Quarterly Report: Enhancing Participatory Governance and Accountability Project

The project is implemented in partnership with Rwanda Development Organization (RDO), Commission Episcopale Justice et Paix (CEJP-Rwanda), and Union des Coopératives Agricoles Intégrées (UNICOOPAGI) in five target districts: Gakenke, Rulindo, Nyanza, Nyaruguru, and Nyamagabe. During the third quarter of Year 2 (April to June 2018), the project achieved several key milestones. A one-day annual dialogue and advocacy meeting was conducted at the national level, bringing together 120 stakeholders, including civil society and national government officials. The meeting aimed to raise awareness and enhance knowledge of citizens, particularly women and youth, on agricultural policies, programs, and their related budgets. Feedback meetings were conducted in 63 villages, where community committee members shared feedback on issues previously raised by community members. These meetings were held with community committee members at village level in 63 villages in the five target districts. Community committee members took advantage of community spaces such as Umuganda and evening mother sessions to share feedback on issues previously raised by community members. Training of trainers (TOT) was conducted for 12 participants from each of the three implementing partners (CEJP, RDO, and UNICOOPAGI) and Trócaire staff on public policy and budget monitoring, with a particular emphasis on agricultural policies and related budgets. The training aimed to increase the capacity of civil society organizations in policy and budget analysis, particularly those related to agriculture. A Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) review workshop was organized by Trócaire for 9 project staff from 3 sub-grantees and Trócaire team members. The workshop had several objectives, including recalling the range of project deliverables and results, assessing the reasons for the slow move compared to committed annual targets, and discussing pitfalls related to quality assurance in program delivery and M&E. In addition, Trócaire made important progress in digital data collection, selecting and adjusting a software to meet the specific context and needs of the project. The training and roll-out of the software to the communities will take place in July 2018. Despite these achievements, some partners face challenges related to their internal procedures and manuals, which can lead to unclarities with partner staff in procedures to follow. Trócaire proposes to support partners in the development and/or updating or strengthening of their internal procedure manuals. The project has continued to implement activities under the project to enhance participatory governance and accountability for local leaders from decentralized and national level, civil society organizations, and especially women and youth in the five target project districts. The report details the achievements realized against three project outcomes for the period.