Libya, lmproved Service delivery and Accountability at Local Level – Component of Public Administration Facility Phase lll

Objective:

The overall objective of the project was to contribute to the democratic transition process and the stabilisation of Libya.

The specific objectives were (1) Libyan public institutions at local and national level demonstrate increased capacities, enabling the environment for effective service delivery; (2) Libyan municipalities and other local level public institutions are better empowered to enhance social cohesion through good governance and local economic development increasing employment among youth and women; and (3) Local capacities are strengthened to promote collaborative governance and extensive participation in the transition process among the Libyan population

The project was implemented by a consortium composed of VNG International (The Hague, The Netherlands) as lead applicant and Democracy Reporting International (DRI; Berlin, Germany). The Centre for Innovative Local Government (CILG; Tunis, Tunisia), daughter company of VNG International, was involved as Affiliated Entity.`

The logic of the intervention was built upon four main axes:

• Capacity strenghtening of beneficiaries through workshops, trainings, seminars, forums, round tables etc. aimed at improving beneficiaries’ skills in specific areas, creating space for exchange / reflection at the local and national levels and preparing local authorities, CSOs and partner institutions to introduce the expected organizational changes.
• Organizational and methodological technical support through manuals, tools, guides and products introducing new management practices and governance of local affairs. This second axis of intervention also included the institutional support actions to the partner organizations
• Organization of study visits and exchange of experience in countries of the MENA region and the EU. The participants of these study visits were selected through a selection process based on competencies, motivation, and experience, aiming a diversity in geography, age, and gender.
• Support for municipal pilot projects in the areas of governance and local economic development, associative projects promoting the participation of young people and women. The purpose of these pilot projects was not to grant donations to municipalities or associations but rather to concretize ideas and pilot projects in the context of local economic development, local governance, associative life and inter-communal cooperation.

The beneficiaries of this project were defined at three different levels, namely the level of Libyan governmental institutions on the local and central level, the level of key change agents and the level of the general population. ‘Key change agents’ were representatives of the beneficiary public institutions that promote and enable constructive reform and empowerment to happen within and between their organizations.

The consortium applied an adaptive approach to respond quickly to requests that came in from the Libyan stakeholders and to quickly adapt to the changing political and institutional situation in Libya. A six-month inception phase took place prior to the implementation. Activities were then implemented under the following three components related to the three specific objectives.

Component 1: Institutional support enabling the environment for effective service delivery

1.1 Joint research initiatives and data collection to strengthen the knowledge base and increase understanding of the specific contexts, resulting in 4 published studies
1.2 Support for think tanks, researchers and academics and experts to conduct comparative case studies, to identify a common basis or starting point for the transition and help orient policy-making
1.3 Support for the CoR Nicosia initiative to devise a strategy and approach to connect with, support and build further upon their efforts
1.4 A modular training approach on participatory municipal planning, connected with the possibility of providing financial support for pilot projects
1.5 Expert/advisory missions to Libya for on-the-job training, coaching and advice
1.6 Pilot projects: funding opportunities for local level institutions for the execution of their projects
1.7 Specific trainings for municipalities in the field of newly decentralised tasks
1.8 Study visits to countries in the MENA-region and the EU
1.9 Support for the donor community and the Libyan government with a functioning coordination mechanism on local governance and decentralisation.

Component 2: Empowering Municipalities to enhance social cohesion

2.1 Support for a group of Libyan thinkers to provide policy recommendations to relevant stakeholders, such as UNSMIL and national government institutions
2.2 Support for the further development of a municipal council coordination platform
2.3 Embedding of advisors or experts at Libyan public institutions to contribute to improving systems, organizational design and practices, efficiency and effectiveness and legal frameworks, policy and law-making
2.4 Development of a web-based platform through which (international) organizations present their activities in Libya.

Component 3: Participatory policy making and civic engagement

3.1 Modular trainings for municipalities in topics related to governance and service delivery, including on participatory policy making and public consultation
3.2 Active and inclusive engagement of CSOs and other citizen representative groups and networks in the action’s activities
3.3 Support – in a multi-stakeholder fashion (involving citizens and CSOs) – for municipalities to address identified recommendations for civic engagement
3.4 Trainings of Trainers to empower selected civil society organisations to hold a series of awareness raising sessions in the selected municipalities on civic engagement
3.5 Trainings of Trainers with civil society partners and law faculty students to hold informative Town Hall Meetings in selected municipalities on the right to vote, elections and a critical reflection on the constitutional text.