The project will be implemented by the European Centre for Electoral Support (ECES) in partnership with Ethiopia-based Forum of Federations and GoInnonvation. All activities will start and end within the 18-month time-frame in view to leave behind durable tools and capacities for long-term sustainability. The project will place particular importance on liaison with planned or ongoing initiatives, funded by the EU or EU member states a priori, that intersect with the activities foreseen in this project document.
ECES is a not for profit private foundation headquartered in Brussels with a global remit. ECES promotes sustainable democratic development through the provision of advisory services, operational support and management of large projects in the electoral and democracy assistance field. ECES works with all electoral stakeholders, including electoral management bodies, civil society organizations involved in voter education and election observation, political parties, parliaments, media, security forces, religious groups and legal institutions confronted with electoral disputes resolution. ECES has crafted and copyrighted its strategy called "A European Response to Electoral Cycle Support - EURECS". This is an innovative and alternative delivery mechanism to implement electoral and democracy assistance activities that are consistent with European values and EU policies and targets the implementations of the recommendations of EU election observation missions and it is built to help prevent, mitigate and manage electoral related conflicts. EURECS contained other ECES’ copyrighted approach for the implementation of specific activities, namely the “Electoral Political Economy Analyses”, the cascade training curriculum on “Leadership and Conflict Management Skills for Electoral Stakeholders” and for the “Preventing Electoral Conflict and Potential Violence”.
ECES developed a partenership with the Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies of Pisa to promote customised, accessible and innovative capacity building programmes for all electoral stakeholders, including the Master on Electoral Policy and Administration - MEPA.
ECES is also part of a consortium led by the College of Europe to implement the ERMES project (European Response on Mediation Support) to provide a tool for the EU to advance its objectives and role in the field of mediation and dialogue. The project will be implemented under the supervision of the Service for Foreign Policy Instruments of the European Commission and in close consultation with the Mediation Support Team of the European External Action Services which will ensure the political steer.
ECES is a member of the European Partnership for Democracy (EPD) and is part of its Board of Directors. EPD is the most important network of European civil and political society organisations working on democracy assistance.
The Forum of Federations is an international governance organization with 20 years of experience addressing issues of democratic governance and development. It was founded and is headquartered in Canada and is supported by nine other partner governments — Australia, Brazil, Ethiopia, Germany, India, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Switzerland. The Forum has a small secretariat operating out of the Ottawa headquarters, and maintains field/partner offices in Kathmandu (Nepal), Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), Berlin (Germany), Islamabad (Pakistan), Brazilia (Brazil), Yangon (Myanmar), New Delhi (India), Tunis (Tunisia), Amman (Jordan) and Rabat (Morocco). The Forum is a charitable organization under Ontario law and is governed by a Board of Directors and Strategic Council made up of representatives from the ten partner countries. Most importantly, the Forum has an unparalleled network of federal government experts and practitioners (individuals and organizations) from across the globe. The Forum has had full office operations in Ethiopia since 2008, registered as an international organization under agreement with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It enjoys an unparalleled network of partners in Ethiopia at senior-most levels of government (federal, state, local) as well as in academia, political parties, business organizations, and civil society. The Forum has conducted over 100 events and numerous technical assistance projects in Ethiopia. Currently, it is implementing a 5-year C$5.5 million project funded by Global Affairs Canada, entitled Strengthening Federal Governance and Pluralism in Ethiopia, which has major synergies with this proposed project.
The work of GOinnovation in Ethiopia began when our founder and CEO, Steadman Harrison, was asked to provide a Leadership Development Forum for 40 national civil society organizations in response to their need for the individual, team, and organizational capacity building in 2006. The work quickly expanded through an initial partnership with Unity University, the first independent university in the country. Within 5 years, the Leadership Beyond Boundaries initiative of the Center for Creative Leadership out of the hub in Addis Ababa had scaled their reach to more than 500,000 African leaders. GOinnovation has worked directly with the Humanitarian International Non-Government Organization (HINGO) forum to meet the direct delivery and indirect grassroots needs of the top 100 NGOs and national civil society institutions serving across all major verticals in the Horn of Africa - “Human development for the good of all, everyone everywhere.” NGOs and CSOs are motivated to meet a unique need they see in society. Examples include food security, water, and sanitation, education, orphan/vulnerable children, economic development, agriculture, public health, as well as democracy. The response has been to use leadership development as a lever to address the human capital needs intrinsic to each and every societal challenge.
The Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy (NIMD) works to promote peaceful, just and inclusive politics worldwide. Our approach across all our programmes is unique and characterized by dialogue: we bring politicians from across the political spectrum together. We work on their knowledge and competences and empower them to cooperate in a constructive manner on issues that affect them, their country and the broader region. To that end, we work with the entire political sector in a country, from aspiring politicians to political leaders, and from national to local level.
NIMD is non-partisan and driven by democratic values.
The organization is governed by its Statutes, the latest of which entered into force November 2008. Membership in International IDEA is open to governments which demonstrate, by example in their own state, their commitment to the rule of law, human rights, the basic principles of democratic pluralism and strengthening democracy.
InterAfrica Group (IAG) is an independent non-profit organization established in 1989 with a mission of supporting sustainable development, strengthening democratic institutions and promoting peace and security in the Horn of Africa. Over the last 20 years IAG has cultivated a reputable niche in research and public dialogue on vital development, governance and peace building policy issues both in the context of Ethiopia and regionally. More importantly, and particularly, since 2004, it has played a significant role in peace building initiatives in partnership with IGAD’s Early Warning and Response Mechanism (CEWARN).
From its inception IAG has primarily implemented a highly visible and effective undertakings (i.e. in research, public dialog, networking, coordination and peace) implemented at elevated political and intellectual levels alongside programs targeting local communities. This has enabled the organization to strategically position itself at national and regional levels, where vital political and socio-economic issues are articulated and alternative policy recommendations developed.