Strengthening an Iraqi Community of Practice in Democracy, Human Rights, and Governance – (2018–2022)

Home / Strengthening an Iraqi Community of Practice in Democracy, Human Rights, and Governance – (2018–2022)
August 14, 2022

Hundreds of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) working in Iraq face a shrinking space for civil society to engage in sensitive issues, increased competition for donor resources, and a lack of internal systems for NGO sustainability. As a result, the need for strategic sector coordination, improved technical capacities, and stronger networks and coalition-building among organizations is higher than ever. Fragmented engagement and lack of coordination, especially in areas liberated from the control of ISIL and in disputed areas, lead to service duplication in some places and gaps elsewhere. Mapping and assessment exercises suggest that local Iraqi NGOs are in need of organizational development for internal systems and structures; more effective monitoring and evaluation; a strong fundraising foundation; and strategies for increased civil society participation in policymaking processes. Iraq is the United States Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor (DRL)’s largest portfolio in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Increased coordination and knowledge sharing among DRL-funded organizations and projects will contribute to responding to local NGOs’ identified needs. Therefore, Search, in partnership with DRL, established the Iraqi Community of Practice (CoP), the first of its kind in the MENA region, in order to strengthen democracy, human rights, and governance programming across Iraq.

Approach

This 33-month project promotes increased strategic coordination, capacity strengthening, and learning across international and local NGOs in the democracy, human rights, and governance sectors in Iraq. A consolidated Community of Practice, through the distribution of quality resources and regular convening, enables organizations to collaborate better with each other and, ultimately, fosters stabilization and sustainable peace in Iraq.

To strengthen these networks, Search, in partnership with DRL, hosted two in-country coordination meetings every year and one annual stakeholders workshop. The objectives of these meetings are to provide member organizations with the space and time to connect with each other. Member organizations are, therefore, able to share learnings from their programming in order to strengthen programmatic complementarities, and, ultimately, promote democracy, human rights, and governance throughout Iraq. To this end, Search provided capacity-building training sessions in line with the needs and interests of member organizations to build on the groundwork of the coordination meetings and workshops. With the current COVID-19 restrictions, Search has successfully shifted all of its CoP programming online, including the in-country coordination meetings and annual stakeholders workshop.

Online, the CoP provides further opportunities for members to connect and share knowledge. Search has established the Iraqi Knowledge Sharing Platform, an online space for members to connect, and access resources from other organizations uploaded to the Online Resource Library. In addition to online resources, member organizations also have access to capacity-building opportunities. Webinars were organized regularly on different topics relevant to the Democracy, Human Rights, and Governance context in Iraq. To respond to the recent shift in online programming for all organizations, Search launched a digital security component to the CoP project, with the aim of enhancing CoP members’ digital awareness and digital security practices. The CoP also launched a one-on-one mentorship program, to which member organizations can sign up, to be paired with a mentor or mentee. The mentorship program results in further conversations between CoP members and opportunities for program collaboration.

Key Achievements

  • 22 international and local NGOs participated in the Community of Practice, alongside 24 local implementing partners.
  • Hosted 24 webinars as part of the ‘What Works Webinars’ series
  • Conducted 4 in-country workshops (two in-person and two online)
  • Conducted 3 DRL Annual Stakeholders Workshops (two in-person and two online)
  • Uploaded 85 resources related to democracy, human rights, and governance in Arabic, English, and Kurdish to the Key Resources Library
  • 7 successful instances of collaborative projects between CoP member organizations on issues such as monitoring the Iraqi electoral process and contributing to the improvement of Iraq’s compensation scheme for war-torn communities

Program Resources

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