Effective Governance and Institutions

We work at the individual, community and institutional levels to create the enabling environments needed for results that last

From national legislatures to village councils, many governments around the world are unable or unwilling to assume their responsibility to make basic necessities available and within reach of all citizens. In the absence of effective governance and institutions, communities can fail to develop the ability to agree amongst themselves, advocate for their own interests or to partner with government and the private sector to pursue these interests. These breakdowns in governance and the lack of effective civic institutions can lead to broader failures, creating the conditions for corruption and widespread hunger and poverty. Delivery of fair and equitable citizen services requires both government accountability and responsiveness, and motivated citizen organizations that have the know-how to mobilize and effectively engage with government to promote and sustain progress.

What Counterpart International is Doing:

Counterpart's effective governance and institutions programming works at the individual, community and institutional levels to:

give citizens a voice in their own development;
strengthen civil society organizations to better serve community needs;
promote partnership and mutual investment in community development among NGOs, business and government; and
foster civic engagement and advocacy for policy reform.

Since 1993, and through a $172 million portfolio of civil society programs, Counterpart has demonstrated an ability to work effectively in diverse geographic and cultural settings, benefitting millions of people.

The Nexus Between Public, Private & Citizen Interests

Our capabilities within Effective Governance and Institutions:

Advocacy
Association Development
Civic Education
Community Mobilization
Conflict Mitigation
Gender Equity and Mainstreaming
Government Capacity Building
Grant Making
Institutional Development
Local Governance Strengthening
Monitoring and Evaluation
New Media Technologies
Policy Reform
Social Enterprise
Youth Volunteerism and Civic Engagement

Defined: Civil Society

A thriving, participatory civil society is one that promotes voluntary action and values the individual, pluralism, civic consciousness and a creative alliance among nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), government and business to address community needs.

Our Work

Contracting Vehicles

Global Civil Society Strengthening Leader with Associates (GCSS LWA)
In 2009, Counterpart received the USAID-funded GCSS LWA award, leading a consortium of world class organizations in the implementation of civil society, media development, and program design and learning activities.
Learn more about Counterpart's LWA Award.

Listen

Listen to “In Peace”
a song produced by Counterpart’s PEACE project in Chad. Featuring the voices of ten local Chadian artists, “In Peace” hopes to use local popular culture to manage and mitigate election-related conflict. The use of song makes it possible to reach the rural and illiterate population of Chad with messages about peaceful elections and the power of the youth vote.

Listen to the story of Bunivoni Navovar:
how Counterpart helped empower Tajik women who were being barred from the local workforce, and changed a community in the process. Counterpart International’s Senior Vice President, Arlene Lear, recalls a story rooted in the organization’s first forays into NGO development work in Tajikistan, just after the Soviet Union dissolved.