Evaluation of Project "Strengthening of the Network of Municipal Governments Friends of the Boys, Girls and the Adolescents (BGA) in the fulfillment of the right to the education and recreation in 20 municipalities of Nicaragua"

Background 

In 2004, Save the Children Noruega (Country Office in Nicaragua) initiated conversations with Save the Children Spain in order to uniting efforts to manage the financing for a cooperation project with the Mayors' Network, since there was known initially the current Network of Municipal Governments Friends of the Boys, Girls and the Adolescents (BGA).

SC Spain finally obtained resources on behalf of the Spanish Agency of International Cooperation for the accomplishment of the Project 07-PR1-356 "Strengthening of the Network of Municipal Governments Friends of the Childhood and the Adolescence in the fulfillment of the right to the education and to the recreation in 20 municipalities of Nicaragua ". The funds were canalized by SC - Spain to SC in Nicaragua  and from February, 2008 to April, 2010, the Network of Municipal Governments executed the project.

Purpose/objective 
General Objective:  Contribute to the local development and to the development of boys, girls and teenagers throgouth the fulfillment of Child´s  Rigths in Nicaragua, emphatically in the right to the education and recreation. Specific Objective:  Strengthening of the Network of Municipal Governments Friends of  Boys, Girls and the Adolescents (BGA) in the fulfillment of the right to the education and recreation in 20 municipalities of Nicaragua.

Methodology 
• Review and analysis of related documentation about  project:  Copncept paper, annexes, reports of  monitoring, follow-up, etc.
• Interview with officials of Save the Children and of the Network of Municipal Governments.
• Focus Groups  with main actors of participants municipalities: municipal governments, Municipal Commissions of Childhood and adolescents.
• Direct observation and survey.

Key findings 
1) SC's decision to promote this project, turned out to be very pertinent while the Network of Municipal Governments is advancing in its process of strengthening and it is necessary to rely with tools that it  should endorse the exercise of promotion of the Rigths of the childhood and adolescents to become institutionalized this practice in the municipal management. The project has  coherence with the aims to strengthen the Network, and it achieved  a quite  number of municipal authorities appropriate of the Child Rigths; nevertheless, in a high proportion of this cases, this appropriation does not translate in major levels of municipal investment, In other words,  theoretically the speech is assimilated, but in the practice still it is necessary to consolidate this practice. 2) The Network of Municipal Governments achieved visibility  opposite  the local authorities. The positive and direct impact obtained by the project in general is sustained by the success of 20 executed micro projects . 3) it was advanced in the strengthening of technical capacities of the Mayoralties in planning, design, formulation and project monitoring, the planned activities being executed, but it was necessary to have a more integral content for planning and monitoring, so that also it was advanced in developing capacity in analysis and proposals elaboration.  4) Boys, girls and adolescentes participation fortified concerning the definition of 20 micro projects. Nevertheless, this exercise is not a guarantee of a practice supported for the creation of spaces of permanent participation, provided that in the majority of the municipalities there do not exist organizations of childhood that take up as visible counterparts of these initiatives. 5) Evidences of a weak institutionalization to gesticulate of the Network, which must be an object of a strategy of construction of this aspect in the immediate future.

Recommendations 
1) SC and the Network of Municipal Governments must continue managing resources focused to projects of impact in the childhood. But the components of future supports should establish very precise indicators for every stage and the establishment of a monitoring system of that member of the Network allows to analyze objectively the situation of the chilhood in every municipality. 2) The content of the educational materials that take place with a project of strengthening of the municipal management must divide of knowing the average level of the technical personnel and civil servants and propose more analytical contents to  develop proactive capacity. 3) The design of future interventions must balance of better form the assignment of resources for components, destining more funds to the execution of the physical works that improve the fulfillment of the rigths  of Boys, Girls and the Adolescents (BGA). 4) A monitoring system must be established on the fulfillment of the principal rights of the BGA in all the municipalities members of the Network, of such form that the statistics allow the priorities of the BGA to the executives of the Network re-direccionar according to the specific problems of every municipality. 5) To improve the institutionalization of the practices of the Network, simplifying the process of production and publication of the policies. 6) To incorporate in the axes of work of the Network limits to spread also the duties of the boys, girls and adolescents and to assure an integral promotion of its values.

Comments from the organisation, if any
SC is agree with external consultant team all Conclusions and Recommendations of the Evaluation.