Empowering citizens Engaging governments Rebuilding communities

“
Through ICAP, community groups have
become a bellwether of democratic participation,
giving everyday citizens an outlet to identify
needs and the means to address them”
—Ernest Leonardo
CSP’s operational design incorporated many elements
of ICAP, but, as a straight stabilization mission, it
was fundamentally different. It was shaped by the
near total collapse of Iraq’s internal political and
social infrastructure and the ensuing breakdown in
Box 3
The evolution of ICAP, USAID’s longest-running program in Iraq (continued)
security—the same elements that threatened ICAP
and other relief and development programs. But unlike
traditional relief programs, normally divided among a
group of implementers, CSP was given only to IRD to
manage and run.
The community action groups, which remain at the core of the ICAP design, were able to change because the overall
program mission changed. In the early days, with communities facing a critical lack of basic services, ICAP focused
on quick-impact projects designed to stave off a range of impending crises, from outbreaks of cholera to widespread
truancy. Thanks to the continuing dedication of group members, the CAGs moved from stop-gap measures and toward
the kind of robust, participatory planning processes that create sustainable bonds between citizens and their leaders.
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Building community trust
By the end of 2011, all community action groups had completed comprehensive community action plans to inform
long-term district development strategies for Baghdad’s 15 governmental districts. At week-long planning workshops,
under IRD’s guidance, group members worked with government officials at the neighborhood, district, and
province levels to outline long-term, districtwide strategies for improving basic services and livelihoods, especially
for women, youths, and the internally displaced. By the end of its program date, ICAP was expected to shepherd
more than 600 projects identified in the official action plans through completion.
ICAP’s broader agenda not only sharpened the mission of community groups, it fostered more diverse program successes,
including better assistance outreach for Baghdad’s internally displaced population, and enhanced measures
to reach the estimated 5 million Iraqis who had Internet access by mid-2011. IRD worked with all 15 district
councils to build dynamic websites featuring useful information on government services and contact details and
spearheaded technology and skills training for information technology specialists from each council. And as part of
a very inventive and groundbreaking “donor marketplace,” representatives from more than 20 international funding
agencies—including the UN, the International Organization for Migration, the US Institute for Peace, and groups
from Japan, the Republic of Korea, and northern Europe—gathered with community action group members to discuss
funding priorities and local community needs. The ICAP-sponsored event was the first time donors had the opportunity
to engage directly with community leaders around a locally owned plan for social and economic development.
“Through ICAP, community groups have become a bellwether of democratic participation, giving everyday citizens an
outlet to identify needs and the means to address them,” said Leonardo. “Their efforts, despite violence and limited
resources, have helped make responsive, bottom-up planning a respected and acceptable practice in Baghdad.”
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