   , ,