ownership

The best way to ensure the success of projects for Persons with Disabilities is to leverage the existing legal framework that mandates and, consequently, secures the participation of local government units. This permanent institutional structure will remain in the locality long after the project has ended. Further, the Local Government Units' buy-in serves as a signal to the community about the project's merits. It would also ensure active participation by community members, along with other civil society groups working with Persons with Disabilities. However, as was the case in this project, the existence of national policies to improve the conditions of Persons with Disabilities alone does not guarantee vibrant participation by Local Government Units in initiatives for Persons with Disabilities (PWD). In the future, an external oversight body could be established to monitor the disbursement of PWD budgets and ensure the proper utilization of PWD fund allocations as prescribed by national laws.

Citizen led accountability (CLA) monitoring is a particularly useful initiative to promote gender responsive local governance. However, institutionalizing it requires extensive capacity building of local communities to enable them to continue it independently. In the present case, while the project piloted a Citizens Report Card successfully by acquiring a consultant, the knowledge and skills transfer to the community for developing it independently and regularly would have made it locally driven and owned, as well as sustainable.

As the project experience indicates, engaging a community representative organization like the National Musahar Association is an effective strategy to build trust and gain access to the community focused on by the project.