FROM THE AMERICAN PEOPLE

Nigeria Strengthening Advocacy and Civic Engagement JANUARY 2, 2014 – JANUARY 1, 2019 Project Introduction and SACE’s Approach and Tools

The Strengthening Advocacy and Civic • Take into account Nigeria’s unique country Engagement (SACE) project was a five-year context and accountability ecosystem program funded by USAID and Partnership (mobilizing actors across demand and Initiatives in the Niger Delta (PIND). supply lines) Implemented by Chemonics International with • Promote a collective impact approach that partner Root Change, SACE strengthened mobilizes the actions of diverse actors civil society’s ability to work with the around a common advocacy agenda government to influence the development and implementation of democratic reforms that • Seek innovative “better-fit” solutions rather improve transparency, accountability, and good than transplanting “best-practice” solutions governance at the national, state, and local • Prioritize adaptive design and learning levels in Nigeria. • Use iterative political economy analysis to Civil society in Nigeria has demonstrated capitalize on windows of opportunity its potential to serve as a critical change SACE’s strategy was anchored in the agent, but its progress has been limited by a understanding that traditional, management- lack of capacity and resources to effectively centered approaches (Capacity 1.0) are participate in Nigeria’s governance ecosystem. necessary, yet not sufficient to achieve Using an innovative accountability ecosystems the desired improvements in governance approach, SACE strengthened the capacity of and accountability. SACE incorporated civil society clusters (comprising a variable mix essential Capacity 1.0 training into a broader of civil society organizations, policymakers, Capacity 2.0 approach, which focused on donors, and private sector partners) to working with organizations to create and improve transparency, accountability, and promote engagement with other like-minded good governance in a range of sectors and organizations and enhance their ability to adapt issues, such as education, health, extractives, and function in a rapidly changing, complex economic growth, and social inclusion. environment. Eighteen “anchor” civil society organizations (CSOs), including eight national CSOs, seven SACE’s Capacity 2.0 approach used a variety of Niger Delta CSOs, and three Niger Delta innovative tools and strategies, such as: business member organizations, received multi- year grants. They in turn led collective cluster • Stakeholder analysis and dialogue. advocacy efforts and provided mentoring, SACE’s strategy and CSO partner selection training, and sub-grants to cluster members. were informed by an extensive contextual Through this cluster model, SACE delivered analysis of the Nigerian governance capacity building activities to 157 CSOs and landscape, key informant interviews and 8,769 individuals over the life of the project. focus-group discussions, and large-scale The project also saw net organizational stakeholder dialogue sessions with more improvements across 56 organizations than 400 national-level and Niger Delta nationally and 44 in the Niger Delta, reaching a participants. This collaborative process total of 98 organizations across the country. enriched the project’s approach, informed CSOs’ requests for applications for funding, SACE used a Collaborating, Learning, and and increased buy-in from partners and Adapting (CLA) approach, along with an stakeholders. evidence-based, inclusive methodology to civil society strengthening grounded in the premise • Cluster approach and collective that initiatives should: impact. Anchor CSOs and cluster

1 MAP OF PROJECT PARTNER PRESENCE

KATSINA

YOBE BORNO KANO

BAUCHI KADUNA GOMBE

ADAMAWA

FCT KWARA NASSARAWA

TARABA

OSUN BENUE

ENUGU

LAGOS EDO ONDO CROSS RIVER IMO DELTA ABIA

BAYELSA RIVERS AKWA IBOM

SECTOR GRANTEES

Education CITAD, JONAPWD, HDI Health HERFON, CENSOJ Inclusion DRAC, WARDC, YAF, NNEW

Peace NCDF

Agriculture ESCFAL, UPFFA, LAPDO

Extractives CISLAC, LITE-Africa, ANEEJ

Open Budget SDIC, CCIDESOR

2 CLUSTER MODEL

ANCHOR

Leadership

CLUSTER MEMBERS

Knowledge Sharing and Brokering

Relationship Building

Mentorship

POTENTIAL CLUSTER MEMBERS

Anchor Donors CSO’s Researchers Legal

Private Sector Partners Policy Makers Media Influencers Community Mobilizers

members received intensive, ongoing provided mentorship and sub-grants to training in collective impact principles and cluster members. Through a multitude strategies, cultivating the necessary mindset of successful policy outcomes, clusters shift to drive cross-sector policy reforms. experienced first-hand the benefits of a Through cluster meetings and tailored unified voice for change. coaching sessions, actors from diverse • System for Transformation and sectors developed common agendas for Results (STAR) methodology. SACE’s solving social problems. Anchor CSOs suite of tools and change processes helped served as the backbone organizations, CSOs develop skills and competencies coordinating the collective efforts on around eight core 2.0 drivers that their cluster’s core advocacy issue and characterize high-performing organizations: voice and accountability strategies COLLECTIVE IMPACT and tactics, stakeholder engagement, monitoring and evaluation, member A model of collaboration that aligns the engagement and development, alliance diverse efforts of numerous actors toward building, knowledge sharing, innovation and the same social change goals. experimentation, and public awareness.

3 BUILDING A WHOLISTIC PRACTICE OF HEALTHY ORGANIZATIONS, DELIVERING IMPACT

CAPACITY 2.0: Next Generation Practice Strong system-level engagement leads to impact • Social capital development • Ecosystem perspective • Learning and adaptation

CAPACITY 1.0: Traditional Practice Strong management leads to impact • Internal management • Administrative systems • Planning, policies, and procedures

Tools and processes included: 4. Cluster coaching and reviews. Regular, tailored coaching to support cluster review/ 1. Ongoing assessments. Organizational check-in meetings with anchor and cluster Capacity Assessment Tools (OCATs) members from SACE and issues experts. and Non-U.S. Organization Pre-Award Survey Guidelines and Support (NUPAs) 5. Annual progress index. Stories of change, to assess organizational capacity, and peer review, and most significant change the STAR performance drivers survey to to assess organizational effectiveness. assess advocacy competencies. SACE developed and adapted several 2. STARNET. Real-time, online platform for performance tools – the policy tracker, the partners to map institutional relationships strategy matrix/outcome harvesting tool, the and visualize their positions relative to cluster check-in process, and network mapping other ecosystem actors. and analysis – that are now available in digital format for continued use after the project’s end. 3. Cluster feedback. Platform for cluster members to provide regular feedback to anchor organizations on cluster performance and cooperation.

4 Results

Equipped with improved advocacy skills NATIONAL and innovative approaches (developed with SACE’s support), partner CSOs achieved • The Accountability in Education in the impressive policy outcomes and progress in Northeast Cluster, anchored by the government engagement in a wide range of Centre for Information Technology and policy areas, including education; extractives; Development (CITAD), supported the health; social inclusion for women, youth, creation of a State House Assembly and persons with disabilities; and budget Committee in Yobe State to monitor transparency. Both national-level and Niger education projects, and secured a Delta partners worked across 87 areas of commitment from the Bauchi State laws, policies, and administrative procedures, government to increase the education and SACE expects to achieve the target of budget. 60 policy outcomes. These impressive policy • The National Assembly passed the outcomes were achieved in part because of Petroleum Industry Governance Bill, with CSOs’ enhanced capacity, garnered through pressure from the Civil Society Legislation SACE’s capacity building efforts to improve Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) and the their advocacy skills, strengthen their networks Accountability in Extractives Cluster. The and stakeholder relationships, and boost public bill, which seeks to provide a governance awareness. and institutional framework for Nigeria’s

5 SACE grantee Enough is Enough (EiE) Nigeria hosted the “Let’s Talk Governance” session at Social Media Week Lagos 2016. ANEEJ engaging a guest at 2016 Social Media Week in Lagos.

• The Disability Rights Advocacy Center “ and the Access to Health for Women with ”The SACE approach catalysed a Disabilities Cluster made progress toward transformation in our advocacy disability mainstreaming by providing technical support and sustained advocacy approach and led to significant pressure for the approval of Nigeria’s gains in our journey to policy National Policy on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights of Women and Girls with reform on Open Budget in the Disabilities. Niger Delta.” • The Center for Social Justice (CENSOJ) and the Public Finance Management in Maternal, Ken Henshaw Newborn, and Child Health Cluster Social Action, Open Budget Cluster helped secure (in collaboration with the Health Reform Foundation of Nigeria, or HERFON) 1 percent of the Consolidated ” Revenue Funds for a Basic Healthcare petroleum industry, restructures the Provision Package in the 2018 federal Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation’s budget. management and allows new taxation legislation to foster a more attractive • Katsina and Kaduna States passed the investment environment. Primary Healthcare Under One Roof Bill

6 into law, following sustained advocacy from HERFON and the Quality of “ Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health “Through the SACE project, we Services Cluster, with strong collaboration have learned how to use the Policy from CENSOJ and the Public Finance Management in Maternal, Newborn, and Tracker to monitor our projects Child Health Cluster. progress. We will continue to • The Joint National Association of Persons use this tracker going forward with Disabilities (JONAPWD) and the Social Inclusion in Basic Education as it helps us to keep tabs on Cluster worked with the Federal Capitol other development issues we are Territory’s Universal Basic Education Office to push for adoption of their Accessible and advocating.” Inclusive Schools Environment Model and to establish an inclusive education policy. Isaac Botti Social Action, Open Budget Cluster They also made significant progress in this advocacy work in Akwa Ibom and Kwara states. ” • The Accountability in Education Cluster, states to provide universal basic education led by Human Development Initiatives plans with joint CSO-government oversight (HDI), advocated for budget transparency of implementation mechanisms. The cluster in education funding and engaged several also supported states to leverage millions

Ngozi Iwere of Community Life Project; Honorable Segun Olulade, Chairman of the Lagos State House Committee on 7 Health Services; and Honorable Adunni Akindele, Executive Secretary Mosan Okunola Local Council Development Area, Alimosho Lagos State, at the 2.0 Mindset Series in Lagos. Sulayman Ujah, member of the Inclusive Education Cluster, at the SACE Annual Learning Summit 2017.

of naira in counterpart support from the federal government. “ • Women Advocates Research and “The SACE Project has helped Documentation Centre (WARDC) and the Women Lead Agriculture Cluster us to build alliances and made us drafted gender-focused agricultural policies effective networkers. We have and helped secure the inauguration of the first female executive member of made great strides using this in the All Farmers Association of Nigeria in holding government accountable Osun State to amplify women’s voices on agriculture issues. and we will not stop now.” Akeem Kelani NIGER DELTA Out of School Children Education Foundation, Accountability in Education Cluster • The Youth Advocacy Cluster, with leadership from Youth Alive Foundation (YAF), drafted the Akwa Ibom Youth ” Development Fund Bill. The bill, which • The Life and Peace Development addresses youth unemployment and Organization and the Inclusive Agriculture poverty, has garnered public support and Governance Cluster successfully advocated passed two readings and a public hearing in for Ondo State to include the Agro- Akwa Ibom’s State Assembly.

8 Guests speak at the at the 2.0 Mindset Series in Abuja, 2015.

Women Initiative in its 2018 budget. They Cluster advocated for drafting Edo State’s also garnered support from Ondo State’s new agriculture policy. first lady, Arabinrin Betty Akeredolu, to • The Africa Network for Environment serve as the advocate champion for a and Economic Justice (ANEEJ) and gender-friendly agriculture policy. Leadership Initiative for Transformation • NECA’s Network of Entrepreneurial and Empowerment (LITE)-Africa, anchors Women and the Women in Business of the Accountability in Resource Cluster successfully advocated for more Management of Niger Delta Institutions transparent engagement regarding local (NDIs) Clusters, engaged the Niger Delta taxation for informal female traders. They Development Commission to push for also pushed for effective reporting and greater civic participation and transparency, handling of harassment cases for market supporting the launch of the Project women and more equitable allocation of Monitoring Platform to track completion of markets stalls to women. abandoned projects. • The Effective Aquaculture Policy Cluster, • The Social Development Integrated Centre led by the Ugboroke Progressive Fish and the Open Budget Cluster opened the Farmers Association, successfully advocated door for citizens to take part in budget for developing a clear agriculture policy processes throughout the Niger Delta, with a funded aquaculture component in securing a commitment for CSOs to work Delta State. with the Edo State Budget and Planning Committee, and pressuring Akwa Ibom, • The Edo State Cooperative Farmers Bayelsa, and River States to publicly publish Agency and the Effective Agriculture Policy annual budgets.

9 • Following sustained advocacy efforts foundations and position partners to receive from the Citizens’ Centre for Integrated direct USAID or other donor funding and Development and Social Rights and the continue their advocacy work. Assessments Open Budget in Health and Education demonstrated that at least six partners now Cluster, Imo State released the call circular have the capacity to receive direct funding for the 2018 budget, and responded by from USAID (HDI, YAF, LITE-Africa, CENSOJ, completing previously abandoned capital ANEEJ, and WARDC). As a direct result of projects, which improved basic service capacity building from SACE, eight partners delivery. (notably ANEEJ, YAF, JONAPWD, CENSOJ, CITAD, and WARDC), have received more • The Nembe City Development Foundation than $3 million in direct funding from DFID and (NCDF) and the Peace Advocacy Cluster other international and local donors. developed the Central Peace Working Committee, with participation from the INCREASED CROSS-CLUSTER police, Operation Delta Safe team, media, COLLABORATION and others, to use an early-warning system to avert conflict and promote peace. SACE encouraged CSO partners to pursue cross-cluster collaboration to maximize reach REINFORCING 1.0 CAPACITY and impact. Clusters joined forces on their issues to build critical masses of advocates for While there was a purposeful emphasis on reform. In the Niger Delta, two extractives- Capacity 2.0 skills to achieve policy outcomes, focused clusters, led by ANEEJ and LITE-Africa, SACE also provided essential Capacity 1.0 jointly monitored the development efforts training to build strong internal organizational of NDIs. They conducted a citizen’s report

Irene Patrick-Ogbogu of Disability Rights Advocacy Center 10 (DRAC), at the SACE award signing ceremony in 2014. card survey to gather public perceptions of NDIs’ activities, allowing citizens to rate “ NDIs’ performance. At the national level, “Knowledge is power and as a ANEEJ, LITE-Africa, and CISLAC held a high- woman farmer, the SACE tools level extractives summit in Abuja — called “Dialogue on Natural Resource Governance” have given me the power to work — to foster large-scale improvements in collectively bringing other women governance. farmers together and to track SACE supported engagements that promoted when and how we are meeting our an enabling environment and regulatory framework for CSOs to operate effectively goals.” in Nigeria. In 2014 and 2017, SACE supported CSOs to engage, question, and prevent the Yemisi Fasakin Kwara State Agricultural Practitioners Association of introduction of the “Act to Regulate the Nigeria, Women Lead Agriculture Cluster Acceptance and Utilization of Financial/ Material Contributions of Donor Agencies to Voluntary Organizations and for Matters ” Connected Therewith” (2014) and the “Bill civic space and voice. Throughout the project, to Provide for the Establishment of the Non- SACE worked with concerned stakeholders to Governmental Organisation Commission” create awareness of and facilitate broader CSO (2017) in response to widespread apprehension engagement with the National Assembly on that these pieces of legislation would constrict this potentially damaging legislation.

Group work by members of Youth Advocacy Cluster at the 2016 Annual Learning Summit in Abuja. Members of Access to Health for Women with Disabilities Cluster give a presentation at the 2016 Annual Learning Summit in Abuja.

SACE also ran the successful 2.0 Mindset and 2018. This fostered a broad trend of Series, which brought together successful leveraging social media to bring civic actors practitioners from across civil society and and government officials together to engage government to discuss experiences and constructively on critical governance issues, learning to support effective, high-impact reaching more than 100 million Twitter users advocacy. This approach has been integrated over four years. into partners’ practices in their other work. The project also supported civic engagement Expanding beyond traditional media in the Open Governance Partnership (OGP) engagement, SACE worked with Nollywood initiative in Nigeria to support reforms in and the Nigerian entertainment sector to fiscal transparency, anticorruption and asset mainstream transparency, accountability, and disclosure, access to information, and citizens’ good governance issues within the industry engagement and empowerment (in line with and public-at-large, supporting effective Nigeria’s National Action Plan). In addition, engagement through the HomeVida Integrity SACE fostered greater civic-government Film awards as well as supporting young dialogue in the Niger Delta through its three scriptwriters to integrate governance themes annual Niger Delta Civic Engagement Forums into their work. (2015-2017), where with support from PIND, Niger Delta stakeholders discussed SACE also directly supported the emergence institutional innovations to boost accountability of Governance Day in four successive Social and citizen participation. Media Week events in Lagos between 2015 Social Inclusion and Conflict Sensitivity

Gender and social inclusion (GESI) issues, particularly for women, youth, and persons with disabilities, were at the core of many “ CSO activities. Six of SACE’s anchor partners “The SACE Project is a platform focused on GESI issues, ranging from inclusive education and health to women in business for collaboration and learning. to gender-sensitive agriculture policy. SACE I am a better person for it as trained other CSOs on the importance of inclusivity in their broader transparency and the learnings have impacted my governance work. Partner and cluster member mindset and my work. It is sad organizations developed and implemented GESI plans to ensure that relevant issues to see it come to an end but its were mainstreamed into programming and teachings will live on.” organizational policies and procedures. The project reached a total of 305 organizations Onyeka Chukwudi representing marginalized constituencies, which Youth Alive Foundation, Youth Advocacy Cluster became involved in advocacy work. It also trained 3,310 women, 3,976 youth, and 345 persons with disabilities. ”

13 Access to Health for Women with Disabilities Cluster Issue Learning Forum in Abuja, 2016. The Inclusive Education Cluster welcome Nigerian Paralympians, Abuja 2017.

In addition to GESI, SACE recognized the training with SACE anchor organizations, who impact of conflict on issues of accountability in turn cascaded this knowledge to cluster and good governance. The project conducted members and other collaborators. SACE also a conflict awareness and sensitivity survey supported NCDF, the anchor of the Peace of partners to assess their understanding Advocacy Cluster, to encourage the Bayelsa of conflict dynamics and Do No Harm State government to adopt a community-based programming. These findings were then used peace model and integrate peace and security to conduct conflict sensitivity and mitigation studies into school curriculum.

14 Innovation SACE supported an additional 10 CSOs to pilot innovative approaches to enhance citizen- government engagement and raise public awareness of governance-related reforms:

Spaces for Change. Supported urban Public and Private Development slum-dwellers in Lagos to use digital story- Centre/Homevida. Engaged Nollywood telling techniques, posted on YouTube and producers and young scriptwriters to develop other social media platforms, to advocate good governance-themed productions. This against slum eviction and shape eviction culminated in the annual Integrity Film Awards. policy guidelines for Lagos state, with potential for national scale-up.

Enough is Enough Nigeria. YAF. Supported the Orderpaper.ng. Supported Social Media Week development of an interactive Developed the Constrack panels on the importance mobile game application called mobile application to and use of technology, Your Excellency. Players role- enable citizens to monitor social media, and freedom played as an executive in the and track the execution of expression to strengthen government and learned about of government-run citizens’ engagement with the role of active citizens in “constituency projects.” governance issues. Hosted improving governance, engaging With the application, a Hackathon for citizens the government, and bringing citizens in three states are to develop technology- about social change. now able to productively based solutions for public engage their representatives engagement with the in the Senate, House of government. Representatives, and State Houses of Assembly.

15 ANEEJ. Developed the Propati Tracka Niger Delta Stakeholders Initiative online platform to map and share for Community Development and information on property ownership by Empowerment. Developed a platform on citizen politically exposed persons and civil engagement with private electricity power suppliers servants, with the aim of addressing leakage in the Niger Delta to promote transparent billing of public funds and laundering of corrupt and increase accountability to consumers. resources through property within and outside Nigeria.

Nigerian Women’s Trust Fund. Through the Creating Spaces project and Hackathon, Community Life Project. engaged National Youth Service Developed the Oshodi Business Corps members, political parties, Connect App as an e-commerce and secondary school authorities platform that bridges multiple to generate new ways for young taxation gaps between traders and women to participate in politics, local government officials in the culminating in a pilot of the top Oshodi-Isolo area of Lagos State. three ideas, which boosted youth participation in politics across three states.

CISLAC. Engaged youth through universities, launching the Extractive 101 series aimed at building young people’s capacity to understand and engage in governance issues in the resource-significant extractives sector.

16 Sustainability

We are confident that SACE’s approach to civil society strengthening and advocacy will “ be sustained by the Nigerian CSO community “The SACE tools are very effective after the project ends. Sustainability efforts not just on our project with SACE have centered on building organizations with strong technical capacity for advocacy and but we embedded these tools collective impact programming, indigenization into our organization framework of project tools and approaches, development of project legacy products that document for networking and tracking our approaches and tools, and sharing of project outcomes in other donor funded lessons learned to the wider public: projects. In fact, it’s part of the • Achieving meaningful policy objectives has training we give to new program increased the public’s support for advocacy work, and CSOs have reaped the benefits staff when they are employed.” of this new way of thinking and working. Chidi Ugwu Many of these outcomes are already being HERFON, Effective MNCH Cluster engrained in the fabric of government responses. • Former partners have adopted the cluster ” model as their own and moved forward • Six of the projects’ anchor partners are with the collective impact methodology now ready to receive direct USAID funding — there are now new clusters focused on as a result of project 1.0 interventions. open government partnership in the Niger In addition, in the past year alone, eight Delta, extractives, and education, which partners have leveraged donor funding exist without SACE support. worth more than $3 million. The project also supported four fledgling CSOs in the • Project tools are gaining currency across Niger Delta to access an extra year of other projects. For example, the project’s institutional support from PIND to prepare outcome harvesting matrix is being used them to receive additional donor funding. by non-partners as an effective tool to plan and validate activity outcomes. SACE’s SACE’s approach has contributed significantly approaches to networking mapping and to the enhanced advocacy capacity of Nigerian analysis (introduced through STARNET) partner CSOs, enabling them to work together are in demand by a wide range of actors, to influence government policy development. and the transformational cluster review This in turn has strengthened public discourse approaches and Mindset 2.0 knowledge- and support for democratic governance sharing events have already permeated reforms in Nigeria. the practice of other actors. With project capacity building reaching more than 7,000 The project would like to acknowledge the individuals, we anticipate this will continue support of USAID and PIND (for the Niger long after the project’s closeout. Delta component) in achieving these significant outcomes and strengthened organizations. • Follow-on support for several SACE- supported innovations is at an advanced stage, with Propati Tracka, Constrack, and Your Excellency already in discussions for follow-on funding.

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