2010 Annual Report

2010 Grantee Spotlight

Espace Libre de Citoyenneté, de Formation, et de Développement à Mohammedia (ELCIFODEM)

A new drive for local democracy and governance has gained traction in Morocco since the enactment of the 2009 Municipal Act. New provisions have required municipalities to adopt more participatory approaches to local governance, notably by creating consultative committees where civil society organizations are invited to discuss policy with elected officials. It is in this context that ELCIFODEM has advocated the adoption of these new participatory mechanisms and helped stakeholders to implement them in Mohammedia’s six urban and rural municipalities.

ELCIF conducts a capacity building workshop on local governance grassroots organizations in Mohammadia, Morocco.

In 2010, ELCIFODEM worked with more than 270 civil society activists, municipal councilors and administration officials from the municipalities of Aïn Harrouda, Ben Yakhlef, Chellalat, Sidi Moussa El Majdoub, and Sidi Moussa Ben Ali to assist them with the establishment of new participatory mechanisms featured in the Municipal Act.

ELCIFODEM conducted four capacity-building workshops and five roundtables, along with dozens of individual consultations, to familiarize local stakeholders with the law’s provisions, build consensus on policy priorities, and lay the foundation for the elaboration of mandatory municipal development plans.

While ELCIFODEM met initial resistance from municipal officials regarding the creation of consultative committees, its program has effectively established informal linkages between local civic groups and Mohammedia’s elected councilors. ELCIFODEM was instrumental in helping local stakeholders identify and articulate 100 policy priorities for five of the city’s six participating municipalities, and compiled them in five separate planning documents. ELCIFODEM is now working with elected officials to include some of these recommendations in their municipal development plans.

ELCIFODEM remains a leading voice in the promotion of local governance in Morocco and an inclusive network of grassroots organizations in Mohammedia, where civil society used to be limited. Its keen understanding of the legal environment and its capacity to mobilize constituencies in support of common goals makes ELCIFODEM a critical actor in Morocco’s decentralization process.