The project was initiated in June 2018. It was planned to end in December 2021, however it was extended until December 2024. The project is implemented in North-East (NES), North-West (NWS), and Central Areas of Syria (CAS) through local partners. The Embassy of Sweden in Beirut (EoS) considers that the partners' activities are appropriate to reach the planned project outcomes.
The objectives of the intervention were updated in March 2022 as part of the application for the cost extension (granted in May 2022).
The following results are deducted from the Annual Program Report (2022) that covers the period 1 April 2022 to 31 of December 2022 as well as three annexes; 1. Outcome Journal, 2. Partners' Activities Report and 3. Risk Matrix.
Some of the most relevant results of the program consist of the sustained and enhanced capacity of civil society organisations in Syria working as intermediaries between the local communities and local governance structures in an ongoing conflict. Examples below are listed according to the program's three outcomes:
Outcome 1: Increasing the influence of Syrian Civil Society organisations in local decision-making processes
The report describes the many tailored capacity-building activities carried out to the CSOs across Syria, enabling them to carry out their projects more professionally. Issues addressed in the capacity-building include e.g. safety and security, designing theories of change, and procurement and logistics. The program activities also resulted in increased and strengthened capacities for networking and alliance building between the CSOs. Within the reporting period more CSOs joined the networks and information sharing between the different platforms and networks increased.
Outcome 2: Improving local communities' access to local power holders
The program has led to increased capacity among community members to influence decision making processes at local level. Various community development initiatives as well as dialogue sessions took place during the reporting period on issues related to for instance climate change, unemployment, the quality of drinking water etc. These local initiatives are important, as they can act as role models and enhance democratic participation across Syria. However, it is Sida's assessment that there is room to further improve the results based reporting by being more concrete on the output and outcome levels.
Outcome 3: Enhancing the responsiveness of community leaders and local government structures to peoples needs
Finally the program has contributed to some results in local government's responses to community needs. One concrete example of this is when community members expressed their concern to the local authorities regarding the poor quality of the public transport service, which actually lead to an increase of the number of buses operating as well as a discount on transportation fees.
There has also been progress in terms of the use of digital instruments. Within the reporting period, one of NPA:s partner organisations contributed to the development of an interactive online complaint and feed-back portal, shared on the local government platform. The purpose of the portal is to promote accountability and transparency, ensuring that government decisions are made based upon the priorities and needs of the communities. The local government are themselves promoting the use of the portal. An example of an issue addressed through the portal is concerns about hygiene services in the local municipalities.
