New Knowledge Products from the Moving Governance Program
As part of the Moving Governance Program, Helvetas has published three new knowledge products. The publications draw on experiences from different countries and contexts and demonstrate how governance processes can become more inclusive, participatory, and resilient.
1) Inspiring Experiences: Water, Equity and Governance
Water connects communities, territories, and cultures. At the same time, access to and sustainable management of water poses major challenges in many regions, not least because these tasks require transparent processes that involve all stakeholders.
In the publication Inspiring Experiences: Water, Equity and Governance, Helvetas explores different approaches to sustainable and inclusive water management based on experiences from Bolivia, Guatemala, Honduras, and Peru. The publication covers innovative water-governance models, effective strategies for learning and behavior change, as well as eco-efficient technologies, and nature-based solutions.
The experiences demonstrate that water management goes far beyond technical solutions. The approaches presented contribute to promoting social equity, reducing gender inequalities, and strengthening ecosystems. Key factors include the participation of local communities, the inclusion of diverse perspectives, and solutions adapted to the respective local contexts.
The complete report is available here: Inspiring Experiences: Water, Equity and Governance.
2) Shrinking Civic Space, Amplifying Voices: Responses in Practice
In many parts of the world, civic space is increasingly coming under pressure. The publication Shrinking Civic Space, Amplifying Voices: Responses in Practice draws on experiences from Nepal and Bosnia and Herzegovina to explore how civil society actors respond to restricted opportunities for action and create new forms of participation and collaboration.
In Nepal, the Provincial Support Program (PSP) demonstrates how young people are using online platforms to organize, discuss political issues, and mobilize for collective action. In Bosnia and Herzegovina the ProActive Citizens (PRAGG) project builds trust and fosters cooperation, strengthening the capacity of civil society actors and promoting collaboration between citizens, organizations, and public institutions.
The examples demonstrate that strengthening civic space is not only about protecting existing spaces for action. Particularly in restrictive contexts, strengthening local actors and developing new forms of collaboration can help foster initiative, participation, and local agency in the long term.
The complete report is available here: Shrinking Civic Space, Amplifying Voices: Responses in Practice.
3) From Digital Tools to Inclusive Governance: Practical Lessons from Tanzania and Ethiopia
Digital technologies offer new opportunities to strengthen local governance processes and public service delivery. The knowledge product From Digital Tools to Inclusive Governance: Practical Lessons from Tanzania and Ethiopia illustrates how digital approaches can contribute to making public institutions more responsive, participatory, transparent, and accountable.
Image: Gen-Z Proteste in Chitwan, Nepal, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
The examples from Tanzania and Ethiopia highlight different ways in which digital technologies can contribute to inclusive governance. In Tanzania, the Inclusive Cities for Nutrition (IC4N) project demonstrates how digital technologies can support more evidence-based planning and decision-making. Geographic Information System (GIS) mapping, for example, helps make local food systems visible and generates insights for urban planning, while digital data collection tools strengthen monitoring and accountability. In Ethiopia, the Amhara Local Governance Project Plus (ALGP+) supports local institutions in rebuilding knowledge and administrative structures in the aftermath of a conflict. Through digital infrastructure, training, and the secure storage of important documents, information can remain accessible over the long term, while strengthening the resilience of public institutions.
The experiences also show, however, that technology alone does not automatically lead to better governance. Its potential is best realized when digital approaches are embedded into existing institutional processes and combined with institutional strengthening and the participation of civil society.
The complete report is available here: From Digital Tools to Inclusive Governance: Practical Lessons from Tanzania and Ethiopia.
Learning Across Contexts
Whether water governance, civic space, or digital governance: the three knowledge products demonstrate the importance of systematically documenting experiences from different local contexts, making them accessible to others, and learning from them across projects, themes, and countries.
Information about other Somaha knowledge products is available on the Somaha website under Activity.
Learn more about how institutional partnerships with Somaha Foundation are established here: Partnership development - Somaha Stiftung.
