Country Libya
Region Middle East
Duration Start 1 May, 2019 till 30 July, 2022
Field of expertise Dealing with Conflict, Fragility and Migration
Policy field(s) Post-conflict reconstruction
Civil society
Institutional development
Funding European Commission
Project code 11410
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
• Component 2: Empowering Municipalities to enhance social cohesion
• Component 3: Participatory policy making and civic engagement