Building Capacities for Civic Engagement, Peacebuilding and Inclusive Dialogue: Towards Inclusive and Participatory Governance

Project Background

The overall objective of the project is to promote a peaceful, inclusive, and equitable society through expanding opportunities for inclusive civic engagement using tools such as dialogue. Specifically, the project seeks to build the space and demand for constructive, meaningful, and inclusive engagement and collaboration among civil society, governmental authorities, private entities, and citizens through their capacity development as duty bearers and rights holders. The project also creates additional opportunities for civic engagement to enhance direct relationship and exposure between civil society and government institutions.

Expected Results

By 2023, women and men, including those underrepresented, marginalized, and vulnerable, benefit from more transparent and accountable legislative and governance frameworks that ensure meaningful and informed participation in economic and social development and political processes.

The project will contribute to the outcome with the following three project outputs and in recognizing different voices of men and women, with particular attention to marginalized groups.

Output 1: CSOs and governmental authorities will be able to engage each other better in responding to citizens’ interests

1.1 Develop capacity of civil servants both in relevant ministries and sub-national authorities

1.2 Develop capacity of CSOs

1.3 Develop tools and knowledge to understand male and female citizens’ interests, particularly marginalized groups’ interests

Output 2: Existing infrastructure for civic engagement (mechanisms, processes, and policies) will be more constructive, and open to diverse opinions in ensuring women’s participation

2.1 Provide mediators and facilitators

2.2. Institutionalize existing infrastructure and support implementation of its work plans

2.3 Develop communications products and knowledge management

Output 3: Partnership among citizens, CSOs and government institutions (both national and sub-national) will be strengthened through identifying more benefits of civic engagement.

3.1 Organize innovation challenge on civic engagement

3.2 Organize study tours

Progress

· The project has made important progress since the launch in March 2020. A key deliverable in 2020 was the inception analysis, to clarify the project’s targets and approaches in responding to the needs of stakeholders and build partnerships, through extensive consultation with more than 70 stakeholders from the government, CSOs, development partners and UN agencies.

· The findings of the consultation were verified by 50 participants from the Government, CSOs, donors and UN agencies at an inception workshop in August 2020.

· During the inception phase in 2020, the target infrastructure for civic engagement, (i) RGC and CSOs Partnership Forum in Phnom Penh and (ii) Provincial Government and CSOs Partnership Forum were identified based on the request by the Government and CSOs. In 2021, target provinces are: Siem Reap, Ratanakiri, Kampot, and Kampong Cham.

· A curriculum on innovation for local administration was developed in partnership with the National School of Local Administration (NASLA). The training curriculum consists of six modules providing practical tools for ‘user centred’ service delivery. The six modules included citizen and stakeholder engagement; data literacy and evidence; system thinking; problem solving; storytelling and advocacy; and enabling creative environment towards innovative culture change.