With the Governance Strengthening Program (GSP/Taqadum), Kaizen built connections between provincial governments and their constituents and trained officials in budgeting, planning, and legislating to run more efficiently and transparently.
In 2011, USAID launched GSP/Taqadum to improve the capacity and effectiveness of provincial and local governments across Iraq through institution building and executive oversight. The project benefited from the groundwork laid by prior USAID capacity-strengthening efforts in the country but faced several challenges. Although talented and well-educated staff were more readily available in Iraq than in many post-conflict countries, GSP/Taqadum’s considerable scope and competition with the growing oil industry meant these potential hires were in high demand. Furthermore, the provincial elections of 2013 saw a turnover rate of nearly 70 percent, and security risks became more severe in the final year of the project.
Highlights
- Operated in 15 Iraqi provinces as well as Erbil
- Exceeded targets for female participation every year, demonstrating the program’s commitment to underserved populations
- Bolstered local engagement, with local officials leading 70 percent of provincial public meetings in 2014 (up from zero percent in 2013)
The success of OSTP has been because the GSP team guided us, but it was our staff that made the decisions and did the work. I’ve never worked with such a worthwhile program before, and I don’t anticipate that there will ever be a better program in the future.
GSP/Taqadum proved highly flexible in adapting to these challenges. Its staff—many of whom were Arabic speakers, Iraqis, and Iraqi expatriates familiar with the local political environment—exercised diligence in implementing the project’s goals in the face of adversity. GSP/Taqadum also emphasized a philosophy of organizational development and empowered Iraq’s local and provincial governments by institutionalizing best practices. By anticipating difficulties and maintaining an adaptive approach, GSP/Taqadum ensured a successful outcome.
Throughout the program’s implementation cycle, GSP/Taqadum worked with local Iraqi government institutions and nongovernmental organizations to improve their management of finances and identification of key issues to address. Program initiatives also benefited vulnerable communities indirectly by emphasizing equal representation and access to services in its training and oversight. Although some provinces considered GSP/Taqadum irreplaceable, the project’s focus on replicability and institutionalization ensured the 2013 provincial representatives would continue its success by training a new generation of government staff.
At a glance
Client
Status
Past
Location
Iraq
Services
Organizational development, knowledge sharing networks, governance, education
