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NDI also concentrates on helping groups think strategically about their actions and take concerted steps to increase their strength and influence over public officials and political processes. Over the course of NDI's involvement, the political engagement of local civic partners becomes more sophisticated and substantive. The Institute's approach often is to first help establish the precedent for citizen participation and then foster a practice that is not centered on one person or group but that extends across a community.
In most cases, NDI's citizen participation programs involve an in-country presence. This allows NDI representatives to provide consistent support when citizens and civic groups begin organizing and participating in political processes. Although knowledge and skills could be conveyed to citizens through periodic visits to a country, or through publications and one-time seminars, NDI has found it is critical to guide citizens as they first apply newly acquired tools and techniques.
This assistance is given by NDI resident representatives who are best placed to understand the political environment and the level of development of local partners. The process entails coaching, providing structured feedback, and facilitating reflection exercises with partners. NDI labels this process "guided practice," and it complements seminars, conferences, training activities and resource materials. Additionally, NDI will sometimes use financial sub-awards as another device to help civic groups apply their learning. Although NDI is not a donor, the strategic injection of funds into an organization often allows the group to try new things and to learn from that experience.
Making Democracy Deliver
Democracy’s credibility and sustainability depends, to an important degree, on how it works in practice, and on what it delivers. New democracies must be able to move beyond organizing elections and forming institutions and begin to successfully tackle issues related to security, jobs, human rights, physical well-being and human development. Democracy should facilitate economic growth and deliver the means for people to achieve a better life, while protecting fundamental rights and ensuring that citizens are free from oppression and arbitrary government intrusion.
Helping democracy deliver requires a greater focus on the practice of democracy. Democratic practice emphasizes collective action and deliberation, and inclusive, evidence-based decision making. It also emphasizes access to information, a voice for citizens and accountability measures and mechanisms. In addition, it is concerned with the outcomes, recognizing the stark reality that if democracy fails to deliver just, visible socio-economic and environmental gains, its value as a process can be fatally undermined by discontent. There is a distinct possibility that dissatisfaction with democracy will lead to its failure under the strain of social conflicts.
Deepening democracy so that it can deliver tangible improvements in people’s lives has become an overarching NDI objective. NDI’s approach involves partnering with politically marginalized and socially excluded groups and helping them organize and use political processes to deal with tangible issues. It includes fostering substantive, sustained interactions between citizens and public officials. At the same time, it means assisting intermediary institutions like parliaments and political parties to develop their professional capacities and to work on behalf of citizens, in an effort to hold the state accountable to citizen interests and concerns.
Political Process Monitoring
Government planning, budgeting and spending are potential opportunities for citizens to participate in government. Citizens should be able to access information, influence priorities and hold public officials accountable. To help citizens participate, NDI supports citizen monitoring of the planning, budgeting and spending processes. Political-process monitoring involves compiling and analyzing information, developing and disseminating reports, and using the findings to raise public awareness and government responsiveness. In some cases, such processes begin with citizens advocating for freedom of information legislation to create mechanisms through which budget information can be accessed.
Increasingly, NDI is working with citizens at the local level to monitor delivery of core government services such as education and healthcare. By focusing on the services that have the greatest impact on their lives and the most potential to promote direct interaction with public officials, citizens derive tangible results from their participation and build a framework for future action. NDI has found that improving government service delivery can be a rallying point for sustained citizen involvement in political processes.
Youth Participation
Young people are a major force in the contemporary world and are often at the forefront of global, social, economic and political developments. NDI views young people as part of the solution to the difficulties developing democracies face. NDI's focus group research has shown that young, first-time voters are more open to voting for new parties and more willing to change political allegiances. Since young people, by nature, are more inclined to change than older generations, they tend to be more idealistic in their goals and less loyal to established traditions. NDI has found that when the aspirations of youth are constructively channeled into the political process—for example by monitoring elections, community organizing, or becoming active political party members—they can become agents of positive change and contribute to sustained peace.
Citizen Participation and Political Parties
NDI does not view civil society organizations as an alternative to political parties. Political parties are a necessary element of a strong and vibrant democracy. Parties are unique organizations that fulfill a number of different, yet related, functions that are central to the democratic process. Parties vet political leaders and contest elections, form accountable and representative government, and consolidate public interests.
Since most citizens and civil society groups have more specific parochial interests, parties are necessary intermediary institutions capable of balancing and aggregating competing interests in a broader political arena. NDI works to inform citizens and civil society organizations about the importance of strong democratically organized parties, and likewise works to inform parties about the complementary roles of civil society organizations.
