There are an increasing number of international agencies and individual consultants ready, willing and able to provide election administration assistance and, in particular, voter education. Obtaining international assistance requires a knowledge of these resources as well as the specific tasks for which international support is required.
International Government Organisations
International governmental organisations (IGOs) operate within different spheres of influence and with different frames of reference. Further information can be obtained about each of these IGOs from local or regional offices or from their web sites.
Regional bodies such as the European Union (EU), the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the Organisation of American States (OAS), and the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), and international organisations, such as the Commonwealth and the United Nations, all provide different levels of election support to their members and, on occasion, to donor countries and those requesting assistance. A number of individual countries also provide assistance through government development agencies, for example the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the British Department for International Development (DFID), the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), and the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA), and their embassies abroad. On occasion, individual countries may be asked by IGOs to act on their behalf. In general, support from governments will have to be sought by the government or someone representating an inclusive community of interests within a country.
International Nongovernmental Organisations
Apart from governments there are a number of NGOs or consortia of NGOs that provide assistance in support of democracy. These include the partners in the Administration and Cost of Elections (ACE) Project. Another of these is the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) which in addition to providing small grants, maintains a website providing information on donor organizations, technical assistance provided (organized by assistance area, such as voter education), and regional information resources.
Unlike government funding agencies, international nongovernmental organizations may opt to fund only those projects being undertaken by fellow nongovernment organizations, thereby supporting the development of the nongovernmental sector as a whole. For this reason, it will be important for those seeking grants to adequately understand the orientation, goals, and priorities of the organization from which funding is being sought.
Preparing for Support
Resources can be obtained only if the organization has specifically identified the type of support that may be required and matched this to a donor with complimentary programmatic goals and funding priorities. Support might take the form of technical assistance, for example advice in developing, implementing, or evaluating a voter education programme, via training of trainers (TOT), through the provision or necessary equipment, in the form of a grant, or by covering the costs of a specific activity such as the printing or delivery of materials. Once a proposal has been prepared, any of the partners in this
project will be willing to refer people to potential areas of support.
