CONSORTIUM POLICY DIALOGUE : HORIZONT3000, SOS-Kinderdorf Österreich, Österreichisches Rotes Kreuz, Caritas Österreich, CARE Österreich

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1 Austrian Development Agency NGO Cooperation & Humanitarian Aid Desk Zelinkagasse 2, 1010 Vienna Interim Report CONSORTIA PROGRAMM: Policy Dialogue Organisation, project manager: CONSORTIUM POLICY DIALOGUE : HORIZONT3000, SOS-Kinderdorf Österreich, Österreichisches Rotes Kreuz, Caritas Österreich, CARE Österreich LEADORGANISATION: HORIZONT3000 Local partner: GROOTS KENYA, DESECE - Development Education Services for Community Empowerment, SOS Children s Villages of Tanzania Trust, MIONET, CARE International in Uganda, Women Rural Development Network (WORUDET), Kenya Red Cross Programme title: S Strengthening capacities of CSOs engaging in Policy Dialogue Country/countries: Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Austria Duration from: Report per (date): Region/locality: to: Date of presentation: Financial statement per (date) (euros) Total costs Cleared items Submitted for Open items examination , , ,14 Date, author of report: , Petra HEROUT Contributions from: Maureen Bahati (GROOTS Kenya) Quentin Kay Mengo (DESECE) Mamo Abudo (MIO-NET) Catherine Kasimbazi and John Batista (SOS-Tanzania) Sarah Nduku (Kenya Red Cross) Elizabeth Katusiime (CARE Uganda/ WORUDET) List of Abbreviations S _ADA_Progress Report Policy Dialogue Consortia 2015_final 1

2 List of Abbreviations PD KRCS CSO NGO DDR Policy Dialogue Kenya Red Cross Civil Society Organisations Non-governmental Organisation Disaster Risk Reduction S _ADA_Progress Report Policy Dialogue Consortia 2015_final 2

3 1. Brief description of programme progress Objectives achieved The specific objective of present programme is Strengthening capacities of East African and Austrian NGOs regarding policy dialogue. So far, 7 partner organisations in East Africa and 3 guest learning organisations have strengthened their capacities in the following aspects of Policy Dialogue: Policy Dialogue and how to engage along the policy cycle Evidence based research and policy analysis Stakeholder management/ mapping for Policy Dialogue Policy Dialogue Planning and Resource Mobilization The new gained knowledge was disseminated by the organizations within their teams, organizations and networks via meetings and special trainings conducted. East African partner organizations have already started to use the new insights/ approaches and methods for their work. Next to the 5 Austrian consortia partners, 9 other Austrian organisations have been introduced to this programmes approach/ contents and discussed guidelines for CSOs engagement in policy dialogue. Change processes effected Awareness of policy dialogue and its potential is higher at East African CSOs and their target population. Research on policies, their implication on people s lives and possibilities to engage/ interact with duty bearers in order to positively influence policies and their implementation have started. Impact on and interaction with target groups/indirect beneficiaries Target groups of partner organisations take on the learnings and engage in policy dialogue. The following examples show the impact that could already be achieved: DESECE: One of the social audit groups that were formed after the training challenged the demarcation of villages in one constituency and the issue was addressed. They have also questioned the County government on road construction in the Constituency and one of the roads is already being worked on. GROOTS: Advocacy champions have also gained skills in preparing simple policy briefs which will be useful during their participation in the development of the raw milk policy. Community members have also gained increased awareness on the tenets of the potato packaging bill and its implications on their farm produce. There has been an increased awareness of community members to negotiate for better prices for their potato produce based on their understanding of the various stakeholders involved. CARE/ WORUDET: Through the organisation of dialogue tables and policy analysis processes, the drafting of a manifesto by women organisations networks has been achieved. Activities carried out - kick-off workshop, including a basic training on policy dialogue as well as a needs assessment for capacity development and cross-learning was held in Nairobi - elaboration of Guidelines for CSs to engage in policy dialogue - kick-off workshop to inform Austrian stakeholder and discuss these guidelines - planning and (partly) implementation of policy dialogue activities by local partners - one collective training on PD planning/ resource mobilization and evidence based research and policy briefs Steering measures identified (if applicable) Re-planning of small action funds for PD activities with MIO-NET and KRCS was necessary as external and internal conditions changed for these partners during first year. S _ADA_Progress Report Policy Dialogue Consortia 2015_final 3

4 2. Achievements/visible impact Qualitative and quantitative analysis of expected results and indicators listed in the application R1. A coalition of East African and Austrian NGOs has a clear vision on Policy Dialogue and which forms of capacity development for effective CSO engagement in Policy Dialogue is needed Guidelines on CSOs engagement in Policy Dialogue have been elaborated and discussed (in East Africa and Austria). CSOs and NGOs outside of the consortia where successfully involved and informed both in East Africa and in Austria. A participatory elaborated cross-learning plan (see attachment 4) guides the consortia in planning and implementing trainings and cross-learning activities. R2. The ability of East African partner organisations to conduct/ engage in Policy Dialogue has been strengthened in their priority field - e.g. (1) food sovereignty, (2) children's/ youth rights and (3) women empowerment GENERAL: partner organisations of this consortia project have gained capacities in the following areas: Policy Dialogue and how to engage along the policy cycle Evidence based research and policy analysis Stakeholder management/ mapping for Policy Dialogue Policy Dialogue Planning and Resource Mobilization All organizations have elaborated after each training Action Plans for Learning where they document how they integrate the learning into their organizations/ their work. The new gained knowledge was disseminated by the partner organizations within their teams, organizations and networks via meetings and special trainings conducted. Cross-learning was initiated and started between various organizations, even some that are not partners within the consortia project participated (at own cost) a training and linked with the consortia for crosslearning. GROOTS: There is an increase in the capacity of advocacy champions 1 on policy dialogue process and the differentiation with their ongoing advocacy work. This was manifest in the mapping of stakeholders involved in potato and milk marketing, their importance and power as well as influence in the policy process. Advocacy champions have also gained skills in preparing simple policy briefs which will be useful during their participation in the development of the raw milk policy. Community members have also gained increased awareness on the tenets of the potato packaging bill and its implications on their farm produce. There has been an increased awareness of community members to negotiate for better prices for their potato produce based on their understanding of the various stakeholders involved Unintended Results: The County Government of Nakuru has committed to support the establishment of a Farmers Resource Centre in Molo Sub-County. Currently office space has been provided and the County government has made further commitment to purchase office equipment. One of the advocacy team champions has been selected to the County s Agricultural Development Corporation Board as a farmer s representative. This was achieved in the month of December These are grassroots women from Nakuru County who earn their living through farming (mainly potato and dairy). Within the framework of one of GROOTS Kenya s flagship projects entitled Accelerating Rural Women s Access to Agricultural Markets and Trade, the organization works with a total of 2,700 women farmers in Nakuru and has organized them in 100 common interest groups. Each of the three sub-counties targeted by the project has formed advocacy teams that lobby the government for essential services and infrastructure necessary for the success of their farming and businesses. S _ADA_Progress Report Policy Dialogue Consortia 2015_final 4

5 DESECE: Community members reached have known their right for active participation in all development issues in the county and are taking part in County, Constituency, Ward and Local Administration forums. There is also improved interaction among community members and the County officials, Police, Local administration and also most of the Members of the County Assembly. Advocacy and lobbying campaigns on the proposed Public participation bill in Bungoma County triggered the County Assembly to start hearings within the County to enable people give their views and raise concerns on the bill. One of the social audit groups that were formed after the training challenged the demarcation of villages in one constituency and the issue was addressed. They have also questioned the County government on road construction in the Constituency and one of the road is already being worked on. MIONET: As a result of the community, leaders and civil society sensitization forums, a group of civil society organizations came up with a work plan to engage different warring communities to meet and draft a range land management resolution referred to as turbi Idhidho Elle pour Funan Qumbi Rawana Walda communities rangelands resource sharing resolutions of On another front, MIONET has involved in national and local forums on policy discussion on issues of importance in Marssabit County. In October 2015, MIONET organized members' forum to assess effects of Drought and Elnino phenomenon. After the initial meeting and discussion, rapid assessment was done on the same which eventually came up with a joint Multi-agency report and appeal letter from the Governor of Marsabit County to solicit for help. MIONET also participated in the Arid and Semi Arid Lands (ASAL) NGOs forum to discuss issues including policy issues that affects pastoralists livelihoods. SOS-TZN: The establishment of the new department for nutrition, health and social welfare at Prime Minister s this was one of the greatest achievement of Nijali policy dialogue in Tanzania. This department will allow social welfare officer at district level to participate in planning and budgeting process at Municipal or/ and District council. By this there will be an increase of budget allocated for the issues of children and welfare services. In some sense this makes social welfare partly budget holder and partly budget implementer. Decisions on funds request and spending is key to ensuring that children are served. The visibility of SOS Tanzania and its local partner C-Sema in both mass and social media has been among results which were not expected. Nijali media has boosted the reputation of C-Sema to other donors agency to the extent that they received the award for recognizing the work done by C-Sema for advocating or/and being the voice of children. SOS Tanzania since establishment in early 90 s has never ever implemented project jointly with local partner but through policy dialogue we have managed to work with TAJOC and C-Sema. CARE/ WORUDET: Skills acquired during the project trainings improved CSOs participation in consultations with key stakeholders and strengthened their involvement, partnership and collaboration in invited, closed and open policy dialogue spaces. Through the organisation of dialogue tables and policy analysis processes, the drafting of a manifesto by women organisations networks has been achieved. Also, relationship with the media was strengthened and used to raise awareness on gender issues, especially on women s land rights. After assessing the implications of affirmative action in Uganda, CARE and WORUDET, in partnership with grassroots women organisations, political leaders and women leaders at the national level, actively participated in a participatory process which led to the development of a strategy for women s participation in politics. Subsequently, female aspiring candidates for elections were identified, trained, and equipped with skills to manage campaigns and to build their capacity in promoting the women s agenda during legislations in the 9 th Parliament of Uganda. Evidence-based research for policy dialogue was conducted and produced knowledge on women s rights and gender-based violence. It was shared with CSO partners and used to foster policy dialogue. Findings related to the monitoring of Uganda s National Action Plan (NAP) 2014/2015 on UNSCR 1325 were also disseminated in a conference which brought S _ADA_Progress Report Policy Dialogue Consortia 2015_final 5

6 together high-ranking government officials who committed to work in partnership with CSOs to follow up on government commitments. Participation and active engagement in international events further strengthened co-ordination, collaboration and partnerships with other actors in the prevention of violence against women and girls at national and local levels. The formation of Pader CSOs social media group and Pader CSO s blog page on land property rights and women political participation was not initially planned. Similarly, it was unintended that Pader District s local government committed to reactivate Pader district s blog for information sharing and advocacy. Moreover, women leaders appreciated policy dialogue activities and requested capacitybuilding after the 2016 elections on how to manage the post-election shock (managing losing in elections and managing the excitement of wining an election). This demand was not expected. KENYA RED CROSS (KRCS): KRCS was able to engage with 2 Counties, Nairobi County and West- Pokot County in developing their Disaster Management Laws. Both Counties have adopted the KRCS draft County Disaster Management Bill for their Counties and are in the process of getting them passed at the County Assembly. R3. Policy Dialogue Experiences / Good Practices are shared and recommendations articulated Even though the focus of first project year was on needs assessment for capacity development and learning as well as basic training on CSOs engagement in policy dialogue, first cross-learnings and sharing of experiences already took place. One statement of CARE/ WORUDET regarding cross-learning: Learning and knowledge sharing with consortia members has informed some of our own approaches. For example, GROOTS Kenya s approach to community-led mapping and documentation of public land has influenced our own engagement with issues of land, property rights and women s political participation. Like GROOTS Kenya (which documented the process of mapping public land), the teams have also encouraged the process of documenting the advocacy work that is currently underway. The need to document a model for land rights and women s political participation was a learning appreciated and it informed our own work. Another common challenge shared by consortia members was that in all East African countries (Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda), progressive policies are in place but not disseminated and not implemented (at times they do not even have clear frameworks to effectively implement them). We had fruitful discussions and dialogue with consortia members on various regional challenges that we have to surmount and address. (CARE Uganda/ WORUDET, yearly progress report 2015). 3. Problems encountered and modifications Problems in implementing the programme GENERAL: Due to the pilot character of the project, implying that most partners within the consortia did not work together before, the kick-off and planning of small action funds, capacity building and cross-learning activities took a bid longer than expected. Therefore, only one third of project budget has been spent so far. GROOTS: One of the major challenges encountered in project implementation has been the slow progress of the Kenyan Court system which has impacted on ongoing work in review of the potato produce and packaging bill. The ongoing delays in hearing of the case filed by marketers putting an injunction on the implementation of the bill has resulted in a lot of S _ADA_Progress Report Policy Dialogue Consortia 2015_final 6

7 confusion by farmers on the correct packaging standard; and the County government in enforcing the law. This has discouraged discussions and dialogue on the potato packaging bill from moving forward as all stakeholders await the Court s ruling. DESECE: At the beginning getting a chance to have a meeting with county officials was difficult since they were looking at us CSOs as people who want to point fingers at what they are doing and always criticising them, as much as there are still others with that impression, there are also a good number that we have managed to build a good rapport with and we are working closely together. There is also still a problem with our beneficiaries during awareness creation workshops requesting for sitting allowances but we try to make clear to them that the information we are passing to them is the key to open up positive development in their areas if they act upon it. MIONET: Policy dialogue topic/agenda is entirely a new idea and both us the implementers and the community and leaders needed an ample learning time to appreciate the idea and take it up. Kenya has devolved structures of government where the Counties can make its own laws policies and regulations. From the outlook this looks like its easy for policy dialogue to take root at the devolved units and many local policy issues be identified and be enacted and enforced. However, the legislative arm of the devolved structures lack capacity to follow through the processes of policy making. These challenges ranges from capacity to draft policies at local level since all county bills are drafted at national level (Nairobi Government printers) and this takes too long. There is corruption at the county level that makes policy making process long and tedious. CARE/ WORUDET: The geographical coverage of the project (East Acholi sub-region, districts of Pader, Agago and Kitgum, and the national level) is wide and hence was a challenge in the implementation of the project due to its limited budget. Engaging national level stakeholders and encouraging them to come to the communities, for example to mentor and motivate women, was difficult. The steering measure applied was to find ways to complement/combine some of the policy dialogue activities with other activities under different projects (for example with women participation and leadership capacity-building activities in the Women Empowerment Programme, and gender and women empowerment initiatives under NORAD funding). KRCS: Availability of the Parliamentarians and MCAs- Getting quorum of the parliamentarians and MCAs proved to be a challenge. A contributing factor to this was breaks of session when the National and County Assemblies are not sitting. Because of this, dates for the High level meetings were postponed to accommodate as many of the Parliamentarians and MCAs as possible. Change in external circumstances/conditions GROOTS Kenya: The Potato Produce and Packaging Bill was proposed for adoption by all the 10 potato producing and marketing Counties in Kenya, yet only Nakuru County has taken express steps to implement it. The decision taken by the other counties has created uncertainty amongst the farmers and the County Government of Nakuru on the effectiveness of the policy. This has given marketers (brokers) confidence that their efforts to derail the policy will be successful. DESECE: Politicians have put the country in an election mood thus providing space for ideological differences among community members instead of focusing on development issues. SOS TZN: The year 2015 was for general election in Tanzania. Nijali media dialogue faced one major challenge during election campaigns of presidency, member of parliaments; ward S _ADA_Progress Report Policy Dialogue Consortia 2015_final 7

8 councillors because all the media articles and attention were for politics. We had to pause for a while our media dialogues to allow the election campaigns to go through. This was the period of September Late November. KRCS: Financial Constraints- KRCS staff needs to be trained to have the expertise to engage the Counties in Policy Dialogue. The cross-learning funds available in the project were not enough to train all representatives for the 47 Counties without compromising the implementation of other activities. Required changes for programme planning MIONET: MIO-NET small action fund was re-planned as MOI-NET decided to focus on a different topic to advocate on as initially planned. MIONET small action funds budget did not have administrative cost that made the project implementation a little difficult. To this effect, MIONET has requested a review of small action funds budget. KRCS: small action fund for KRCS was re-planned and the required training will partly be financed by their small-action fund and partly by the cross-learning budget of this project. S _ADA_Progress Report Policy Dialogue Consortia 2015_final 8

9 4. Programme progress (for the entire duration in the case of the Final Report) Expected results R1. A coalition of East African and Austrian NGOs has a clear vision on Policy Dialogue and which forms of capacity development for effective CSO engagement in Policy Dialogue is needed Results attained/indicators A plan for collective and specific capacity development measures and cross-learning for CSO engagement in Policy Dialogue is available and applied Activities implemented to attain these results Basic research on CSOs and Policy Dialogue (PD); Kick-Off Workshop with basic training on PD and elaboration of status-quo of policy dialogue activities of 7 local partners was held in Nairobi in February 2015 (see report attached) Reasons for deviations Steering measures No steering measures Draft Guidelines on CSO's engagement in policy dialogue are available (see attachment 2) Preparation of guidelines after Kick-Off workshop by consultant and 2 representatives of consortia; Kick-off Workshop in Vienna with discussion of guidelines (22 participants of 14 organisations) (see documentation attached); Local partner organisations decided to aim for guidelines for CSOs engagement in PD rather than document/ manual on what Policy Dialogue is and how CSO can engage as it was originally planned; Finalization of guidelines will be done at end of the project R2. The ability of East African CSOs to conduct/ engage in Policy Dialogue has been strengthened in their priority field - e.g. (1) food sovereignty, (2) children's/ youth rights and (3) women empowerment Advocacy Strategies: GROOTS Kenya: reviewed advocacy strategies and actions led by representatives of its network of organized grassroots women WORUDET has started to work on its own advocacy strategy, however, it is not yet completed. Basic training on PD during Kick-Off Workshop (Feb.2015, 17 participants of 7 org.) Collective Training on Policy Analysis, Evidence Based Research, PD Planning and Resource Mobilization (Sept.2015, 17 participants of 10 organizations) S _ADA_Progress Report Policy Dialogue Consortia 2015_final 9

10 The following approaches/ methods were introduced/ used for PD: GROOTS: community engagement for policy dialogue; policy research/analysis and tools for monitoring policy implementation DESECE: community dialogue forums; radio engagement; awareness creation meetings on existing policies (education, public participation bill); strategic meetings with county govenors; social audit groups SOS-TZN: networking with the Tanzania Association of Journalists for Children (TAJOC). Thematic media dialogues and social media campaigns; evidence gathering on budgeting for children CARE/ WORUDET: Participation in closed and open policy dialogue spaces; Development of a women manifesto; relationship with the media. Learning Visit to GROOTS Kenya experience in Lari, Kiambu County on Research, documentation and evidence building on land rights, and women s leadership strengthening for effective policy dialogue Cross-learning between KRCS and MCFp and MPC on PD 7 local partner organisations have started to implement small action fund for PD activities, including: - Advocacy meetings/ discussion and reviewing policies, policy briefs - Meetings with county representatives/ ministries - Community outreach / trainings on PD - Budget tracking and comparison/ evidence gathering through helpline and research - Dialogue with senior media personnel from leading media houses - Media dialogues - Social media campaigns - Policy analysis, evidence-gathering MIO-NET is a very young network and it is the first time that it got in touch with Policy Dialogue concepts and approaches. It took MIO-NET longer than expected to inform its network members and plan activities. KRCS was implementing policy dialogue on DRR-bill with other project funds and did not spend budget of small action fund. Re-Planning of small action fund of MIO-NET and KRCS. S _ADA_Progress Report Policy Dialogue Consortia 2015_final 10

11 R3. Policy Dialogue Experiences / Good Practices are shared and recommendations articulated Consortia members know each other and each organizations context. First sharing has taken place during kick-off workshop and 1 st collective training. Kick-off event and 1 collective training - - S _ADA_Progress Report Policy Dialogue Consortia 2015_final 11

12 5. Cooperation with local partner organisations and other relevant actors Cooperation with local partners (strengths/weaknesses) Cooperation with 7 local partner organisations has been very constructive and without any problems. Even though the level of competences and experience in PD is quite different within the consortia, all 7 organisations see a big potential in collaboration and cross-learning. East African partner organisations have started a whatsapp group on PD, where information on PD aspects is shared. Also organisations not being partner o this consortium have joined this group. For HORIZONT3000 as lead agency planning and implementing trainings and crosslearning, it was a challenge at the beginning as local partners of other consortia partners where not known. However, regular steering committee meetings with consortia partners enabled a smooth planning and implementation. It has to be evaluated/ discussed if the approach to offer small action funds to local partner organisation within such a consortium is adequate as planning and auditing efforts are quite high for a very limited/ small budget per partner organisation. Impact of cooperation on partners internal capacities This is a capacity building project; please see other chapters for impact on partners capacities. Cooperation with other relevant actors, coordination with authorities GROOTS: Nakuru County advocacy team members have collaborated with the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries departments both at the County and Sub County levels. The advocacy team has organized community meetings in partnership with Ministry officials to hold field days at the location level for sensitization on the Potato Produce and Marketing Bill in drumming up support for the bill. Women farmers were urged to adopt the standard packaging of 50 kilograms (Kgs) and insisting on selling their produce per unit unlike previously where potatoes were packaged in extended bags ranging from 120 kgs to 200 kgs, with sale price per bag. DESECE: There is improved working relationship with the County Assembly officials who include the Members of County Assembly whom we had problems dealing with them at the beginning of implementation of the project. There has been smooth cooperation with other CSOs in Bungoma County where there is a consortium for CSOs working in the County. There are always quarterly meetings on sharing experiences and planning Advocacy events. DESECE is also a member of Kenya Peace Network, which is a network of organizations working in the field of Governance, Peace and Conflict resolution and Human Rights. MIONET: MIONET has involved relevant authorities in its policy dialogue initiatives. The discussion around the drought and Elnino effects mitigation efforts involved the County Government of Marsabit, National Drought Management Authority (NDMA), the Kenya Red Cross and the network members. This collaborative entity came up with a joint evaluation report, which was adopted by the County Authorities. In the leaders forum, MIONET involved local leaders such as the chiefs, ward administrators and religious leaders to sensitize the masses and to build consensus on the importance of policy dialogue in local communities and generate public debates on issues affecting them. The aim is to influence them to recognize the importance of community lead bottom up approach in generating discussions and coming up with solutions and policies. S _ADA_Progress Report Policy Dialogue Consortia 2015_final 12

13 SOS-TZN: Through Policy dialogue we have worked with budget holders at ward level and district level as to win their buy in for allocation more money for children. We worked in collaboration with department of social welfare at National level, also managed to engage with Prime minister s office; our capacity to lobby and advocate with local leaders and authorities has increased in CARE/ WORUDET: There is a good working relationship with cultural, religious and administrative authorities, although there is a lot of sensitivity related to the fear of being tagged as anti-government and against development programs. This is especially the case in places with ongoing conflicts between communities and the government; for example when the latter plans to use large areas of land for tourism, plantation agriculture or oil extraction and this is against local communities interests to secure their land. Similarly sensitive topics are actions that are considered to have repercussions increasing local sentiments or raising group rights. Coordination at policy level/lobbying activities Policy dialogue is at centre of this project and how to improve CSOs engagement in it in East Africa. All partners involved in this consortia programme do lobbying/ advocacy or policy dialogue within their areas of interest. 6. Capacity building/sustainability What has been done to develop local capacities? This is a capacity building and learning project. Kindly see description of results attained and impacts achieved for further information. What sustainable impact has there been on the local environment? n/a (will be answered at end of the project) 7. Monitoring/evaluation How and by whom will the monitoring/evaluation be carried out? Monitoring is done by HORIZONT3000 as the lead agency for all capacity building and cross-learning activities. Each consortia partner monitors small action fund implementation of its local partner organisation. Local partner organisations monitor on ground implementation of small action fund for policy dialogue. There is no evaluation planned for this project as it aims (Res.3) to reflect on practice and elaborate lessons learnt and recommendations in a structured and participatory way. 8. Visibility and public awareness raising What public awareness raising activities have been carried out in connection with the programme/programme intervention (e.g. documentation in the form of photos, examples for folders)? S _ADA_Progress Report Policy Dialogue Consortia 2015_final 13

14 9. Lessons learnt/perspectives Experience from implementation of programme Collectively acquired lessons learnt will be documented and shared with the final report. Outlook for next reporting period Cross-learning will continue as planned 1 collective training on media engagement for effective PD will be held in Dar es Salaam in March 2016 Local partner organisations will do lessons learnt / experience capitalization on selected areas of PD 1 final sharing event will be organized in Kampala in September 2016 where lessons learnt will be shared and common recommendations elaborated 1 final sharing event will be organized in Vienna in November Allowance of ADC cross-cutting themes Poverty reduction The change process this project envisages is that tailor-made capacity development of CSOs leads to a more effective engagement of Civil Society in Policy Dialogue. This should lead to a stronger reflection of the population needs, especially the ones of the most marginalized, in national and local policies, leading in the long run to poverty reduction. Democracy and human rights Policy dialogue implies interaction/ dialogue between duty bearers and rights holders. By building capacities on CSOs side to more effectively interact with duty bearers on their issues, this project supports the fulfilment of human rights and contributes to democracy. Inclusion of disadvantages groups such as children, elderly persons, persons with disabilities Gender and environment The main areas of interest for Policy Dialogue of this consortium and its local partner organisations are 1) Food sovereignty 2) Children's/ youth rights and 3) Women empowerment. 11. Other points n/a Attachments: Attachment 1: documentation Kick-Off Event Nairobi Attachment 2: Draft Guidelines CSO engagement in Policy Dialogue Attachment 3: documentation Kick-Off Workshop Vienna Attachment 4: Cross-Learning Plan S _ADA_Progress Report Policy Dialogue Consortia 2015_final 14