[{"bbox": [56, 100, 1144, 955], "category": "Table", "text": "<table><tr><td>Legality and regularity aspects</td><td>Corruption or misappropriation of funds</td><td>M</td><td>M</td><td>Put external audits, anti-corruption measures and whistle-blower policy in place<br>Pursue harmonization with other development partners</td></tr><tr><td rowspan=\"2\">People and the organisation</td><td>State institutions lack capacity to fully cooperate</td><td>M</td><td>H</td><td>Ensure government representation in the Steering Committee of the Programme</td></tr><tr><td>Failure to adhere to human rights, conflict and gender sensitivity requirements and the leave no one behind principle</td><td>L</td><td>H</td><td>Regular dialogue with key institutions at operational level<br>Deliver support to CSOs with broad range of thematic and regional priorities so as to make the sector as a whole more resilient<br>Thorough gender, human rights and context analyses and regular reflections on how to implement the relevant recommendations<br>Monitoring the implementation of the do no harm-principle</td></tr><tr><td>Communication and information</td><td>Failure by partners to adhere to communication and visibility requirements</td><td>L</td><td>M</td><td>Verify implementation of communication and visibility plan</td></tr></table>"}, {"bbox": [67, 957, 226, 980], "category": "Section-header", "text": "**Lessons Learnt:**"}, {"bbox": [66, 982, 1137, 1646], "category": "Text", "text": "The recently conducted mid-term review (MTR) of CUSP I found that the multi-level approach with seven regional offices and capacity development measures targeting more than 120 CSOs and over 20 district local governments has proven successful in building trust between state and non-state actors, especially at the subnational level. For instance, with the support of CUSP I, several CSOs have formed strong relationships with local governments and the number of their representatives in the respective districts in budget conferences and district council sector sub-committees in areas such as energy or water has doubled. At the national level, several civil society positions were adopted in important sector policies such as the Uganda Energy Policy and the annual progress reports on the implementation of the national water policy. On the other hand, the establishment of an institutionalized dialogue mechanism between state and non-state actors at the national level has proven more complicated than initially anticipated; not only because of continued mistrust between the two sides but also due to – in some cases – insufficient capacities to meaningfully participate in such dialogues. As a lesson learnt, CUSP II will aim at stronger thematic expertise linked to relevant MIP priority areas. The need for tailor-made capacity building for CSOs which takes into account the different capacity needs of CSOs at different levels is also emphasized by the EU-CSO Roadmap for Uganda. The CUSP I MTR also found that CSOs have specifically benefitted from funding of otherwise often overlooked organisational development needs such as trainings on resource mobilisation. Other important training needs, according to the EU-CSO Roadmap, are evidence-based advocacy and coalition-building among CSOs. While posing a significant challenge to CSOs, the COVID-19 pandemic has also allowed CUSP I to embark on new and innovative work practices that can be retained and built on (especially in terms of digital skills). Another lesson learnt from the implementation of CUSP I and the MTR is that the absorption capacity of many partners, especially smaller CSOs, is limited and many CSOs require additional support to strengthen their administrative and financial systems in order to qualify for bigger grants. At the same time CUSP II should consider how to increase implementation rate and scale-up the number of beneficiaries and the size of the grants / subsidies. CUSP II also needs to shorten the logistical and administrative processes for CSOs to access support while ensuring a level of high level of contextual sensitivity. Success factors for CUSP I identified by the MTR are its wide CSO definition and its decentralized implementation strategy that ensures that the programme takes into"}, {"bbox": [1039, 1662, 1157, 1686], "category": "Page-footer", "text": "Page 10 of 19"}]