Project Title: Enhancing Citizens’ Engagement in the Social Investment Programme (NSIP Project)
Funder: Action Aid Nigeria
Project Period: February 2018 – February 2019
Location: Kano
The National Social Investment Program of Nigeria is a social welfare initiative created by the Federal government of Nigeria in 2016. The Program was created to ensure a more equitable distribution of resources to vulnerable populations, including children, youth, and women. The office has created four programs to address poverty and help increase economic development.
The N-Power program provides young Nigerians with job training and education, as well as a monthly stipend of 30,000 Naira. The Conditional cash transfer program directly supports the most vulnerable by providing no-strings-attached cash to those in the lowest income group, helping reduce poverty, improve nutrition and self-sustainability, and supporting development through increased consumption. The Government Enterprise and Empowerment Program (GEEP) is a micro-lending investment program targeting entrepreneurs with a focus on young people and women. This program provides no-cost loans to its beneficiaries, helping reduce the start-up costs of business ventures in Nigeria. Finally, the Home Grown School Feeding Program (HGSF) is the one way the government is attempting to increase school enrollment by providing meals to schoolchildren, particularly those in poor and food-insecure regions. The program works with local farmers and empowers women as cooks, building the community and sustaining economic growth from farm to table.
NSIP Project is aimed at monitoring the implementation of NSIP project in Kano State with specific emphasis on three programme areas – The Government Enterprise Empowerment Programme (GEEP), Home Grown School Feeding Programme and Job Creation Programme (N-Power)). The project implemented in collaboration with 3 Community-based Organisations: Federation of Muslim Women’s Association of Nigeria (FOMWAN); Neighbourhood Education Committee (NEDF); and Friends of the Community Organisation (FOCO).
The project will monitor and evaluate the outputs and outcomes of the implementation of the N-SIP. It is aimed at capturing beneficiaries’ voice and providing feedback to the NSIO with the aim of improving the delivery of services in the programme.
The objectives of Third-party Monitoring of the N-SIP are to:
- Facilitate deeper understanding amongst the populace of the N-SIP contribution to eradicating poverty and reducing inequality in Nigeria.
- Support to the NSIO process of a monitoring system for the N-SIP in the 36 states and FCT.
- Establish the civil society process of an independent citizens’ monitoring system for the N-SIP in selected locations.
- Strengthen the capacity of CSOs to monitor the N-SIP and advocate to government on the N-SIP process in the project states.
- Engage with social investment service recipients and other citizens to share their experience and perspectives of the N-SIP and mobilise them on how they can actively participate and give feedback in the program in the project states.
- Support the process of a CSO Situation Room on SIP (CSR-SIP) that would engage with the NSIO with processed information from the service recipients and other citizens, through the CSR-SIP Steering Committee;
- Generate of additional information to grow knowledge in the field of social investment and social protection;
- Support the work of MDAs and government in ensuring the success of the N-SIP;
- Support accountability processes and commitments of the Government to Nigerians;
- Feed into the impact assessment of the N-SIP on target beneficiaries and reduction of poverty in Nigeria.