SEED has been awarded a Matra project titled Domestic Violence Eradication, Dove for short. It is set in Turkey, where violence against women is a major problem. The project involves the Dutch Umbrella organisation for shelter houses Federatie Opvang and the Turkish Directorate for the Problems and Status of Women. The project will last three years.

Together with the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, SEED is organizing a seminar on Civil Society Development in Belarus. The seminar will be a part of the EU Framework contract awarded to SEED in 2007. It will take place at the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs on March 27th, 2009. The programme includes speakers and panellist from both the Netherlands and Belarus including the team of consultants implementing the EU Framework Contract project in Belarus.

A SEED expert, a judge from Ghana, has accomplished an independent review on improving the legal and institutional framework for facilitating effective IPR protection and enforcement of anti-counterfeiting and piracy measures at the national level. SEED provided advice on:

• Improving legal measures for reducing counterfeits and piracy.
• Establishing IPR enforcement units, which will serve as contact points for anti-counterfeiting and piracy matters.
• A capacity-building programme for enforcement unit staff, e.g., outline a roadmap that ensures that staff are conversant in civil and criminal litigation procedures.
  

In addition, SEED is to demonstrate how the programme will improve business performance for local manufacturers and increase revenue collection by government agencies.

SEED has been asked to advise on the core methodology of the Women Entrepreneurship II project. The EC-funded project, led by Ecorys from the Netherlands, aims to develop a support model to accompany the incubator infrastructures in place in 9 provinces and 25 cities across the country.

SEED has been awarded a Framework project in Belarus. It is a sequel to an earlier project conducted by Nehem International and VVMZ. The project has the following objectives:

• Awareness campaigns for NGOs through regional dialogue meetings between NGOs and local authorities and through online information services
• Increasing the level of mutual knowledge between European and Belarus NGOs, and stimulate collaboration between these
• Capacity building of Belarus NGOs through seminars, workshops, trainings, etc
• Facilitating cooperation between Belarus NGOs and local authorities via PR activities and promotion campaigns

The project will last a year.

SEED experts provided support to ensure the full compliance with the Palermo Protocol, including the development of comprehensive legislation that is underpinned by a victim-centred, empowerment approach, taking full account of the existing Victims' Charter, as well as relevant South African legislation. The project contributed to compliance with the Palermo Protocols requirements, and increased the capacity to deal with trafficking and enhanced the inter-sectoral coordination and cooperation. In order for the RSA to achieve the project purpose detailed above the following result areas have been identified as key outcomes required.

The intervention runs from December 2007 till March 2008

The SEED expert`s duty was to strengthen the capacity, transparency, and accountability of MoLACD, to build the knowledge and competence of senior management staff, and thereby to increase the capacity of MoLACD to receive and administer development resources.
The Strategic Management Advisor was responsible for carrying out the following tasks :

• Produce plans for a comprehensive management/finance/admin system for MoLACD at all levels and in all areas of Southern Sudan;
  • Assist in the implementation of those plans;
  • Draft regular assessment reports on progress made within MoLACD in terms of management/finance/admin capacity.
  

The SEED experts supported the Malawi Government in developing M&E system that will deliver reliable data to allow for a regular monitoring on the MGDS, the PAF and the PRBS2 indicators.

• Follow up with relevant Ministries and other relevant arms of government on PAF information
• Liaise with the Director of M&E in MEP&D on how best to establish an M&E system for efficient data collection in relation to the PAF
• Review the existing data collection mechanisms and provide options for betterment
• Ensure that local indicators conform and be adapted to internationally defined measures (MDGs)
• Prepare documentation required for accessing financial support to undertake the improvements proposed to the M&E system in terms of human resources, equipment needs etc
• Assess capacity needs gaps in the beneficiary institutions affecting PAF indicators and devise / propose interventions

SEED experts have developed guidelines for the management of the calls by the Department for Safety and Liaison according to the new European Union Financial Regulations and the Practical Guidelines.

• Offer training on proposal writing to potential applicants so as to ensure that they submit quality proposals and ensure that this training reaches the widest and most diverse audience.
  • Consult/inform on a regular basis the Project Manager and the Project's Reference Group, administration and secretariat for evaluation of proposals.
  • Present the recommended proposals to the Reference Group, the management of the Department for Safety and Liaison and- probably- other relevant government departments, which will then do the final selection.
  • Administration of the awarding of contracts, offer training in contract management to the successful applicants.

The SEED expert provided technical assistance to the Ministry of Justice, represented by the Solicitor General & Secretary for Justice, in its role of supervisor and coordinator of the new project, as well as in the coordination of donors’ support to institutions of the legal sector. Mainly by:

• Assisting the Ministry of Justice with the definition of detailed management procedures for programme implementation, consistent with the principles and procedures of the 9th EDF
  • Making an inventory of discontinued and delayed RoLP operations, as indicated in the final RoLP report and other relevant documents, for presentation and consideration by the related institutions to plan their first full annual work programme/PE under the new Financing Agreement.
  • Assisting the beneficiary institutions with the preparation of their respective plans, making sure that selected institutional and cross-cutting activities contribute to the intended programme results as defined in the Project’s logframe.
  • Compile institutional and cross-cutting plans into a comprehensive Programme Estimate (PE) as per EDF format, for approval by the Project Steering Committee.
  • Prepare specific calls for proposals and tender dossiers in accordance with EDF rules and formats, as required.
  • Draw up Terms of Reference for specific supply and technical assistance contracts, as required.