Fourth Annual Report: Advancing CSO Capacities and Engaging Society for Sustainability (ACCESS) Project

The project, funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and implemented by East West Management Institute, Inc. (EWMI), began on October 30, 2014, and is scheduled to end on October 31, 2019. The project's mission is to enable a more constituent-connected, organizationally mature, and financially sustainable cadre of CSOs that can progress toward managing direct USAID funding. To achieve this goal, ACCESS offers integrated support to a geographically diverse and demographically inclusive group of CSOs, with particular attention paid to regional organizations. The integrated support includes grants, peer mentoring, training, individual consultations, special initiatives, and networking opportunities. In Year 4, ACCESS pursued this mission by implementing comprehensive grants and technical assistance programs targeting regional and Tbilisi-based watchdog organizations and think tanks. The project also engaged CSOs in open discussions with local and national government, media, citizens, the private sector, and political parties on key local and national issues and the government's initiatives to address these issues. One of the key objectives of ACCESS is to increase citizen engagement at the local level. Through its grant programs and regional civic engagement activities, such as Regional Civic Engagement Weeks, bus tours, Best Practice and Innovation Events, and Right to Know campaigns, ACCESS supported a geographically and demographically diverse cadre of CSOs to develop their capacities and facilitate citizen engagement in a wide array of issues initiated by local groups and citizens. During the reporting period, ACCESS grant projects and civic activities engaged over 5,100 citizens and addressed some of the most important problems facing Georgia's regions. However, the project has been encountering difficulties in awarding grants to regional CSOs due to the low quality of the presented problem analyses and/or proposed solutions. The problem is attributed to the dominance of constraining factors to effect policy changes at the local level, such as the limited competencies and resources of local authorities in Georgia. Additionally, the sector's homogenous make-up, lack of diversification in leadership and staff, and donor dependence have also contributed to the challenges faced by regional CSOs. To address these challenges, ACCESS has been working to inspire and enable innovative and experimental initiatives. The project has also been engaging with regional CSOs to improve the quality of their problem analyses and proposed solutions. Despite these efforts, the project continues to face difficulties in awarding grants to regional CSOs. The Centers for Civic Engagement (CCEs) established by ACCESS have been playing a crucial role in supporting CSOs, citizens, political parties, donors, and other groups to organize town hall meetings, information campaigns, policy debates, and other civic events. In the lead up to the 2018 Presidential Elections, CCEs started operating as Election Media Centers to provide a neutral space where key electoral stakeholders could learn and distribute non-partisan election-related information. Overall, the ACCESS project has made significant progress in enhancing the effectiveness of CSOs in Georgia. However, the project continues to face challenges in awarding grants to regional CSOs and addressing the sector's homogenous make-up and donor dependence.