Strategic objective 3 close-out report : USAID/Bangladesh [-- improved representation of interests of women and the rural poor]

The report covers the period FYs 1996- 2002 and focuses on the cornerstone Democracy Partnership (DP) program, implemented by The Asia Foundation (TAF). Achievements in DP's five programmatic areas were as follows: Citizen advocacy. Interventions helped to improve tax collection, water quality and sanitation, local roads, and the effectiveness of flood relief. Advocacy efforts were also highly effective in promoting grassroots development in ways that could not be achieved through national-level efforts. Free and fair elections. Interventions provided rural Bangladeshis with a better understanding of their rights, roles, and responsibilities in the electoral process and helped create a more educated and informed population in future elections. In addition, the base of individuals serving as local elected officials was broadened. The DP was instrumental in strengthening a network of organizations with countrywide election monitoring capacity. In the 1996 elections, two partner NGOs fielded about 30,000 observers. For the 1997 UP elections, the number increased to almost 34,000 and one election observer was fielded in every polling station. Performance and accountability of local elected bodies. Interventions helped to increase the ability of participating NGOs to positively influence local government (LG) and helped LG councils become more democratic and effective. The percentage of LG councils using five or more best practices (out of a total of 14) rose to 96% in 2000, up from 70% in 1999 and 34% in 1998. The average number of best practices being used increased to 9.88 in 2000, up from 8.57 in 1999 and 2.98 in 1998. Increasing awareness of legal rights. DP educated disadvantaged rural populations in their legal rights, where they should go for assistance, how to deal with the police, and how to effectively participate in alternative dispute resolution (ADR) mechanisms. Some 88% of all marriages surveyed in the legal awareness program were registered in 1999, versus the control sample of 59%. Promotion of ADR. Program interventions helped to change the traditional mediation system in Bangladesh, ensuring the participation of women and people other than the ruling elite in mediation committees, and sensitized community leaders to gender equity and issues involving the disadvantaged. These activities transformed justice delivery to the poor. In areas with ADR programs, confidence in local justice processes was 58.9% in 1999 and 64.1% in 2000 compared with the 1998 baseline of 45%. Impacts of other programs funded under SO3 led to progress in combating the trafficking of women and children as well as in fighting corruption. Important strides were also taken towards reducing child labor and strengthening the role of unions in the garment sector. The sustainability of DP activities is SO3's most important legacy. The DP pioneered a wide range of democracy and governance (DG) programs currently being implemented in Bangladesh today. Encouraged by the success of the DP program, many donors have for the first time developed and funded through the NGOs new programs for grassroots democratization, local governance, and informal justice systems. The DP also introduced numerous NGOs to democracy issues, and these NGOs now consider democracy promotion to be a fundamental part of their core development activities. Many are continuing DG activities with funding from other donors or with their own resources. The Partnership also inspired the formation of several democracy coalitions/networks and advanced techniques used locally in several areas of governance and human rights. Several NGOs and NGO coalitions are monitoring the 2003 UP [probably=Union Parishad] elections, fielding more than 100,000 election observers. The Partnership has also had significant and lasting impacts on the way many NGOs in Bangladesh approach grassroots activities. The previous pessimism about LG activities felt by many NGOs has been replaced by confidence. In addition, the reports produced by TAF under the DP have substantially increased the understanding of local-level DG issues in Bangladesh. Lessons learned are as follows: (1) The USAID/Bangladesh DG/ED Team must work closely with State and the Embassy in the search for DG funds and help coordinate among various USG agencies. (2) DG activities should not be spread over too many sub-sectors nor across too many NGOs. The DG program must be focused. (3) In order to affect change at the national level, numerous local human rights activities must be linked and coordinated -- a daunting challenge. (4) The DG horizon must be long term, and activities should not focus on short-term success. Progress in DG programs is frequently uneven and unpredictable, and this fact must be taken into account in monitoring and evaluation activities. (6) The USG has a major competitive advantage in providing DG assistance, given both our experience and commitment to human rights and the promotion of democratic values. (7) Progress in all other sectors in Bangladesh is threatened if democracy does not continue to develop and gain strength.