Democratic Rights and Inclusive Governance in Liberia. Governance Thematic Programme IBIS in Liberia

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1 Democratic Rights and Inclusive Governance in Liberia Governance Thematic Programme IBIS in Liberia Inception Phase July 2012 December

2 Executive Summary Country and Sector Programme title Relevance Liberia Governance Democratic Rights and Inclusive Governance in Liberia The Governance Thematic Programme in Liberia responds to the overall aims of IBIS Global Governance Strategy by focusing on civil society involvement in reforming governance structures at national and local levels to ensure influence and resources for all citizens in a transparent and accountable way according to their rights and in line with IBIS Vision. In accordance with the current Liberian governance context, the Governance Thematic Programme will focus on specific issues related to ensuring influence in decision-making and tracking of public and natural resources. Such focus is chosen since Liberian governance challenges and possible changes within the coming years will have a strong focus on natural resource management and decentralization processes. An important focus area within these processes as well as being central to IBIS work is the issue of gender equality to empower women and change behaviours to expand the democratic space and opportunities for all Liberians. This important change also pertains to Liberian youth, which therefore is also part of the specific target groups, besides inclusion of women. Programme objective Civil society organizations will advocate for and influence democratic processes and resource distribution at local and national level for more inclusive, equitable and transparent governance for all people in Liberia. Objectives Specific objectives for the whole programme period of Increase civil society awareness and participation in decision-making and revenue allocation for sustainable use and equitable benefits of natural resources at local and national levels. 2. Improve accountability and transparency of development policies and distribution through advocating for resource allocation and tracking of budgets from national to local levels. 3. Increase the active participation and influence of women and youth in decentralized decision-making and democratic processes for equal rights at local and national levels. Inception phase objectives for the period of July 2012 to December Increase civil society understanding and participation in public dialogue associated with natural resource concession agreement and their related social development funds at local and national levels. 2. Improve accountability and transparency in decentralizing governance through advocating for resource allocation and tracking of budgets in the education sector from national to local levels. 3. Increase awareness and capacity of women and youth in advocating for equal rights and participation in decentralization of governance processes at local and national levels. Target groups Ultimate target group: Marginalized and vulnerable people, with specific focus on women and youth. 2

3 Immediate target group: Civil society organizations at national, local and community level working to ensure accountability and transparency in governance of public and natural resources as well as gender and youth equality and inclusion in such democratic processes. Expected outcomes sassumptions and risks Partner organizations Civil society and local communities are more informed and include in public dialogue related to concession agreement negotiations involving representatives from government and extractive companies. Civil society and local communities are more informed about how the resources from the social development funds can be used. Resources and budgets for education are tracked and implementation monitored and understood through inclusion of civil society and local education authorities. Local and national level advocacy is done by civil society organisations for transparent and accountable decentralization of education resources. Women and youth are actively participating in formulating priorities and advocating for those priorities relevant for the inclusion of women and youth in decentralization of governance processes at local and national level. Civil society is aware of the equal rights and responsibilities of women and youth in decentralization of governance at local and national level. The decentralization and democratization process will presumably continue but the risk it that it might take long time to due to lack of capacity, coordination, political momentum, which will affect the change towards empowering local people, authorities and civil society leaders. Conflict might break out between local communities and extractive companies over access to and use of natural resources, while the extraction of natural resources is meant to enable economic development for Liberia in a sustainable and equitable way now and in the future. Although the security situation in Liberia is stable, the situation might become more volatile, with risks related to the security situation along the border to neighbouring countries, especially Côte d Ivoire with the influx of refugees into Liberia. Civil society organizations at national, local and community level in Liberia. Potential partner organizations will be assessed and selected according to the stated criteria. IBIS will strive to partner with 6 civil society organizations in the inception phase from July 2012 to December Amount applied for , ,321 Inception phase - 1,074, , , , ,500 Full programme phase - 4,340,095 3

4 Acronyms AAP AIDS CBO CDC CO CSO DANIDA DFID ERA FMM FOI GOL HIV HO INGO KfW LEITI LOGI M&E NGO NORAD NPDLG OPS PDP PRS SIDA TP UN UNMIL UP US USAID WHH Africa Against Poverty Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome Community Based Organisation Congress for Democratic Change Country Office Civil Society Organisation Danish International Development Aid Department For International Development Education Reform Act Formative Monitoring Mission Freedom of Information Act Government of Liberia Human Immunodeficiency Virus Head Office International Non-Governmental Organisation Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau German Development Bank Liberia Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative Liberian Oil and Gas Initiative Monitoring and Evaluation Non-Governmental Organisation Norwegian Agency for Development National Policy on Decentralization and Local Governance Organisational Performance System Partnership Development Plan Poverty Reduction Strategy Swedish International Development Agency Thematic Programme United Nations United Nations Mission in Liberia Unity Party United States United States Agency for International Development Welthungerhilfe 4

5 Map of Liberia IBIS Country and Field offices in Liberia as of

6 Table of Contents Executive Summary 1 Acronyms 4 Map of Liberia 5 Table of Contents 6 1 Introduction 7 2 Context analysis Socio-political situation Democratic space and rights 9 3 Problem analysis Challenges and social dynamics to be addressed Social actors and stakeholders to be engaged 12 4 Objectives, target groups and programme location Programme objective Specific and inception phase objectives, outcomes and indicators Target groups Programme geographical area 15 5 Programme strategies Civil society participation in natural resource governance Decentralized distribution of resources and influence Empowerment and inclusion of women and youth Partnership 18 6 Fundraising strategy Institutional fundraising Private fundraising 21 7 Communication strategy 21 8 Outline of programme activities Selection of activities Error! Bookmark not defined. 9 Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Taking learning forward Programme and Human Resource Management Assumptions and risks Budget 28 Annex 1. Inception Phase Log frame 29 Annex 2. Action Plan for Inception Phase 32 Annex 3. Inception Phase Budget 33 Annex 4. Performance Measurement Framework (PFM) 34 Annex 5. IBIS Governance team roles and responsibilities 35 Annex 6. IBIS Teams and Meeting Structure in Liberia 37 Annex 7. Capacity Building Plan format 39 Annex 8. County and traditional Governance structures in Liberia 40 Annex 9. References 41 6

7 1 Introduction The overall focus and change perspectives of the Governance Thematic Programme will hereby be introduced, including the main types of partners and target groups, as well as a brief description of the processes of developing, implementing and elaborating this programme document. IBIS in Liberia has since 2005 worked within the Liberian education sector and developed an Education Thematic Programme starting in July The turn has now come to the development of the Governance Thematic Programme as IBIS other main working area within development. The Governance Thematic Programme of IBIS in Liberia has been developed through an inclusive and participatory process covering research and consultative meetings with Liberian governance stakeholders in order to ensure relevance and harmonization to the overall needs and priorities for good governance in Liberia. The outcomes of these engaging processes have highlighted the need for change towards more inclusive, equitable and transparent governance for all people in Liberia. IBIS aims to contribute to such change processes by supporting Liberian civil society organizations (CSOs) to advocate for and influence democratic processes and resource distribution at local and national level of governance in Liberia. By doing so, IBIS will ensure local ownership, sustainability and aid effectiveness by building the thematic, organizational and advocacy capacities of selected civil society organizations as IBIS partners. The ultimate target group of the Governance Thematic Programme is marginalized and vulnerable people, with a specific focus on women and youth as key societal groups excluded from exercising their rights to influence and resources in Liberia. The focus areas for the Governance Thematic Programme will for the period of be to increase and improve civil society awareness and participation in decision-making and resource distribution in the decentralising governance of natural and public resources in Liberia, with a special focus on the empowerment and equality of women and youth in such democratic processes. Based on these focus areas IBIS will partner with civil society organizations already working within these areas at national and local levels. IBIS also intends to strengthen and supplement civil society partners competences by using cases of their work as best practices for advocacy towards the Government of Liberia and other relevant stakeholders working with governance in Liberia. The Governance Thematic Programme will span over 5 years from 2012 to 2017, but the first 18 months of the programme will be an inception phase from July 2012 to December The inception phase of the programme is meant for IBIS to increase the understanding of the governance context, assess partners and develop partnerships as well as pilot activities as part of the initial learning processes. In order to do so specific inception phase objectives, indicators and activities have been developed and will be further elaborated in this document for the Governance Thematic Programme. The implementation of the programme will also include carrying out a baseline study, in order to develop a monitoring and evaluation system, as well as hiring and establishing the governance staff and team in IBIS. Towards the end of the inception phase the further elaboration of the programme will begin in order to develop and specify the remaining part of the programme running from 2014 to mid Just as IBIS previous learning and experiences from working in Liberia has been part of this development process, the lessons learned from the inception phase will also be incorporated into the later phase of the Governance Thematic Programme. With this introduction to the Governance Thematic Programme, IBIS looks forward to supporting democratic change within governance in Liberia over the next five years. 2 Context analysis This context analysis focuses on the relevant overall changes and burning issues related to the current sociopolitical situation, democratic space and rights in Liberia, including the issue of the major differences between central governance in Monrovia and rural influence in places like the South East of Liberia, where IBIS has worked within education since Socio-political situation From 1847 when the Republic of Liberia was declared until the end of the civil war in 2003, Liberia has been governed by either one party states, military regimes or political systems that allowed limited democracy and freedom of speech for the Liberian people. Liberia s governance structures have since 1847 been based on the 7

8 American political system with a National Legislative Assembly, consisting of the House of Representatives (lower house, 73 seats) and the Senate (upper house, 30 seats). 1 According to the current Liberian Constitution from 1986, 2 citizens have the right to elect District Representatives, Senators of Counties and the President of the State. The President is elected by absolute majority vote through a two-round system to serve a 6-year term and the majority of politicians are elected for 6-year terms, while a few senior senators are elected for 9-year terms. As of 2012, Liberia has entered into its second period of elected government since the civil war ended in With the winning of the second round of Presidential elections in November 2011, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf representing the Unity Party (UP) has reshuffled the ministers in her government and held consultations with the main opposition candidates from Congress of Democratic Change (CDC). The President has thus tried to signal both continuation and change in governing that should lead Liberia into a new phase of democratic governance until the fall of 2016, when Liberians again will go to the polls. At the same time, many political positions such as Superintendents and Commissioners are appointed by the President, thereby infringing on citizens fundamental democratic rights as stated in the Constitution of The consequence is that most of the local level decision-makers are not elected by the people they are meant to represent, but remain the same after the last elections as appointed by the President or traditional leaders in the community (see annexes for figure on Local Governance Structures in Liberia). With a majority of power held by the President and others in the powerful economic and political elite, mainly encompassed by the Americo-Liberians, decision-making in governance is not considered very inclusive, transparent or accountable. There is thus a huge gap between the ruling elite and the marginalized people, since very few citizens have access to information or knowledge that will enable them to hold their government accountable to any decisions made on their behalf. Governance in Liberia is thus still highly centralized and a major challenge therefore continues to be the change of elitist rule over the marginalized majority into a more inclusive and equitable democracy in Liberia. This challenge is not new and many of its side effects and spin-offs have prevailed since before the civil war started in the 1980s, where a minority of Americo-Liberians controlled power. Changes will thus have to be made in not only institutions but also in cultures of Liberian governance in order to overcome challenges such as corruption, insufficient and biased political and justice systems, marginalization of rural and urban poor majorities and an youth population who are not adequately included in society, let alone the extremely unequal opportunities and rights of Liberian women and men. The list is long and the Government of Liberia will have its hands full for many more years to come even with the political will and capacity to work for some of these changes within governance at both local and national level. Recently steps have however been taken by the Government of Liberia to ensure a more decentralized and participatory governance system in Liberia. The National Policy for Decentralization and Local Governance (NPDLG) lays out the direction for political, fiscal as well as administrative decentralization. 3 The political decentralization is highly relevant for citizens rights and responsibilities and for the democratic space for participation and influence as it entails delegation of political decision-making and economic redistribution to the local levels. It remains to be seen to what extent the intended political and economic redistribution of power results in increased influence for Liberian citizens and civil society at the local governance levels. Limited capacity will be a challenge for the performance and ability of local government in adequately responding to people s needs in a country trying to move away from an exclusive and centralized tradition of governance. The monitoring of the implementation of decentralized distribution and decision-making is an important entry point for civil society to influence the decentralization process and assure people s democratic rights in the coming years. Nonetheless, Constitutional amendments have to be made, the Liberian Legislature has to pass the policy into a law and the Government of Liberia also lacks a clear implementation strategy to decentralize authority from central to county level. However, local elections are said to be held sometime in the next term as part of the implementation of the National Policy on Decentralization and Local Governance. There is at present neither a clear rollout plan nor a governmental structure set up for the decentralization processes after the Governance Commission under the Ministry of Planning and Internal Affairs has done the drafting. A lot is therefore still to be done before Liberians will be 1 History of Liberia: A timeline-american Memory (memory.loc.gov/ammem/gmdhtml/libhtml/liberia.html) 2 The Constitution of the Republic of Liberia of Liberia National Policy on Decentralization and Local Governance, Republic of Liberia, Governance Commission,

9 able to elect their local political representatives. Hence local participation and influence in decision-making still remain low, which makes the level of inclusion in democratic governance equally low. As Liberia s Poverty Reduction Strategy (PRS) 4 came to an end in 2011, the Government of Liberia has introduced the national vision, Liberia Rising The aim of this vision is to transform Liberia s economy into a middle-income country by focusing on rapid economic growth driven by a more modernized agriculture sector, a more dynamic private sector, and an enabling environment to attract foreign investments. 5 The roots of the Vision 2030 as it s called is found in Liberia many years of having an open door policy when it comes to economic governance. The open door policy was original started in 1876 when the existing Government of Liberia tried to attract foreign direct investments to the country in order to boost economic growth. However it was not until 1926 that the open door policy became successful with the concession agreement being made with the rubber company Firestone for the extraction of rubber in Liberia for 100 years. 6 The open door policy is still highly related to the extractive industry of Liberia and in order to ensure accountability and transparency in the governance of Liberian natural resources and the revenues coming from the extractive industry, the Liberia Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (LEITI) was begun in 2007 and set up by law in Liberia is the first place in the world to include agricultural and forest products in its reporting and has until now produced three reports with a high congruence between what is stated to be paid and what actually is paid to the Liberian government by the extractive industries. 8 However, LEITI only reports on what is stated in concessions and does not deal with how concessions are being given and taxation being negotiated for the benefit of the Liberian people, even in the forestry sector who has been a bit more regulated due to the past illegal logging for the support of the fighting groups going on during the war. Change is thus still needed to ensure sustainable and equitable use of Liberia s natural resources through more transparent and inclusive governance, since the abundant natural resources are still being extracted in Liberia without people being informed, included or benefitting from such concession agreements and their related potentials for economic development in the country. Concession agreements for exploration and use of land are negotiated by an inter-ministerial committee on behalf of the Liberian Government and individual agreements are being made in regard to revenues, taxation and social development funds for locally decided development. Even though it is stated that local communities are to be included in the initial allocation and negotiation of concession agreements to give their consent, very limited involvement actually takes place and often communities are only heard when concession agreements have been made and are ready to be signed. Cases of protests and critique of both the extractive industries and the government have been raised by communities and CSOs to ensure greater cooperation, but until now little change in practice has occurred and only very few social development funds have been set up and actual function. There have even been cases of misuse of the social development funds, which are to be used for local development according to the community s wishes, but very few communities know thereof and have the skills to apply for funds from their social development fund. Hence natural resource decision-making is as for most governance processes concentrated in the capital of Monrovia with central government, which clearly symbolizes the marginalization of the rural areas where the natural resources are found. Such marginalization exists especially in the South East of Liberia, where lack of infrastructure even more so hinders access to information and influence and little seems to happen to change the unequal circumstances. 2.2 Democratic space and rights The current socio-political situation shows an overall marginalization and lack of space for people in Liberia to exercise their civic and human rights based on a history of limited accountable, transparent and inclusive governance in Liberia. The lack of a system and space for ensuring proper accountability and transparency in democratic governance is due to the weak judicial system as a basis for curbing corruption in public offices, since in many cases people who are accused of corruption or other crimes are not prosecuted. The weak judiciary and poor security structures impact negatively on civil liberties, even though citizens are considered fairly free from repression. General concerns of poor governance are thus reflecting weak administrative 4 Poverty Reduction Strategy, Government of Liberia, National Vision Liberia Rising 2030 Government of Liberia, Presentation done by Dr. Byron Tarr at the Development and Governance Forum, May 3rd 2012, Liberia 7 Liberia Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative Act, Government of Liberia, LEITI First, Second and Third Report from 2009, 2010 and 2011 at 9

10 capacity and endemic corruption and the quality of governance in Liberia is according to the 2011 Ibrahim Index of African Governance measured as 45 out of 100, which is lower than the continental average of 50 out of 100 and placing Liberia as 11 th out of the 16 West Africa countries. 9 Apart from corruption and impunity, one of the main threats to more equal distribution is that the Liberian Government so far has not put in place an effective system for redistribution and tracking public revenue to ensure such inclusion, accountability and transparency. The annual National Budget Act does not specify geographical distribution to counties but only stipulates allocation of resources to sectors like education, health and infrastructure. Public awareness about distribution of resources is generally low due to lack of access to information. The Government of Liberia has held a series of consultative meetings where people could take part in the processes related to the PRS and the Vision Nevertheless, people are not yet fully participating in the actual decision-making processes, but only consulted afterwards. One example is the county development funds, initiated by the Johnson-Sirleaf led government as part of the county development agenda for rural development, which lacks effective mechanisms for citizens participation in decision-making. Rampant corruption and lack of transparency has characterized the administration of the funds, and they have in many cases not been used to build schools and health facilities as originally decided by people at county level. With a vast majority of the people not being fully involved in the decision-making processes, people s confidence in their country officials has been decreasing, thereby making governance less accountable. The lack of space for people to exercise their civic rights to influence and resource is also a burning issue for communities living in the areas of extraction of natural resources as they lack access to information and decision-making regarding how the natural resources in their area are used and can benefit them collectively. People generally lack the space to assert their rights to influence and resources, since political decision-making is governed by the elite mainly residing in the capital which particularly affects rural populations living in areas where natural resources are being extracted. Concession agreements are thus being signed in Monrovia between central government and extractive companies without people being informed or having consented to agreements on the use of the lands and the extraction of the related resources like iron ore, palm oil, gold, diamonds, timber and oil. The issue of natural resource governance is a clear example of little existing interaction between duty bearers holding power and people holding the right to services and influence about issues affecting their lives. This general challenge leads to an overall lack of knowledge, involvement and transparency about how both public and natural resources within the country are used and distributed, which creates a major gap between governmental duty bearers and people as rights holders that should be able to hold them accountable. So in a highly centralized governance system people are left with little opportunity and access to influence decision-making. The consequence becomes that most Liberians, especially in rural areas, are not aware let alone involved in the democratic processes of deciding about the development of their country affecting their lives. A very important milestone for ensuring democratic space is Liberia's Freedom of Information (FOI) Act, passed in late 2010 as the first in West Africa. This law is historic as it involves removing restrictions on and establishing procedures for accessing information in the hands of authorities that perform public functions. The practices and procedures of public authorities will be made available to the public, facilitating the disclosure of information to the public at reasonable cost, and guaranteeing the right of every individual to access his or her personal information held by private and public institutions. 10 The law mandates all public entities to produce detailed information on a regular basis on their core functions and activities. Securing the freedom of information is a very important step towards democratic governance, transparency and accountability. It provides a democratic space for monitoring of government at all levels and widens the opportunities for people and civil society to claim access to crucial information. Hence the space for influence has been broadened some in recent years with the new FOI Act. However like many other national and international rights who have been ratified and adopted in Liberia, most of them are unknown to the public and the few who do have access to such information have a hard time gaining influence and being included in decision-making. This is the case for many civil society and governmental actors, even the ones who are professionally organized, and it is thus a matter of being well-connected and resourceful in order to gain 9 Governance indicators measured by the index are grouped into four overall categories: Safety & Rule of Law (rule of law, accountability, personal safety and national security); Participation & Human Rights (participation, rights and gender); Sustainable Economic Opportunity (public management, business environment, infrastructure and rural sector) and Human Development (welfare, education and health). 10 Republic of Liberia: The Freedom of Information Act 2008, and Law Library of Congress: Liberia: House of Representatives Passes Freedom of Information Act, July

11 influence. Some of these actors involved in governance use such opportunities for personal gains and political careers and the issue of corruption and nepotism is therefore not an unfamiliar part of governance in Liberia. Connections and interests seem to be more influential factors than merit when it comes to being included in governance decision-making. Such circumstances affect the power relations between stakeholders marginalizing many from influencing in governance in Liberia. The current state of democratic space and rights in governance is highly unequal and the main marginalized groups lacking influence and participation in decision-making processes are women and youth 11, although women constitute 50.1% of the Liberian population as well as half of the population being less than 20 years of age. 12 The lack of education 13 and access to livelihood opportunities 14 have a great impact on such marginalization, which has been deepened even more so by the periods of civil war where many young people have been missing out on educational benefits, especially young women, who have their own children to provide and take care of. At the same time, youth and women are rarely represented in formal politics and their overall representation in society is very limited, but there is an increase in young and female Liberians involved in civil society organizations and the number of youth and women groups in the country has been rising since the end of the civil war. However, such CSOs are often organized around a few people and single issues that they can receive funding for, which makes it difficult for them to make a great impact as leaders and issues often change. The right to influence and resources are not only denied to vulnerable women and youth because of their limited political, social and economic space to assert their rights, but also due to the lack of awareness and acceptance of people in general that women and youth have equal rights that should be upheld for all. With this dual challenge of asserting rights and creating space for women and youth to actively participate in decision-making, governance becomes very unequal and undemocratic with half of the Liberian population and future generations and leaders excluded from determining economic and political developments in their country. So apart from being generally excluded as vulnerable poor traditional roles and ways also have some influence on this state of marginalization. Traditionally, the eldest male head of the family acts as custodian of his family s land and is the principal decision-maker on the use of and allocation of that land. The head of the family has ultimate rule over family land and generally inherits custodianship on the death of his father, uncle or other, typically male, elder family member. Women and youth are thus severely marginalised in their ability to take part in decision-making processes as well as their rights to access and ownership of land. Recently, the Women s Act was passed that provided the rights for women to inherit their husband s land and property. While this was a milestone in efforts to establish equal rights, a widow can only inherit land and property if and when her son(s) give approval. In short, women still do not have equal rights to inherit land or property in Liberia. In 2010, the Liberian Land Commission warned that unequal access to and ownership of land and other resources are at the centre of the deep sense of isolation and exclusion felt by many Liberians, especially in rural communities. It was felt that if this issue was not addressed, it could fan the fires that could reignite civil conflict Problem analysis This problem analysis is to describe the rationale and reasons behind the Governance Thematic Programme and its chosen focus areas within governance in Liberia based on the contextual issues just analysed. Furthermore, the relevant power relations and social dynamics between the duty bearers and rights holders, as stakeholders in governance will also be explained below. 11 Youth in Liberia are generally considered to be young people between 15 to 35 years of age and are often linked to the status of being unmarried and studying, but the lines from child to adult are not clear cut and youth become a very heterogeneous group of people in Liberia. 12 LISGIS (2008) Report of the Liberia Institute of Statistics and Geo-information Services 13 Only 15.7% of the female population above 25 years had in 2010 at minimum of secondary education, UNDP Human Development Report The unemployment rate in Liberia is estimated at 70-85%, including a majority of young unskilled people. 15 As quoted in Blair, Blattman & Hartman, Patterns of Conflict and Cooperation in Liberia (part 1): Results from a Longitudinal Study. Yale University. LCL Annual Report Monrovia: Land Commission Liberia. 11

12 3.1 Challenges and social dynamics to be addressed The main challenges mentioned in the context analysis concern the lack of equality and interaction between ruling duty bearers and marginalized rights holders which is related to the lack of space for people to exercise their rights in Liberia. This marginalization is being challenged through claims of involvement in natural resource governance as well as decentralization for more transparent and accountable governance processes and systems. The issue of marginalization is also strongly linked to the issue of exclusion of women and youth in such democratic processes. So in order to change Liberian governance there is a need to challenge and change such social dynamics for the benefit of marginalised and vulnerable people in Liberia. The social dynamic to be addressed regarding natural resource governance is to strengthen the awareness and influence of communities living in rural areas where extraction of natural resources is going on. This way change will be able to happen towards more sustainable use and equitable benefits of natural resources at both local and national levels in Liberia. The support is thus to ensure greater participation in decision-making and resource allocation related to natural resource extraction for the people of Liberia, especially those living in the areas with natural resources, who often are not involved or informed about concessions being made and the consequences and benefits of such extraction going on in their area. Such change is needed in order to make sure that the abundant natural resources of Liberia are beneficial for people and not just for international private companies and a minority who hold the economic and political power in the extractive industries in Liberia. Another social dynamic to be addressed is to ensure greater transparency and accountability in decisionmaking and distribution of political and economic resources. One key factor is to support change towards more influence in decisions being made at local level rather than having such centralized governance. The decentralization process is one step in the right direction to ensure such change and the education sector is according to the new Education Reform Act to involve decentralization from national to county and district levels. The focus will therefore be to start with supporting such decentralization in the education sector as IBIS already has experience and relations in working within education in Liberia. To improve accountability and transparency in the governance of the education sector, support is needed as to track such economic and political decentralized decisions and distribution of resources. By doing so, the rights and influence of how education should be governed are also becoming more democratic and accessible to people otherwise marginalized as parents and teachers in rural areas. The third social dynamic to be addressed is to change the inequality of women and youth into empowerment and greater inclusion and equality of women and youth in decision-making processes when it comes to the governance of Liberia at both local and national level. Such change will mean a strengthening of democracy in Liberia with a stronger and more aware population that upholds the democratic rights of all people and not only a few. The social change is not to take power away from male and older generations but to expand the democratic pie and space for the benefit of all. Not only will such changes in the social dynamic support gender and generational equality, but also widen and deepen the democratic culture and systems governing Liberia. A change towards more young and female persons being represented in government is therefore not enough, since active participation and influence is needed to advocate for changes towards more equal and inclusive Liberian democracy. Development and peace will not be able to deepen and increase without such changes in the social dynamics of marginalization of women and youth in Liberia as some of the most marginalized groups in the Liberian society. 3.2 Social actors and stakeholders to be engaged There are several stakeholders in governance in Liberia who work within empowerment of youth and women, accountability and transparency within public and natural resource governance at both local and natural level. At the moment there is a great imbalance between government and civil society especially along urban and rural lines, which means that very few civil society representatives (even at times among government officials) outside of Monrovia have access to information and possibilities of influencing decision-making. This ruralurban imbalance is also visible among civil society organizations. There is thus a great need to ensure the link between duty bearers in Monrovia and rural people as rights holders. So in Liberia, there is a need to build 12

13 capacity but also create space for dialogue between civil society and government actors as stakeholders in governance. One important issue in this matter is accountability for both government and civil society towards people as rights holders. Hence government is the primary duty bearer but civil society can also be a duty bearer when they claim to represent different groups and interests in the Liberian society. In Liberia, there are three main types of civil society organizations working with governance issues, where policy and advocacy groups are one of them, mainly based in Monrovia, while many other CSOs are interests and service delivery organisations. 16 However, there is a shift from basic service delivery to more interest based and advocacy organisations, as Liberia has transitioned from post-conflict recovery to more long-term development, but it is a slow development which mainly is possible for CSOs based in the capital. With so many CSOs being based in Monrovia, there is a great difference and inequality among urban and rural based CSOs in Liberia. Although they all claim to be championing the voices of the voiceless in the county as a basis for creating platforms and dialogue and as a means of sustaining peace and development, it is in some cases questionable to what extent they truly represent their constituencies and people on the ground. So while a number of CSOs are engaged in organizing activities and conducting training aimed at enhancing citizens capacity to advocate for changes in their communities, their engagement process is not broad-based and well coordinated, and most CSOs have limited capacities in both reaching their constituents and influencing government. Although the legal framework is the same and makes it quite easy to start up as a CSO, 17 there are a lot more civil society actors of different kinds working to advocate for good governance at national level than at local levels, where civil society mainly focus on issues of civic education and awareness. Challenges that hamper civil society s effective engagement processes in the country are related to the limited capacities and resources as well as difficulties in forming sustainable networks among CSOs. Many CSOs in the country have challenges of technical capability, which hampers their effective delivery of services and advocacy for the people they represent. The reasons behind pertain to the overall brain drain that has been felt dramatically in Liberia and left the nation with severely limited technical skills in almost every sector. As a result CSOs have faced impact and representation limitations. Furthermore, CSOs face serious resource constraints, which also impede their ability to effectively secure and sustain qualified personnel and assistance from donors to sustain their programmes and support to development. Networking and partnering with other like-minded organizations is also not a strong feature with national CSOs in Liberia. However, like many international NGOs (INGOs), CSOs in Liberia view other CSOs as competitors for international funding and partnerships and the existing networks also compete at times among themselves as being the main network used by CSOs. A plurality of networks and CSOs must be viewed as a strong point for Liberian civil society rather than a barrier and explored when deemed relevant and valuable, as this too is essential for aid effectiveness. A key challenge for civil society at the local levels is to strengthen their capacities in order for them to improve their involvement in development policy formulation and implementation at both local and community level linking it to national level. Civil society will thus have an important role to play in the coming years in advocating for effective information dissemination mechanisms among government actors, civil society, private companies and communities regarding accountability and transparency in governance for development. In the current stage of development in Liberia, during which the emerging democracy is consolidated, there are opportunities for influencing processes at many levels, presenting space for civil society to promote good mechanisms for strengthening the participatory processes, greatly supported by the FOI Act. These opportunities include acting as watchdogs in tracking of public and natural resource allocations, constructive contributions to early implementation of the decentralisation policy, and utilising the space for freely expressing opinions in public. At local level, civil society organisations have an important role in raising awareness of the existing democratic space and how to utilise it, and for constructively engaging with local government for promotion of mutual accountability. So there are possibilities for using and increasing the democratic space for Liberian civil society in promoting good governance in Liberia. 16 Beyond numbers: An Assessment of the Liberian Civil Society, National Policy on Non-Governmental Organizations in Liberia, Republic of Liberia,

14 4 Objectives, target groups and programme location IBIS in Liberia will in the Governance Thematic Programme contribute to change towards good governance in Liberia by supporting Liberian civil society organizations in working towards such change processes. IBIS will do so by working to fulfil the following programme objective for the Governance Thematic Programme. 4.1 Programme objective Civil society organizations will advocate for and influence democratic processes and resource distribution at local and national level for a more inclusive, equitable and transparent governance for all people in Liberia. 4.2 Specific and inception phase objectives, outcomes and indicators As part of the implementation of the programme objective, the Governance Thematic Programme will have both specific objectives for the whole programme period of as well as inception phase objectives for the first 18 months of the Governance Thematic Programme from July 2012 to December Indicators and outcomes will be chosen for the inception phase in order to measure results and change that enable IBIS to learn and adjust accordingly for the reminder of the implementation of the Governance Thematic Programme based on the developed baseline done in the inception phase. Specific and inception phase objective 1 The first specific objective is to: Increase civil society awareness and participation in decision-making and revenue allocation for sustainable use and equitable benefits of natural resources at local and national levels. The first inception phase objective is to: Increase civil society understanding and participation in public dialogue associated with natural resource concession agreements and their related social development funds at local and national levels. Outcomes: for this first inception phase objective are expected to be: Civil society and local communities are more informed and included in public dialogue related to concession agreement negotiations involving representatives from government and extractive companies. Civil society and local communities are more informed about how the resources from the social development funds can be used. Indicators: tentatively chosen for this first inception phase objective are: Increased number of public dialogue meetings including representatives from civil society, private companies and government authorities at local and national level before, during and after concession agreements are negotiated. Increased numbers of civil society interactions and plans for the use of the resources in the social development funds are done by the local communities and civil society representatives. Specific and inception phase objective 2 The second specific objective is to: Improve accountability and transparency of development policies and distribution through advocating for resource allocation and tracking of budgets from national to local levels. The second inception phase objective is to: Improve accountability and transparency in decentralizing governance through advocating for resource allocation and tracking of budgets in the education sector from national to local levels. Outcomes: for this second inception phase objective are expected to be: Resources and budgets for education are tracked and implementation monitored and understood though inclusion of civil society and local education authorities. Local and national level advocacy is done by CSOs for transparent and accountable decentralization of education resources. Indicators: tentatively chosen for this second inception phase objective are: A system for collecting and disseminating information about distribution of public resources for education from national to local levels is agreed upon in line with the decentralization of the education sector. 14

15 Evidence based advocacy plans are made by civil society for holding central education authorities accountable to the promised decentralization of public resources allocated for education at local levels. Specific and inception phase objective 3 The third specific objective is to: Increase the active participation and influence of women and youth in decentralized decision-making and democratic processes for equal rights at local and national levels. The third inception phase objective is to: Increase awareness and capacity of women and youth in advocating for equal rights and participation in decentralization of governance processes at local and national levels. Outcomes: for this third specific objective are expected to be: Women and youth are actively participating in formulating priorities and advocating for those priorities relevant for the inclusion of women and youth in decentralization of governance processes at local and national level. Civil society is aware of the equal rights and responsibilities of women and youth in decentralization of governance at local and national level. Indicators: tentatively chosen for this third specific objective are: Increased number of priorities being dealt with resulting from the dialogue between women and youth representatives and government authorities at local and national level. Increased awareness and acceptance by civil society of the rights, roles and responsibilities of women and youth in local and national governance. 4.3 Target groups The following groups are to be targeted in order to work for the anticipated change stated in the programme objective with the immediate target group being agents of this change to ultimately ensure that all people have equal access to education, influence and resources as per IBIS Vision. Ultimate target group: Marginalized and vulnerable people, with specific focus on women and youth, will be the ultimate target group of the Governance Thematic Programme in order to ensure their equal right and access to influence and resources within governance in Liberia. Immediate target group: Civil society organisations 18 at national, local and community levels working to ensure accountability, transparency and reform in economic and political distribution and decision-making of public and natural resources as well as supporting gender and generational equality will constitute the immediate target group of the Governance Thematic Programme. Targeting CSOs is based on their function as agents of change working towards inclusive and transparent governance of the public and natural resources of Liberia as well as gender equality and youth empowerment. IBIS will target such representatives of the Liberian civil society and communities by partnering with these organizations (please see section 5.4 on Partnership for further details). However, IBIS will also engage with government actors working within these three focus areas in governance, since there is a strong need to build constructive relations between government and civil society. IBIS will therefore support dialogue spaces for these stakeholders to meet and interact as representatives of the Liberian people in their different ways. The common denominator is that the actors IBIS works with should be as representative as possible and work towards the needed change of the people (see section on profile and selection of partners for all the criteria for partners). 4.4 Programme geographical area The Governance Thematic Programme will be managed out of Monrovia, (based from IBIS Country Office), to ensure adequate relations and support to the relevant civil society partners and Government authorities that are primarily based in the capital. However, IBIS will ensure a strong exchange link between national and local levels in the Counties where IBIS is already running the Education Thematic Programme. For instance, the Governance Programme is likely to work at local level in Grand Gedeh, River Gee and Sinoe Counties, where: 18 IBIS understands civil society organisations as including the whole spectrum from national level NGOs to CBOs at local levels and will in this Governance Thematic Programme generally refer to them as civil society organisations (CSOs) including networks and alliances of such CSOs. 15

16 IBIS Education Programme has it s base and would offer opportunities for linkage in relation to the education sector budget tracking activities; extractive industry continues to develop and land grabbing has become of national concern; and potential partners interested in exploring opportunities for collaboration on extractive industry issues are currently present, including Alliance 2015 partners, Welthungerhilfe. 5 Programme strategies The programme strategies of this Governance Thematic Programme will describe how IBIS will work towards reaching the programme objective and supporting change in Liberian governance. The strategies are structured around the three inception phase objectives as a way of addressing the burning issues in the Liberian governance context and will also explain how gender equality, youth inclusion and empowerment are integrated as well as how to work with partners, rights and synergy. 5.1 Civil society participation in natural resource governance IBIS will prioritize the following strategic actions at both local and national level according to the first inception phase objective regarding civil society awareness and involvement in ensuring equitable, sustainable and accountable natural resource governance in Liberia. According to Liberian civil society representatives, 19 change is needed to ensure a more inclusive and participatory multi-stakeholder approach to natural resource governance, including government, national and local level CSOs as well as local communities. Such an approach is needed since governmental and civil society duty bearers have limited knowledge about the governance of Liberia s natural resources. Furthermore, communities affected by extraction and people in general lack access to information. Consequently there is a lack of accountability and inclusion of relevant stakeholders in decision-making processes even though a multi-stakeholder group is set up in relation to LEITI. However, the need for a broader representation is felt by civil society in order to share information and ensure inclusion in decision-making in a transparent and accountable manner. Creating awareness about the right to a fair share and sustainable use of the natural resources of Liberia that benefit and protect rather than harm local communities and their land and livelihood is therefore incorporated into the Governance Thematic Programme. IBIS will support CSOs work to transfer knowledge and create community awareness and influence on how the local natural resources are used and can benefit them, as well as support networking and dialogue between civil society and extractive companies and government to ensure transparency and accountability at district and county level. Liberian civil society engaged in natural resource governance stress the fact that they lack strategic ways of engaging with policy makers during the processes of passing bills regarding natural resource governance in Liberia. Hence IBIS will seek to support and build such capacity among CSOs enabling them to influence decision-making processes at national level more successfully. An entry point for joint advocacy between IBIS and CSO partners is the right to free, prior and informed consent for people living in areas where natural resources are being extracted. In Liberia, the right is to be upheld before concessions are signed by the government and extractive companies, but in reality this is not practiced fully, even though it is legally bound; hence further advocacy is needed at both national and local level. In order for civil society to work for good governance of Liberia s natural resources, IBIS will through the support of CSOs advocate for and strengthen coordination among relevant government agencies such as the Ministry of Land, Mines and Energy, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Finance, LEITI Secretariat, Forestry Development Authority, and the Environmental Protection Agency to make information centres assessable for CSOs and people in general and enable that information is distributed and shared at county and district levels. Creating synergy with IBIS Africa Against Poverty 20 and thereby supporting advocacy for transparent and accountable natural resource governance at regional and global levels, IBIS in Liberia will explore possibilities representatives from Liberian CSOs participated in a consultative forum that IBIS hosted on March 27th 2012, where the specific issues in focus for this Governance Thematic Programme were discussed. 20 AAP is IBIS global level programme that works to strengthen civil society s voice and influence on the extraction of natural resources and the redistribution through tax systems through advocacy and capacity building at national, regional and international level. The third phase of the programme runs from 2011 to

17 for shared support to the Liberia Oil and Gas Initiative (LOGI) formed as a network in This could provide a framework for strengthening links between AAP and the Governance Programme as well as regional experiences and learning from AAP s activities in the West Africa region, in supporting networks, contributing to research and facilitating workshops and conferences for relevant stakeholders working with natural resource governance. 5.2 Decentralized distribution of resources and influence IBIS will in line with the second inception phase objective prioritize the following strategic areas enabling IBIS to create relevant synergies between the Governance and Education Thematic Programmes and advocate for the overall change towards decentralized distribution of resources and influence in Liberia. According to civil society representatives in Liberia, 22 there is a need for increasing public awareness and enhancing political representation though decentralization of economic and political power. In order to create such change in governance and drive the process of decentralization, a strong and effective civil society needs to proactively engage in national and local decision-making. IBIS will thus support CSOs push for change towards an inclusive and transparent decentralization process including the election of local leaders and their inclusion and representation in national democratic processes. IBIS will furthermore contribute to strengthening governance, transparency and accountability among CSOs and the Government of Liberia by supporting dialogue spaces for cooperation and feedback to the Liberian people they all are meant to represent. In such cases, the Government of Liberia is to provide access for civil society and citizens to information about their leaders and the decision-making processes related to the national budget and the resource allocation to the education sector. CSOs are then to identify relevant issues, conduct research and advocate and inform people about such decision-making. IBIS will start such support by focusing on these issues related to the governance of the education sector in Liberia, which IBIS has thorough knowledge of and experience with from working within the Liberian education sector since The focus of the inception phase of the Governance Thematic Programme for the first 18 months will be on tracking resources and budgets for education as part of ensuring transparent and accountable decentralization of public financial management of resources. This focus will create synergy with the Education Thematic Programme and is aligned to the Education Reform Act. With this focus the Governance Thematic Programme will support CSOs working to track budgets and procurement in the education sector, while the Education Thematic Programme will be responsible for advocating for an effective implementation of the Education Reform Act. The joint aim of the two thematic programmes will thus be to contribute to decentralization of decisions regarding resource and quality in education at county and district level. In the long term, the issues of tracking the national budget and ensuring redistribution from central to local levels will be explored further on in the Governance Thematic Programme as IBIS has learned more from doing so within the Liberian education sector, which is familiar to IBIS as an organization. The overall aim will be to contribute to changing the unequal distribution of public resource in Liberia, not only in education. Another possibility to be explored is to use such public budget tracking for the more overall advocacy for increased public funds to education as part of the Education Thematic Programme and in accordance with the Global Campaign on Education for All. Such synergies will be considered in the inception phase, but further elaboration will be done later on in the development of the entire Governance Thematic Programme until Empowerment and inclusion of women and youth For the third inception phase objective IBIS will as well describe the following strategic areas prioritized. IBIS strategic approach of mainstreaming gender equality and position on how to work with youth will 21 Mapping of stakeholders in the field of extractives in Liberia, prepared for IBIS in Liberia by Lorien Frank, November representatives from Liberian CSOs participated in a consultative forum that IBIS hosted on March 27th 2012, where the specific issues in focus for this Governance Thematic Programme were discussed. 17

18 furthermore be considered in order to advocate for the empowerment and inclusion of women and youth in Liberian governance processes. Women and youth are as previously mentioned some of the main marginalized groups in society when it comes to equally participating in and influencing decision-making processes, in governance and in general. At the same time, women and youth are also possible agents of change in governance, if they though advocating for their rights and inclusion in governance can change the power balances and ensure greater equal participation and influence of people in Liberia. IBIS will therefore support CSOs working to empower women and youth in order to strengthen their capacities and leadership of women and youth to work as agents for such change at both national and local levels. Furthermore, IBIS will also support opportunities and forums for dialogue at local and national level between genders and generations to contribute to positive changes in behaviour and policies that will ensure equal rights and inclusion in decision-making processes for all Liberians. The marginalization, limited access and opportunities for women have according to Liberian civil society representatives 23 been going on for many years due to several reasons such as traditional, cultural and religious norms and practices. Other more immediate reasons are that women do not appreciate and support their own or other women s efforts and some men can feel threatened by the empowerment of women and last but not least both genders at all levels of Liberian society are often ignorant of the benefits and gains of gender equality for all. Change is therefore needed towards full participation of women in sharing of knowledge and information as well as in decision-making processes. Such change should take place in both the private and public spheres and starts with women seeing themselves as partners in any decision-making processes, with prominent women and everyday female role models as mentors and supporters of other women. IBIS will contribute to such change processes through the work of CSOs that empower women and increase gender equality in Liberia. Liberian youth also lack equal opportunities based on merit and often does not have knowledge of such possibilities and how they can access them. Due to this limited knowledge of the rights and responsibilities of youth, young civil society representatives 24 find it of great importance to create and support youth friendly environments for participation in democratic and decision-making processes. In order to be able to actively participate in such processes it is necessary to strengthen young people s awareness and leadership skills. This way IBIS will be able to contribute to CSOs support to the involvement of youth in the decentralization processes and allocation of resources for youth empowerment at national and local levels of democratic governance and elections. IBIS will also support CSOs advocacy for the re-enforcement of governmental policies and laws that are to empower women and youth in Liberia. Part of such advocacy will be based on tracking government activities and implementation processes of policies such as the National Youth Policy and the National Policy on Decentralization and Local Governance to ensure that the Government of Liberia is held accountable and enables a transparent environment of information sharing which include women and youth. An example is for CSOs to advocate for the passing of laws that enhances the political participation of women and youth in democratic governance processes at local and national levels. 5.4 Partnership The development of partnerships will take some time of necessary transition as post-conflict countries like Liberia tend to encourage international and local partnerships that are donor driven per sector and Liberian organisations have evolved a mind-set that expects to act as sub-contractors rather than agents of change. In 2011, IBIS in Liberia held its first Partner Meeting as part of the Education for Change Thematic Programme, and partners agreed that participatory decision-making required readiness to ensure compromise and flexibility from all sides and that an atmosphere of mutual trust would be the basis for constructive cooperation and transparency representatives from Liberian CSOs participated in a consultative forum that IBIS hosted on March 27th 2012, where the specific issues in focus for this Governance Thematic Programme were discussed. 24 Ibid 18

19 Roles and capacity in partnership The overall role of IBIS is provider of capacity building, broker of contacts and resources, supporter of networking and learning, as well as facilitator of change processes. The overall role of civil society partners is to carry out advocacy alone or jointly with IBIS, develop technical and organizational capacities, exchange experiences and learning, as well as be agents of change processes. As is a globally common scenario, in Liberia civil society representation in the urban setting tend to be stronger in networking, financial, organisational and technical capacity compared to rural civil society organisations who are less likely to have as much access to influence broad decision-making processes or have a functional system to ensure their voice is consistently heard at Governmental level. The Governance Programme will aim to build on relevant rural civil society structures, as a means of ensuring that support does not remain in the capital city and is able to help escalate the marginalised voice of rural civil society, as well as work to strengthen the essential links between national level advocacy and local level reality. According to Liberian civil society representatives, 25 the role of INGOs is to build Liberian CSOs capacity in developing proposals and raising funds, managing programmes and finances as well as supporting team and leadership building. IBIS role will thus be to strengthen partners organizational and thematic capacity based on their needs for developing innovative approaches, assessment and monitoring systems and skills as well as strategic planning and tracking of the change processes. IBIS will furthermore strengthen partners advocacy, marketing and networking skills to enable them to use and link their results and evidence from their governance activities for national level influence, lobby and campaigns. IBIS also plans to consider implementing national campaigns that supplements such media and advocacy work done by Liberian partners as support to overall changes in governance. Profile and selection of partners IBIS will strive to focus on the governance actors within civil society and government that are agents of change as well as representatives of people and what they consider as the needed change. Change agents within governance in Liberia are viewed by IBIS as actors working to achieve transparency, accountability, inclusion and equality within the Liberian society in a way that ensures the exact same principles of good governance. By supporting such change agents further change should be possible and affect other more reluctant stakeholders to work for change as well. An important factor is to make sure that the change processes supported are in line with what people want and need and support government policies for development as well as follows IBIS overall vision and strategies. Some of the specific governance stakeholders that IBIS will engage with are relevant ministries and government agencies at central and county level, while IBIS as mentioned under section 4.3 on target groups in this Governance Thematic Programme will focus on partnering with relevant Liberian civil society organizations. IBIS will thus support relevant CSOs in Liberia who already work with budget tracking and governance of natural and public resources as well as women and youth empowerment and match the following profile and criteria for IBIS partners of this Governance Thematic Programme: Overlap of visions and missions between IBIS and partners Shared values, commitment to and objectives for change in Liberian governance Potential added value from partnering for both IBIS and partners Working directly in the areas stated in the specific and inception phase objectives Transparent, democratic and responsible organizational systems and structures Be representative, accountable and inclusive towards their constituents in civil society and communities Willingness to share knowledge and learn from each other Gender sensitive and inclusive towards marginalized groups in society, such as people living with HIV/AIDS or disabilities Rights based and aid effectiveness approach to development and programmatic work for governance representatives from Liberian CSOs participated in a consultative forum that IBIS hosted on March 27th 2012, where the specific issues in focus for this Governance Thematic Programme were discussed. 19

20 The selection of partners will be based on a thorough partner assessment done jointly among IBIS and a potential partner. Following such assessments IBIS will select relevant partners to develop Partnership Development Plans (PDP) where agreed areas of capacity building are stated as well as plans and responsibilities of when and who will roll out such plans. Part of these plans will be the holding of an annual Partners Forum, where all IBIS partners will meet and discuss common issues and even consider joint capacity building workshops. IBIS will also consider contracting some CSOs on short-term consultancy basis in order to try out different partners and see how collaboration between IBIS and a specific CSO might go. This approach is based on learning from the Education Thematic Programme, where several partners started out with consultancy contracts and the partnership grew and developed further on that basis. Furthermore, it might also be relevant for IBIS to hire in CSOs as consultants for specific trainings and campaigns, where IBIS does not the capacity and expertise in house. The Governance Thematic Programme will also strive to ensure alliances with relevant INGOs, also among the Alliance2015 partners in Liberia, Welthungerhilfe (WHH) and Concern Worldwide in order to strengthen the cooperation within the alliance but also as support to the aid effectiveness agenda. A consideration could be to duplicate the INGO coordination meeting for education in governance and consider joint research on youth and decentralization which are common interests of the three A2015 partners in Liberia. 6 Fundraising strategy This strategy for fundraising for the Governance Thematic Programme in Liberia covers institutional and private fundraising, including short descriptions of what is suitable and planned to be developed for these two types of fundraising as well as stating tentative targets when feasible. 6.1 Institutional fundraising The aim of IBIS overall fundraising strategy is to raise 50% of the total funds for IBIS Country Programme in Liberia through institutional fundraising in Liberia. For the Governance Thematic Programme the following proposed targets for institutional fundraising have been developed. Table 1 Projected institutional fundraising within the Governance Thematic Programme TOTAL BUDGET Danida Frame Funds ,138,274 3,644,321 3,719,000 3,706,000 3,706,000 Budget % Budget % Budget % Budget % Budget % 1,701, ,793, ,866, ,866, ,866, Education TP 1,354, ,066, , , , Governance TP 347, , , , , Institutional Fundraising 1,437, ,851, ,853, ,840, ,840, Education TP 1,437, ,651, ,353, ,040, ,040, Governance TP , , , , Focus in the inception phase of 2012 and 2013 will be on developing and building contacts and relations with institutional donors who fund governance programmes in Liberia. Among these donors are the Swedish International Development Cooperation (SIDA), Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD), and the UK s Department for International Development (DFID) and Irish Aid. Furthermore, new common ground within governance will be explored with the Alliance2015 partners in Liberia, particularly concerning youth as a target group, decentralization processes and the issues of land and natural resources. Such an example could be the exploration of joint work with Welthungerhilfe funded by the German Development 20

21 Bank, KfW. Other new ways of developing joint funding with the Education Thematic Programme could be related to the tracking of education budgets to ensure accountability and transparency when it comes to public resource and strengthen good governance in the education sector. Such an approach would enable possibilities for synergy between the two thematic programmes in Liberia. A specific mapping of relevant institutional donors in governance will be further pursuit in 2012 as the first year of the inception phase in order to take the first step in raising funds for the Governance Thematic Programme from 2013 and onwards. 6.2 Private fundraising Private fundraising is co-danida frame funds raised in Denmark by IBIS Head Office (HO) from Danish private funders, ranging from private individuals donating to IBIS work in Liberia, private Foundations and companies supporting the thematic programmes. IBIS in Liberia s role is to support HO in reaching the overall 10% target for private funds raised in Denmark. Starting from the development of the Governance Thematic Programme, considerations of which issues are relevant for private fundraising in Denmark has taken place. In the Inception Phase of the programme an outline of which activities and related budget lines are relevant for private fundraising will be developed, as part of the mandate for the Fundraising Team. Such suggestions are tentatively outlined in further detail under the communication strategy, since the raising of funds and communication of programme activities are highly related to each other. Furthermore, the issue of exploring ways of collaborating with private companies, both Danish and others interested in supporting good governance in Liberia, will be further explored in collaboration with the Liberia Fundraising Team and HO Communication Department. 7 Communication strategy The main aim with this communication strategy is to support the focus areas of the Governance Thematic Programme. At the same time, the programme activities should also have the potential to support the overall communications and fundraising aims, in Liberia as well as in Denmark. This two-pronged approach to communications will be combined in a matrix, according to the three inception phase objectives, where stakeholders, key messages and potential stories are linked to these objectives. Such a matrix is part of the Liberia Communications Plan and will be developed further in the inception phase of the Governance Thematic Programme. In line with the Global Communication Strategy, these are the strategic communications aims for this Governance Thematic Programme: Strengthening the relations between IBIS, partners and target groups: Working with partners to create appropriate materials as inspiration for their work to improve governance. Create and maintain appropriate communication channels, e.g. newsletter and website to communicate directly with external stakeholders, but also internally to staff to help keep the synergy in the programme. Inspiring change through advocacy by being solutions-oriented when taking part in and stimulating debates: Ensure advocacy activities provide suggestions for solutions to the development issues related to governance both in IBIS own media and externally. Use evidence-based research to stimulate debate among Liberian and Danish audiences. Build technical communications and campaign/advocacy capacity with partners where relevant. Seeking exposure to increase the knowledge of IBIS and IBIS partners work in the public: Build awareness among targeted audiences about IBIS in Liberia and the importance of good governance by exposing examples of best practice and learning from IBIS in Liberia for IBIS own media as well as PR in Denmark and in Liberia. Develop impact case studies and use of good results from the programme activities done by IBIS and partners for fundraising purposes in Liberia and in Denmark. All governance activities can have communications and fundraising potential, especially if the target group and implementation method is innovative and creative. Such considerations are done in both the design and implementation of the inception phase of this programme when partners and activities are being selected. 21

22 The following are potential key messages for each inception phase objective and examples of potential use for communication and fundraising. Key messages for inception phase objective 1 are that social development funds should reach and benefit local communities the way they choose. Concessions and extraction should be done in accordance with local communities rights. Example of potential use is the extraction of natural resources as it is high on the Danish youth agenda, so stories and short films about strong rights-based youth groups working for justice in extractives could appeal to fundraising and communications in Denmark (e.g. Operation One Days Work and a potential West Africa members group in Denmark). Key messages for inception phase objective 2 are that it is important to track the money for education from the government in order to ensure that it reaches the local people it is intended for. Insight into budgets is powerful in order to ensure accountability and transparency and fight corruption. An example of potential use is that budget tracking can make for an interesting article if the implementation method is through theatre performance or some other creative ways. Key messages for inception phase objective 3 are that women and youth are able to contribute positively to decision-making in the communities and at national level and they should be given the opportunity and support to do so. Women and youth are equal Liberian citizens and their inclusion in society benefits all Liberians. Examples of potential use are that personal change stories of women and youth as strong role models who exemplify our key messages could work well in both communications and fundraising in Denmark. 8 Outline of programme activities The activities outlined below include the process of developing partnerships as well as the selection and proposed programme activities as per Objective. The more detailed activities selected will mainly depend on the partners current and planned activities to be implemented as partners to IBIS under this Governance Thematic Programme. This principle is in line with IBIS partnership approach and will therefore support programme activities relevant to the Liberian context and thereby strengthen Liberian CSOs work for good governance. By doing so, IBIS will avoid duplication and ensure sustainability in accordance with the principles of aid effectiveness. Furthermore, in the selection of the following activities relevance for fundraising and communication is considered. Activities for inception phase The inception phase will start with the following activities: Recruit relevant staff, purchase equipment and establish the programme and financial managerial set up of the Governance Programme, in line with the country structure. As a follow-up to the Extractive Industry and Civil Society Organisations Mapping as well as the stakeholder meetings held as part of this proposal development, IBIS will explore opportunities and select partners through mutual assessments (in line with the Partnership Strategy and as outlined in section 5.4 on Partnerships) and initial consultancy contracts with partners contracted to implement specific activities (e.g. planning and coordinating an oil and gas multi-stakeholder conference). Facilitate the process of developing Partnership Development Plans with selected partners. While expected results are outlined in the log frame (Annex 1), specific targets and indicators will be developed with each partner as part of the Partnership Development Plan which will include a Performance Measurement Framework with defined and agreed indicators related to the relevant programme objectives and expected results. Explore what informational gaps exist within the framework of this proposal, so as to commission specific relevant research where necessary to support further programme developments, such as: in further understanding how civil society networks engage and to what extent results are achieved as networks and what dialogue spaces exist; to what level policies such as the Freedom of Information Act are accessible in the rural Counties. 22

23 Activities for inception phase objective 1 The first inception phase objective is to: Increase civil society understanding and participation in public dialogue associated to natural resources concession agreements and their related social development funds at local and national levels. The following activities are tentatively outlined: Community awareness campaigns to inform people of their rights to access, information, influence and benefits of natural resources in their community Stakeholder meetings including representatives from civil society, government authorities and extractive companies at local and national levels including a joint AAP Oil and Gas multi-stakeholder conference Advocacy campaigns for sustainable and inclusive use and benefits of natural resources for people, private companies and the state in Liberia at local and national levels Capacity building of civil society representatives to understand and plan how the resources from the social development funds can be used National level advocacy campaigns for the right to free, prior and informed consent for people living in areas where natural resources are extracted. Activities for inception phase objective 2 The second inception phase objective is to: Improve accountability and transparency in decentralizing governance through advocating for resource allocation and budget tracking in the education sector from national to local levels. The following activities are tentatively outlined: Budget tracking and procurement monitoring training for civil society and governmental representatives at district and county level Stakeholder meetings on redistribution of public resources to education at district and county level involving civil society and governmental representatives, including women and youth, at local and national level Advocacy and awareness campaign plans for redistribution and decentralization of public resources and their financial management, particularly within the education sector. Activities for inception phase objective 3 The third inception phase objective is to: Increase awareness and capacity of women and youth in advocating for equal rights and participation in decentralization of governance processes at local and national levels. The following activities are tentatively outlined: Leadership training for women and youth organizations and representatives from civil society and government Liberia for all campaign advocating for the equal rights of women and youth through radio talk shows and awareness events Awareness raising and training on rights targeting young women between years old Gender equality training including women and men as well as youth groups to raise awareness about the importance and benefits of women and youth participating in decision-making processes at local and national levels National advocacy campaign for equal rights and representation for women and youth, as part of the decentralization process leading up to the future local elections IBIS will strive to create synergy between the three groups of activities when feasible and relevant for pursuing the overall programme objective for change in governance. This approach will entail that some partners might be working under more than one of the inception phase objectives and implement several activities according to their expertise and ability. By doing so, IBIS will always try to ensure that the different partners work together and learn from each other through sharing of knowledge and skills when deemed relevant for both partners and IBIS. The intention is that the inception phase will enable IBIS to pursue such possibilities and learn from more small-scale experiences that can be useful for both partners development and the further elaboration of the Governance Thematic Programme. 23

24 9 Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) As outlined in IBIS Country Strategy for Liberia, it is important to maintain focus on the change the Country Programme is aiming to achieve, which is the fundamental basis for IBIS presence in Liberia. A system that monitors and evaluates results and change should therefore be the basis for determining progress in the Governance Programme. The joint monitoring approach is based on IBIS Partnership Strategy, Change Triangle 26 and Thematic Programme guidelines. The M&E system incorporates a variety of tools and opportunities for shared learning, joint decision-making and innovation within the programme. The monitoring cycle for the Governance Programme will include the following elements: Baseline Survey which lays the foundation for measuring programme progress and impact compared to the situation at the start of the programme and serves as the basis for continued evidence based advocacy. Partner Development Plans which provide a practical tool for monitoring support to partners through outlining the process by which the partner and IBIS will aim to achieve programme objectives and strengthen organisational capacity. Performance Measurement Frameworks (PFM) to monitor and assess programme performance and impact, cost effectiveness and roles and responsibilities of IBIS and partners in the monitoring the process, based on the Governance Programme Log frame. This framework is essentially the monitoring plan that links the Governance Programme log frame, specific outcomes, Annual Action Plan, Partner Development Plans, Joint Monitoring, financial and narrative reporting together to promote shared responsibility and give a clear outline of the agreed practical steps for monitoring progress towards collective objectives (an example can be found in Annex 4) Database development to accumulate statistical data with respect to specific thematic areas which contributes to the informational basis for evidence based advocacy and measurable change. Joint Monitoring whereby IBIS, partners and selected stakeholders agree to scheduled field visits with follow up meetings for each partner as part of the monitoring process. The aim of including another selected partner organisation and stakeholder representatives is to promote shared ownership and transparency as well as discuss and evaluate collective goals. Partner Forum which is held annually with all partners and IBIS Governance Team to assess and discuss the overall progress of the programme and the partnership between the partners and IBIS. The annual Partner Forum is a participatory process where partners and IBIS will discuss overall performance, relevance and cost effectiveness as well as relevant cross-cutting issues, such as gender equality and youth inclusion, of the Governance Thematic Programme according to changes in the Liberian context. The initial Partner Forum in the inception phase will be of great importance for adjusting and elaborating the further developments of the Governance Thematic Programme. This forum will also be used to address changed expectations, roles and contextual factors of the partnerships. The outcome of the Partner Forum gives input to IBIS in Liberia s annual Operational Performance System (OPS) reporting to HO, IBIS Board and donors. Formative Monitoring Mission (FMM) which is held every two years and is made up of a team of HO staff, external consultants and where relevant regional IBIS staff with the purpose to monitor progress, qualify results, evaluate management, partner and staff capacity and active participation in the programme implementation. The aim of the FMM is to provide constructive and formative suggestions based on an overall assessment of the outcomes of the Governance Programme while it is being implemented in order to adjust the actual strategy and practice. A FMM will be planned for in the last quarters of the Inception Phase, 2013 in order for the findings and recommendations to feed into the development of the full Governance Thematic Programme for the remaining period from 2014 to mid Monitoring Roles and Responsibilities The monitoring role and responsibility of IBIS is to provide an M&E programme framework, including agreed tools and reporting formats, which forms the basis for IBIS internally and partners to monitor and analyse progress and learning throughout the programme cycle. IBIS is responsible for leading the process of 26 The Change Triangle: Thematic Forum 2010, IBIS, Danish Mission Council Development Department (DMCDD) and the Project Advice and Training Centre (PACT)

25 developing Performance Measurement Frameworks to suit the programme objectives and partners own M&E systems. In addition, IBIS has the responsibility to provide technical guidance to monitor progress and to ensure that goals and objectives are met, in an approach that is results based, gives focus to quality, and effectively addresses the needs of the programme target groups. IBIS has the role of monitoring overall partner development and progress which will be measured according to the steps set forth in the Performance Measurement Framework and Partnership Development Plans as established with each partner based on the initial Partner Assessment. In line with IBIS overall principles for M&E, it is important to reemphasise that IBIS has a responsibility to ensure that it s monitoring systems enable effective accountability of IBIS own implementation as well as that in support of partners. All joint activities such as advocacy campaigns and capacity trainings should be part of this monitoring step to ensure congruence and added value of IBIS in their partnerships and programme. It is also important to stress the fact that any monitoring is necessary for communication of results for present advocacy and future fundraising. The monitoring role and responsibility of partners is to take forward an agreed Performance Monitoring Framework using a combination of partners and IBIS monitoring tools. Such on-going monitoring should be the basis for overall documentation and systematic analysis of the intended change while bearing in mind that such change processes should be used for advocacy to work for more overall changes in governance. The partner monitoring should therefore be used for internal and joint assessment of adjustments and decisionmaking to ensure such changes in the short and long-term processes. 10 Taking learning forward In the Inception Phase of the Governance Thematic Programme opportunities for learning will be pursued through national and international research institutions and networks to increase IBIS and partners knowledge, understanding and documentation of specific thematic areas and the overall context of governance. IBIS will also explore the possibilities of linking partners to relevant networks at local, national, regional and international level. Internally, IBIS will also take up opportunities for shared learning across the Education and Governance Thematic Programmes, between Governance Programmes in West Africa and among all of the IBIS programmes through proactive engagement between key staff, staff and partner exchange visits, participation in monitoring missions and the Global Governance Group, which convenes biannually to share such learning experiences. The idea is to make good use of all the governance expertise within IBIS, which is found both at Head Office (HO) in Denmark and at the other Country Offices (COs). Especially in Sierra Leone, IBIS in Liberia wishes to learn from their experiences of developing, implementing and elaborating Governance Thematic Programme, since of the similarities in context and recent experiences with such processes by the governance team in Sierra Leone. The Governance Programme will also place itself in a strategic position of networking with other INGOs and Alliance 2015 partners. 11 Programme and Human Resource Management Overall management of the Governance Thematic Programme is a combined responsibility from IBIS and its partners in order to effectively remain relevant to the context and constructively measure the programme s impact and ability to meet its objectives. As part IBIS in Liberia s Country Strategy implementation the organizational structure will be reviewed and reorganized during the Inception Phase. There are multiple layers within the current organizational system, which bases itself on a matrix structure with the view to increase integrated responsibilities and diverse functions (see Annex 5 for details of IBIS Governance Programme staff responsibilities). The matrix structure group personnel by both function and thematic area has draws on a number of teams to accomplish goals, in order to take advantage of the strengths, as well as make up for the weaknesses, of functional and decentralized forms (see Annex 6 for an outline of the Teams and Meeting structures that facilitate the management and decision making processes as a Country Programme). The matrix organisational structure fits with IBIS Results Based Management (RBM), which is a life-cycle approach to management that integrates strategy, people, resources, processes and measurements to improve decision-making, transparency and accountability. As such, overall management of the Governance 25

26 Programme includes developing integrated and individual Performance Measurement Frameworks and Capacity Building Plans (an example can be found in Annex 7) for IBIS and partners to lay the basis for the how the programme will work to ensure it is able to effectively measure impact and change according to the programme s objectives. Such a system encourages shared responsibility for programme and results between IBIS and its partners. IBIS in Liberia s Matrix Organizational structure Currently, within the Country Office and each of IBIS field offices, there is a basic common organisational structure that is made up of technical programme finance, admin and logistics personnel. This structure has been developed in order to effectively manage the IBIS implemented Education Thematic Programme with all its components and projects. The matrix organisational structure has been developed to meet the reality of the programme s needs and in order to provide a functional flatter system of management. For instance, although there are clear lines of management and reporting responsibility for the Finance Officers in the field to the Programme leader or budget holder on a day-to-day basis, the Finance Officers are also responsible to report to the Country Accountant based in the Country Office. The same goes for programme personnel who will also have responsibilities to financial, administrative and logistical colleagues in being held accountable for activity expenditures. The Governance Thematic Programme staff will be significantly lower in number than the Education Programme as the programme will predominantly focus on partner activities with limited selfimplementation. However, the levels of responsibilities and positions will fit in to the same organisational structure as the Education Programme. The different layers of personnel and positions (see Annex 5) have been developed with the direct objective to build opportunities for IBIS nationally employed staff to grow in capacity and take up increased levels of reporting, financial and management responsibilities so as to increase the general capacity of IBIS staff who would be better equipped to provide the necessary development support to partners in the long-run. 26

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