Civil Society Assistance Program Quarterly Report
Report Period: October – December 31, 2016
Delivered to: USAID
Implementer: Counterpart International Cooperative Agreement Number: AID-OAA-LA-14-00011
2345 Crystal Drive Suite 301 Arlington, VA 22202, USA
TABLE OF CONTENTS TOC
List of Attachments Annexes 1-4 Innovation Program Instructors' Workshop - Agenda, Record of Participants, Systematization, Pedagogical Toolkit (FARO) Annex 5 Public announcement Innovation Training Program, 2017 edition (FARO) Annexes 6-8 Risk Management Workshop for UTPL teachers - Agenda, Record of Participants, and report (FARO) Annex 9 Listing and description of Change Proposals (FARO) Annex 10 Listing and description of 10 change proposals analyzed by Selection Committee (FARO) Annex 11 Designation Minutes for selected proposals - Change Projects (FARO). Annex 12 "Public Policies to Promote the Development of CSOs in Ecuador" document (FARO) Annex 13 Communication and Advocacy Policy Positioning Strategy (FARO) Annex 14 International Systematization Forum for CSO (FARO) Annex 15 Systematization Workshop for Presidential Debates Design (FARO) Annex 16 Publication Citizen Democratic Agenda. (PC) Annex 17 Democratic Agenda Event Summary Presentation to candidates (PC) Annex 18 Detailed statistics of visits to social networks (PC) Annex 19 List of Media Coverage on PC and Pacto Etico activities (PC) Annex 20 Recreational Methodologies Workshops - Agenda and list of participants (ESQUEL) Annex 21 Indicators array of 3 beneficiary organizations (ESQUEL) Annex 22 Course Presentation "Legal Elements for the Development of Projects" (ESQUEL) Annex 23 Design of the 6 modules of the course "Legal Elements for the Development of Projects" (ESQUEL) Annex 24 Sustainability Diagnosis of 12 beneficiaries CSOs (ESQUEL) Annex 25 PMEP Table - First Quarter Results PY3 (Counterpart)
List of Acronyms
ASEUDLA Association of Students of the UDLA University (Spanish acronym for Asociación de Estudiantes de la UDLA) CEDENMA Ecuadorian Coordinating Committee for the Defense of Nature and the Environment (Spanish acronym for Coordinadora Ecuatoriana de Organizaciones para la Defensa de la Naturaleza y el Ambiente) CEOSC Confederation of Ecuadorian CSOs (Spanish acronym for Confederación Ecuatoriana de Organizaciones de la Sociedad Civil) CONAIE Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities in Ecuador (Spanish acronym for Confederación de Nacionalidades Indígenas del Ecuador) CREO Political Movement CREO (Spanish acronym for Creando Oportunidades) CSA Civil Society Assistance Program CSO Civil Society Organizations ESQUEL Esquel Foundation
Ecuador Civil Society Assistance Program 2 AID-OAA-LA-14-00011 Quarterly Report 9, October – December, 2016 ESQUEL – CLIC Esquel – Latin American Center for Collective Intelligence EU European Union FARO FARO group FUTPEN NGO Peninsular Transgender Foundation GADs Decentralized and Autonomous Governments (Spanish acronym for Gobiernos Autónomos y Descentralizados) GOE Government of Ecuador IDD Instituto de la Democracia PG Promoters Group (Spanish acronym for Grupo Promotor) LGBTI Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Intersex YCW NGO Young Christian Workers M&E Monitoring and Evaluation NGO Non-Governmental Organization NWG National Working Group OD Organizational Development PC Citizen Participation PSC Political Party PSC (Spanish acronym for Partido Social Cristiano) PY Program Year SUMA Political Movement SUMA (Spanish acronym for Sociedad Unida Mas Accion) TA Technical Assistance UASB Simon Bolivar Andean University (Spanish acronym for Universidad Andina Simon Bolivar) UDLA University of the Americas (Spanish acronym for Universidad de las Americas) UTPL Technical University of Loja (Spanish acronym for Universidad Tecnica Particular de Loja)
Ecuador Civil Society Assistance Program 3 AID-OAA-LA-14-00011 Quarterly Report 9, October – December, 2016 I. Executive Summary
The Civil Society Assistance (CSA) is a three-year program which seeks to support, strengthen and sustain the critical work of civil society organizations (CSOs) in their efforts to develop a wide base of participation and citizen linkage with national and local governments. This objective is supported by three integrated programmatic objectives: 1) Strengthen civil society’s commitment to promote transparency and accountability at the national and municipal level; 2) Expand citizen oversight of government activities at the central and municipal levels as allowed by Ecuadorian legislation, including the provision of objective and verifiable information regarding government performance, and; 3) Strengthen the technical and financial capacity of CSOs in their efforts to establish mutual support networks and examples of transparency and accountability under a restrictive environment. The program is jointly implemented by three Ecuadorian CSOs: FARO GROUP (FARO), CITIZEN PARTICIPATION (PC), and ESQUEL FOUNDATION (Esquel).
This report covers the first quarter (October-December, 2016) of Program Year (PY) 3. In this period the partner organizations produced important documents for the analysis and drafting of public policies, strengthened the capacity of CSOs with respect to legal issues, organizational management and financial sustainability, made progress in the implementation of local advocacy strategies, and generated opportunities for citizens to discuss with political actors on matters of public interest and need for reforms in areas such as freedom of association, transparency, rights of vulnerable populations including LGBTI groups, and education, among others. In November, Counterpart -with the approval of USAID- incorporated into the CSA program the support of the electoral debates that Grupo FARO is implementing under the initiative known as Ecuador Decide. Some of the results achieved by the CSA Program during this period include:
Counterpart: At the end of November, Counterpart provided collaborative policy advocacy technical assistance (TA) to each of the partner organizations, the beneficiary organizations in Quito and Guayaquil, and the Confederation of CSOs of Ecuador (CEOSC). As a result, each organization gained innovative tools and strategic recommendations to strengthen their advocacy strategies to promote issues at the national and local levels within the current pre-election context. They were also prompted to begin brainstorming for post-electoral advocacy initiatives. This consultant will remain available to provide remote support to the partners until February, 2017. FARO: In preparation for the third cycle of the Innovacción Training Program aimed at CSOs and Decentralized and Autonomous Governments (GADs), FARO updated the online training platform by adding an in-class introductory session, introducing additional information, and reorganizing the order of the modules. FARO also produced a "toolbox" comprised of educational tools and guidelines for the management of online training. In addition, FARO established a partnership with the Universidad Andina Simón Bolívar (UASB), an academic institution of high regard at national and regional levels, which-in addition to the Technical University of Loja (UTPL)- will also provide academic endorsement of the Innovacción Training Program. This training program has been undergoing planning since December and will be implemented in March. Through the online newsletter for CSOs, El Territorio #3, FARO was able to reach more than 2,500 contacts including CSOs and municipalities to further disseminate information on themes of interest to these audiences, and to promote their participation into FARO’s Innovacción training programs and
Ecuador Civil Society Assistance Program 4 AID-OAA-LA-14-00011 Quarterly Report 9, October – December, 2016 other capacity building activities. In addition, FARO leveraged financial resources from the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) and the Development Bank of Latin America (CAF) in order to train 31 UTPL teachers and researchers (19 women and 12 men) in Risk Management and research methodologies to support the development of public policies. This is the first time that this course –successfully designed under the CSA Program and provided to municipal officials in PY2-- is provided by FARO to teachers and researchers at UTPL. In doing so, FARO is strengthening the capacity of university professors to train students on this subject and also for UTPL to effectively engage with municipalities on this area.
FARO and CEOSC’s Legal Committee completed the drafting of the policy document “Towards the Strengthening of Civil Society: Building Public Policy for CSOs” which will seek to promote an enabling environment for CSOs in country. Furthermore, it successfully carried out the International Forum "Foundations and Challenges for the Management of Civil Society Organizations: Building Environments in Democratic Societies" with national and international experts in the cities of Quito and Guayaquil, with 219 attendees (125 women and 94 men) from various provinces of the country.
FARO also made progress in selecting the local change projects for the PY3 CSA Program sub- grants. Thirty proposals were presented and reviewed by FARO's instructors and technical team. These proposals were then reviewed by a Selection Committee composed of representatives of the CEOSC, UTPL, and FARO. Eight proposals were selected, 5 of which will be financed next quarter by the CSA Program and 3 by CAF.
Under the framework of the Ecuador Decide initiative, FARO developed a series of activities in alignment with the presidential and legislative debates: They signed an agreement with the Consejo Nacional Electoral (National Electoral Council, CNE) to organize and facilitate debates for presidential and legislative candidates; established an agreement with Facebook to collaborate during the electoral process and expand citizen participation through this initiative; disseminated information about Ecuador Decide through 13 radio interviews, newspapers, and television outlets; and held a workshop with international experts to design the debate methodology that will be used for the debates. The first debate among legislative candidates was held on December 21, with the participation of 32 people (23 men and 9 women) in the province of Chimborazo. The candidates answered questions on a variety of topics including freedom of expression, association, and social auditing.
PC: Once the Democratic Citizen Agenda was finished, PC printed 1,000 copies, produced an online version, and began distributing the document to diverse audiences around the country. In December, it carried out the first public presentation of the Agenda, where they discussed the document with candidates in the legislative elections to be held in February 2017. Candidates from five political parties and movements participated in the event, including representatives from the three major opposition groups. There were a total of 11 questions based on the Citizen Agenda, and approximately 80 people attended the event, which was broadcasted through Facebook live. Among social networks, there were 846 live streams of the event, and 132 reactions to the video. At the close of the event, candidates publicly committed themselves to
Ecuador Civil Society Assistance Program 5 AID-OAA-LA-14-00011 Quarterly Report 9, October – December, 2016 account for the issues raised in the Agenda and to integrate them into their electoral platforms and legislative actions.
In November, PC presented the National Working Group (NWG) to a group of approximately 90 people from civil society organizations, citizens' groups, academic organizations, international organizations, media, and advisers of three political parties. The presentation took place in the Chapter Room of the Convent of San Agustín, located in the historical center of Quito. The NWG representatives explained the democratic principles on which the group was founded, discussed the process they followed to become an established organization and reiterated their intention to be a thoughtful and reflective group that will continue to contribute towards the generation of proposals for State policies. They emphasized the need for dialogue between the various sectors of society, and asked that the political parties and representatives listen to the voice of civil society during this important time for the country. Several forms of media covered this presentation.
PC continued to strengthen its institutional communication strategy, including the production of messages transmitted via social networks such as Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Google Plus and Whatsapp. Furthermore, it made adjustments and modifications to the song and video of the Pacto Ético and improved the content of its web page. Finally, PC has promoted Pacto Ético and the Democratic Citizen Agenda through 12 appearances, references, and/or interviews on radio, TV, and newspapers during this period.
ESQUEL: Through its Esquel-CLIC platform, Esquel continued to organize video-conferences, forums and online chats on topics of high interest to civil society. Given the pre-election context of the country, several topics were selected that CSOs considered priority themes to focus on given the agendas of the legislative candidates: the rights of youth, the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex community, social security, education, and women’s rights. More than 5,000 views were recorded over the nine online events.
Esquel continued to strengthen the capacities of the 12 beneficiary CSOs through the provision of technical assistance and training. One of the topics covered in this period was communications and recreational methodologies, including role playing and other artistic techniques, in order to improve their communication and training for at-risk groups with whom they work (youth, women, LGBTI). For this TA Esquel conducted eighteen workshops in which a total of 57 people (26 men and 31 women) participated. Furthermore, Esquel continued to provide advisory services and training on legal matters for CSOs to continue to work towards achieving the obligations necessary to attain a legal registered status. In addition, two additional online videos or "scrolling banners" were produced related to the Alternative Methods of Conflict Resolution and New General Code of legal processes. Both were published on their website and have received a total of 1,224 views. Finally, they designed the online course called "Legal Elements for the Development of Projects" which will take place between January and February, 2017.
To strengthen the financial sustainability of the beneficiary organizations, Esquel finalized the application of diagnostics, and supported the development of individual sustainability plans; which will be completed in January and monitored until July. In addition, it provided training workshops on project management and business development as a tool for establishing sustainability. As a
Ecuador Civil Society Assistance Program 6 AID-OAA-LA-14-00011 Quarterly Report 9, October – December, 2016 result of this support, two of the CSOs have received external funding from other organizations: (1) Fundación Paz y Esperanza (Peace and Hope Foundation) received approximately $100,000 from U.S. and European churches to fund activities in areas affected by the earthquake and (2) Fundación Sol de Primavera (Spring Sun Foundation) was contracted by the Municipality of Quito to provide workshops on how to work with at-risk youth.
Three of Esquel’s sub-recipient CSOs’ advocacy projects made significant advancements as follows:
Fundación Transgeneros Peninsular (The Peninsular Transgender Foundation, FUTPEN) raised awareness of the trans population among councilors and officials of local governments in the regions of La Libertad and Salinas, and gained the approval of an ordinance to support the LGBTI population in Salinas.
The Young Christian Workers (YCW) submitted the results of their research on the living conditions of youth in marginalized neighborhoods in the cities of Quito and Guayaquil to the Ministry of Labor and the Municipality of Quito. Representatives of these institutions committed to implementing training programs and promoting actions to strengthen the labor rights of these young people.
The Mujer y Mujer NGO (Woman and Woman) introduced the "Rainbow" Guide to professors, teachers, and students from the State University of Guayaquil (the largest public university in the country). This Guide defines actions needed to achieve inclusion and safe spaces for the LGBTI community in universities. Once the school authorities approve the Guide, it will be implemented as a pilot project within the Faculty of Psychology, with the possibility of being applied to other departments afterwards.
Despite the intense pre-election political context and limited time due to the Christmas season and year-end closure, CSA program activities have been carried out successfully during the first quarter of PY3. Thus, it leaves the conditions conducive for the second quarter, which will be a crucial period- given national elections and the transition of the administration. CSA's role in strengthening the capacity of CSOs, promoting proposals for local and national impact, as well as facilitating the engagement in dialogue between various actors of Ecuadorian society are fundamental foundations needed to contribute to the strengthening of democracy during this crucial time for the country.
II. Political Context
The main political, economic and social events that marked this period were as follows:
• Politically, the pre-election processes, unveiled corruption scandals, and the presidential proposal to carry out a consultation on tax havens • Economically, the government continued its aggressive indebtedness in an attempt to increase liquidity, there was a slight recovery in the price of oil, and a commercial trade
Ecuador Civil Society Assistance Program 7 AID-OAA-LA-14-00011 Quarterly Report 9, October – December, 2016 agreement signed with the European Union for the importing and exporting of selected goods and services • Within the social sector several mobilizations and protests took place, including protests against mining exploitation in the Morona Santiago province. In response to the protests, the government initiated an attempt to dissolve the environmental NGO Acción Ecológica, (Ecological Action) accusing this organization of allegedly promoting some of these violent protests which, according to the GOE, are not in line with the NGO’s approved objectives.
Registration for presidential and legislative candidates was open from October 19 to November 18. More than 3,400 candidates enrolled for the legislative elections and a total of eight parties registered for the presidential elections, including the current president's party Alianza País (PAIS Alliance), the three largest opposition coalitions, and four other political groups. According to several polls conducted in December1, Lenin Moreno, from the Alianza País party, is the current leader in the race for the presidency; Guillermo Lasso from the center-right coalition Creando Oportunidades (CREO) and Sociedad Unida Mas Accion (SUMA) is in second place, Cynthia Viteri, from the right-wing party Partido Social Cristiano (PSC) is in third place and the former general Paco Moncayo, whose coalition includes political parties and movements from the left and center-left is in fourth place. However, Lenin Moreno is leading by less than 40% in the polls, meaning that he would not win the election in the first round, thus forcing a second round of voting. A second round of voting would be new for the Alianza País party, which has never had to compete in a second round2 after President Correa was elected in 2006. Meanwhile, the percentage of undecided voters exceeds 45%, meaning the situation may change significantly before and certainly during the elections.
Other significant events that happened in the last quarter are related to the serious allegations of corruption against the state oil company Petroecuador3. The company's former President has fled the country, and the former manager is currently detained. This situation has impacted the credibility of the government and its candidates, including current Vice-President Jorge Glas, who served as the Minister of Strategic Sectors. In addition, several analysts believe that the division of the political opposition (both in terms of presidential tickets and lists of legislative candidates) divides citizen voting preferences nationally and provincially.4 In spite of these events, the electoral base of the government's political movement remains strong.
On November 18, the Constitutional Court approved President Correa’s request to conduct a popular consultation seeking to gain citizen support to prohibit public officials and candidates to have assets or resources in tax havens5. The consultation will be held on the same day as the national elections. However, analysts and opposition leaders believe that the consultation will not
1 http://cedatos.com.ec/detalles_noticia.php?Id=278 2 For more information, see: http://www.cedatos.com.ec/detalles_noticia.php?Id=270 3 http://cnnespanol.cnn.com/2016/11/30/investigan-a-80-personas-por-corrupcion-en-petroecuador/ 4Note Ecuador Immediate: "Seven candidates of a divided opposition will seek to overcome Correa at the polls". 5 The question is "Do you agree that in order to participate in a popular election or to become a public servant, it becomes prohibited to have properties or capital, of any kind, in tax havens?"
Ecuador Civil Society Assistance Program 8 AID-OAA-LA-14-00011 Quarterly Report 9, October – December, 2016 seek to actively combat tax evasion, and is being used as a mechanism for the President to intervene in the election process.6
The economic scenario continued to be characterized by aggressive government borrowing, both internal and external, to deal with the lack of liquidity. Through an Executive Decree, the government expanded the legally allowed debt margin (40% of GDP), and introduced the concept of consolidated debt, which removes the debt from the government to public institutions, such as the Institute of Social Security7. In doing so, the current debt percentage was reduced from 38.4% to 26.7%, opening up the possibility of acquiring even more debt. On December 8, the government negotiated a new placement of external debt for $750 million at 9.75% over a 10-year term8. In spite of the income received by debt, taxes, and sale of oil (whose value increased by an average of $15 since 2015)9, the government has liquidity problems that prevents regular, on-time payments to the local governments, causing delays in the execution of works and provision of services10. A positive event that took place during this quarter, was the signing of the free trade agreement with the European Union on December 11, which is expected to allow Ecuadorian products to enter the EU with preferential rates11.
Socially, Ecuador had an interesting quarter. On November 21, members of the Shuar community of Nankints (located in the Amazon province of Morona Santiago12) began protesting over the exploitation of a mining site by the Chinese company Exporcobres. The company is carrying out this activity through a mining concession that the government has assigned it for 25 years. The Shuar community is asking for a consultation with them regarding the impact of mining non- renewable resources and an assessment of the potential impact on their community. In response, the government evicted the Shuar groups from the mining site and filed complaints against several of its leaders. This conflict resulted in the death of a policeman, with several others injured and arrested. The government blamed opposition groups, and therefore the Shuar community has been continually monitored by the government. The Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities in Ecuador (CONAIE) has asked the Catholic Church to mediate in this conflict. In relation to this situation, on the basis of the Decree No. 73913, the government began the process of dissolving the environmental NGO Acción Ecológica for allegedly having been "removed from its objectives" and provoking communities in the Amazon to ensue violence. Acción Ecológica has pursued legal advice and has called on the international community, including the United Nations, to challenge this decision by the government. Other demonstrations took place on December 8, in the country's largest cities caused by the president's decision to enact the "Law of Surplus Value" into the Assembly. Despite the civil demonstrations, the law was adopted by the Assembly on December
6"El Comercio" newspaper notes: Colectivo starts the No campaign for the popular consultation on tax havens. http://www.elcomercio.com/actualidad/colectivo-campana-consultapopular-paraisosfiscales.html 7 http://www.elcomercio.com/actualidad/ecuador-deuda-gasto-economia-pib.html 8 http://expreso.ec/economia/al-ano-hay-que-cancelar-3-400-millones-en-deuda-CH922127 9 http://www.elcomercio.com/actualidad/petroleo-baja-precio-mercado.html 10 http://www.elcomercio.com/actualidad/asignacion-gobiernoslocales-retraso-presupuesto-ecuador.html 11http://www.elcomercio.com/actualidad/juancarloscassinelli-ecuador-firma-acuerdocomercial-unioneuropea.html 12 http://www.eluniverso.com/2016/12/22/video/5966515/conflicto-minero-ecuador-comunidad-shuar 13 Published in the Official Register 570 of August 21, 2015, that reforms and encodes the Decree No. 16 for the Operation of the Unified Information System of Social and Civic Organizations.
Ecuador Civil Society Assistance Program 9 AID-OAA-LA-14-00011 Quarterly Report 9, October – December, 2016 27. One of the greatest concerns of this law is that it creates a tax of up to 75% of the "extraordinary" profit on the second sale of real estate14.
The political context during this pre-election period has been seen as an opportunity for the CSA Program partner organizations, who are pursuing a number of dialogue initiatives with political actors to better position public interest around the candidates' agendas. On the other hand, the complex economic and social context emphasizes again the need to strengthen the capacities of civil society organizations to interact with the government, both national and local, in search of solutions to problems facing the country. The CSA Program will continue to promote an environment that enhances CSOs active participation, and enables them to contribute to the promotion of these issues into the agendas of the future legislators and leaders of Ecuador.
III. Summary of Activities
Strengthening Advocacy Capacity. At the end of November, Counterpart deployed an international policy advocacy expert who worked with each of the three partner organizations and provided them with tools and methodologies to strengthen their current advocacy strategies. This is the second series of capacity strengthening training that Counterpart has provided to FARO, PC, and Esquel. One of the main themes addressed was how to develop collaborative advocacy strategies with a focus on conflict resolution for the achievement of the promotion of public policies. Given the political situation of the country and a possible transition of government, as well as the restrictive environment for the operation of the CSOs, the consultant provided recommendations to the partners for how to increase the effectiveness of their ongoing advocacy strategies in this complicated context.
Some of the key outcomes of this work were the following: For FARO and the Confederation of Organizations of Civil Society (CEOSC), the consultant provided input on the development of the communication and advocacy strategy to promote its proposal to improve the enabling environment for CSOs. In the case of PC, the consultant focused its recommendations on how to achieve strong and sustainable partnerships in the area of democracy. Lastly, with Esquel, the consultant provided recommendations to help them understand the importance of developing a strategy for institutional advocacy, and also tips to strengthen the Mesa de la Convergencia platform. The consultant also provided practical advice to Esquel’s beneficiary organizations in Quito and Guayaquil to strengthen their local advocacy projects.
In January, the consultant will complete his final report with details of these recommendations for each organization. In addition, more technical assistance will be provided in the next quarter and follow up on the results of the recommendations identified will also be explored.
Objective 1: Civil Society promotes transparency and accountability at national and municipal levels
14 http://www.elpolitico.com/ecuador-aprueban-ley-de-plusvalia-con-79-votos-a-favor/
Ecuador Civil Society Assistance Program 10 AID-OAA-LA-14-00011 Quarterly Report 9, October – December, 2016 Online Training Program " Innovacción ": The program closed this quarter with provision of 8 online modules (4 for CSOs and 4 for GADs). As in the previous modules the 2 last online modules were supplemented with 2 workshops in person. One on risk management, and one participatory budgeting workshop. These workshops have produced very good results in terms of content and methodology that will be incorporated into the part of the Innovacción Training Program.
The learning platform Innovacción Training Program 2017 scheduled to be held from March to June 2017 has been revised and updated, and is available at the following link: http://innovaccion.ec/.
The revised modules facilitate progressive learning, and provide a logical linkage of various modules. In addition, the implementation of the modules will start with an in-person workshop where the instructors will provide overall context and background to further facilitate the online programming. The tables below show the agenda and schedule for the 2017 training program to be provided to CSOs and GADs.
Table No. 1: Content of the Program for CSOs: March – June 2017
Module: Strategic Planning
In person Workshop (2 days) March 2 and 3
1. The strategic planning framework
2. Types of planning and the connection with public policy March 4 to 26
3. Importance of strategic planning
4. Tools for strategic planning
Delivery of work: First step of the project profile March 27 to 31
Module: Citizen Participation and Transparency
In person Workshop (2 days) April 3 and 4
1. Citizen participation and the social organization
2. Model of social interaction and participation April 5 to 23
3. Participation and Public Policies
4. Transparency in management
Final Delivery of work: The second step of the project profile April 24 to 28
Ecuador Civil Society Assistance Program 11 AID-OAA-LA-14-00011 Quarterly Report 9, October – December, 2016 Module: Mainstreaming of the Gender approach
In person Workshop (2 days) May 2 and 3
1. Gender as a category of change in Civil Society Organizations-CSO
2. Gender and Development-Tools and regulations May 4 to 23
3. Mainstreaming Gender in CSOs
4. Tools for Mainstreaming Gender in CSOs
Final delivery of work: Third step of the project profile May 25 to 31
Module: Design and Management of Social Projects
In person Workshop (2 days) June 1 and 2
1. Establishment of local public policies, objectives and goals.
2. The process of diagnosing social problems June 5 to 23
3. Basic Structure of a social development project
4. Process management and monitoring of social projects
Final delivery of work: Profile of project completed June 26 to 30
Table No. 2: Content of the Program for Local Governments: March – June 2017
Module: Territorial planning
In person Workshop (2 days) March 2 and 3
1. Regulatory Framework in the territorial model
2. Basic planning concepts March 4 to 26
3. Territorial planning: guidelines and instructions
4. Tools for territorial planning
Work delivery: 1st step of project profile March 27 to 31
Module: Public Participation and Accountability
In person Workshop (2 days) April 3 and 4
Ecuador Civil Society Assistance Program 12 AID-OAA-LA-14-00011 Quarterly Report 9, October – December, 2016 1. Public participation as a right
2. The state - civil society relationship April 5 to the 23
3. The local Assembly
4. Accountability
Delivery of final project : Advance outline of the project April 24 to the 28
Module: Mainstreaming the perspective of gender
In person workshop (2 days) May 2 and 3
1. Gender as a category of change in public policies
2. Development, gender and normative tools May 4 to 23
3. Mainstreaming the perspective of gender in the GADS (decentralized and autonomous governments)
4. Tools for mainstreaming the perspective of gender
Delivery of final project : Advance outline of the project May 25 to 31
Module: Design and Management of Local Projects In-person workshop (2 days) June 1 and 2
1. Establishment of local public policies, objectives, goals
2. The process of diagnosing social problems June 5 to 23
3. The basic structure of a social development project
4. The process of managing and tracking social projects
Delivery of final project : Outline of finished project June 26 to 30
Production Grupo FARO
Additionally, a workshop was held with the instructors from each course to develop training skills that strengthen the methodology of online learning. This activity was carried out on October 8, in the city of Quito; its result was the development of a "toolbox" to carry out online classes with the active participation from students. Annex 1: Agenda of the workshop, Annex 2: Record of the workshop, Annex 3: Methodology of the workshop, Annex 4: Toolbox.
At the beginning of December, the dissemination of the announcement of the online Inovacción Training Program for 2017 officially began. FARO also took advantage of the events that the CSA Program carried out between October and December to promote its courses. Additionally, the program will be promoted through FARO's social media accounts and databases, both for CSOs
Ecuador Civil Society Assistance Program 13 AID-OAA-LA-14-00011 Quarterly Report 9, October – December, 2016 and for local governments. In Annex 5, the official printed announcement is attached; it is also circulating in digital format and has been uploaded to the web page, as seen in the graphic below.
Graphic 1: Launch of the program "Local Innovation and Transparency" 2017.
The training program will begin on March 2, 2017. This year, FARO has partnered with the Simón Bolívar Andean University (UASB), an institution with a high level of quality and excellence in providing postgraduate studies in Latin America. The university will provide the academic certification jointly with the UTPL, for the courses that will be given on FARO’s technological platform. This new ally will strengthen the Inovacción Training Program initiative and open new spaces for participation at the national level.
Risk Management Workshop for UTPL instructors: Considering the importance of this topic and the participant’s satisfaction with in this workshops developed in PY2, UTPL asked FARO to carry out this workshop for instructors and researchers in the city of Loja on November 21 and 22, with the support of Counterpart, CAF and NED. Thirty-one participants were present (19 women, 12 men), who rated their level of satisfaction with the content learned at 80%. Annexes 6, 7 and 8 present the agenda, list of participants and report on the Risk Management Workshop.
Selection of the Change Projects: Once the PY2 training process was finished, 30 proposals were presented for change projects, 14 proposals from CSOs and 16 from local governments. The main areas of intervention proposed were female participation in local government, local planning, capacity building of local government, accountability, and effective advocacy, among others. Annex 9 contains the list and descriptions of the 30 proposals for change.
The instructors of the program carried out the first round of selection, choosing the 10 best proposals for change to be analyzed by the Selection Committee. Three members participated in this Committee: Patricio Silva, representing the academic sector (UTPL), Lilian Mera, member of the National Committee of the CEOSC, and Marcela Morales, Principal Researcher of FARO. Annex 10 contains the list and descriptions of the 10 proposals for change analyzed by the Selection Committee.
The committee held two meetings, the first on December 9 to familiarize themselves with the selection process and to set the time line for the work, and the second on December 16 to proceed
Ecuador Civil Society Assistance Program 14 AID-OAA-LA-14-00011 Quarterly Report 9, October – December, 2016 with the scoring and selection of the best change projects. Annex 11 contains the minutes of the designation of the selected proposals in order of importance.
While the initial proposal for the project proposed the allocation of 10 sub-grants grants for subsidizing the PY3 change projects, the budget for this activity was reprogrammed with the goal of supporting a new activity by FARO. This activity will be explained later on. For this reason, 8 change projects were selected, 5 of which will be financed through sub-grants from the CSA Counterpart Program and 3 projects that will be financed by CAF. The eight selected proposals are described below:
Chart 3: Selected Proposals for Change Projects
PROPOSALS FROM CSOs
CANTONAL UNITY ASSEMBLY Increase citizen participation and engagement in the 55 urban and OF MONTUFAR "AUCM" rural communities in Montufar canton.
Fundación CIMAS del Ecuador Strengthening public participation to promote accountability in the Pedro Moncayo Association of Municipalities.
Foundation One Hundred and Strengthening the organization of the women’s associations of Eighty Degrees Pueblo Kichwa de Rukullakta, to participate in territorial planning.
Corporation Woman to Woman Increasing awareness among civil servants and civil society organizations about the rights of refugees to generate changes in the regulation of human mobility.
PROPOSALS FROM GADs
Provincial government of Improving the accountability mechanisms of the second degree Tungurahua organizations for the unity of indigenous movements of Tungurahua for public conservation areas management.
Cantonal Council for the Strengthening local regulations for the LGBTI community of the protection of Rights of Ibarra Ibarra canton with territorial, cultural and age group focuses.
Decentralized and Autonomous Strengthening community organizations for democratic and Government of Saraguro participatory governance in public and private management in the Saraguro canton.
Decentralized and Autonomous Strengthening the institutional capacities of the GAD of Loja to Government of Loja promote productivity and employment through the implementation of an urban observatory in the comprehensive job and entrepreneurship bank.
Ordinances for the Eradication of Violence against Women: On November 26, as a result of one of the change projects financed in PY2, the GAD of Santa Elena approved an ordinance for
Ecuador Civil Society Assistance Program 15 AID-OAA-LA-14-00011 Quarterly Report 9, October – December, 2016 the eradication of violence against women at an event with CSOs and municipal and national authorities. The authorities showed their appreciation for the CSA program and especially to FARO for the technical assistance provided. Additionally, the authorities reiterated their commitment to implement mechanisms to put into practice this new public policy.
Santa Elena - November 25
Third Edition of El Territorio newsletter: In October, FARO carried out the dissemination of the newsletter, sending it to 2,500 email addresses of CSOs and local governments. Monitoring of the web page shows 1,023 views of the bulletin. Additionally, 500 copies were printed and delivered in the forums, meetings and workshops of the CSA program.
Public policy proposal and Advocacy for changes in CSO legal environment: The Legal Committee of the CEOSC finished its public policy proposal; the document is titled "Public Policies to Promote the Development of CSOs in Ecuador" and includes the following chapters:
i. Civil Society, Participation and Democracy, which describes the conceptualization of the CSO and its role in the country. ii. Values of Civil Society, which analyzes the capacity of civil society to work on topics in the public sphere, the desire to contribute to strengthening society and solidarity as a fundamental value to cultivate in public activity. iii. Internal relations of CSOs, which analyzes the obstacles faced by CSOs in their organizational development and in the relations between their internal actors, proposing solutions to overcome them. iv. External relations of CSOs, which presents an analysis of the different actors in the public sphere: the public sector, the private sector and civil society, to then propose the establishment of alliances and the creation of platforms to work on topics of mutual interest. v. Legal Context, which analyzes the regulatory context of CSOs in Ecuador, proposing specific changes that promote the development of CSOs in different areas, including constitutional, workplace, civil and fiscal.
The complete document is included in Annex 12
To achieve the dissemination and implementation of CEOSC's public policy proposal, a communication and advocacy strategy was developed in the month of November directed at the mass media, presidential candidates and candidates to the National Assembly, with the goal of
Ecuador Civil Society Assistance Program 16 AID-OAA-LA-14-00011 Quarterly Report 9, October – December, 2016 influencing their plans for governance. In the month of November, the proposal was analyzed by the member organizations of CEOSC and its National Committee to present it during the International Forum described below. Annex 13: Communication and advocacy strategy for the positioning of CEOSC's proposal.
International Forum on enabling Legal Environment for CSOs: On November 23 and 24 the International Forum "Foundations and Challenges for the Management of Civil Society Organizations: Constructing Favorable Contexts in Democratic Societies" was held in of Quito and Guayaquil. The event achieved the attendance of 219 participants (94 men, 126 women) from various cities throughout the country.
International Forum for CSOs Nov 23 Quito - International Forum for CSOs Nov 24- Guayaquil
Counterpart, FARO and Esquel worked jointly on this forum to generate discussion and analysis on the legal regulatory framework for CSOs. This experience demonstrated the importance of collaboration to generate stronger results and helped build more confidence between FARO and Esquel. In January, a similar forum will be organized in which both organizations will again work together.
The forum analyzed international and national experiences for the promotion of a supportive legal framework for CSOs. Guillermo Correo from the Argentine Network for International Cooperation (RACI) and Luz Ángela Ramírez from the Confederation of CSOs of Columbia (CCONG) were present as international facilitators, and discussed the experiences of their networks in promoting the development of civil society.
Additionally, a session was held with Ecuadorian legal experts who presented the regulatory framework for CSOs in Ecuador. The participants were Juan Páez, member of the CEOSC Legal Committee, Juan Fernando Almeida, legal counsel of the Esquel Foundation and Orazio Bellettini, director of FARO. The proposal was very well received by the participants who supported the ideas and demonstrated their interest in carrying out similar events to carry out a more profound analysis of this proposal. Annex 14: Methodology of the International Forum on Enabling Legal Environment for CSO- November 23 and 24.
All of the documents and presentations of the forum can be downloaded from: http://innovaccion.ec/foro-internacional-fundamentos-y-desafios-de-la-gestion-de-las- osc/"
Ecuador Civil Society Assistance Program 17 AID-OAA-LA-14-00011 Quarterly Report 9, October – December, 2016 Electoral debates to promote citizen participation and transparency: Building on its policy proposal and citizen engagement efforts, FARO will promote government transparency and citizen engagement at the national level through organizing debates between candidates in the presidential and legislative elections. In January and February 2017, FARO will organize and implement presidential and legislative candidate debates as part of its Ecuador Decide initiative. This will include developing a debate methodology and rules to be signed by candidates and moderators, raising citizen awareness of the importance of institutionalizing presidential debates through a communications campaign, creating a space to broadcast the debates online, and organizing two presidential debates (one leading up to the first round and one before the second) and five legislative candidate debates. Counterpart decided to support the third component of FARO's proposal of "Ecuador Decide", in accordance with which they carried out the following activities: Agreement with the National Electoral Council (CNE): On November 25 the CNE and FARO signed an agreement to jointly organize the debate for the presidential candidates. The president of the CNE, Juan Pablo Pozo, delegated the Instituto de la Democracia (IDD), an entity that forms part of the CNE, as their counterpart for this objective. On November 30, FARO met with Francisco Vergara, director of the IDD, to begin the work of organizing and coordinating jointly.
Agreement with Facebook to develop the presidential debate: On December 20, FARO and Facebook made an official agreement to collaborate during the electoral process to generate public commitment and strengthen the processes of democratic participation. To increase citizen participation, Facebook will make available to users the so-called "electoral megaphone”. Every Ecuadorian Facebook account will have this electoral megaphone link that will direct you to the Ecuador Decide web page, under the section “citizens and candidates’ debate”. In this section, the user can write comments and questions for the candidates that will be asked during the debates. Users will also have possibility to debate with other citizens about the quality of the candidates and their proposals.
For the dialogues and debates between candidates, Facebook live will livestream the events, which will be available on FARO’s Facebook page. Additionally, Facebook will provide Ecuador Decide with data they collect related to the electoral process, for example: the main topics discussed by candidates, questions asked by the viewers, and demographic data, which could be used for journalistic and informative means.
Dissemination of the Initiative Ecuador Decide: FARO carried out a series of activities to disseminate this initiative on the national level:
• On December 16, letters were sent to the presidential candidates to introduce Ecuador Decide in alliance with IDD and to request a meeting to personally invite each candidate to the debate. • Design of a web page has begun not only to disseminate the activities of the initiative but also to permit user participation in the different forums and debates. It is hoped that the page will be functional on January 15, 2017.
Ecuador Civil Society Assistance Program 18 AID-OAA-LA-14-00011 Quarterly Report 9, October – December, 2016 • Multiple publications on Facebook and Twitter were carried out, available at the following links: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EcDecide/ Twitter Account: https://twitter.com/ec_decide • In November and December FARO carried out 14 interviews in radios, tv programs and newspapers.
Workshop for designing the methodology for the presidential debate: Considering that this is the first time that this kind of debate has been organized in Ecuador, the methodology that will be used is fundamental. FARO solicited the support of various organizations that have carried out similar debates in other Latin American countries to create a methodology that meets the objectives of the project, and takes into account the context of Ecuador. The organizations that provided input were the Economic and Social Research Consortium (CIES) of Peru, the Simón Bolívar Debate Commission of Colombia and Argentina Debate.
On December 13, the workshop to design the methodology for the presidential debate was carried out, directed by Javier Portocarrero, director of CIES. Participating in the workshop were Diego Bassante (Facebook), Carolina Calderón (Simón Bolívar Debate Commission of Colombia), Hernán Charozky (Argentina Debate) and Francisco Vergara (IDD).
The objectives of the workshop were: (1) To understand the experiences of other countries in the region, (2) To identify challenges and lessons learned for the creation of the methodology for a presidential debate in Ecuador, (3) To plan key elements of the methodology of the debate and (4) To determine the next steps to take.
As a result of the workshop, the methodology includes the essential elements for setting the rules of the debate, such as: the topics to be treated, the dates and locations, dissemination channels, strategic alliances and the format of the debate. In the month of January, FARO will work to ensure that the rules of the debate will be agreed upon by the presidential candidates. Annex 15 describes the designed debate methodology.
First Debate for the National Assembly Candidates: On December 21, the first legislative debate was held in the Chimborazo province broadcasted via Radio Mundial de Riobamba and Facebook Live. The Forum was moderated by Rosa Matilde Guerrero from San Francisco University, and Wendy Reyes, Ecuador Decide Coordinator. For this debate, the first candidates from each of the parties were invited. Thirty-two people attended the debate (23 men and 9 women). The breakdown of the participants by sector is shown in the following chart:
Chart 4: Breakdown of the participants by sector
PARTIES AND POLITICAL MEDIA CSO STATE ACADEMIA TOTAL MOVEMENTS
Ecuador Civil Society Assistance Program 19 AID-OAA-LA-14-00011 Quarterly Report 9, October – December, 2016 4 9 3 7 9 32
The participating candidates were: Patricio García (Centro Democrático), Luis Carvajal (Partido Social Cristiano), Fernando Zumba (Adelante Ecuatoriano Adelante), Daniel Moreno, (Fuerza Ecuador), Carmen Ubidia (Renovación) and Plinio Tamayo (Sociedad Patriótica) and civil society representatives from around the province.
The debate began with all of the candidates signing a commitment to accept the proposed rules, methodology and topics, as well as to respect speaking times and turns.
The questions revolved around community development and youth employment, micro-finance and production, justice, freedom of expression, freedom of association and accountability At the end there was a round of questions generated through the Facebook account of Ecuador Decide. The overall audience of the debate is approximately 5.000 and the number of views on Facebook is 2.606. The debate is available in the following link: https://www.facebook.com/EcDecide/?fref=+s
Objective 2: Civil society fosters diverse participation and engagement
Production of the Democratic Citizen Agenda: Once the contents of the Agenda had been discussed with the Promoters Group 15at the end of September, suggested contributions related to the topics of gender and the environment were used to finalize the document in the month of October. Additionally, they worked with a graphic designer on the formatting to achieve a suitable and easy-to-understand design for diverse audiences. Starting on November 20, PC began the distribution of the 1,000 printed copies. This version contains a summary of the main recommendations that were gathered in the ten provincial workshops (Annex 16). Between November and December, PC distributed a total of 550 copies of this Agenda to their contacts in Quito and the different provinces of the country, including members of the Promoters Group, civil society organizations, members of the PC assembly, as well as representatives of international organizations. Additionally, this version was posted on social media networks, which permitted its dissemination to a wide public audience across the country.
Furthermore, PC also finished the elaboration of a working paper, which supports all of the Agenda's contents. This document incorporates in detail the different public contributions along with a broader description of the four themes around which the discussions for the construction of the Democratic Citizen Agenda were based: (i) Strengthening democracy, the rule of law and respect for institutions, (ii) Transparency, (iii) Freedom of association, political participation, public participation and social control over the management of the state and (iv) Human rights and the rights of priority persons and groups. While this broader version is principally a working paper for internal use, PC has shared it with some of its close contacts or technical consultants of political organizations who have requested additional information on this process.
15 Promoters Group is a coalition of 39 organizations formed under the CSA Program (23 in PY1 and 16 joined in late PY2) to work with PC in the implementation of the Pacto Etico initiative including the Democratic Citizen Agenda.
Ecuador Civil Society Assistance Program 20 AID-OAA-LA-14-00011 Quarterly Report 9, October – December, 2016
Forums with candidates to present and discuss the Democratic Citizen Agenda: On December 13, PC carried out the public presentation of the Agenda to legislative candidates in the auditorium of the University of the Americas (UDLA) in the city of Quito. This, and the additional two forums to be conducted prior to the national elections in February, provide the opportunity for citizens’ groups, including youth groups, to discuss with candidates the diverse themes that have been identified in the Democratic Citizen Agenda and learn about candidates’ proposals on these subjects. For this event, PC collaborated with the Association of Students of the UDLA (ASEUDLA), to help with the promotion and logistics. ASEUDLA committed to provide support for two additional planned events to be carried out in Cuenca and Guayaquil between January and mid-February.
The legislative candidates who participated in this presentation were Alfredo Carrasco of Movimiento Concertación, Santiago Guarderas of the Partido Social Cristiano (PSC), Javier Orti of Movimiento AVANZA and Patricio Donoso of the CREO movement. Also participating was alternative candidate María Sara Jijón of the political party Izquierda Democrática. According to different opinion surveys, including those conducted by the main polling firms CEDATOS-Gallup, Informe Confidencial, and MARKET, the political parties CREO, PSC, as well as ID (Izquierda Democrática) are the most popular opposition coalitions. PC invited candidates from the governing party, Alianza País, Marcela Holguín and Pabel Muñoz, legislative candidates from the northern district of Pichincha, who confirmed their participation then retracted due to a competing priority.
As an introduction to the event, the director of the PC described the purpose and the process of creating the Democratic Citizen Agenda, the significance of the identified topics, as well as outlined the importance forthe candidates to listen to public opinion and take into account the input of civil society organizations for their governing platforms.
After this introduction, the event format was essentially a session of questions and answers. Each candidate responded by lottery to 2 previously prepared questions that had been sent to all of the candidates. The topics of the questions were based on the concerns laid out in the Agenda. Also included were questions that had been developed by other coalitions whom also share the concerns from the Agenda. Finally, a single question was asked to all of the candidates, selected from a group of questions solicited from participants on social media networks.
The main topics that the questions dealt with included: (a) freedom of association, (b) rights of the LGBTI population, (c) social control and mass media, (d) social security, (e) gender equality and empowerment of women, (f) rights to education and the quality of the educational system, (g) conservation of the environment and rights of the indigenous communities, and (h) economic reactivation. At the close of the event, the candidates publicly promised to take into account the topics proposed in the agenda and integrate them into their platforms if they were elected.
Approximately 80 people attended this meeting, which was broadcast on Facebook Live. On social media networks, 846 live views and 132 reactions were counted for the event. Also included
Ecuador Civil Society Assistance Program 21 AID-OAA-LA-14-00011 Quarterly Report 9, October – December, 2016 were questions from the public using the hashtag #EcuadorDebate as well as #AgendaCiudadana. Various communication materials, as well as images and video of this event, can be accessed by clicking on the following link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1UjHN7XGWG_V6dolscdplBjkkVNANrVlmmV9MVG8HUp Q/edit
Additionally, please refer to Annex 17 for detailed information about the event.
Forum-Presentation of the Agenda to Candidates - Quito, December 13, 2016
Presentation of the National Working Group (NWG): On October 11, twelve of the members of the National Working Group met in Quito to coordinate the public presentation of their coalition, including the strategy for the public announcement, the plan for reaching the media, and to determine the points to highlight about the work of the NWG and its plans for the future.
The public presentation event of the NWG was held on November 16 in the meeting room of the Convent of San Augustin, located in the historic center of Quito. Approximately 90 people, represntatives of civil society, public groups, academia, international organizations, media, as well as consultants from three parties and political movements (SUMA, Izquierda Democrática and CREO), attended this event. Various members of the Promoters Group coming from the provinces of Loja, Azuay, Napo, Tungurahua, Guayas, Imbabura and El Oro were also present at this event, and had the opportunity to interact with the members of the NWG about the different activities that these two groups have carried out in relation to the Pacto Etico.
Four members of the NWG provided remarks at this event including the executive director of PC; Michael Valdivieso, youth leader and representative of the Governing Council of the Universidad San Francisco de Quito; María Amparo Albán, specialist in economic law, international trade and sustainable development, and representative of the Universidad Dos Hemisferos; and the ambassador José Ayala Lasso, former ambassador of Ecuador and United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.
In their presentations, the representatives of the NWG explained the rationale behind the group, and the process undergone for its creation, emphasizing that it is a "group with democratic, diverse and inclusive ideas that attempts to analyze, reflect, and promote dialogue between
Ecuador Civil Society Assistance Program 22 AID-OAA-LA-14-00011 Quarterly Report 9, October – December, 2016 different actors to generate proposals for State policies that transcend governments, ideologies and regions."16 Additionally, they made a public call to the candidates and politicians to listen to civil society and present concrete proposals that address their demands. They also highlighted the importance of public participation, particularly by young people, in the democratic process.
The media strategy developed by PC for this activity was successful as it obtained important media coverage not only on the day of the event but also on the days directly before and after. The national and local media outlets that published articles on this event were Radio Centro Notihoy, El Comercio, Radio Quito, Noticias ACB.com, Radio Morena, Teleamazonas, Radio Rumuñahui and Radio América.
Participants and speakers GNT Presentation - Quito, November 16, 2016.
Strengthening the National Working Group: On December 12, seven members of the NWG held a meeting with representatives from the Quito Chamber of Commerce to analyze and identify priority electoral topics to discuss with the candidates. The discussions would be organized by the Chamber prior to the elections, and at a presidential debate to be held in late January.
Additionally, on December 21, with the support of the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), PC organized a meeting with members of the NWG to analyze the agendas that political parties had presented to the CNE. During this meeting, the participants analyzed which topics from the Democratic Citizen Agenda were left out of the agendas, in order to ensure that these topics were discussed with candidates during events organized under the CSA program. There were 14 members of the NWG present at this meeting.
White Papers (WP): On October 4, PC and Counterpart held a work meeting where they discussed some final adjustments to the four White Papers: (a) "An Independent and Efficient Justice System as a Key Element for the Rule of Law", (b) "Electoral Legislation and Regulations", (c) "Public Participation in Ecuador", and (d) "The State of Human Rights in Ecuador - 2016". The description of these analytical documents can be found in the quarterly report from the previous period.
16 Jose Ayala Lasso, member of the NGW, former Ecuadorian Ambassador in various countries and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Ecuador Civil Society Assistance Program 23 AID-OAA-LA-14-00011 Quarterly Report 9, October – December, 2016 Once these adjustments were incorporated, PC proceeded with printing 500 copies of each of the White Papers for dissemination. On December 13, PC delivered the White Papers to the legislative candidates, emphasizing that these documents are a contribution from civil society to the analysis of these topics with the goal that they could consider this input in future discussions and legislative initiatives. PC will also distribute these documents to candidates at the public forums in Quito, Guayaquil, and Loja to be conducted in January. In addition, PC’s Director contacted the Deans of two universities in Quito to explore the possibility of holding discussion based events with students and subject matter experts on WP themes. The first event will be conducted in early February at the University San Francisco de Quito (USFQ). In January PC will also present the WPs to media representatives and journalists. The remaining activities to disseminate and discuss the WPs will be implemented after the national elections, as planned.
Coordination with other coalitions and programs: During this period, PC has continued coordinating actions with other initiatives that encourage citizen dialogue, including the Mesa de la Convergencia led by Fundación Esquel, the Ecuadorian Coordinating Committee for the Defense of Nature and the Environment (CEDENMA), Youth Space, and Women for Democracy. In addition to participating in meetings organized by these groups and continually keeping them informed on the Pacto Etico initiative, PC invited these representatives to the event on December 13, where they were asked to pose questions to legislative candidates in relation to the Democratic Citizen Agenda. At this event, 3 of the 10 questions that the candidates were asked were posed by these groups. These efforts to engage other coalitions are important as they provide greater civil society endorsement to the themes promoted by PC under the Pacto Etico initiative, as well as increased venues and opportunities for disseminating the CSA products including the Democratic Citizen Agenda.
Additionally, PC has promoted the Democratic Citizen Agenda during programs it is implementing with funding from other international donors. During an event on November 28, with the support of another American foundation, PC informed representatives of political parties of the Democratic Citizen Agenda, provided them with a copy, and requested their support and participation at the public events that PC will hold in Quito and two other cities in Ecuador between January and February.
Campaign “With the Right Values in Mind”:
Ecuador Civil Society Assistance Program 24 AID-OAA-LA-14-00011 Quarterly Report 9, October – December, 2016 Amb. Jose Ayala Laso, NWG member - interview on November 16 and Ruth Hidalgo - TV interview on December 16
PC continued to strengthen its communication strategy through various channels and resources on social networks like Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Google Plus and Whatsapp. (Annex 18 has statistics and details). Additionally, they maintained ongoing contact with traditional media.
For the National Working Group presentation, as well as the public event to present the Democratic Citizen Agenda to legislative candidates in Quito (both events are described above), various media pieces were posted on social networks, thus achieving greater reach and. Banners, videos, and flyers were used, as well as parts of the Pacto Etico song with slight adjustments.
Throughout November and December, PC has avoided using the term "Pacto Etico" in its media outputs and dialogue due to the connotation the national government is giving this term in order to promote a popular query regarding public officials being prohibited to hold public positions if they have resources in tax havens. Instead, PC is positioning the Democratic Citizen Agenda in its media strategy. By doing this, PC seeks to prevent citizen confusion and potential use of the GOE to capitalize over PC’s initiative that has already been in place for over 2 years, and gain citizen support for a totally different initiative
In November, PC made adjustments and modifications to the Pacto Etico song and video., It was shortened so that it can be used and distributed by media outlets and more easily shared on social media, and sound and tuning aspects were improved to make the lyrics more easily understood. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVIFagfwutY&feature=youtu.be)
These changes in managing media also included changes to PC's webpage (www.participacionciudadana.org) that started running at the end of this quarter. The edits to the webpage were done to make it easier to continually update content, and make it user-friendly, not just on desktop computers, but also cell phones and tablets.
Taking into account the pre-election period and PC's media strategy, this quarter the organization had more than 37 appearances, mentions, and/or interviews on the radio, in the press and on TV. In 12 of them, the media covered the Pacto Etico and/or the Democratic Citizen Agenda. Some examples of the news coverage, as well as interviews on radio programs and in the press can be found at:
(i) http://www.elcomercio.com/actualidad/corporacion-participacion-ciudadana- politica.html (ii) http://www.ecuadoradio.ec/Audios/Ecuadoradio/2016%2011%2017%20ENTREV%2 0RUTH%20HIDALGO%20DIRECTORA%20PARTICIPACION%20CIUDADANA%20 DIALOGO%20PROACTIVO%20Y%20POLITICAS%20ESTADO.mp3 (iii) http://www.elcomercio.com/actualidad/candidatos-asambleistas-debatieron- propuestas-elecciones2017.html
Ecuador Civil Society Assistance Program 25 AID-OAA-LA-14-00011 Quarterly Report 9, October – December, 2016 (iv) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WoXXamoXEhY&feature=youtu.be (starting at minute 27)
For full details on the Media Coverage during the October-December period, please refer to Annex 19.
Finally, PC has continued to spread key messages from the Pacto Etico initiative, as well as its activities, both in its electronic newspaper “Informed Citizen”, which had 21,958 visits this quarter; and on social networks through the PC and Pacto Etico Facebook and Twitter accounts, with a total of 2,696 visits on FB and 3,621 followers on Twitter.
Objective 3: Increased ability of CSOs to operate cohesively and effectively
Strengthening the Media Strategy: Esquel has continued developing video conferences given by network experts on topics of interest to civil society. Thus far, 60 CSOs participated in these national video conferences.
The video conferences were on topics chosen by CSOs and considered relevant for candidates of the National Assembly. The topics chosen were social security, education, LGBTI rights and policy proposals from women's groups.
Esquel has designed two types of video-conferences: CLIC Talks and CLIC Forums. The CLIC Talks, each about 10 minutes, involve sharing experiences on relevant issues. Esquel defines the participants and issues for discussion according to the specific needs of CSO beneficiaries. Meanwhile, CLIC Forums are one hour and include an opportunity for Q&A among the participants and instructors. Esquel determines the themes for the forums based on the needs and requirements of the CSO beneficiaries. Esquel has held CLIC Forums previously and receives positive feedback from CSOs. Nine video conferences were developed; 8 in the "CLICK Chats" format, and one in the "CLICK forum" format. In order to promote the video conferences and forum, Esquel produced 35 memes and published 300 posts on Facebook and Twitter.
The following tables include complete information on each video conference:
TABLE 1: VIDEO CONFERENCE IN CLICK FORUM FORMAT
# Topic Expert Date # of views of the Link video conference
1 Promoting the Culture of Baltazar December 67 views with a https://www.youtube.co Peace and Non-violence Caravedo 12 reach of 794 people m/watch?v=jyZ4ywr5G "Types of violence: on Facebook aQ Violence and non-violence" (Lía Méndez)
TABLE 2: VIDEO CONFERENCES IN CLICK CHAT FORMAT
Ecuador Civil Society Assistance Program 26 AID-OAA-LA-14-00011 Quarterly Report 9, October – December, 2016 # Topic Expert Date # number of Link views on social networks (Facebook and YouTube)
https://www.youtube.c Including gender in om/watch?v=L4TeeLp 1 diversity programs Dr. Lidia Heller October 04 1302 ITXs
https://www.youtube.c 2 om/watch?v=VxmL9g KdIbk http://www.esquel.org. ec/esquel-en- Communication and 800 vivo/476- cyber activism videoconferencia-
Vladimir Cortés inteligencia-colectiva-
Roshdestvensky – democracia-os.html César Mendoza October 20
Cornerstones and 526 https://www.youtube.c 3 challenges of Civil om/watch?v=BEJZ- Society November 23 54Dpnc Organizations http://www.esquel.org. ec/esquel-en-
vivo/477-foros-clic-la-
trata-de-personas- retos-en-materia-de- protecci%C3%B3n-a- las- v%C3%ADctimas.htm Guillermo Correa – l RACI Argentina Luz Ángela Ramírez – NGO Confederación Colombiana
Juan Páez – CSO Legal
Advisor Juan Fernando Almedia - Fundación Esquel Orazio Bellettini – CEOSC * FARO Group
736 https://www.youtube.c 4 How will Social om/watch?v=JP1mtS Security provide MROQQ benefits to covered Jorge Madera October 17
Ecuador Civil Society Assistance Program 27 AID-OAA-LA-14-00011 Quarterly Report 9, October – December, 2016 subscribers in the future?
5 1018 https://www.youtube.co m/watch?v=45MKUMPit UI
Miltón Luna http://www.esquel.org.ec October 29 /esquel-en-vivo/487- Click Forum on foro-clic-nuevos- education liderazgos.html
Who am I? Where 349 https://www.youtube.c am I going? Youth in om/watch?v=J3cgw3u 6 Ecuador Humberto Salazar November 29 LRlE
Efraín Soria 328 https://www.facebook. Danilo Manzano com/pg/fundacion.esq 7 Pending LGBTI rights Bernarda Freire December 1 uel/videos/
528 https://www.youtube.c Rosario Utreras om/watch?v=YCA2DL Collective proposal Pilar Rivas 597 dl0V8 8 for women's rights Mónica Hernández December 8 (Facebook)
Strengthening capacities: As part of the technical assistance provided to the 12 beneficiary CSOs, Esquel held workshops on training and communication methodologies for the teams of each organization. The objective was to improve the training skills of the CSOs so that they can better convey ideas and rationale to the population groups they work with (youth, women and the LGBTI community). In order to achieve this objective, a "training of trainers" workshop was held with representatives of the 12 beneficiary CSOs. A total of 18 workshops were held, which were attended by 57 people (26 men and 31 women). The workshop agendas and participant lists are in Annex 20.
The following table includes the breakdown of participants and dates the workshops were held.
TABLE 3: Entertaining methods workshops participants and dates
CONCEPT PARTICIPATING QUITO GUAYA DATE CSOs QUIL
5 Workshops on Fundación Sol de 8 people October 11, 13, 20, training and Primavera 27 and November 1, communication (2 males, 2016 methodology 6 female)
Ecuador Civil Society Assistance Program 28 AID-OAA-LA-14-00011 Quarterly Report 9, October – December, 2016 2 Workshops on Fundación Paz y 9 people 9 people December 6, 2016, training and Esperanza, Red in Guayaquil and communication LGTB del Guayas (2 males, (2 December 7, 2016, methodologies: (Alianza Igualitaria, 7 males, 7 in Quito. Training Trainers FUTPEN, Mujer y females) females) Mujer), Trans Pact, Sol de Primavera, Alas de Colibrí.
11 Workshops on Youth groups that 24 September 23, training and work with Fundación females October 7,10, 15, communication Sol de Primavera 21,24, 31, methodologies November 4, 11,18, 25, 2016
Created by Fundación Esquel
Local advocacy projects: Agreements have been signed with the 12 beneficiary CSOs, which have received their grants and are currently being carried out. The two most recent CSOs to sign grants are highlighted in the following table:
TABLE 4: CSOs that have signed agreements and are receiving subgrants
Organization name Project start date Project name
ALIANZA IGUALITARIA November 30, 2016 "Together we build a future without drugs"
LA COMUNIDAD PARA EL October 07, 2016 Establishing Tips for Active Non-violence DESARROLLO HUMANO in our district
TRANS PACT November 7, 2016 "Health in different bodies" political advocacy project
Each of the organizations has an approved and ongoing advocacy plan that will conclude in July, 2017. Esquel held recipient monitoring meetings with each one of the 12 beneficiary CSOs.
Alas de Colibrí and Transgénero Peninsular Foundations presented their midterm reports, while organizations Juventud Obrera Cristiana, Mujer y Mujer and Sol de Primavera requested a one- month extension to finish their advocacy activities due to the start of the national electoral calendar, which has affected scheduling activities with local authorities. Their mid-term reports are now due January 2017.
The results achieved by the advocacy projects are reported in a matrix of quarterly indicators that have been included in PMEP's matrix. The AC Democracia, Fundación Transgénero Peninsular, and Fundación Alas de Colibrí indicator matrices are in Annex 21.
Ecuador Civil Society Assistance Program 29 AID-OAA-LA-14-00011 Quarterly Report 9, October – December, 2016 Esquel has provided ongoing technical and financial assistance to beneficiary CSOs, proving itself to be a strategic ally in fulfilling the proposed activities and generating specific approaches with other institutions.
As for subrecipient finances, their reports have been submitted on time and in accordance with the established requirements, with the exception of Fundación FJCROP. Fundacion FJCORP’s report had errors in the information used to prove their expenditures. Esquel submitted a report to them indicating the problems that were found and Fundación FJCROP has agreed to rectify this situation as soon as possible.
Overall, the advocacy projects have met the objectives set and achieved the expected results; some highlighted results are as follows:
Fundación Mujer y Mujer: The project included an investigation that resulted in the creation of the “Rainbow Guide”, a participatory proposal for creating safe spaces for members of the LGBTI community in higher education. This Guide was presented to the authorities and students of the Universidad de Guayaquil on December 2, 2016. In 2017 the University will sign an agreement in order to implement the Guide throughout the Psychology Department as a pilot project, and then upon review, issue it to the rest of the departments in the University.
Fundación FUTPEN: On December 13, 2016 an Ordinance was approved for the inclusion of LGBTI Sex-Gender Diversity in the Autonomous Decentralized Government of Salinas. The ordinance includes the municipal commitment to generate policies for affirmative action and the fight against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. It also calls for the designing of sexually transmitted disease (STD) prevention programs. It is expected that a similar ordinance will be approved by the Municipal Autonomous Decentralized Government of La Libertad in January 2017.
Juventud Obrera Cristiana: After an investigation on the situation of young workers in Quito and Guayaquil, the results were presented to officials of the Ministry of Labor Relations and the Quito Municipal Government (Quito District Municipality Secretariat of Inclusion and Councilor Daniela Chacón). The presentation focused on making these two government institutions aware of the problems that young workers face, in order to generate public policies to address this situation.
This project included training modules on the labor rights of young people, which will be shared with the Ministry of Labor Relations and the Quito District Municipality Secretariat of Inclusion so they can be utilized in their activities with youth groups. Additionally, these modules will be with another beneficiary CSO, Fundación Sol de Primavera.
Legal and Technical Assistance: Esquel continues to provide assistance and training on legal issues to beneficiary CSOs. This support has helped the CSOs obtain guidance on managerial change processes that the Ministry of Socioeconomic Inclusion requires the Fundación Comunidad para el Desarrollo Humano to implement, and advice on institutionalization that Ecuador requires the Fundación Juventud Obrera Cristiana to implement in relation to their offices abroad.
Ecuador Civil Society Assistance Program 30 AID-OAA-LA-14-00011 Quarterly Report 9, October – December, 2016 There is a clear need to strengthen knowledge of the legal concepts that stand behind program activities and operations undertaken by the CSOs in Ecuador. In response to this need, an online course called "Legal Elements for Developing Projects" has been designed in order to provide guidance on legal regulations in regard to taxation, employment, civil matters, intellectual property and public contracting that CSOs need to know to effectively run operations. The methodology used for the training is interactive and each module requires at least 4 hours of time. At the end of the course, an in-person meeting will be held to respond to participants' questions, followed by the respective exam. The modules will be taught in January and February, 2017. The courses content and schedule in Annex 22 and designs of the six aforementioned modules are attached in Annex 23.
Additionally, Esquel has continued to design five-minute videos that explain targeted legal issues and the process that CSOs can take to comply with legislation on this matter. These videos are called "Click Pill” and are part of Esquel's online training platform (EsquelCLIC). Currently, there are 4 videos; videos 1 and 2 were created during the previous quarter and videos 3 and 4 were created during this quarter. The third online video, addressing the topic of conflict resolution methods, was uploaded to the network on November 14, and was shared 110 times. This video can be watched at the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1qu2A_OSNc. The fourth video, aimed at explaining the New General Code of Legal Processes in Ecuador, was uploaded to the network on October 25, and was shared 1114 times. This video can be watched at the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zEqEVBQbLDU
Technical assistance for financial sustainability: During this quarter, Esquel finished the analysis of the 12 beneficiary CSOs. One of the main conclusions of the analysis, is that the majority of the organizations are weak at managing finances and generating funding sources. As a result, they are highly dependent on funding from a single source. Additionally, it has been identified that although most CSOs have qualified staff, they have trouble implementing management models, which hinders adequate development of the organization.
Another factor that the analysis showed is the quality of communication among the beneficiaries is very low, both for internal and external audiences. There are not many communication strategies that are properly aligned with their institutional mission. This weakness in the quality and focus of communication negatively affects their chances of expanding funding resources. The complete Analysis of Esquel's 12 beneficiary CSOs is in Annex 24.
Table 5: Summary of Financial Sustainability Assessments
Ecuador Civil Society Assistance Program 31 AID-OAA-LA-14-00011 Quarterly Report 9, October – December, 2016 Indicators Summary 6.0
5.0
4.0
3.0
2.0
1.0
-
Sostenibilidad financiera Capacidad organizacional Capacidad talento humano Innovación Comunicación Infraestructura
Once the analysis was completed, Esquel held meetings with each of the 12 beneficiary CSOs in order to create a sustainability plan. The process analyzed certain organizational elements such as human talent, internal processes, actors involved, and available funding. In doing so, the sustainability plan was designed in alignment with the organizational mission of the CSO.
The process undergone for each CSO has been different, but it is expected that the 12 beneficiary CSOs will all have a sustainability plan by January 2017. This plan will be monitored and supported by Esquel until July 2017.
Two of the 12 CSOs are already executing their sustainability plan, which has allowed them to raise external funding for their organizations for the first time. With the assistance of Esquel, Fundación Paz y Esperanza wrote a proposal to help victims of the April 2016 earthquake in Pedernales, Chamanga, Portoviejo and Manta. Through this proposal they were able to secure approximately $100,000 in resources from Evangelical churches in the United States and Europe. Fundación Sol de Primavera was contracted by the Municipality of Quito to provide workshops to municipal officials on how to work with at-risk youth, which has generated income for their organization.
Both during the analysis process and in the creation of the sustainability plans, there was a clear need to strengthen capacities that will allow the beneficiary CSOs to raise funds for their organizations. Given the results of the analysis, Esquel designed four workshops on the following topics:
Ecuador Civil Society Assistance Program 32 AID-OAA-LA-14-00011 Quarterly Report 9, October – December, 2016 (1) Sustainability in project management (2) Generating sustainable initiatives (3) Innovation as a generator of projects with greater impact (4) Communication and marketing as mechanisms to identify and take advantage of funding opportunities: Marketing plan.
The workshops will be held in December 2016 and January 2017. In December 2016, the sustainability in project management workshop was held in Quito and Guayaquil, and was attended by 20 participants (14 women and 6 men). Additionally, a workshop on generating sustainability initiatives was held in Quito and attended by 8 participants (7 women and 1 man).
IV. Monitoring and Evaluation
The attached Monitoring and Evaluation Plan table includes the indicators and results from the fourth quarter of the second year of implementation of the CSA Program (Annex 25). Some of the indicators achieved during this quarter include:
• CCI 1 - Number of People Trained. A total of 176 individuals (101 women and 75 men) were trained through FARO’s and Esquel’s training activities implemented this period as well as Counterpart’s advocacy training to partners. This includes FARO’s Innovaccion training program on on-line training for course trainers (3 women and 6 men), advocacy workshop for members of the CEOSC-Legal Committee and Advisory Board (6 women and 6 men), Risk Management workshop for UPTL (12 men and 19 women), advocacy training for FARO staff (12 women and 11 men), Esquel’s workshops on recreational and communications methodologies (26 men and 31 women), workshops on sustainability (7 men and 21 women), advocacy training for Esquel staff (4 men and 7 women). And, advocacy training for PC staff (3 men and 2 women). • CCI 2 – Number of Networks Strengthened. The CEOSC network continued to be strengthened this period through the process of regular TA provided by FARO and CPI for CEOSC's legal commission. In addition, Esquel continued to strengthen the Guayas LGBTI network through regular TA and training activities to its members. • CCI 6 - Number of CSOs, Social Organizations, and government agencies assisted. A total of 109 CSOs, municipal governments, and academic organizations were assisted this period. This included 73 CSOs and 11 local governments that participated at FARO’s international forums on the enabling environment in Quito and Guayaquil, one university (UTPL) which received training on risk management, and 8 CEOSC members which participated in specific training and discussion sessions. In addition, Esquel assisted its 12 beneficiary CSOs and 4 additional CSOs from the AVANCES Program and other local organizations which participated in selected training and TA activities throughout this period • SP2.2 - "Number of people who have completed USG assisted civic education programs (F- indicator). A total of 331 individuals. This is composed of 219 individuals (125 women and 94 men) who attended FARO’s international forums in Quito and Guayaquil to discuss the enabling environment for CSOs. In addition, 32 participants (23 men and 9 women) participated at the first Ecuador Decide provincial forum in Riobamba. Finally, approximately
Ecuador Civil Society Assistance Program 33 AID-OAA-LA-14-00011 Quarterly Report 9, October – December, 2016 80 individuals participated in PC's public forum to present the Citizen Democratic Agenda to candidates.
V. Accomplishments
The main accomplishments of each partner organization in relation to the program's objectives include:
Objective 1
• After a lot of hard work and dedication, FARO spearheaded the creation of the proposal titled "Towards the Strengthening of Civil Society: Building Public Policy for CSOs”. This document is the result of ongoing analysis that CEOSC CSOs have been carrying on since 2008, when the first restrictive regulations for the sector were issued. The proposal has an advocacy strategy that goes beyond the next elections and requires long-term efforts. The quality of the document has been recognized by reputable academics and experts that consider it as an important element to be discussed in national and international forums.
• FARO and Esquel worked jointly on the International Forum for Enabling Legal Environment for CSOs. Counterpart has been encouraging partners to work together since the beginning of the CSA Project and in this occasion the collaboration efforts proved to be effective. This demonstrated the importance of collaboration to generate stronger results and helped build trust between FARO and Esquel.
Objective 2
• PC's main accomplishment this quarter was having successfully held the presentation of the Democratic Citizen Agenda to legislative candidates. Despite the difficulty of holding events in December, PC managed to gather candidates (4 primary candidates and 1 supplementary) from 5 political parties and movements, who publicly agreed to incorporate inputs from the Agenda into their legislative agendas. Among the candidates present, the three opposition parties that currently lead the electoral polls were represented. The presentation was shared 846 times on YouTube and social networks, and received more than 130 comments and reactions.
Objective 3.
• Esquel has supported the beneficiary CSOs in the CSA Project activities but also in additional activities that these organizations have develop as part of their organizational objectives. This kind of support contribute to strength the inter-institutional relationship between Esquel and the beneficiary CSOs, increasing the level of trust. This allows Esquel to work in a better way with the beneficiary CSOs and their receptiveness to embrace changes suggested for organizational development in the CSA Project. An example of this is Esquel's participation in the "Non-Violent October" project led by Fundación Comunidad de Desarrollo Humano. The process assembled around 30 organizations in order to develop a month of activities related
Ecuador Civil Society Assistance Program 34 AID-OAA-LA-14-00011 Quarterly Report 9, October – December, 2016 to the theme of a Culture of Peace and Non-violence. Esquel participated by creating a symbol of peace that assembled around 500 people and that was publicized by the international news agency, Pressenza. See this news story at http://www.pressenza.com/es/2016/10/ecuador- cientos-de-personas-se-unieron-para-formar-el-simbolo-de-la-noviolencia/
VI. Best Practices and Challenges
Particular best practices and challenges identified under the program components are as follows:
Objective 1 • The analysis of the current legal environment requires experts from different fields that can share their experiences and research. FARO believes that having the support of the CEOSC, the Legal Committee, Counterpart, Esquel and national and international experts to analyze the conditions of the CSOs in Ecuador is a best practice that must be included in the process of generating public policy. This collaboration allows for the creation of innovative proposals that fit within the complicated political context that CSOs are facing.
Objective 2 • A best practice used by PC this quarter was to coordinate the participation of other organizations and coalitions such as Mesa de la Convergencia, CEDENMA, Youth Space, and Women for Democracy in different program activities. This allowed for efforts to be united, common concerns to be posed, and strategically allowed for more opportunities to share CSA deliverables, particularly the Democratic Citizen Agenda.
• The main challenge that PC faces is getting candidates from the Alianza País party to participate in the project’s events scheduled during this pre-election period.
Objective 3 • In the coming quarter, Esquel will face the challenge of providing effective technical assistance to beneficiary CSOs in two crucial areas to achieve CSA Project results. The first area is related to advocacy projects, which need to show results in a difficult political environment given the electoral process and, the second are is the sustainability plans, that include actions (among others) to get funds inside the country but given the economic situation is difficult to get this kind of funding. These two areas present major challenges considering the country's political and economic context. However, Esquel has taken this context into account from the beginning of the project in order to take the necessary actions that allow it to obtain positive results.
VII. Expenses
As of December 30, 2016 the total of incurred expenses was USD $2,129,559.16.
Ecuador Civil Society Assistance Program 35 AID-OAA-LA-14-00011 Quarterly Report 9, October – December, 2016 VIII. Next Quarter Priorities
General • Provide virtual technical assistance on Collaborative Advocacy to partner organizations.
Objective 1 • Execute 5 change projects. • Implement a media and advocacy strategy during the period from January to March in order to position the CEOSC's public policy proposal. • Promote the meeting for the Innovaccion training program, 2017 edition. • Register participants for the 2017 training program; on average 30 participates per CSO and Autonomous Decentralized Government. • Design the newsletter El Territorio No. 4. • Hold 4 debates with candidates of the National Assembly. • Hold the first Presidential debate, and second (if need be).
Objective 2 • Hold two events to distribute and deliver the Democratic Citizen Agenda to candidates that will run for assembly members in the 2017 elections and political parties. • Define the 5th White Paper topic and distribute the 4 White Papers produced during the second year of the program at public events. • Hold a National Working Group meeting with media outlets in order to present the Group’s products, including the White Papers.
Objective 3 ● Develop the International Forum for Enabling Environments for CSOs ● Complete the advocacy projects for a majority of the beneficiary CSOs ● Hold online legal training modules. ● Continue legal assistance for the 12 beneficiary CSOs ● Continue technical assistance for improving funding sustainability: Develop plans and follow- up. ● Hold training workshops on funding sustainability. ● Consolidate the network of international experts for the ESQUEL CLIC program
Ecuador Civil Society Assistance Program 36 AID-OAA-LA-14-00011 Quarterly Report 9, October – December, 2016