International Republican Institute (IRI)
Improving Inclusive Citizen-Centered Governance In Souss-Massa
$600,000
To improve citizen-centered governance in Souss-Massa, the Institute will work with members of two local communal councils to transition from elections to governing, meaningfully engage their constituency, and approach governance in an inclusive manner. The Institute will also prepare CSO activists to engage with their newly elected communal councils by helping them become more politically savvy and improve their ability to advocate for priority reforms in their local community. The objectives of this project are to strengthen the collaborative relationship between communal council members and CSO activists at the subnational level, to improve citizen-centered governance and decision making, and to empower women and youth as community spokespeople for inclusive governance at the subnational level.
Center for Humanities Studies and Research
Promoting Democratic Values through Policy Debates
$50000
To enhance youth participation in civic life and provide civic actors with an open space for public policy debate. The organization will facilitate seminars and roundtable discussions on engaging youth in civic and policy debates, continue its capacity-building initiative in high schools and universities in Casablanca, organize a regional forum on political and socioeconomic reforms in the Maghreb and publish two issues of its magazine. The organization provides an open space for debate between young Moroccans, civil society activists and political leaders on a wide array of socio-economic, cultural and political issues.
Espace Libre de Citoyennete, de Formation, et de Developpement a Mohammedia
Promoting Civil Society’s Role in Local Governance
$40000
To promote participatory governance practices at the local level. A series of roundtables will convene stakeholders to discuss the importance of public consultations and how local councils apply these mechanisms in governance. The project will also develop a local governance index and produce a report with analysis and findings. Workshops on strategic litigation will equip civil society with legal mechanisms to hold elected officials accountable. The organization will also work with the youth committee to produce parallel reports assessing local government’s performance in public service delivery.
Espace Associatif pour le Developpement Participative
Promoting Civic and Political Participation
$26000
To foster greater cooperation among local civil society organizations, the municipality and other stakeholders on issues related to local democracy and governance and promote women and youth participation in the electoral process. The organization will convene a forum on dialogue and building trust among local stakeholders, conduct capacity-building workshops on participatory decision-making, and municipal budgeting, lead activities to raise awareness on the importance of citizen participation in the 2021 elections, organize roundtables on governance challenges and opportunities post elections, and lead an exchange visit for civic actors.
Forum Marocain des Jeunes Journalistes
Promoting Freedom of Expression
$40000
To promote freedom of expression and media freedom. The organization will conduct focus groups and advocacy initiatives with a focus on promoting media pluralism in the audiovisual sector, produce a memorandum with recommendations, convene a conference with various stakeholders to present its findings and recommendations, and lead advocacy efforts. The organization will also lead efforts to monitor media coverage during the upcoming legislative elections and produce a report on its findings.
Moroccan Institute for Policy Analysis
Promoting Public Policy Research
$50000
To promote accountability of public institutions based on evidence-based public policy research. The organization will continue producing its Trust in Public Institutions Index, lead research to measure trust in public health and education institutions and convene a one-day conference on its research findings and recommendations.
Federation des Ligues des Droits des Femmes – Ouarzazate
Promoting Women’s Leadership
$52000
To promote women’s participation in decision making and support women political leaders. The organization will conduct workshops for elected officials and representatives of women’s organizations on gender inclusion in public policy, gender-responsive budgeting and rights-based advocacy. It will also lead trainings on policy-monitoring and convene roundtables on women’s political leadership and their role in public affairs post-elections.
Forum Anwal for Development and Citizenship
Promoting Access to Justice
$35000
To promote rule of law and defend the right to freedom of assembly and expression. The organization will convene a seminar on legal guarantees protecting freedom of opinion and expression and the right to peaceful assembly. It will also engage lawyers and human rights experts to monitor relevant court cases. The organization will produce a comprehensive report on its findings and lead advocacy efforts.
Association Sans Frontières
Mobilizing Citizen Participation in the Electoral Process
$25000
To promote women and youth participation in the electoral process. The organization will lead activities to raise awareness on the importance of citizen participation in the 2021 elections, conduct trainings on political communication and effective campaign strategies, convene a forum on women’s political participation, raise awareness about voter registration and mobilize youth and women to partake in the electoral process, and engage with newly elected officials in the post-election period.
Center for Strategic Thought and Defense of Democracy
Domestic Election Monitoring Initiative
$20000
To strengthen the role of civil society in election monitoring. The grantee will train and empower local NGO activists as election monitors and organize workshops on electoral law, international standards of election monitoring, reporting on election monitoring findings, electoral ethics, and electoral dispute resolution. These activities will be designed to solidify local NGO efforts to lead impartial and professional monitoring of fall 2021 legislative elections.
Association La Colombe Blanche
Facilitating the Political Inclusion of People with Disabilities
$30000
To promote people with disabilities’ participation in the electoral process. The organization will assess political parties’ understanding of the Convention of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (PWD), convene meetings and use its assessment results to advocate the inclusion of PWD, and conduct a workshop on domestic and international legal frameworks that promote political participation of PWD. It will monitor the extent to which political parties kept their promises of engaging PWD in their programs post 2021 elections. It will also collaborate with municipalities to address disability in regional and local development programs and include PWD in public consultation mechanisms.
Association Citizen of Street Morocco
Advocating Effective Youth in Local Governance
$32000
To strengthen a culture of accountability and transparency at the municipal level in Fes. The organization will conduct skill building trainings and provide support as youth civil society organization (CSO) leaders monitor local spending on youth priorities and convene dialogue meetings for civil society representatives and newly elected local government officials. It will also consolidate its network of emerging youth leaders, activists, and CSO members.
Simsim Participation Citoyenne
Strengthening Parliament’s Transparency
$101000
To enhance Parliament’s transparency and accountability as well as citizens’ access to parliamentary information. The organization will engage parliamentarians through thematic online town halls, produce parliamentary podcasts, publish an in-depth study on women MPs’ performance, and enhance its platform to monitor MP campaign promises post the 2021 legislative elections.
High Atlas Foundation
Promoting Civil Society-University Engagement
$100000
To foster greater cooperation among local civil society organizations, and universities and promote community service learning. The organization will collaborate with a university in Marrakesh to establish a legal aid program and engage law students to work with local civil society and community leaders on priority issues. It will also organize a series of monthly workshops on participatory approaches to advocacy and local policy planning and monitoring, provide legal assistance to local associations and marginalized groups, and lead civil society-university initiatives on community priority issues.
Observatoire Pour la Protection de l’Environnement et des Monuments Historiques de Tanger (OPEMH)
Promoting Transparent Governance Practices
$42000
To enhance the capacity of local civil society to advocate good governance and accountability of government policies related to waste management and environmental pollution. The organization will conduct a diagnostic study on waste pollution, its impact on citizens and the environment, and recommendations that will guide advocacy efforts. It will also train civic leaders on participatory governance, access to information, and public policy monitoring to prepare them to lead advocacy campaigns for the effective management of a newly established waste management center.
Third Millennium Association for the Development of Civic Action in the Southeast
Policy Advocacy on Collective Lands
$110000
To promote good governance of collective lands. The grantee will organize citizen forums and a national symposium on the laws related to women’s rights to land and the impact of laws governing collective lands on governance and local development. It will also conduct workshops on conflict and dispute resolution, produce a study analyzing the legal gaps in the newly passed laws related to collective lands, and lead a national advocacy initiative.
Menassat pour les Recherches et les Etudes Sociales
Engaging Civil Society in Public Policy
$45000
To promote public policy research and influence debate on critical policy issues. The organization will conduct trainings on public opinion research, host a conference on public policy and individual liberties and freedoms, organize a policy research competition, and publish policy papers on issues related individual freedoms and rule of law.
Al-Amal Network for Relief and Sustainable Development of Al-Hoceima
Strengthening Citizen Engagement in Governance
$60000
To promote citizen inclusion in governance and a participatory budget process. The organization will convene a seminar to discuss opportunities and mechanisms for civil society to contribute to policy development at the local and regional level. It will also hold roundtable discussions on governance challenges and opportunities post regional and local elections and workshops on participatory budgeting. A monitoring initiative will track and assess how budget allocations respond to citizen priorities in target municipalities.
