Collaboration Between Citizen Committees and Other Local Stakeholders in Haiti

In 2025, a learning review highlighted several years of experience and committees’ development efforts by the MPP through the formulation of a shared vision and action planning in each of those citizen committees.

As the actions were being conducted in their respective territories, citizen committees developed collaborative ties with already present institutional actors and associations. Those interactions took various forms, ranging from joint participation to community activities to coordination of locally impactful initiatives. This experience sheet seeks to emphasize how these citizen committees have built connections with other local actors.

Collaboration with Local Authorities

As several local elected representatives are also members of the citizen committees, they help facilitate the committees’ work with authorities, as well as legitimize their actions throughout the territory.

For instance, citizen committees benefited from the support or presence of these authorities during awareness-raising workshops, reforestation campaigns as well as community reflection sessions on resource management and environmental issues. However, it is worth mentioning that this recognition varies from one locality to another.

Collaboration with Local and National Organizations

At the same time, committees maintain active ties with local and national organizations. The Bassin Zim committee is a relevant example of this dynamic, as it collaborates with Alternatiba regarding environmental protection, through awareness-raising campaigns and community training sessions. Bassin Zim also works with the AVDB Association –specializing in mediation and conflict resolution– through a partnership around known local issues such as agricultural land access and free-range livestock farming.

In other territories, citizen committees cooperate with diverse local actors : schools, education centers, professional institutions or community associations. For example, the Aguahédionde committee actively works with OBOSAH (Organisation Bon Samaritain Haïti) for a water-harvesting project, while the Marmont committee collaborated with ACTED for community health initiatives. The Juanaria committee worked alongside World Vision in an awareness-raising partnership for the community latrines program. These collaborations helped broaden the reach of certain activities, strengthen their legitimacy, and provide access to specific technical resources.

Connecting with Other Local Stakeholders

Discussions with committee representatives and the AOC coordination team as part of the learning review indicate that these connections work both ways. On the one hand, it is the citizen committees themselves that approach organizations as they identify a need for logistical or technical support. On the other hand, organizations and local NGOs spontaneously offer opportunities for collaboration, drawn by the visibility of these citizen-led initiatives.

This dynamic is supported by a stakeholder mapping approach distinguishing three spheres ever since the creation of citizen committees :

1. A Sphere of Collaboration featuring potential or existing partners in the community ;

2. A Sphere of Influence featuring stakeholders that committees seek to engage with or to raise awareness among—such as local authorities, NGOs, educational institutions, etc. ;

3. And a Sphere of Vigilance that includes actors that may hinder, divert or politicize community initiatives

This approach helped committees to strategically structure their partnership initiatives. For instance, the partnership between the Marmont committee and ACTED was initiated around a targeted community health initiative ; in Bassin Zim, ties with the AVDB Association were built around a need for support in conflict management. Conversely, organizations such as Alternatiba or World Vision approached the committees after observing their ability to mobilize local communities and their strong local presence. In some cases, partnerships were even established with stakeholders initially perceived as potential obstacles, such as OBOSAH, showing the committees’ openness and pragmatism.

These collaborations were facilitated by the diverse profiles of committee members, which gave them different opportunities to establish connections with these organizations. Some members were themselves beneficiaries of projects run by these organizations, while others already knew people working with them. Over time, as the committees’ activities increasingly well-known through members’ networks and MPP support, so did partnership proposals from new organizations.

Networking Process Between Citizen Committees

Committees also launched networking initiatives with their peers, which fostered the sharing of field experiences and good practices. Inter-committee workshops organized by MPP and coordination groups using digital channels such as WhatsApp reflect a growing willingness to structure citizen governance at the intercommunal level. The MPP team is providing close support to these emerging networks as they work towards legal recognition.

In the future, citizen committees wish to play a fully recognized role in project management and local initiatives ; however, this is currently hindered by their limited financial autonomy. At present, the lack of a consolidated institutional framework integrating the committees limits their role in local governance, which could hamper their ability to exert meaningful influence in the medium term.