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NDI has an in-house team that works to identify best practices and lessons from the Institute's citizen participation programs. Institutional learning and quality programs are the team's primary objectives. The team's responsibilities include providing advice and guidance on the design, delivery and evaluation of citizen participation programs, gathering and organizing resource materials and systematically sharing program experiences and insights. Key resources and tools include:
Organizing and Advocacy Toolkits: NDI has assisted several local partners to develop advocacy campaigns, and, in doing so, it has created toolkits that outline the steps needed to organize a successful campaign. The toolkits include case studies and sample memoranda of understanding (MOUs).
Lessons Learned Publications: NDI understands the value of identifying and sharing lessons learned and best practices. NDI holds periodic "brownbag" and roundtable discussions where NDI and partner organizations can share experiences and discuss what works. Publications include: reports outlining the Institutes best practices for partnering with local groups, including how to form developmental partnerships and provide technical assistance through guided practice; organizational development tool kits based on the experiences of local partners in Croatian and Sierra Leone; studies about how the Institute best uses Focus Group research; and a set of manuals that outline the methods for conducting Civic Forum programs, organizing resource centers, holding candidate forums and debates, and monitoring elections to name a few.
Library of Project Materials: The Citizen Participation team maintains thousands of internally and externally produced materials, such as matrixes used for program implementation, training materials, guides, handbooks, and work-plans, that can be shared with staff members and partners. These resources have proven to be a valuable means of relating ideas and experiences across programs. Many of these documents are made available online through NDI's Access Democracy, which is a database that can be accessed via the web from any computer in the world. In addition, selected resources are also housed on a CD-ROM, for use by NDI staff members and partners.
Citizen Participation Newsletter: To keep staff members and local partners informed about effective and innovative programming, the Citizen Participation team has its own publication, Civic Update, which is produced three times a year and highlights NDI's best practices assisting partner groups. Recent editions have examined programs supporting Get-Out-The-Vote campaigns, NGO fundraising, and youth participation.
Electronic List-Serve: The Institute maintains a list-serve for staff members working on citizen participation programs around the world. The list serve is managed by the Citizen Participation team members in Washington and is used to relay resources and anecdotes to staff members. On a weekly basis, staff members receive resources that can be used to support programs and partners.
Online Blog: To encourage dialogue among its field-based and DC staff, the Citizen Participation team launched an online blog, in 2005, which allows NDI experts all around the world to participate in discussions, forming a learning community online. The blog serves as a dedicated space to share ideas, best practices, and archive the information so that it can be easily accessed.
Contact Information
For further information on our Citizen Participation programs, please contact:
Aaron Azelton, Director of Citizen Participation Programs aaron@ndi.org
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