1. BRIDGE Project Building Resources in Democracy, Governance & Elections www.bridge-project.org

2. The BRIDGE Project founding partners are:

3. New partners joined in March 2007

4. So what is the BRIDGE Project? • A professional development course in electoral administration because… • Capable and professional election administrators are essential for organising elections, and without the skills in place, election processes can be undermined • to achieve effective, sustainable electoral administrations, the development of the capacity of the staff needs to be prioritised.

5. A Capacity Building Tool • …it builds the skills, knowledge and confidence of participants • …it also helps to build a sense of “the team” • …it should not be seen as a “quick fix” for electoral management bodies and their stakeholders

6. The History of BRIDGE • First Expert Advisory Group (EAG) meeting in 1999 • Project first implemented in 2001in East Timor • Till that point there had been few formal opportunities available for comprehensive professional development in electoral administration.

7. Original Aims of BRIDGE • to strengthen election administrators’ capacity to conduct their work in an effective and efficient manner • to enhance electoral administrators professionalism • to build teams and networks

8. Potential BRIDGE Target Groups • Electoral Commissioners • EMB Staff • Members of the Media • Political Parties • Parliamentarians • Security Forces • Civil Society Groups • Academics and University Students

9. Tailored to individual needs • BRIDGE Project courses need to be carefully tailored to the needs of participants and organisations • This can only be achieved by developing and delivering them in partnership with local bodies that can contribute to and/or drive the tailoring process.

10. BRIDGE Methodology • uses content developed by electoral experts from around the world • is not prescriptive, it encourages participants to develop creative and appropriate solutions to challenges • is activity-based and focuses on practical issues • is flexible and adaptable, not designed to be used “off the shelf”

11. Quality assurance • BRIDGE can only be conducted by facilitators accredited by the BRIDGE Project partners • 2 phase of accreditation process: • 10-day TtF Program • Assisted BRIDGE Project Course delivery in the field

12. How/where to run BRIDGE? • Conducting modules for the nationals of one country; • Conducting modules for an international or regional group; • Conducting modules with or through a partner organisation

13. Version 1 modules

14. Expanded Content • From 10 Modules to 23 Modules – covering all aspects of elections • Many more examples and case studies from around the world • New material for each module

15. More International Writers and Editors

16. Addition of Implementation Manual and Workshop • Greater implementation guidance and support for organisations wanting to use and adapt BRIDGE material and courses • Implementation Workshop (2-day) course to assist implementers, project managers and facilitators (for different courses) to implement BRIDGE in the most effective way

17. BRIDGE Project statistics • To date BRIDGE has been conducted: • In about 20 countries • For over 2000 people from more than 90 countries • There are now: • Over 400 people who have attended Train the Facilitator programs • Over 120 Fully Accredited BRIDGE Facilitators

18. The BRIDGE Project is fun, whilst

19. … the hard work is being done

20. Thank you!