Impact study of the IOM Niger community engagement program

Impact study of the IOM Niger community engagement program

PERCEPTION/IMPACT STUDY OF THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROGRAM IMPLEMENTED BY IOM SINCE 2016
CLIENT: IOM NIGER
COUNTRY: NIGER
START - END DATE: May-November 2022 (extended to April 2023)
VALUE (EUR): 23,000.00 €
PARTNERS: N/A
PROJECT DESCRIPTION

In support of IOM's strategy in Niger, the activities of the unit in charge of border management aim to help the Government of Niger to develop the infrastructural, material and institutional capacities of the National Police and all the other defence forces  and border security. As part of its support to the State of Niger, with funding from the US Department of State, IOM has initiated a project to strengthen institutional and operational capacities in terms of humanitarian and security response to sudden cross-border changes through the development of coherent approaches to border management as well as the promotion of community engagement.

Community engagement and local policing is a form of local governance that helps to tighten the links of territorial control of the State over the extent of the territory and to ensure the application of the rule of law until at the country's international borders, by involving citizens in the definition of priorities for public action and by establishing accountability of public action vis-à-vis citizens.

After 6 years of innovative programming in the field of community engagement and the development of the bond of trust between border communities and State representatives in remote border areas, IOM wishes to assess the impact of these actions. , identify good practices and recommendations for the improvement of future projects. Through this impact study, IOM wishes to compare the overall situation prevailing before the implementation of said programs and the current situation in the targeted regions, and thus study more closely the effectiveness of community engagement activities on the creating and strengthening links between border communities and local authorities.

SERVICES PROVIDED

The general objective of this study is to know to what extent the approach community engagement tool used by IOM's IBM Unit, since 2016, has helped change the perceptions, attitudes and practices of targets of border management and security intervention in a positive way in the communities of origin, according to an approach adapted to the context.

Specific objectives:

  • Evaluate the effectiveness of the community engagement and trust building method deployed by IOM in Niger since 2016 and its suitability to the local context
  • Establish a diagnosis of the initial level of trust between the authorities and the communities
  • Assess the extent to which communities feel safe and protected by authorities
  • Appreciate the willingness of communities to be actors of their own security
  • Highlight the changes brought about by the activities carried out with the aim of strengthening relations between the communities, the administrative authorities and the security forces of the border localities or communes.