3
Figure 2: Steps in the Learning or Policy Cycle
Numerous civil society groups were also beneficiaries of the ICFG Initiative. They included the Platform of Coastal Communities PCC, Fisheries Alliance, Western Region
Development Network of NGOs WERENGO, Ghana National Canoe Fishermen’s Council GNCFC, DAASGIFT Quality Foundation and Central and Western Fishmongers
Improvement Association CEWEFIA - a women’s empowerment group, among others.
1.3 Implementing Mechanism and Partnerships
Project implementation was led by the Coastal Resources Center at the University of Rhode Island with a local project management unit based at Sekondi-Takoradi in the Western
Region working with several implementing partners. The core partners were: • Friends of the Nation – an environmental advocacy group based in Sekondi, Ghana.
• WorldFish – an international, non-profit research organization based in Malaysia
with an African regional office based in Egypt with global experience on tropical fisheries.
• SustainaMetrix – a private company based in Maryland Baltimore that supports
effective communications and learning based approaches to monitoring and evaluation.
Other supporting partners included: Fisheries Commission Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development, Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development
MLGRD, Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation MESTI, Forestry Commission, National Development Planning Commission NDPC, University of
Cape Coast, University of Ghana and Nature Conservation Research Center NCRC, among others.
4 The program associated and networked with other local and international institutions which
provided technical services with leveraged resources. They included Ghana Police Service, Attorney General’s Department, Ghana Wildlife Society GWS, Organization for Livelihood
Services OLIVES, Conservation Foundation CF, and many other civil society groups. Others were the US Peace Corps, the World Bank, AFRICOM, LOGODEP, BCS, FOCUS,
Guinea Current Commission GCC and Path Foundation Philippines Inc. PFPI, Blue Ventures International and Forest Trends
The Initiative adopted the philosophy of ‘learning- by -doing’ where project planning and implementation emphasized the need to involve all the relevant stakeholders in order for
them to understand the issues that needed to be addressed and how to address them. This was underpinned by an ecosystem-based approach which recognizes the interconnectedness of
ecosystems and human societies.
1.4 Organization of Program activities
