About the Event
Join us to learn about six of the year’s most innovative projects to support democracy. Grantees of the Local Democracy in Action Grant (LDAG) program will present their work at this culminating event hosted by the Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE) and Stanford University’s Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law (CDDRL). The LDAG projects are intended to support democratic reform efforts, civic discourse, and the incorporation of new technology to make a wider impact on the local political and economic environment.
- Ukraine: Enhancing the Quality of Decisions & Creating Local Coalitions Around Key Reforms
- Georgia: Democracy Podcast Series
- Kazakhstan: Data Protection Regulation Upgrades
- Lebanon: Enhancing Decision Making & Transparency in the Public Procurement Process
- Nepal: Strengthening Technology-Driven Democracy Through Robust & Digitally Secured Civic Space
- Ethiopia: Insuring Public Accountability Through Tailored E-Government
Local Democracy in Action Project Descriptions
Ensuring Public Accountability Through Tailored E-Government (Ethiopia)
CIPE and LNC alumni Wondwossen Mitiku, Getachew Teklemariam, and Begashaw Tizazu worked to strengthen the use of digital technology for public participation and accountability in Ethiopia. Through research and dialogue with e-government representatives in Estonia, South Korea, and Tunisia, the team developed local advocacy strategies that promoted greater public participation and accountability of e-government services in Ethiopia. The team developed a policy paper capturing their recommendations and organize a workshop promoting their findings.
Democracy Podcast Series (Georgia)
In Georgia, the Economic Policy Research Center (EPRC) and Radio Liberty collaborated to organize a series of podcasts and lectures to strengthen public understanding of important issues facing Georgian society. EPRC and Radio Liberty hosted leading experts to foster discussion on a diverse set of issues facing Georgia and the wider region. Topics included democratic and economic development, economic security, democracy and technology, and Euro-Atlantic integration.
Data Protection Regulation Upgrades (Kazakhstan)
LNC alumni Nino Evangenidze and Ruslan Daiyrbekov led a virtual study tour of Georgia’s development and implementation of the nation’s data protection regulatory regime. Evangenidze and Daiyrbekov led a group of policymakers and think tank leaders to identify data protection best practices and lessons learned from Georgia’s experience. Following the study tour, formal recommendations were developed to inform a draft data protection law in Kazakhstan.
Enhancing Decision Making and Transparency in the Public Procurement Process (Lebanon)
The Lebanese Center for Policy Studies (LCPS) collaborated with LNC alumni Mohamad Najem and Rabih El Chaer to produce policy recommendations on enhancing the e-procurement system in Lebanon. To inform their work, the team met with Ukraine’s e-procurement system administrators to learn about the country’s system and identify lessons in its development and implementation. Based on their findings, they produced a policy paper outlining their recommendations and shared it widely with policymakers, journalists, and civil society representatives in Lebanon.
Strengthening Technology-Driven Democracy Through Robust and Digitally Secured Civic Space (Nepal)
The Accountability Lab Nepal (ALN) and Digital Rights Nepal (DRN) collaborated to develop a toolkit for civil society organizations to equip them with the ability to manage digital security threats and vulnerabilities while defending democracy. ALN and DRN conducted desk research, disseminated a survey, and organized workshops with key stakeholders to identify best practices and develop tips and advice to navigate the internet safely. Through their efforts, ALN and DRN helped to build a more robust and digital secure civic space in Nepal.
Enhancing the Quality of Decisions and Creating Local Coalitions Around Key Reforms (Ukraine)
The Ukrainian Healthcare Center (UHC) and LNC alumni Iryna Nemyrovych, Matvii Khrenoc, and Pavlo Kovtonyuk worked to create local coalitions in several Ukrainian municipalities to foster dialogue and promote strategies to improve the country’s healthcare systems. Through this advocacy work, the team enhanced local democratic engagement and strengthened the transparency and quality of medical services.
About the Organizations
The Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law (CCDRL)
The Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law (CDDRL) at Stanford University is an interdisciplinary center for research on development in all of its dimensions: political, economic, social, and legal, and the ways in which these different dimensions interact with one another. Started in 2002, we seek to understand how countries can overcome poverty, instability, and abusive rule to become prosperous, just, democratic, and well-governed societies. We also want to analyze the ways in which democracy and development can be threatened by the authoritarian resurgence, technology, populism, and the broader process of globalization.
The Leadership Network for Change (LNC)
LNC: The Leadership Network for Change is an expansive group now encompassing nearly 2,000 up and coming leaders and change-makers from all corners of the globe. This diverse and widespread network is comprised of alumni of three practitioner programs based at the Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law at Stanford University: the Draper Hills Summer Fellows Program, Leadership Academy for Development and the Ukrainian Emerging Leaders Program. Please visit http://www.cddrl.fsi.stanford.edu to learn more about our individual practitioner programs and alumni activities.