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dRPC and LAPO Partnership- PAWED

The development Research and Projects Center (dRPC) is a non-profit organization, formed in 1993 by 10 Lecturers of Development Studies and Development Economics from Universities in Nigeria, with a mission to expand and support the indigenous civil society space through fund raising, sub-granting and training to conduct evidence-based advocacy around inclusion of WEE in annual budgets and development plans at national and sub-national levels

The dRPC is currently implementing a 2-year pilot project of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation – the Partnership for Advancing Women in Economic Development (PAWED) project. The PAWED project works at the national level and in selected states in each of the 6 geopolitical zones to increase the salience of Women’s Economic Empowerment (WEE) amongst policy makers in Nigeria. On 18th January 2021, the dRPC South South consultant identified and assessed LAPO as a potential advocacy partner to conduct advocacy around the annual budgets in Edo State

Whereas preparations for the 2022 budget with strategic line Ministries in Edo State at the initial stages preparing estimates for submission, the dRPC wishes to engage LAPO, to bring together a coalition of 9 women led women’s economic cooperatives and WEE focused NGOs to conduct advocacy visits and provide strategic support to the groups to continue to follow up with the government MDAs on promises made to increase WEE in the 2022 budget

OBJECTIVES:
  1. To increase the budgetary allocation to women’s economic empowerment interventions in the 2022 budget of the state
  2. To strengthen the capacity of WEE focused CSOs and cooperatives to follow up on advocacy promises made by MDA functionaries to increase the focus on WEE in annual budgets and medium term plans

OVERALL GOAL

The overarching goal of this partnership is to expand the decisional space for WEE programming at state level by catalyzing state governments to increase commitment to WEE programming through evidence based advocacy conducted by indigenous CSOs and supported by a leading locally based CSO partner

The project activities include the following:

  • 2-day meeting of representatives of LAPO and selected CSOs/ Women Economic Collectives (WECs) in Benin City
  • Advocacy visits of the advocates from the selected CSOs and LAPO on the 2022 budget
  • 2-day meeting to review advocacy impact and develop strategies for tracking the delivery of commitments
  • Two (2) follow-up visits of advocates of CSOs/WECs and supported by LAPO staff
  • 1-day Policy Dialogue on WEE in Edo State
  • IT support for LAPO to establish dashboard and populate with project updates
  • LAPO to establish dashboard and populate with updates