Established in August 2002, the Community Empowerment Network (CEN) aims to build the capacity of communities in the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Azerbaijan to design, implement, and monitor community-based projects. Consisting of community representatives, government officials, and development stakeholders, the network exchanges experiences and strategies in an effort to support projects that foster community-driven development (CDD). The World Bank and the Save the Children Federation are managing this project, which is funded through June 2004. Organisers hope to increase:

• the quality of community-based projects (making them more responsive to needs of the poor)
• the capacity of community-based organisations (CBOs) to design and deliver community-based projects and participate in local decision-making
• the willingness of local governments to work with CBOs and provide access to information and decision-making
• the access to relevant capacity-building materials and local expertise on community empowerment and civic engagement.

Main Communication Strategies
The CEN does not directly fund community projects, but instead implements projects to support the efforts of communities. Each such project is implemented by a local partner organisation or National Network Coordinator under the guidance and supervision of a Steering Group. Strategic decisions as to which projects to implement, and how, are shaped by activities at the national and sub-regional level. These activities include:

1. National-level consultations that involve an analysis of existing initiatives, materials, or institutions. Through this process, National Action Plans are developed, with recommendations for addressing capacity gaps. These recommendations may call for the development of materials, training of community trainers/leaders, community meetings, or public awareness campaigns.
   • For example, in the Kyrgyz Republic, Counterpart Sheriktesh designed 2 TV programmes devoted to the CDD concept to increase public awareness; launched a regular issue of the CDD news bulletin; held a CDD conference; and approved 4 community networking projects, providing training sessions for trainers.
2. Face-to-face annual regional workshops, monthly videoconferences, and an email list server discussion group to enable the exchange of experience on the activities of the national CEN in each country and to foster sub-regional cooperation.
   • For example, the Central Asia Country Innovation Day's Knowledge Forum on Community-Driven Development featured presentations on CDD projects from across the region and featured discussion among CBOs as to how to successfully implement such projects. Click here to download the agenda and presentations in English or Russian.

Development Issues
Community-Driven Development, Networking, Poverty.