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sustainability

Project: Strengthening Local NGOs in Areas Where Extractive Industries Operate
Evaluation Date: June 2013
Report: [report link]

Lesson Learned:

When the project ended there was no formal partnership among the stakeholders involved. Most of the microprojects had ended and the participating organizations considered themselves beneficiaries of corporate social responsibility funds rather than as pro-active partners. The project reinforced current corporate practices in which civil society empowerment is regarded simply as making donations to NGOs. Better information about the costs and benefits of corporate social responsibility implementation and an inventory of industry practices could help to identify NGO capacity constraints and priority needs, tailoring different partnership models to the situation in each district.

Theme: Community activism

Indonesia CSR, partnership, sustainability

Project: Promoting Good Governance among Tribal Inhabitants in Bangladesh (PROGGATI)
Evaluation Date: December 2013
Report: [report link]

Lesson Learned:

The community organization members who served on the governance committees are still active in the indigenous communities and could serve as a continuing resource for community members. However, the committees themselves were not sustainable as most participants linked them to the project, rather than to a continuing community institution or system.

Theme: Community activism

Bangladesh institutions, structures, sustainability

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

Lesson Learned:

Despite a sense of ownership, most of the Citizen Participation Cells did not plan to become autonomous from the grantee that remained in charge of the future direction of the Cells. Sustainability therefore was still fragile and CPC members recognized that more time was needed to consolidate the work which had been started.

Theme: Community activism

Benin results, sustainability

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

Lesson Learned:

Many volunteers for the Citizen Participation Cells (CPC) have become more proactive citizens who can contribute to conflict resolution and problem solving. Project participants have made a commitment to ensure the continuity of the CPC initiatives and to promote the development of new opportunities for citizen participation in local decision-making processes beyond UNDEF funding.

Theme: Community activism

Benin sustainability, volunteers

Project: Strengthening Young Women’s Civic Participation and Leadership in Uganda
Evaluation Date: May 2017
Report: [report link]

Lesson Learned:

Six months after the end of the project in Uganda, beneficiaries were still expecting financial support and guidance from the grantee. Systematic and active involvement of the project beneficiaries during various follow-up activities could have enhanced their ownership and ensured their long term commitment to the project activities and results.

Theme: Women's empowerment

Uganda ownership, sustainability

Project: Strengthening Young Women’s Civic Participation and Leadership in Uganda
Evaluation Date: May 2017
Report: [report link]

Lesson Learned:

The project successfully established mentoring clubs in 10 public and private universities located in five districts in Uganda all of which are still functioning six months after the end of the project. More than half of the project beneficiaries interviewed indicated that they were still active as mentors supporting other young women.

Theme: Women's empowerment

Uganda sustainability, universities, youth

Project: Promoting Freedom of Information Activism at the Local Level in Brazil
Evaluation Date: April 2014
Report: [report link]

Lesson Learned:

The beneficiary groups had the motivation and expectations, but the institutional capacity of both the network and grassroots organizations would need to be strengthened in order to provide the solvency and independence required for continuity in their activities. The project network did not have a plan of action nor the financial resources for future interventions which undermines the sustainability of the processes begun by the project.

Theme: Community activism

Brazil funding, grassroots, sustainability

Project: Promoting Freedom of Information Activism at the Local Level in Brazil
Evaluation Date: April 2014
Report: [report link]

Lesson Learned:

One of the major problems the project encountered was in setting up and running the Citizens’ Help Center website so that it could serve as a platform for exchange among the focal points. The grantee sub contracted this work and the contractor failed to complete the work. While the website became operational, it was not clear how it would be updated and maintained.

Theme: Community activism

Brazil sustainability, website

Project: Media and art as catalysts for free speech and access to information in Jordan
Evaluation Date: January 2015
Report: [report link]

Lesson Learned:

The project relied too heavily on volunteers. Over-reliance on volunteers is a risk to sustainability, even when the volunteers are committed and motivated. This should be taken into account in designing and budgeting for the project. The Freedom Messenger Network has a life of its own and could become independent.

Theme: Media

Jordan sustainability, volunteers

Project: Media and art as catalysts for free speech and access to information in Jordan
Evaluation Date: January 2015
Report: [report link]

Lesson Learned:

There were concerns about the sustainability of the project’s outcomes as well as the sustainability of the grantee itself. The grantee’s institutional funding model is project-focused and no serious consideration seems to have been given to diversifying funding sources or raising income in other ways. Without project funding, there are many ‘down times’ that lead the volunteers becoming disillusioned and websites become dated.

Theme: Media

Jordan funding, sustainability

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