Project Countries:    Sierra Leone, Ghana, Senegal, Nigeria, Malawi, Zambia and Botswana (Also Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania once resources are secured)

Lead Partner: African Monitor, South Africa.

Grant Period:   12 months approved (Project for 3 years)

Project summary: The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a continuation of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) that were implemented from 2000 to 2015. The new SDGs are different in that they are broader in their scope of eradicating all forms of poverty by calling for action by all countries, rich and poor, to promote prosperity while protecting the planet. More than 150 countries have pledged to mobilize efforts to end all forms of poverty, fight inequalities, and tackle climate change, while ensuring that no one is left behind. The project by the African Monitor is about putting citizens at the centre of driving accountable implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals. The project will use citizen generated data, working with citizens’ groups and youth champions, to engage decision makers to demand delivery and accelerate policy change. The project will support citizen-driven monitoring for policy change, where citizen-generated data informs SDG implementation, strengthens national and regional SDG review processes, and supports civic action for policy change at the national level. In addition, the project will support a regional civil society advocacy platform on SDGs, where the Africa CSO Working Group engages with and effectively shapes the agenda (policies, plans, and monitoring) for the implementation of the SDGS in Africa and globally.

1. Project Goal/overall objective: The goal of the Citizens Report! Initiative is to work with African citizens and civil society to monitor SDG implementation in Africa for them to better demand delivery of commitments, to improve results and to improve policy responses.

2. Project expected overall outcome: The project’s theory of change is that when citizens effectively hold their governments accountable for delivery, democracy is strengthened, development outcomes improve significantly for the poor, and citizens gain confidence to claim their rights and solve local problems.  Through various activities, the Citizens Report Initiative will ensure that:

• SDGs are implemented effectively in Africa, resulting in tangible improvements in the lives of the most vulnerable groups

• Citizens actively engage in the monitoring of SDG implementation for better development results, and to increase government accountability.

• New qualitative citizen-generated data and knowledge is produced to inform civic action and advocacy for improved SDG delivery.

• Increased capacity in the ability of these citizen representatives to generate data at the community level for monitoring;

• Citizen-generated data informs the African SDG review processes, thus leading to necessary improvements in service delivery, development approaches and policy responses.

• The Africa CSO Working Group is strengthened and recognised as the go-to network for civil society engagement in SDG implementation