Building Capacities for Civic Engagement, Peacebuilding and Inclusive Dialogue: Towards Inclusive and Participatory Governance

Project Objective

The findings of the survey will be used by UNDP Cambodia as the basis for tracking the progress of results to achieve the agreed outputs as designated in the project’s Result Resource Framework. This data will measure changes of three outputs such as level of capacity of national and subnational governments and CSOs, inclusiveness and diversity in the civic engagement mechanisms, and level of partnership.

Project Description

Over the past two decades, Cambodia has made significant economic progress, with growth being over 7%. The opportunity exists to underpin this progress towards an inclusive and equitable social contract by strengthening social capital, expanding trust among social groups and between groups and the government, establishing and improving access to participatory mechanisms and ensuring the voices of citizens are heard by decision-makers. Government and civil society each have a significant role to play in peacebuilding and strengthening relations with citizens at the national and sub-national levels. However, this potential has not been fully realised due to capacity gaps, limited civic space and a polarising political discourse. The ability of Cambodia’s vibrant Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) to deliver on their mission has been affected by these developments.

The overall objective of the project is to promote democratic governance initiatives and a peaceful, inclusive, and equitable society through expanding opportunities for inclusive civic engagement using dialogue in Cambodia. In this regard, UNDP Cambodia commissioned CDRI to conduct a baseline survey to measure the status of the indicators for the project.