Morocco—TASHAROC

The Tangier-Tétouan-Al Hoceima (TTAH) in Northern Morocco has historically been a marginalised region, not benefitting from the nationwide growth Morocco has experienced over the past two decades. As a result, a burgeoning sense of disenchantment with political processes and heightened social tensions have developed throughout the region.

In the years leading up to and following King Mohammed VI’s constitutional reforms in 2011, the Kingdom of Morocco has demonstrated a commitment to decentralisation, local participation, and enhanced service delivery. Under Morocco’s Advanced Regionalisation agenda, the government aims to decentralise administrative structures, devolve policy making to locally elected governments, and incentivise active civic participation.

The United Kingdom is supporting this ongoing reform process; the U.K. Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) launched the TASHAROC project to strengthen political representation and citizen engagement in the TTAH region.

In partnership with the TTAH Regional Council and working closely with the regional development agency AREP, other regional stakeholders, and civil society actors, TASHAROC works to build the capability, accountability, and responsiveness of the council and development agency. The TASHAROC team has additionally provided support to the region’s legally mandated Consultative Bodies and a range of civil society organisations. Much of this work is done through support to the design, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of regional development projects as defined by TTAH’s Plan de Développement Regional.

TASHAROC supports inclusive development and reduces political and economic disenfranchisement in the Northern Moroccan region.

The project team provided training for the Regional Council on social inclusion to inform a regional strategy for the Tangier-Tetouan-Al Houceima area to be more inclusive of marginalised groups.

Sample Activities

• Build the capacity of elected officials and staff of TTAH’s Regional Council, AREP, and selected local government institutions
• Provide assistance to strengthen the Regional Council’s internal institutional processes and procedural frameworks.
• Assist the Regional Council to build more efficient and effective communications and outreach tools to increase visibility and information flow in the region.
• Build the capacity of consultative bodies and civil society groups, enabling them to better fulfill their participatory democracy role.
• Support the Regional Council in its bid to join the Open Government Partnership Local Programme.
• Provide opportunities for government and civil society stakeholders to share lessons and experiences with their counterparts across the Middle East and North Africa region, the United Kingdom, and Europe, through study visits, peer-to-peer exchange, conferences, and seminars.

Select Results

• Held 62 capacity building workshops with key government officials from the region in core technical areas and soft skills.
• Developed a communications strategy, gender equality and social inclusion strategy, guidelines, job descriptions, and standard operating procedure manuals for the Regional Council.
• Organised a study visit for the Regional Council’s elected and staff to local government institutions in Cornwall, Manchester, and London, with a partnership with Cornwall Council underway.
• Established a monitoring, evaluation, and learning system for the Regional Council to better manage and monitor implementation of the Regional Development Plan.
• Trained more than 270 civil society groups in key technical areas such as the petition process, project cycle management, public policy, and proposal writing.