Managing Information and Strengthening Organizations for Networked Governance Approaches (MISONGA)

June 2004 - Sept 2006

Events surrounding the 2001 disputed presidential election in Madagascar awoke citizens to the need to become engaged in the public affairs of their country. The dominance of the state prior to the emergence of the new government of President Ravalomanana in 2002 precluded, even discouraged, citizens from involvement in the making and implementation of public policy. The greatest challenge for the new government is how to increase participation and effectiveness of civil society in developing solutions to reduce social and economic distress as well as natural resource depletion. Improved governance is essential to achieving this outcome.

The basic infrastructure for successful democratic development in Madagascar has already begun with the decentralization brought by the new government. Along with decentralization has come recognition that a more responsive government depends on committed, capable civil society organizations, and the ability of both government and civil society to access information for decision-making.

Over the next five years, the USAID funded MISONGA will work with government and civil society to improve governance in targeted areas of Madagascar. The program will focus on strengthening civil society, and increasing information flows and government responsiveness to public needs. Activities will concentrate on development themes related to health, natural resource management, agricultural trade, anti-corruption, women's legal rights, and ICT development.

Pact is implementing MISONGA in partnership with Catholic Relief Services - Madagascar and Malagasy organizations, including village level associations and women-led NGOs, communal and intercommunal government structures, human rights organizations, and all level of national, regional and local government. Pact will also call upon the technical expertise of FES, Andrew Lees Trust, GRET in governance-related issues.

Pact's approach

Pact embraces a rights-based approach founded on the belief that all human beings are holders of rights, including the right to health, education, housing, political participation, justice, and personal security. These rights entail an obligation on the part of the government to respect, promote and fulfill them. In conjunction with this approach, Pact also uses an applied governance approach that links improvements in public management with concrete results in health, environment and other sectors along with increased citizen empowerment and participation in the public arena. These approaches will be applied to meeting the project's three goals to:

• create a deeper and stronger civil society
• increase government responsiveness
• increase information flows

Six main cross-cutting themes of highest priority in Madagascar will be integrated throughout the MISONGA program: anti-corruption, women's legal rights, ICT development, health, natural resource management, and agriculture.

Deeper and stronger civil society

A small group of established civil society organizations (CSOs) working at national, regional and local levels will serve as core partners over the life of the project. These core partners will receive training of trainers (TOT) training and, in turn, assist in the organizational development of 50 promising CSOs that have demonstrated results and shown potential to serve as civil society leaders. In addition these CSOs' technical capacity to carry out advocacy campaigns will be strengthened. The ultimate aim of the advocacy activities will be to empower and engage citizens in making public decision making more inclusive, transparent and participatory. As CSOs begin to achieve success in their advocacy campaigns, they will be encouraged to work with other CSOs and to link with coalitions around common issues.

CSOs will also be given training in how to assess the social, economic and legal status of women and men. MISONGA will develop tools to identify inequalities of power, access to resources, and social marginalization. A priority will be placed on the participation of several key women's organizations, which MISONGA will accompany in developing specific strategies to increase women's involvement in economic, social and political decision-making processes.

CSOs that have taken part in the training will be eligible for small grants, up to a maximum of $100,000, for research into or implementation of advocacy campaigns, creating or strengthening networks and linkages between CSOs, and sharing information through newsletters or websites and forums. Those CSOs demonstrating gender equity within their organizational structure as well as gender integration in their project design will be given strong preference in the grant making review process.

Increased government responsiveness

MISONGA seeks to support decentralization, increased government capacity to respond to constituency's needs, improved transparency of public resource management, increased citizen involvement in governance, and the reduction of corruption.

The project will work with national, regional and local governments to define roles and responsibilities of decentralized government structures, the mechanisms for interactions among them, and their capacity to manage resources and provide services to the public. Priority will be given to the agencies responsible for natural resource management, HIV/AIDS prevention, agricultural development, promotion of citizens' rights, and the provision of social services, such as health and education. Small grants will be available to government agencies for enhancing government capacity to respond to public needs.

In addition MISONGA will work with the Anti-Corruption Council to implement a strategy to educate, prevent and punish offenders. The council will receive training and technical assistance on such issues as financial monitoring, government procurement policies and resource management, and the government's roles and responsibilities in providing services to citizens.

Increased information flows

Civil society and government actors must be able to access and use relevant and timely information to conduct advocacy, engage in informed debate, and make sound decisions. Furthermore information data and tools for analysis must be available to all and not controlled by a limited number of centrally based institutions.

MISOGA, with the help of a multisector task force, will build a Multisector Information Service or MIS to generate sector-specific and cross-cutting information relevant to civil society and selected government ministries, including the ministries of environment, decentralization, agriculture, justice, mines, health, and telecommunication. An interministerial committee will be created to facilitate and promote availability, access and use of public information.

At the regional level MISONGA will support the development of Regional Learning Information Centers (RLICs) through technical assistance, training and providing data and equipment. These centers in turn will help independent groups to package, analyze and communicate a greater diversity of analyses of information. Training will also be provided to journalists and media organizations. The MIS will connect the RLICs with provincial governments and regional planning initiatives and with the National Civil Society Platform.

Community radio is the principal means for accessing information, and exchanging ideas in rural areas. MISONGA will help community radio stations to improve content development and dissemination in order to increase rural CSOs access to information. Training will also include technical support to managers, technicians, journalists, and promoters of rural radio. Selected radio stations will be supported in providing programming to youth, disenfranchised groups, anticorruption groups and women's associations.

MISONGA will also encourage competition and the use of unlicensed IT technologies and will undertake pilot activities to demonstrate promising new technologies. MISONGA will promote the use of ICTs through the RLICs and other user groups, including all USAID contractors.

Interim results

• The European Union, Swiss InterCooperation, UNDP and World Bank have all pledged to support the Ministry of Interior's efforts to modernize its departments and provide efficient and quality services. MISONGA helped the Ministry to set up a business plan and to transform it into projects proposed to donors.
• The first ever national coalition of civil society organizations (Plateforme des CSO's) in Madagascar was created on June 23, 2005. The next step should be to help the new coalition solidify its base with outreach and further integration of its diverse members. Staff of the newly formed coalition are conducting an inventory and setting up a database of CSO's in Madagascar, organized by sector and region. MISONGA will now encourage the national coalition to create regional coalitions in each of the 22 Regions. MISONGA will focus on 11 of these while PNUD will concentrate on the remaining 11. As mentioned later on in this report, MISONGA has already started to support this coalition to strengthen its branch in Fianarantsoa.
• The Anosy Regional Development Committee (CRD) was successful in its advocacy campaign due in part to coaching and a series of training on advocacy techniques by MISONGA. Their Regional Public Investment Program has been accepted by the government and will be included in and funded through the country budget law.
• 135 mayors, 26 other commune leaders and 66 regional executives in the 3 priority regions know how to manage their communes and regions after intensive training in leadership, management, and conflict management.
• MISONGA, UNICEF, and SantéNet, in coordination with the Ministry of Population, collaborated in 7 communes in the Anosy region on a pilot project to systematize birth registration and family certification.
• Several major decisions that gear Regions towards effective decentralization and integrated development were made possible thanks to participatory mechanisms strengthened by MISONGA. Overall, the project has assisted 9 Regions in creating effective regional development plans. For example, in the Anosy Region, the 14 proposed protected areas selected by the Regional Development Committee have been accepted by the regional authorities.
• 24 department managers at the Ministry of the Interior are accountable for their results and have gained skills that will help them deliver effective public services.
• 25 journalists in rural radio have strengthened their skills in investigative journalism and 10 others in program production. Journalists in Madagascar offer lack professional training and experience working in the public interest. Often, they are influenced by the personal views of station director. Due to an overwhelmingly positive response, MISONGA will continue its series of journalism trainings for these and 65 other journalists.
• A definitive plan for the Radio Corridor in Fianarantsoa has been adopted that will create a network of existing FM radios to promote objective and professional information distribution in the corridor.
• MISONGA contributed to the revitalization of the Centre d'Echange et de Documentation Inter-institutionnel (CEDII), one of the Regional Learning Information Centers (RLIC), in Fianarantsoa. The CEDII began in 2000 with support from USAID's ILO program.
• The first definitive legal document providing the political will and technical guidance for computerizing government has been prepared and is ready for approval by civil society, private sectors, and government.
• Seven (7) Multi-sector Information Services (MIS) have been set up in six targeted Regions. The main role of MIS is to provide technical support in order to promote a better use of information and knowledge in planning initiatives at the local, regional and national levels. It also satisfies developmental and coordination needs, and allows for follow -up and orientation of different interventions, projects, and programs at all levels. For MISONGA, the most important role of MIS is to facilitate the decision-making process. Several major decisions concerning critical regional issues have been made using the MIS that MISONGA has set up in 7 Regions in Madagascar.
• Results of in-depth studies of corruption in the tourism, industry and artisan sectors have guided the national anti-corruption strategy.
• The anti-corruption baseline survey that was conducted showed that corruption is pervasive. This survey allows decision-makers to better understand the depth and breadth of corruption, based on citizen perception, so as to orient their strategies. This information will also serve as a baseline to evaluate in 2006 the success and evolution of the national strategy, supported by MISONGA.
• PACT HQ's anti-corruption expert facilitated an intensive strategy session with MISONGA staff. This new strategy is critical for influencing its interventions with partners like CSLCC, BIANCO. This new strategy consists of building constituencies to fight state capture corruption by addressing access to information issues and strengthening the capacity of civil society, private sector and media capacities. For, FY 2006, focus will be to support CSLCC to set up the High Court of Justice.
• 40 CSOs from various fields, partnered with MISONGA, received training on anticorruption education techniques from BIANCO. The National Communication Strategy for fighting Corruption was developed by BIANCO through a grant from MISONGA.
• 2 regional offices of BIANCO will be inaugurated before the end of 2005, with full support from MISONGA. Complementary activities bringing the people and government closer together through civil society, e-governance, and improved services are moving forward. MISONGA will continue its activities in these areas and more.

This project was terminated early due to a reordering of USAID priorities for Madagascar.