USAID Dialogue Initiative

This project closed on March 31, 2010. To read more about the project's successes, click on the Feature Stories to the right. We also invite you to learn more about Counterpart's current projects in the Former Soviet Union.

The Dialogue Initiative in Kazakhstan, a USAID project implemented by Counterpart International (Counterpart), began in April 2007 and will finish in early 2010. In carrying out the project Counterpart is supported by three key partners – ARGO (the Civil Society Development Association of Kazakhstan), Internews Kazakhstan and the Urban Institute.

The goal of the Dialogue Initiative project (DI) has been to help bring about a better-informed citizenry engaged in policy dialogue and democratic reforms so as to improve the overall governance of Kazakhstan. To achieve this, DI promotes citizen-government dialogue, particularly through a national Advisory Council which commissions research and makes policy recommendations on key reform issues. DI also supports media outlets and advocacy NGOs working on these issues and helps organize results-oriented debates and discussions on the issues at the national, regional (oblast) and local (rayon) level.

DI's three main objectives are to:

• Increase public debate and access to information on democratic governance issues,
• Increase interaction between public institutions and civil society actors on these issues and 
• Increase civic advocacy on democratic reforms at the national level.

A fourth objective, added after the project began, has been to protect the rights of individuals with disabilities. With special funding for this fourth objective, known as PRIDE, DI gave grants and technical support to a range of NGOs serving people with disabilities during an 18-month period from November 2007 to April 2009.

Some of the policy reform initiatives promoted by DI have already been endorsed by the Government of Kazakhstan as it develops closer ties with Western institutions. They have been outlined in the Government's "Strategy 2030" planning document, and have been reflected in its plan to assume the 2010 Chairmanship of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and join the World Trade Organization (WTO).

A key component of DI has been its national Advisory Council. Made up of 16 men and women - 3 of them from government agencies and the others all senior figures in civil society - the Council identifies policy reform topics for research, debate, and policy recommendations. Topics have included the rule of law with reference to legal aid (the 1st major topic identified by the Council), local self-government (topic 2), access to information (topic 3), and education with reference to improving citizens' professional and social competencies (topic 4).

In each case the Council has commissioned one or more Concept Papers by an expert Working Group. From each major Concept Paper an Opinion Brochure has been created. The Opinion Brochure has been distributed nationwide through ARGO's NGO network, and subject to open debate at regional and local levels. At the same time media outlets have used DI grants to broadcast and publish programs and articles on the topic concerned, while coalitions of NGOs have organized advocacy campaigns. Recommendations on the topic are then passed back to the Advisory Council, which then modifies the Concept Paper concerned before submitting it to the government. 

So far Concept Papers with recommendations have been submitted to the government on three reform issues, legal aid, local self-government, and access to information. The first, on legal aid, led to a decision to pass new national legislation on the issue. The second, on local self-government, helped bring about innovative reforms in two major cities. The third, on government websites, will help form the basis of a new law that the government will put to parliament in 2010. Two final Concept Papers, on education with reference to citizens' professional and social competencies, are currently being completed for debate. The government says it expects to use the paper on professional competency-building to push for a new national qualifications framework for education.

To learn more about Counterpart's Dialogue Initiative in Kazakhstan, please read the following feature stories:

PRIDE Program Takes Huge Strides

Disabled 16-Year-Old Takes First Steps

Photos:
(top) © Counterpart International.
(bottom) © Kyla Springer/Counterpart International.