Governance and Civic Engagement Program

Program Goal: By 2020, citizen, specially youth and women, are engaged in a transparent, inclusive, and institutionalized processes with local government and CSOs and are capable of holding duty peers accountable for local development and effective services delivery. A clearly defined goal for impact on the lives of a specific group, realized at broad scale. The selection of the target groups: - Are we targeting youth and women or we are in fact targeting the institutions? - Are we targeting youth and women only or citizens in general could be seen as marginalized ? - If we are focusing on the most marginalized, are youth and women the most excluded from the decision making? - If youth and women are the most marginalized, are their subdivision within this groups ( uneducated women, rural, belonging to specific clan….etc)

A thorough analysis of underlying causes of poverty and social injustice at multiple levels with multiple stakeholders. Next Steps: Review and deepen the Causal Analysis at the local level. Map out the role, view point, and influence of key actors at the national level ( including non traditional actors for CARE, such as political parties) By the end of December, a map out of the key actors at the local and national level is done. In 2006: CARE-Egypt conducted an UCP analysis that is consider as a cornerstone for our analysis. September 2008: the enabling and disabling factors impacting on local institutions to advance local governance principals and practices were analyzed.

An explicit theory of change that is rigorously tested and adapted to reflect ongoing learning. In order to achieve the desired goal, the program will have to ensure the following: 1) Responsive Local Government: - fiscal, administrative and political decentralization is in place - internal mechanisms for checks and balances are in place - legitimate institutions: fair election 2) Informed and empowered citizens: - Citizens aware of their rights and responsibilities - Acting alone and in groups to hold local government accountable (the importance of social capital and the cross-cutting ties) -Citizens are granted their rights for information and participation - CSOs are working together to engage marginalized groups and to hold government accountable 3) An enabling environment that support their interaction - institutionalized venue (space) for interaction: public consultation, participatory budgeting &planning - Free and independent local media

An explicit theory of change that is rigorously tested and adapted to reflect ongoing learning. Is that analysis enough? -Why transformation toward democratization, decentralization are facing several setbacks? Are their more structural challenges we are not aware of? -Where did the change should happen and/or start ( national or local)? -how it could happen( reformative or radical)? -By who (Popular or elitist) ? -what is CARE role and legitimacy? Are we speaking about politics with “capital P” - How reform happened in other parts of the world?

A coherent set of initiatives that enable CARE and our allies to contribute significantly to the transformation articulated in the theory of change. PPDG EDI MDP

Ability to promote organizational and social learning, to generate knowledge and evidence of impact. Work on improving initiatives knowledge systems started, more work still needs to take place Work on Program Level Knowledge systems have not started yet

Contribution to broad movements for social change through our work with and strengthening of partners, networks and alliances. CARE initiated and is leading a working group gathering together major international and national NGOs working on local governance Advisory member for the UNDP’s social contract center Member in the advisory panel for the minister of local development Member in the Egyptian decentralization network

A strategy to leverage and influence the use and allocation of financial and other resources within society for maximizing change at a broader scale. Using the Etislalate project to leverage resources from the PPDG Using the GDA project to leverage resources from the PPDG’s leadership program

Accountability systems to internal and external stakeholders. APAs and IPOs are the preliminary mechanism for personal accountability towards the program. Exploring the option of creating an advisory group to the program