Training, Advocacy and Networking (TAN) Project Update
Mercy Corps International
posted by Skip Waskin on Tuesday, December 13, 2005, 8:13PM
Expansion Plans. This year the TAN Project is expanding into
three new aimags: Khentii, Arhangai and Bulgan. In November, 80 bagh governors
and civil society organization (CSO) representatives from these three aimags,
as well as two existing aimags (Uvurhangai and Dundgobi), gathered for a conference
on community mobilization. TAN introduced its goals and objectives and presented
lessons learned and best practices from work in the current aimags. Conference
participants also learned about the community mobilization models used by the
Urban Poverty Alleviation and Developing Community Based Social Services projects,
as well as the public procurement mechanisms available for CSOs.
Visit to Guatemala. Four TAN project staff and five project
participants from Mongolia attended a workshop in Guatemala in November to share
experiences with their TAN/Guatemala counterparts. The workshop consisted of
presentations and field visits focusing on networks and partnership building,
resource development, and organizational development. Follow-up will be provided
to CSO participants to disseminate and apply new skills and knowledge.
Tender-Winning CSOs. Following earlier training and technical
assistance provided to the Uvurhangai aimag government and local CSOs on public
procurement, two CSOs received funding from the social welfare department to
provide services to households with disabled people and to the elderly. Another
two CSO projects won a tender issued by the health department on raising awareness
concerning hygiene standards and HIV/AIDS prevention.
Training, Advocacy and Networking (TAN) Project Update
Mercy Corps International
posted by Skip Waskin on Friday, November 9, 2005, 8:07PM
New TAN Chief of Party. TAN Chief of Party Silas Everett left
post permanently at the end of October to join his wife—new Asian Development
Bank intern Jeanne Everett—in Manila. He did a great job with TAN, and
will be sorely missed here both on and off the field. Mercy Corps, in its infinite
wisdom, has retained Silas and expanded his scope of work to include regional
responsibilities. We wish him all the best, and hope to see him back in Mongolia
some day on short-term assignment—and to fill in on the ultimate frisbee
team. TAN’s new Chief of Party, Elena Burian, has now taken over the reins
of the project. We’re delighted to have her aboard.
TAN Program Expansion. TAN is expanding into three new aimags
this fall: Khentii, Arhangai, and Bulgan. TAN staff met with the representatives
of more than 40 civil society organizations (CSOs) working in these aimags to
introduce project goals and objectives, and to assess CSO interest in community
mobilization activities.
CSO Network Support. In October the Dundgovi CSO network expanded
its referral center services that connect rural citizens to legal, financial,
and social services in the aimag. In the first two months of operation, the
center received 98 complaints, requests, and comments from 80 aimag residents.
Of those with complaints related to the difficulty in accessing local government
services, 90% were subsequently linked to the needed services. The Uvurhangai
CSO network organized a focus group discussion among 67 bagh (district) participants
in Arvaikheer soum (county) to identify causes of corruption, corrupt agencies,
and the scope of corruption on the bagh level. They published and disseminated
results of the meeting and used them to initiate public discussion on a TV forum.
Thirty representatives from local government and service providers—including
police, health care institutions, schools, and local CSOs—took part in
the discussion of corruption issues in Uvurkhangai aimag.
CSO Capacity Building. In October, TAN worked extensively
with the CSOs in Uvurhangai and Dundgovi aimags to improve their service delivery
and enhance partnership building with local business, government, and the media.
CSO Networks in Uvurhangai and Dundgovi aimags brought together more than thirty
CSOs, then of which were selected as core organizations for TAN CSO capacity
building work. The core CSOs reported positive changes in their organizations
as a result of their work in the networks and participation in the TAN Project.
Most are using methods to ensure that their programs are operated transparently,
and most use feedback from the general public and their constituencies to improve
performance. Through network activities they were able to improve their cooperation
with local business, media, and government to achieve common goals. All TAN
partners acknowledged significant improvement in their service delivery due
to their participation in the networks.
Social Entrepreneur Support. TAN was designed to not just
build the organizational capacity of CSOs, but also to build the capacity of
CSOs to innovate and employ sustainable ideas. In October TAN staff assisted
local communities in three new aimags to identify and select social entrepreneurs
to share the impact of their activities with CSOs through cross-fertilization
visits with other aimags, and through the media. The award ceremony for social
entrepreneurs will take place in each aimag at a “One Day of Our Bagh”
event. This is a bagh-wide community day aimed at raising public awareness about
CSO activities and other service providers in the community.
Training, Advocacy and Networking (TAN) Project Update
Mercy Corps International
SO2: MORE EFFECTIVE AND ACCOUNTABLE GOVERNANCE
posted by Skip Waskin on Friday, October 21, 2005, 3:57 AM
CSO Network Support. In September, TAN worked extensively with
the civil society organization (CSO) Networks in Uvurhangai and Dundgovi aimags.
The Dundgovi Network produced five FM radio programs in cooperation with Administrative
Court, Human Rights Commission, and Land Department based on citizen comments
and requests. Approximately 40% of citizens in the aimag center received information
from the FM program. Training in how to write an activity report was also conducted
to improve the capacity of network organizations. The Uvurhangai CSO network conducted
a survey entitled “Corruption at a local level” among 400 local people;
54.4% of participants mentioned that corruption is a growing problem in local
government service organizations, especially in hospitals, courts, secondary schools,
and land departments. Corruption forms include cash, gifts, and invitations to
lunch/dinner. Five hundred copies of the survey report were produced for local
government organizations, businesses, information centers, and CSOs.
Community Based Grant Voucher Program. The Free Youth CSO
worked with local government officials in September to develop a work plan for
establishing a bagh development center. Together, they fixed the percentage
of a local government organization’s contribution and concluded an agreement
with the soum governor’s office. The result of the meeting was that soum
governor’s office will provide MNT 700,000 and experts from the local
governor’s office to help with building repair, starting in October.
Publications. Six hundred copies of two manuals for local
trainers, providing guidance on how to market technical services and skills
to potential customers, were published in September. Also, 800 copies of a handout
on project proposal writing skills were published by TAN and distributed.
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