Report of Evaluation: Facilitating Civil Society Dialogue and Development to Foster Accountability and Good Governance in Liberia (2008)

The two year project (October 2006 – October 2008) Facilitating Civil Society Dialogue and Development to Foster Accountability and Good Governance in Liberia had two principal objectives; to increase the capability of civil society to engage their new leaders on governance and accountability issues and to increase constructive engagement between the government and civil society on how the state is governed. In order to reach these objectives, the project involved organizing Town Hall Meetings, employing media and outreach programs, developing partnerships, and build capacity through trainings or radio journalists and civil society leaders. To assess the extent to which the project fulfilled the objectives, the evaluators held 12 focus group meetings and 18 key informant interviews in all cities except Monrovia where the project was carried out. The evaluation noted the effectiveness of media programs and dramas in particular, but there exists the need for more programs in local languages. Furthermore, the evaluation highlights the success of Town Hall Meeting’s creating higher levels of awareness among citizenry about government activities and subsequently higher expectations from the government as well.