Projects
Current Projects
- Youth empowerment through knowledge based advocacy for improved quality of living – Proposal for partnership support (UN-HABITAT)
Building on the success and lessons learned from its focus on urban youth over the past decade, UN-Habitat is now embarking on a strategy to ensure a focus on urban youth empowerment across the entire spectrum of the Agency’s programmes. The strategy developed by NI views the rights based approach as fundamental to empowerment and knowledge building as its primary ingredient. The proposal outlines the key strategies and anticipated results of an expanded and deepened Youth Empowerment Programme.
- African Civil Society engagement with AMCOW and other continental initiatives to reduce water and sanitation poverty-Proposal to facilitate planning process: (ANEW)
African Civil Society Network on Water and Sanitation (ANEW) engaged the Nottawasaga Institute to assist in facilitating and drafting a Strategic Plan setting out strategic priorities for ANEW with an advocacy agenda, action plan and anticipated results for the next five years. Within this strategy, through NI’s facilitation, ANEW is developing a continental engagement plan to enhance interaction with continental water policy institutions and processes with the following specific objectives:
- To operationalize the MOU between ANEW and the African Ministers’ Council on Water (AMCOW) in order to ensure the relevant and effective engagement of civil society with policy makers across the continent;
- To ensure that ANEW, with its members, takes a leading role in monitoring the eThekwini Declaration and action plan on sanitation;
- To follow up and monitor the Sharm el Sheikh declaration made by African Heads of State.
The strategy was presented and amended at a meeting between the ANEW Board and AMCOW-TAC, along with other key partners, held 28 April 2010, in Pretoria, South Africa followed by an implementation plan by NI.
- Design of Governance and management of Kenya LCDF and selection of co- implementing organisations- SNV Netherlands Development Organization Kenya
Local Capacity Development Facility (LCDF) aims to create a market embedded capacity development facility as a means to support localization and sustainability of capacity development services at sub-national level. The ownership of the Kenya LCDF has been grounded through an interactive design process with a Kenyan LCDF Consortium. In moving forward into operations, there was need to define the continued roles of all actors in the operationalization phase. In moving into implementation, an early definition of the structure and governance mechanisms of this facility became imperative. To this end, there was need to examine existing initiatives to inform the LCDF process, while enabling the definition and establishment of the requisite structures and mechanisms required to realise the LCDF. Through this proposal NI is providing services required for executing the research and process development required by SNV.
- UNEP TEU
UNEP – Terrestrial Ecosystems Unit: support to design of various projects on ecosystem management, including: Ecosystem Management for Maximizing Functionality, rehabilitating the Mau ecosystem, LifeWeb, etc.
- Process planning and communication for African Ministers’ Council on Water (AMCOW)
This long-term engagement has involved support to the African Ministers’ Council on Water (AMCOW) in strengthening its role as a platform for policy dialogue on addressing the water crisis in Africa. This began with the Pan African Implementation and Partnership Conference on Water in Addis Ababa, December 2003, including design of the conference process, development of print and on-line information resources and promotional materials, and support to follow-up activities to chart an African agenda for addressing the problems of freshwater resources management on the continent.
NI supported the planning and preparation of the 5th Ordinary Session of the African Ministers’ Council on Water, in Entebbe, Uganda (November 2004) and the 6th Ordinary Session in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo (May 2007), as well as follow-up activities to implement the outcomes of these Ministerial Sessions. Most recently this has involved facilitating the design and preparation of a Conference on River and Lake Basin Organizations in Africa, Kampala (October 2006) and an experts meeting on the establishment of an African Commission on Groundwater (November 2007). Recently completed work includes preparations for the First African Water Week (funded by UN-HABITAT), held in Tunis in March 2008, and preparatory activities related to the AU Summit on water in July 2008.
- Project on community-based media and cultural initiative on peace & reconciliation in Kenya (GFT) Ghetto Film Trust
The Ghetto Film Trust’s project on community-based media and cultural initiative on peace and reconciliation in Kenya started on 1st November 2008 and ended on 31st October 2009, sponsored throughout by USAID/Pact. The main goal of the project was to strategically use alternative, community-based media – films, workshops, radio programs and cultural events - for promoting peace and reconciliation in communities worst affected by the pre- and post-election violence in the slums of Nairobi, such as Kibera, Mathare, Korogocho and Dandora, among others. However, despite the successful completion of the project, GFT felt that it was vital to undertake further actions to maintain the GFT-engendered momentum towards promoting peace and reconciliation activities in the Nairobi slums, as well as strengthen the organization’ growth through development of an over-arching strategic plan and participation in a third round of OCA with Pact’s OD department. GFT is currently working on an extended grant from USAID/Pact for a period of 3 months (July-Sept. 2010) which will go a long way in helping GFT to achieve these goals. In addition to providing management and coordination for the project, at its completion an evaluation will be conducted through an internal participatory process facilitated by the Nottawasaga Institute and a report submitted to Pact.