The Civil Society: Mutual Accountability Project (CS:MAP) is a five-year project, funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development, that covers 58 municipalities in 34 districts in Nepal. The project works to build the capacity of civil society and media and to support civic engagement designed to make governance more effective and inclusive. During the COVID-19 pandemic, CS:MAP facilitated and technically supported targeted advocacy on equal access to information and essential services.
The objectives of the project are to:
- Strengthen laws and policy processes, including a focus on human rights protections at national and local levels
- Improve civil society and media collaboration on advocacy that can lead to local solutions, including representation of marginalized groups
- Foster more and better public oversight of service delivery at municipal levels
- Strengthen organizational capacity and integrity aimed at improved public legitimacy of civil society and the media, as well as more effective engagement on matters of public interest
The project plans to achieve these objectives through these activities:
- Strengthen legal and policy frameworks of civil society organizations (CSOs) and media to adhere to international standards
- Initiate constructive engagement between CSOs and the Government of Nepal in policy work, planning and performance across sectors
- Strengthen the capacity of CSOs and media to conduct participatory and evidence-based research and advocacy
- Establish mechanisms and processes to improve bottom-up coordination between community, district and national CSOs engaged in public-service oversight
- Raise the awareness of Nepalis, including informing them on the use of available government social accountability mechanisms
- Develop institutional governance standards for CSOs and media
- Promote mechanisms for oversight of public resource use
- Strengthen CSO engagement in human rights protection and reporting
