Ecuador

Asociación de Mujeres Municipalistas del Ecuador (AMUME)
$65,430
To strengthen AMUME’s institutional capacity to advocate on behalf of women elected officials during legislative reform efforts by facilitating debate, analysis and women’s participation. AMUME will facilitate discussions and analysis on expected new legislation, including decentralization reform, a new public procurement policy, and the drafting of a new national development plan. AMUME will produce and disseminate information on these reform efforts among its members.

Asylum Access
$50,000
To strengthen the leadership and technical capacity of informal legal community advisors (LCAs) to serve as interlocutors between refugees and the Ecuadorian authorities. Through trainings, on-site technical assistance, roundtable discussions and coalition building with local government agencies, Asylum Access will help LCAs increase their reach within the refugee community and assist some 1,000 individual cases a year.

Centro Ecuatoriano de Derecho Ambiental (CEDA)
$51,917
To increase the legitimacy of Ecuadorian civil society organizations by facilitating an informed and public debate on NGO transparency, accountability and access to information. CEDA will facilitate forums to discuss practices, incentives and disincentives for greater transparency, and recommendations of improved accountability measures. CEDA will also conduct a virtual training course to help civil society leaders increase transparency levels in their organizations and gain a better understanding of NGO accountability.

Comité Permanente por la Defensa de los Derechos Humanos (CDH)
$32,530
To promote the discussion, defense and protection of human rights in the city of Guayaquil. CDH will arrange monthly meetings with grassroots organizations to facilitate debate on the human rights situation, identify areas for joint action, and encourage citizen participation and oversight of government activities. CDH will collect and systematize information on the human rights situation in Guayaquil and publish it in a yearly publication and short video documentary.

Corporación Participación Ciudadana Ecuador (PC)
$49,950
To promote a viable strategy for reducing sexism and gender violence in local television stations in Ecuador. PC will monitor the programming of six television stations, and collect information on the pervasiveness of gender violence. PC will publish the results of its observation on a quarterly basis and present them at a public event. It will also facilitate discussion and consensus on realistic alternatives to reducing gender violence.

Fundación Andina para la Observación Social y el Estudio de Medios (Fundamedios)
$64,823
To strengthen a national network to monitor and report on threats against journalists. Fundamedios will expand its network from nine to 11 monitors, increasing the reach and visibility of its alerts. Fundamedios will continue to provide training and technical assistance to its regional monitors to increase the quality and accuracy of its alerts. It will also establish a toll-free, 24-hour hotline for threatened journalists.

Fundación Esquel
$49,204
To promote dialogue between government and civil society representatives to build consensus and reach compromises on issues of common interest. Fundación Esquel will organize dialogue events between government and civil society representatives in Quito, Guayaquil and Cuenca. In addition, Fundación Esquel will design a communications strategy to disseminate information on the dialogues to the general public, and will systematically monitor the agreements reached during the dialogues.

Fundación Servicio Ignaciano de Voluntariado (SIGVOL)
$29,995
To promote the participation of young volunteer students and professionals in local and municipal governments throughout Ecuador. Sigvol and the municipalities will establish a strategic alliance to provide training and monitoring to a network of volunteers that will fulfill tasks required to strengthen municipal governments and ensure the adequate provision of public services to the population.

National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI)
$365,000
To foster constructive, pluralistic debate by: assisting political organizations to adapt to the new requirements of the political party and electoral law and address potential changes to this legislation that are being considered by the National Electoral Council; and by providing tools, case studies and options for possible changes in structures and practices within political organizations NDI will help them govern more effectively and develop responsive public policies.

Observatorio Ambiental del Distrito Metropolitano de Quito (OA-Quito)
$34,292
To promote citizen participation in the promotion and implementation of local environmental policies in the city of Quito. OA-Quito will establish four citizen working groups to analyze and recommend alternative environmental policies on priority areas.

Transparencia Ecuador (TE)
$54,480
To improve the quality, accessibility and timeliness of public information in three rural municipalities in Ecuador by assessing local governments’ compliance with transparency standards and legislation. TE will adapt its system of transparency indicators to new legislation approved as a result of the new Ecuadorian Constitution. In addition, TE will work to strengthen the institutional capacity and support the implementation of a roadmap of changes and improvements in participating municipalities.

The grant listings posted here are from tthe 2010 Annual Report, published in August 2011.