1. a collaborative effort
the ACE Project
a collaborative effort
The ACE Project is the result of a major collaborative effort undertaken in 1995
By three organisations, namely: IDEA, UN DESA and IFES
It was an attempt to find a meaningful solution to address a gap originated by the end of the cold war

2. the “knowledge gap” THE KNOWLEDGE GAP
some countries were largely unprepared to go through major democratic transitions that featured crucial elections
electoral institutions not always possessed the necessary experience and knowledge to deliver and guarantee credible elections
electoral practitioners had virtually no access to comparative knowledge, best practices and lessons learned in the field of elections
In fact, the challenges most commonly faced by practitioners during the 1990's could be summarised as a “gap in electoral knowledge”.
Some countries…
there was no coherent electoral administration methodology, the field lacked of common standards

3. the ACE Project
a complete and systematic collection of information on all aspects relating to the organization of elections
The ACE Project, as a sort of an electronic encyclopaedia online,
sought to codify the field of election administration in 12 main themes
providing (X) a complete and systematic collection of information on all
aspects,
options,
choices and
implications relating to the organization of elections

4. target audience media representatives policy-makers and legislators
academics
election administrators
researchers and students
The ACE Project has a broad audience, made of
electoral practitioners
the civil society
members of parliament
multilateral institutions
political party representatives
donor agencies

5. new needs and priorities
the new challenges
However, - as soon as the first version of ACE Project was complete, the project faced new challenges
(X), new needs and priorities were arising which were not there when it was initially conceived
new needs and priorities

6. ? THE KNOWLEDGE GAP CREDIBILITY GAP the changing needs
building the trust of the various stakeholders in the electoral process
creating transparent and sustainable electoral systems and processes
addressing problems of lack of retention of their institutional memory
solving political, financial and logistical challenges undermining their work and the credibility of the elections
That is: the needs changed, (X) with the knowledge gap turning into a gap of credibility
electoral management bodies confront a whole set of new challenges, like:

7. expanding the ACE partnership
the ACE Project could no longer provide all the appropriate responses to address the new challenges
ACE Project evaluation
an evaluation process determined
that the ACE Project (X) could no longer... and
that - to continue to fulfill its goals – it had to be significantly transformed
the first important decision in this direction was to expand (X) the partnership, so that
Became project partners

8. 1 2 3 T H E E L E C T O R A L K N O W L E D G E N E T W O R K
KNOWLEDGE BASE
PRACTITIONERS’ NETWORK
CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT 1 2 3
The vision for the new ACE is founded on three main dimensions:
1. The KB: is the repository of electoral knowledge, where such a knowledge is acquired, codified, retained and made accessible
2. The PN is the networking dimension, built around a network of electoral professionals and a network of regional resource centres
as the “source” for the generation and sharing of knowledge
3. The CD dimension is where the generated knowledge is adapted to be applied to local contexts
acquire and manage knowledge
generate and share knowledge
adapt and apply knowledge

9. THE ACE KNOWLEDGE BASE
ACQUIRE AND MANAGE KNOWLEDGE
existing online databases, tools, publications and libraries
Practitioners’ Network
centralized repository for electoral knowledge
knowledge
knowledge
acquisition
produce and share knowledge
The first dimension is centred on building
X - a centralized repository for electoral knowledge, a comprehensive and systematic body of electoral knowledge covering all aspects of election administration
X - It consists of the already existing online databases and tools, and of publications and libraries
and of new ones to be developed as part of the project
X - and it is based on the 12 topic areas of the ACE Project
The knowledge base is where the electoral knowledge produced by the Network is acquired, codified, retained, disseminated
and re-used both by the networks and by the ACE Users
new databases, publications, tools and services to be developed as part of the project
retention
codification
dissemination

10. ELECTORAL COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE REGIONAL RESOURCE CENTRES
THE PRACTITIONERS’ NETWORK
GENERATE AND SHARE KNOWLEDGE
ELECTORAL COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE
a group of electoral practitioners sharing common interests, common professional responsibilities and common goals
THEMATIC
North Africa
Europe
a network of Electoral Resource Centres, strategically established in different regions worldwide to collect, share and make knowledge accessible in the form of comparative data, resource materials, case studies and events
REGIONAL RESOURCE CENTRES
North America
This dimension builds on 2 main elements: a thematic and a regional network
Thematic: is an electoral community of practice, a group of electoral practitioners sharing common interests, common professional responsibilities and common goals
Their interaction generates electoral knowledge and advisory services
Regional: focuses on the establishment of a worldwide network of electoral resource centres to be established at reputable electoral institutions or regional electoral associations affiliated to the Project.
These centres collect, share and make knowledge accessible through comparative data, resource materials, case studies and events
Asia
Central America
Middle East
Oceania
Southern Africa
REGIONAL
South America
West Africa
Europe
REGIONAL RESOURCE CENTRES

11. CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT FACILITY (CDF)
ADAPT AND APPLY KNOWLEDGE
CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT FACILITY (CDF)
long-term capacity development projects to assist electoral management bodies to reach higher levels of professionalisation
regional training programmes to strengthen the professional capacity of electoral administrators
training, professional advisory services, and peer partnerships
targeted assistance activities for electoral management bodies requiring to strengthen their policy and legislation frameworks
The third dimension of the ACE electoral knowledge network builds on the establishment of a CDF
based on the model used by UNDP in public administration
focusing on: training, professional advisory services, and peer partnerships
It builds on
On … (BRIDGE)
On …
capacity development tools and formal educational programmes on electoral administration based on the ACE texts, leading to the awarding of formal certificates/diplomas by academic institutions affiliated to the Project