AID PROGRAM, PERFORMANCE REPORT 2015-16Australian NGO Cooperation Program (ANCP)November 2016

@DFATDFAT.GOV.AU

KEY MESSAGESThis Aid Program Performance Report (APPR) outlines progress made in the program management and the development activities of Australian Non-Government Organisations (ANGOs) funded under the Australian NGO Cooperation Program (ANCP). The report assesses the ANCP progress in achieving its objectives, and highlights major milestones and reforms over the 2015-16 financial year. Key findings of this report are: 53 Australian NGOs worked with 2818 in-country partners to deliver 588 projects in

58 countries. ANCP NGOs worked in a range of sectors including education, health, water and sanitation, governance and economic development reaching 15.3 million people.

high performance on inclusive development where 87 per cent of ANCP projects addressed gender issues, 67 per cent of projects addressed disability inclusion and 44 per cent of projects involved engagement with the private sector. The ANCP Thematic Review on Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment was also published in March 2016.

strong progress against all three program objectives with four of six benchmarks achieved, one partly achieved and one not achieved and delayed to 2016-17.

program reform and implementation of recommendations from the 2015 Office of Development Effectiveness (ODE) independent evaluation of the ANCP (ODE Evaluation) including the finalisation and publication of the Program Logic (Theory of Change) and Performance Assessment Framework in September 2015; and the development and staged implementation of a clarified Funding Policy in April 2016.

Accreditation, monitoring visits, annual reporting, Partner Performance Assessment (PPAs) and the Thematic Review confirm that ANCP NGOs are committed to delivering effective programs and have monitoring and evaluation processes to demonstrate the effectiveness of their programs.The ANCP respects the organisational independence of Australian NGOs, providing flexible funding to implement their own development programs overseas. This includes their discretion in programming such as working in the sectors of their choice, and their right to comment on government policy and advocate for change. The ANCP enables NGOs to maintain relationships and develop capacity in sectors and geographic areas both within and beyond the footprint of DFAT’s regional and bilateral aid programs.DFAT’s NGO Programs, Performance and Quality section (NPQ) will continue to implement recommendations from the ODE Evaluation including:

Clarifying partnership engagement through the development of partnership principles and their inclusion as a preamble to the Program Logic;

Clarifying the role of Posts and increase awareness and engagement of the ANCP across DFAT, particularly with Australian High Commissions and Embassies (Posts) and the wider Australian public

Strengthen the ANCP Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Framework (MELF) to improve the accuracy of data collection and reporting; and

Improve the sharing of lessons between Australian and local NGOs and DFAT.

CONTEXT Program DesignThe ANCP aligns with the priorities of the Australian aid program’s development policy Australian aid: promoting prosperity, reducing poverty, enhancing stability, including

@DFATDFAT.GOV.AU

economic diplomacy and private sector objectives. The Program has the flexibility to deliver aid consistent with these priorities. ANCP projects contribute to reporting against the aid program’s strategic goals in the following areas:

1. Infrastructure, trade facilitation and international competitiveness2. Agriculture, fisheries and water3. Effective governance: policies, institutions and functional economies4. Education and health 5. Building resilience: humanitarian assistance disaster reduction and social

protection6. Gender equality and empowering women and girls

The ANCP is an annual grant program established in 1974. It provides funding to ANCP accredited Australian NGOs to support their work in developing countries. The ANCP is guided by the principles and objectives of the DFAT- NGO engagement framework DFAT and NGOs: Effective Development Partners.The goal statement for the ANCP is:

Through support to accredited Australian NGOs, improve the living standards and well-being of individuals and communities in developing countries.

There are three inter-related outcomes that ensure NGOs are positioned to deliver on the overarching ANCP goal:

Outcome 1: Effective and value for money programmingOutcome 2: A diversity of NGOs draw on funding and expertise from a range of sources Outcome 3: Effective engagement with in-country partners

The ODE Evaluation of the ANCP found that there is a general consistency between NGOs’ ANCP programming and the Australian aid program’s geographic and, sectoral priorities. The ANCP accreditation process provides DFAT and the Australian public with confidence that the Australian Government is funding professional, well-managed organisations that are capable of delivering quality development outcomes and are accountable to their stakeholders as well as able to meet their contractual obligations to DFAT. Due to its rigour, accreditation is also a risk management tool for the Department. NGOs can seek accreditation at either base or full level - depending on their capacity and levels of community support. NGOs with full accreditation must respond to a greater number and more comprehensive criteria than those applying for base accreditation. ANCP NGOs undergo re-accreditation every five years. DFAT’s funding to ANCP NGOs is allocated based on an assessment of organisational capacity (accreditation level) and recognised development expenditure (RDE)1 which is a measure of community support. Global Development ContextThe global development context in 2015-16 should be taken into consideration in reading this report. Global displacement increased in 2015, with record-high numbers. By the end of the year, 65.3 million individuals were forcibly displaced worldwide as a result of persecution, conflict, generalized violence, or human rights violations.2 Natural hazards had significant impact in our region including the aftermath of the earthquakes in Nepal in April and May 2015 and Tropical Cyclone Winston which caused widespread damage in Fiji in February 2016, and also affected some areas of Tonga. In July 2015, the Financing for Development Conference delivered the Addis 1 RDE is the total eligible contribution that each NGO receives from the Australian community for the NGO's own development assistance, emergency relief

or rehabilitation activities overseas.2 Global Trends Forced Displacement in 2015 – UNHCR: www.unhcr.org/576408cd7.pdf

@DFATDFAT.GOV.AU

Ababa Action Agenda which queried the dependence on Official Development Assistance and demanded more attention on investing in domestic public resources and domestic and international private finance. In September 2015, the UN’s 193 member states formally agreed to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development which sets out a roadmap to achieve economic prosperity, social inclusion and environmental sustainability by 2030. Globally, NGOs and civil society have evolved significantly in recent years and civil society is more established, diverse and actively promoting the principles of fair and equitable economic development, gender equality and human rights. In many countries, however, civil society faces ever-tightening restrictions. Whether via strict media oversight or burdensome regulatory hurdles for civil society organisations (CSOs), governments in numerous countries are restricting the space for civil society – particularly in the arena of advancing human rights or democratic principles. Steps to suppress or curb civil society freedoms include limiting access to national and foreign funding, erecting barriers to mobile communications, and applying onerous, arbitrary or poorly administrated registration processes. Beyond steps taken by specific national governments, international civil society leaders have identified a more general decline in funding available for advocacy, rights-based activities, or “causes that challenge the status quo”.3 These restrictions on civil society were evident and affected ANCP programming in Pakistan and Afghanistan in 2015-16 with many NGOs noting increased challenges for operations in a number of other countries such as Laos and Cambodia.DFAT Context2015-16 also saw significant cuts to Australia’s aid budget with almost $1 billion or 20 per cent reduction in budget. The ANCP received a comparatively small (5 per cent) reduction in budget from the 2014-15 funding allocation compared to some bilateral programs which were cut by between 40 and 70 per cent. In December 2015, DFAT published the framework DFAT and NGOs: Effective Development Partners4 outlining DFAT’s approach to working with non-government organisations (NGOs) to support development. This framework will inform the ANCP going forward, in particular the development of ANCP Partnership principles and behaviours planned for 2016-17.

EXPENDITUREThe ANCP budget allocation was $127.3 million in 2015-16, a 5 per cent reduction from $134 million in 2014-15. This reduction was in the context of extensive cuts to the aid program. Actual expenditure for the ANCP in 2015-16 was $127.2 million. Of the total budget allocation, less than one per cent ($800,000) was used by NPQ for program support including monitoring, evaluation and learning activities. ANCP NGOs can use up to 10 per cent of their ANCP grant for design, monitoring and evaluation costs and in 2015-16, spent $8.1 million on design monitoring and evaluation. Across the 53 ANCP NGOs, the proportion of the ANCP grant spent on design monitoring and evaluation varied with an average of 5.7 per cent of their ANCP grant.

3 http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_FutureRoleCivilSociety_Report_2013.pdf4 http://dfat.gov.au/about-us/publications/Documents/dfat-and-ngos-effective-development-partners.pdf

@DFATDFAT.GOV.AU

PROGRESS TOWARDS OUTCOMESANCP NGOs reported against the program logic and performance assessment framework for ANCP. Performance information is drawn from a variety of sources.5 Table 1 Rating of the Program's Progress towards ANCP Outcomes

Outcomes Previous Rating

Current Rating

Effective and value for money programming Green Green

A diversity of ANGOs draws on funding and expertise from a range of sources

Green Green

Effective engagement with in-country partners Green Green

5 Annual Development Plans, Annual Performance Reports, NGO evaluations of ANCP projects, DFAT M&E visits to ANCP projects, ANCP Partner Performance Assessments, ANCP Aid Quality Check, Accreditation Assessments and RDE Spot Checks.

@DFATDFAT.GOV.AU

0

Education15%

Agricul-ture,

Fisheries & Water

16%

Infra-struc-ture, Trade

Facilita-tion & In-

terna-tional

Compet-itiveness

7%

Effective governance: policies, institutions & functioning economies

19%

Building Re-

silience: humani-tarian assis-tance,

disaster risk re-duction & social protec-

tion13%

General Devel-opment Support

1%

Health29%

2015-16 ANCP Expenditure by In-vestment Priority

Rest of World3%

PNG & Pacific12%

South & Other Asia19%

Africa & Middle East 22%

East Asia44%

2015-16 ANCP expenditure by Region

  Green. Progress is as expected at this stage of implementation and it is likely that the objective will be achieved. Standard program management practices are sufficient.

  Amber. Progress is somewhat less than expected at this stage of implementation and restorative action will be necessary if the objective is to be achieved. Close performance monitoring is recommended.

  Red. Progress is significantly less than expected at this stage of implementation and the objective is not likely to be met given available resources and priorities. Recasting the objective may be required.

OUTCOME 1: EFFECTIVE AND VALUE FOR MONEY PROGRAM-MINGAccreditation, monitoring visits, annual reporting and PPAs confirm that ANCP NGOs are delivering effective programs and have monitoring and evaluation processes to demonstrate the effectiveness and value for money of their programs. This confirms the green rating in the 2015-16 period. Results in 2015-16Key results in 2015-16 ($126.4 million to 53 NGOs) included6: 5.6 million people with increased access to essential medicines and health

commodities including HIV treatment (50 per cent female, 0.8 per cent people with disabilities);

1.3 million poor people with increased access to financial services (72 per cent female, 0.1 per cent people with disabilities);

1.2 million people provided with prevention services excluding HIV/AIDS and STD (53 per cent female, 14 per cent people with disabilities;

1 million people with increased knowledge of hygiene practices (54 per cent female, 0.7 per cent people with disabilities); and

970,000 people exposed to awareness raising campaigns/activities in communities highlighting issues of violence against women including harmful cultural practices (60 per cent female, 0.7 people with disabilities).

Over 960,000 indigenous beneficiaries of ANCP projectsComparison and analysis of ANCP results from year to year is challenging due to shifts in sectors, project locations and expenditure and beneficiary numbers, to reflect NGOs’ annual programming priorities. Gender – 80 per cent of ANCP projects address gender equality issues in their implementationIn 2015-16, 87 per cent of ANCP projects addressed gender equality issues (up from 85 per cent in 2014-15). This included 98 projects (16 per cent) marking gender equality as the principal objective7 with expenditure of $17.9 million reaching 822,000 beneficiaries. In addition to the gender marker, the accreditation process ensures ANCP NGOs have the systems in place to deliver gender sensitive programming and the ANCP Monitoring Evaluation and Learning Framework (MELF) provides ANCP NGOs with templates and guidance to disaggregate by sex, age and disability and report against 16 gender equality indicators. Key results for gender in the 2015-16 period included:

6 These results are drawn from the 2015-16 Performance Reports from ANCP NGOs against the MELF indicators7 All ANCP projects must indicate how it addresses gender equality and women’s empowerment using a scale of principal, significant or not targeted. Principal means promoting gender equality and empowering women is fundamental in the design and impact of the activity and is an explicit objective of the activity. Significant means promoting gender equality and empowering women is an important (but not principal) objective of the activity. Where an activity is not targeted gender equality could be addressed by ensuing participation of women and girls or a gender analysis will be/ has been undertaken as part of the activity’s design.

@DFATDFAT.GOV.AU

Over 290,000 people received awareness raising/training on gender issues and women's equal rights (of these 54 per cent were female and almost 1 per cent people with disabilities);

13,086 women survivors of violence received services such as counselling Support to 1576 women’s groups, organisations and coalitions; 719 women supported to stand for formal election at sub-national or national

levels; and 228 Civil Society Organisations supported to engage in activities to reduce violence

against women. In March 2016, the ANCP Thematic Review on Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment (the review) was published. Designed to facilitate collaborative learning, its purpose was to provide an insight into how gender equality and women’s empowerment is addressed in ANCP supported projects in Timor-Leste and Vanuatu; and identify opportunities for shared learning to better target gender equality and women’s empowerment.The review found that ANCP NGOs most able to demonstrate a contribution toward gender equality and women’s empowerment were those presenting a strong organisational (internal) commitment and operational framework for actioning gender in their (external) programming. However, a number of challenges were identified including, translation of gender terminology in certain contexts, familiarity with gender tools, challenges for faith-based organisations, and unrealistic timeframes and expectations. The ‘ways forward’ section articulates actions to help address these issues for ANCP NGOs and the broader NGO sector. NPQ will continue to monitor NGOs’ progress on implementing these actions in performance reports and monitoring visits. In response to the review, a discussion on gender equality has been added as a standing item at the annual ANCP Reflections Workshop and this was implemented at the 2015 and 2016 workshop. In addition, ANCP reporting templates were amended to allow NGOs to outline the gender analysis undertaken to influence project design.Disability inclusive development – improved data capture of projects addressing people with disabilityIn 2015-16, 67 per cent of ANCP projects addressed disability inclusion. Disability inclusion was the principal focus in 58 projects (10 per cent) with a total expenditure of over $9.3 million reaching over 500,000 beneficiaries. While the percentage of projects with disability inclusion as the principal focus has decreased from 14 per cent in 2014-15, expenditure and beneficiaries has seen a small increase (up from $8.9 million and under 500,000 beneficiaries). More work is required by NPQ to understand the reasons for this change from 2014-15. Key results in 2015-16 included:

1. 1252 in-country Disabled Persons Organisations (DPOs) receiving capacity building;

2. 117,996 people provided with disability services like prostheses and assistive devices (43 per cent female);

3. 3675 teachers trained in ‘disability inclusion’ (54 per cent female).There is however room for improvement highlighted by NGOs reporting that only 407 local in-country partners collect disability disaggregated data – representing just 14 per cent of local in-country partners participating in ANCP funded projects. This is also a reflection of the variability in both NGOs’ understanding and reporting of disability

@DFATDFAT.GOV.AU

In 2015-16, the Fred Hollows Foundation worked in Nepal to extend eye care services to rural areas and piloted cost effective mobile health technology (m-health technology) to strengthen the community eye health referral process. Preliminary data shows that the m-health technology has increased patient flow from this low-cost initiative, which will support income generation and ensure the financial sustainability of

inclusive development from basic to sophisticated. NPQ will examine this variability in more detail in strengthening the MELF to improve the accuracy of data collection and reporting.Private Sector – 20 per cent of ANCP projects engage the private sectorThe private sector has an increasing role to play in development through harnessing additional funds, resources and skills to reduce poverty and promote sustainable development. Partnerships and collaborations between ANCP NGOs and the private sector are wide and varied. Some focus on so-called “Bottom of the Pyramid” business models, some on creating new products and services to target unmet needs or to reduce environmental impact, whilst others focus on setting voluntary standards for a specific issue or at an industry sector level. ACFID’s report, Partnering for Development: How ANGOs partner with private sector organisations for international development8, found a high level of ANGO engagement with the private sector. Two thirds of ACFID members surveyed already partner with private sector organisations in some form. Of those organisations that do not currently partner, more than half intended to partner with private sector organisations in the future. Moreover, ANGOs of all sizes partner with the private sector, with partnerships most common for health, education and agricultural projects. In some contexts, ANGOs are also looking to partner with the private sector in recognition of the shrinking civil society space politically as well as the reduction in available funding from traditional donors. These private sector partnerships are providing a new entry point to engage in development and a level of funding self-sustainability for both local and Australian NGOs. In 2015-16, 257 projects (44 per cent) involved engagement with the private sector. This was an increase of 16 per cent from 2014-15 where 28 per cent of projects engaged with the private sector. ANCP reporting templates were updated in 2015-16 to record the types and numbers of private sector organisations engaged. It showed that in 2015-16, ANCP NGOs engaged with 584 representative organisations (peak bodies /chambers of commerce /other business groups) and 39,717 individual businesses (excluding managing contractors) in the design, delivery, management, or evaluation of projects. As this was the first time this information was requested from ANCP NGOs, it is expected that these figures may increase in future years as this information is included in NGOs’ data collection methods.Innovation2015-16 saw the introduction of a marker in ANCP reporting templates to highlight innovation. As a result, ANCP NGOs identified 332 projects (56 per cent) as innovative including new ways of partnering, agile and flexible approaches to design, results-based aid, trialling/adapting new technologies, and leveraging new partnerships/sources of finance. Additionally, 26 projects involved pilots with many more building on previous pilots. The flexible nature of ANCP funding provides the scope for ANGOs to be innovative and to pilot new approaches if they

8 http://www.acfid.asn.au/resourcespublications/files/Partneringfordevelopment.pdf@DFAT

DFAT.GOV.AU

choose. ANCP NGOs have indicated that the flexible nature of ANCP is vital to trial innovative projects or establish a track record in new geographic/sectoral areas and to then access additional funds from other donors to take these projects to scale and ensure sustainability. Value for MoneyValue for Money (VfM) in the ANCP is supported through a number of mechanisms. Accreditation checks that NGOs use value for money approaches and must demonstrate that investment decisions take account of efficiency, effectiveness and economy. Additionally, NGOs must match 20 per cent or one dollar of their own funds for every five dollars that DFAT provides under the ANCP (1:5 match). 9 In 2015-16, ANCP NGOs contributed $35.7 million to ANCP projects exceeding the matched funding requirement by 8 per cent. In addition, NGOs have reported significant volunteer inputs and in-kind contributions and donations including airfares, equipment and services which are a significant feature of many NGOs ANCP projects.The long-term nature of many projects further allow for leveraging of shared resources (such as office space and assets) and sharing lessons both across projects and with partners helping to eliminate duplication and inefficiencies. NGOs commitment to equity and working with the poorest and most marginalised people offers significant long-term development gains and therefore VfM. Accreditation, monitoring visits and PPAs confirm that ANCP NGOs are committed to monitoring and evaluation processes, and progressing VfM approaches and tools, sharing and applying lessons learned to further support VfM. The flexible yet predictable nature of ANCP funding was highlighted by a number of NGOs as further supporting VfM by supporting flexible and responsive programming. Further discussion on leveraging by ANCP NGOs is outlined in Outcome 2.ChallengesAn ongoing challenge for the program is quality performance reporting as well as the capacity of NPQ to review and verify performance data; this poses a risk for the program. NPQ’s ability to meaningfully use evaluation data is also constrained by the number of internal resources compared to the breadth of program information and data. In 2015-16, reporting templates were updated to provide additional guidance and clarification to NGOs completing annual performance reports. This has led to a noticeable improvement in the quality of performance reporting from previous years. Noting their direct success, NPQ will continue to provide guidance and clarification to support ongoing reporting improvements. An ongoing challenge is to improve consistency across the reporting of all 53 ANCP NGOs. This is highlighted by inconsistencies in NGOs’ understanding and reporting on implementing partners. In 2015-16 there were data anomalies associated with the numbers and types of partners (and their associated capacity) in the performance reports. This will be addressed though updated guidance and work by the MELF Reference Group in 2016-17 to strengthen the MELF. In addition, the design of ANCP and the flexibility in NGOs’ annual programing decisions means that there are often shifts in sector focus, implementation location and associated expenditure and beneficiary data from year to year to reflect NGO prioritisation, which prevents consistent analysis and comparison between years. This also makes reporting on performance benchmarks challenging. As this is both a core 9 The contributions from other donors, implementing partners, in-kind goods and services cannot be counted as matched funds.

@DFATDFAT.GOV.AU

Funding & Expertise LeveragedIn 2015-16, the International Women’s Development Agency (IWDA) successfully tendered for multi-year funding from the Dutch Government for progressing women’s agency and voice across Asia and the Pacific. The program design extended and replicated the program designs of 10 of IWDA’s 16 local partner organisations which had received ANCP funding for a number of years. ANCP’s investment in these women’s organisations and the development of systems, strategy and interventions, enabled them to transition into this new, complex program. The transition provided further opportunity for IWDA to invite new projects, partners and innovations into the ANCP program for 2016-17,

part of the ANCP and a challenge, NPQ will continue to analyse data with this in mind to ensure it is reflective of the nature of the program.

OUTCOME 2: A DIVERSITY OF NGOS DRAW ON FUNDING AND EXPERTISE FROM A RANGE OF SOURCES The NGOs participating in the ANCP are a diverse group in terms of size (both staffing and revenue levels) as well as sectoral and geographic focus. Accreditation ensures all ANCP NGOs meet common minimum standards but the differentiation between base and full accreditation ensures the standards expected for each level are different. In 2015-16, of the 53 NGOs participating in the ANCP, 15 NGOs were base accredited and received grants of $150,000 each and 38 NGOs were accredited at the full level and received grants ranging from $300,000 to $27 million.Leveraging funding

2015-16 performance reports have confirmed that for many NGOs, ANCP funding is catalytic in nature and essential in securing alternate funding sources (including international networks, donors and the private sector) to scale up and replicate successful ANCP projects to increase their impact. A total of 124 projects (21 per cent) in 2015-16

received funding from other sources to the value of $25.3 million.

@DFATDFAT.GOV.AU

Learning networksIn 2015-16 Oxfam established a new funding and research partnership with Monash University, four Bangladeshi Universities, and an IT company to provide technical expertise towards the Resilience through Economic Empowerment, Climate Adaptation, Leadership and Learning (REE-CALL) project. The project aims to strengthen community resilience to respond to the risks associated with disasters and climate change by fostering economic empowerment,

Timor-Leste NGO Roundtable In March 2016, a roundtable to launch the ANCP Thematic Review of Gender Equality and Women’s empowerment was attended by almost 60 people from NGOs and Embassy staff. Photos from the event were posted on Facebook. The roundtable provided an excellent networking and learning opportunity between ANGOs, their in-country implementing partners and Embassy staff.

Networks, knowledge and learningANCP NGOs are active members of sector, faith-based and geographic working groups and networks both in Australia, internationally and in the countries they work where they share knowledge and collectively advocate for change and influence policy. 2015-16 performance reporting by NGOs highlighted examples of active engagement such as by CARE Australia who chairs the Gender Network in Laos. The network’s advocacy work successfully influencing the law on violence against women and children. The strategic partnership between DFAT and ten of Australia’s largest development NGOs10, allows engagement on a range of policy issues. The 2015 ANCP Partner Agency Collaboration (APAC) Learning Forum was focused on inclusive private sector partnerships and took place in Canberra in December 2015. The Hon. Steven Ciobo, then Minister for International Development and the Pacific gave opening remarks and the event was attended by representatives from DFAT, ACFID, ANCP Partner NGOs and the Private Sector. In addition, in March 2016 the APAC group prepared a paper, Sustainable and Inclusive Economic Development: A key role for Australian Non-government Organisations which was published on the ACFID website. Representatives from the APAC group (CARE, Caritas, Oxfam and Save the Children) attended the DFAT Civil Society Network event in June 2016 (attended by 48 DFAT staff members) to present the paper and led a discussion on the role that NGOs play alongside DFAT and the private sector to support economic development.

OUTCOME 3: EFFECTIVE ENGAGEMENT WITH IN-COUNTRY PARTNERS

Despite a small reduction in the amount of funding to the ANCP in 2015-16 the percentage of ANCP funds to total ODA increased to over 3 per cent up from 2.6 per cent in 2014-15. These broader cuts have increased the profile and significance of ANCP funding – particularly in the context of reduced bilateral budgets. In some country contexts, ANCP programming accounts for more than 25 per cent of the bilateral program highlighting the importance of increased communication and coordination with bilateral programs. In 2015-16, Posts conducted monitoring and engagement visits to ANCP projects in Bolivia,

10 DFAT has a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the largest ten ANCP NGOs signed in 2013 and ending in June 2017.@DFAT

DFAT.GOV.AU

Timor-Leste NGO Roundtable In March 2016, a roundtable to launch the ANCP Thematic Review of Gender Equality and Women’s empowerment was attended by almost 60 people from NGOs and Embassy staff. Photos from the event were posted on Facebook. The roundtable provided an excellent networking and learning opportunity between ANGOs, their in-country implementing partners and Embassy staff.

Dialogue & LearningThrough World Vision’s Cambodia Youth Economic Development Project, ANCP funding has enabled dialogue and mutual learning amongst 28 NGOs, government bodies and private sector actors through the formation of the Coordination Platform for Technical and Vocational Education Training. Members of this platform are seeking to address emerging issues of unskilled workers, low wages, and a lack of work experience opportunities for Cambodian youth.

Zimbabwe and Malawi. NPQ supported this engagement through briefing, financial support and facilitating contact. There is evidence that Posts are increasingly engaging with ANCP NGOs - Kathmandu and Harare Posts have undertaken biannual NGO roundtables and in 2015-16 Kabul Post conducted a roundtable (via teleconference) and Dili Post workshopped with ANCP NGOs the Gender Thematic Review following its release. These were in addition to six roundtables conducted as part of NPQ monitoring trips to Cambodia, Kenya, Laos, Sri Lanka, Timor-Leste and Vietnam. Common findings from the visits included DFAT Posts increasingly interested and engaged with high-level participation at NGO roundtables and interested in pursuing public diplomacy opportunities. ANCP NGOs value the roundtables, for example Marie Stopes International Australia reported that the roundtable in Nepal encouraged collaboration between Marie Stopes International Australia and ActionAid on the Safe Spaces Initiatives. 2015-16 Performance reporting indicates that ANCP NGOs are increasingly collaborating in-country both directly as well as through implementing partners. In 2015-16, ANCP NGOs have continued to work predominately with local Civil Society Organisations (including NGOs, faith-based organisations etc.), International NGOs and Government (national and local) following the same trends as 2014-15.ANCP NGOs often have a long established presence in and commitment to local communities. These established connections can provide a valuable base for ANCP NGOs to mobilise a quick response to emerging issues and make Australian support highly visible within communities. Whilst ANCP funding is annual, many ANCP NGOs implement long-term projects (of up to 20 years) with ANCP funds. ANCP NGOs demonstrate strong approaches to partnership and collaboration including ongoing assessment of the capacity and performance of implementing partners. This is verified through monitoring and engagement visits, PPAs and accreditation reviews. All 11 ANCP NGOs that receive over $3 million annually assessed under the PPAs received ratings of very good on collaboration and communication. Many ANCP NGOs are working with local implementing partners whose capacity is very limited or emerging. This comes with many challenges and is reflected in the challenges associated with quality data with some implementing partners not yet able to provide accurate disaggregation by sex or disability. Building capacity requires long-term commitments and inputs which the

@DFATDFAT.GOV.AU

Interna-tional NGOs13%

Business6%

Education Insitutions

5%

Government 31%

Multilateral Organ-isations

2%

Local CSOs39%

Auxiliary to Government

1%

Health 2% Other

1%

2015-16 Breakdown of Implementing Partner types

flexibility of the ANCP supports but it is expected to be some time before these indicators improve.

PERFORMANCE BENCHMARKSThe ANCP both complements and extends the reach of the Australian aid program: supporting activities, building relationships and developing capacity in sectors and geographic areas beyond the footprint of DFAT’s regional and bilateral programs. ANCP projects must align with the aid program's overarching goals but are not required to align with DFAT Aid Investment Plans to maintain the flexibility of the ANCP. However, the ODE Evaluation found that ANCP activities are largely in step with DFAT's other aid programs and strategies, which is above the expectations of the ANCP. This was a result of increased engagement with Posts, including seeking Posts’ comments before approval of all new and higher risk projects, and the convening of Post round-tables on emerging issues/topics with ANCP NGOs. There are also contractual obligations, and restrictions on project eligibility and programming areas set out in the ANCP Manual to ensure activities are relevant and do not contradict the Australian Government’s priorities and interests. The design of ANCP and the flexibility in NGOs’ annual programing decisions means that there are often shifts in sector focus, implementation location and associated beneficiary numbers from year to year preventing consistent analysis and comparison between years. This also makes reporting on performance benchmarks challenging. The performance benchmarks listed below are aspirational targets only and DFAT does not expect NGOs to adjust their programming to meet these targets.Three of five benchmarks identified in the September 2015 Performance Assessment Framework (PAF) were reached in 2015-16 with one partly achieved and one removed due to changes in objective reporting and calculation methods. Performance benchmarks will continue to be reviewed at Annual Reflections Workshops. Four benchmarks (listed below) will continue to be reported on in 16-17. Detailed progress against the benchmarks in 2015-16 is at Annex B.Performance Benchmarks 2015-16 to 2016-17

Objective Benchmark 2015-16 2016-17

ANCP program and activities consider gender equality and women’s empowerment.

Percentage of projects funded under ANCP address gender equality and women’s empowerment

80% 80%

ANCP program and activities promote prosperity

Percentage of ANCP projects focus on promoting prosperity

20% 20%

ANCP program and activities engage the private sector

Percentage of activities funded under ANCP promote private sector growth or engage the private sector

20% 20%

Evidence of strengthened relationships between ANCP NGOs and country/thematic areas

Number of Development Posts hold annual NGO roundtables

X 8

@DFATDFAT.GOV.AU

of DFAT

PROGRAM QUALITY AND PARTNER PERFORMANCE OverviewThe ANCP program logic was finalised in October 2015 and published on the DFAT ANCP webpage with the performance assessment framework (PAF). Effectiveness and performance are assessed during re-accreditation (every 5 years), NGO reporting under the Monitoring Evaluation and Learning Framework (MELF), NGO evaluations, thematic reviews, monitoring visits and PPAs. An outline of reviews completed and planned is outlined at Annex C.

ANALYSIS OF AID QUALITY CHECKS (AQCS)The 2016 AQC process assessed the performance of the ANCP in 2014-15 and saw improvements across a number of criteria (Relevance, Effectiveness, Gender Equality and Risk Management & Safeguards) from the 2015 AQC process. In particular, the scores for Effectiveness, Gender Equality and Risk Management & Safeguards increased from adequate to good. 11 This was largely due to improvements in the availability of robust evidence such as the 2015 ODE Evaluation, the introduction of a gender marker and the Gender Thematic Review. All other criteria received ratings of good. An independent moderator from the Aid Management and Performance Branch was used for the peer review and the session was well attended by DFAT colleagues including staff from gender and disability sections to ensure the robustness of scores and narrative.A table of AQC ratings is at Annex D.

PERFORMANCE OF KEY DELIVERY PARTNERSAssessments undertaken during the year by NPQ found that ANCP NGOs performed effectively in 2015-16. Mandatory PPAs were conducted for 11 ANCP NGOs that received over $3 million in 2015-16 and ratings improved from 2014-15 with an average of good across all five criteria. Seven M&E visits were conducted by NPQ in 2015-16 as well as two conducted by staff at Post12. In total, 17 ANCP NGOs or their in-country partners were visited in 2015-16. The M&E visits confirmed that ANCP NGOs are effective in delivering results and are reaching some of the most marginalised individuals and communities through their longstanding relationships and partnerships. Australian NGOs are working collaboratively to support implementing partners to deliver and meet DFAT obligations. Common areas for improvement identified during visits included in the application of child protection procedures with some NGOs failing to share their policies and code of conduct requirements with DFAT visitors. NGOs’ application of branding was found to be highly variable, with some NGOs paying excellent attention to branding whilst others did not meet branding requirements with little or no acknowledgement of Australian aid funding in communications with implementing partners and beneficiaries. This will be addressed through the 2016-17 program of webinars and face-to-face information session with ANCP NGOs.

11 On a scale of 1-6 where 6 = very good, 5 = good, 4 = adequate, 3 = less than adequate, 2 = poor and 1 = very poor.

12 Malawi and Bolivia @DFAT

DFAT.GOV.AU

PROGRAM MANAGEMENT & OPERATIONSAccreditationIn 2015-16 there were 12 accreditation reviews. Of these, ten were reaccreditations and of the two new applicants one was successful at base level and one was unsuccessful. Reviewer availability remains an ongoing constraint for accreditation reviews and timeframes of assessing applications. With an average of 10-15 reviews per year, scheduling has been a challenge. NPQ is working to identify strategies to address these challenges as are outlined under Risks – Table 3.Contractual ReformIn 2015-16, 44 ANCP NGOs transitioned to standard DFAT Grant Agreements. The remaining 10 ANCP Partner NGOs will remain on their current Funding Orders until they expire 30 June 2017 and then transition to the new arrangements. This change was implemented as NGO Head Agreements are phased out and to improve consistency of contractual arrangements with all NGOs across DFAT. Under the changes, all contractual obligations are contained in one document (the Grant Agreement) and there is a clear distinction between ANCP and other funding received by NGOs and the respective obligations. By having all conditions in one document, understanding of contractual arrangement is clarified for both DFAT and NGOs.Engagement and LearningIn 2015-16, at least 216 staff from ANCP NGOs participated in seven DFAT webinars – four of these webinars covered the annual program cycle and the other three concerned Disability Inclusion, Child Protection and Fraud Control. Anecdotal feedback indicates that webinar participant numbers often exceed the number of registered participants as there are often several staff members participating from one computer. These webinars are also available on YouTube afterwards and have been accessed up to 67 times13. In addition to the webinars, in April and May 2016 DFAT conducted face-to-face ANCP Information sessions in Melbourne, Sydney and Canberra attended by 68 NGO staff members. These information sessions covered program updates such as the introduction of the new funding policy as well as Annual Development Plan submission guidance. In September 2015, the inaugural ANCP Reflections Workshop was held with sessions in both Sydney and Melbourne which provided an opportunity to reflect on the achievements over the past year and to discuss and provide input to the Program Logic, Performance Assessment Framework and develop ANCP Funding Principles. The second Reflections Workshop was held in August 2016.Following her appointment as Minister for International Development and the Pacific in February, the Hon. Concetta Fierravanti-Wells, met with the heads of the ten largest ANCP NGOs and ACFID in March 2016. Discussions included the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and engaging the private sector in development. In addition, a number of NGOs met with the Ministers for International Development and the Pacific, and Foreign Affairs individually in 2015-16. NPQ is increasingly engaging with internal DFAT stakeholders, including Australian High Commissions and Embassies (Posts), bilateral/regional program and thematic areas. In 2015-16, NPQ engaged with and gave presentations to a number of internal and external forums including the DFAT Civil Society Network, Performance & Quality Network, Head of Mission/Head of Post briefings, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, ANU’s Crawford School of Public Policy Development Policy Centre and the ACFID-DFAT Gender Equality Workshop to raise the profile of the ANCP as well sharing tools and learning.

13 As at October 2016, different ANCP webinars had been accessed 12-67 times with the Child Protection webinar the most viewed. Webinars are available for three months at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWntxmr2cl9d7tgcClJ_2jQ

@DFATDFAT.GOV.AU

ANCP Partnership and ways of workingThere is a strategic partnership between DFAT and ten of Australia’s largest development NGOs14, with the most recent Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed in 2013 and ending in June 2017. The ODE Evaluation found the absence of clear policies and procedures for selecting Partners presented a risk to the program. The Evaluation recommended the partnership concept should extend to all ANCP ANGOs and that DFAT should develop a transparent funding policy. NPQ agreed to these recommendations and in 2015-16 developed the ANCP Funding Policy in consultation with ANCP NGOs. At the 2016 Annual Reflection Workshop, NPQ outlined its proposed approach for extending the principles of partnership across all ANCP members and that this should be reflected in program architecture. The Program Logic will be updated to reflect partnership principles and behaviours. In addition, the partnership relationship will continue to be discussed at the Annual Reflections Workshops and from 2017-18 will be reported on by all ANCP NGOs as part of annual performance reporting.

14 The ANCP partners are: CARE Australia, Caritas Australia, CBM Australia, ChildFund Australia, The Fred Hollows Foundation, Oxfam Australia, Plan International Australia, Save the Children Australia, TEAR Australia and World Vision Australia.

@DFATDFAT.GOV.AU

RISKSNPQ manages the risks inherent in the program through a rigorous accreditation process, comprehensive program guidance documentation and grant agreements, the maintenance of a risk register that is updated quarterly, and a program of monitoring and engagement visits. In addition, consultation with Posts and thematic areas on proposed new and higher-risk projects also helps to mitigate risks associated with the delivery of ANCP projects. DFAT internal audits target a number of ANGOs each year helping to mitigate fraud risks. Where fraud cases do arise, these are actively managed by NPQ in consultation with the Department’s Fraud Control Section. DFAT webinars on fraud and corruption are held annually for ANGOs.

Table 3 Management of Key Risks to Achieving Objectives

Key risks What actions were taken to manage the risks over the past year?

What further actions will be taken to manage the risks in the coming year?

For emerging/ongoing risks provide a Risk Rating (low, medium, high, very high)

Demand driven program in combination with annual budget fluctuations impact NGO funding predictability

Accreditation criteria are stringent (not all NGOs in the sector will be eligible) and window for new applicants and upgrades reduced to 3 months per year. Development of the ANCP Funding Policy includes protections for existing NGOs in the program

Staged implementation of the funding policy over four financial years (2016-17 to 2019-20) to protect against significant fluctuations in funding levels

Medium

Breadth of program means limited ability to know details of all projects and manage associated risk

Ongoing accreditation - upfront due diligence and good practice check of NGOs together with early engagement with desk/Post for high risk countries

Review accreditation processes with view to incorporate ANCP performance information from M&E trips, annual reporting, PPAs etc. Strengthen engagement with Posts/Desks in line with communication strategy (under development) and support Posts to undertake monitoring and engagement visits (on behalf of NPQ) to ANCP projects

Medium

Limited ability to analyse data

Ongoing accreditation – upfront due diligence; use of ANCP online to record all project aspects

Review accreditation processes with view to incorporate NGO performance information from M&E trips; strengthen engagement with Posts/Desks in line with communication strategy; maintain key contacts in sector, Post/desk and

Medium

@DFATDFAT.GOV.AU

compliance teams Review M&E trip schedule

@DFATDFAT.GOV.AU

MANAGEMENT RESPONSESProgress implementing the management responses (arising from the ODE Evaluation of the program) from the previous reporting period has been variable with two of the actions achieved, one partly achieved and two not achieved. More detail on progress against the 2014-15 management responses is outlined in the table at Annex A.Management Responses for 2016-171. Continue to clarify partnership engagementDFAT will draft partnership principles and behaviours to be included in an updated Program Logic and circulate for comment and formal agreement at the Annual Reflections in 2017:

once agreed, DFAT will amend the Program Logic and Performance Reporting templates;

the ANCP Partnership will also be a regular agenda item at the Annual Reflections Workshops.

These principles will articulate and expand on DFAT and NGOs commitments under the Grant Agreement and NGO Engagement Framework.2. Strengthen the ANCP MELFAt the 2016 Annual Reflections Workshop, NVB committed to reconvene the MELF Reference Group by the end of 2016 to meet via teleconference on a regular basis, open to all interested ANCP NGO contacts. The MELF Reference Group will:

participate in a data validation exercise (ODE Evaluation Recommendation 4(c));

consider topics and timing for the upcoming Thematic Reviews and Meta-evaluations;

consider mechanisms to improve learning within the Program; and consider how the MELF and ANCP reporting will respond to the SDG agenda

and indicators.3. Clarify the role of Posts and increase ANCP’s visibility within DFATIn 2016-17, NPQ will:

Develop a policy to clarify the role of Posts will be developed to inform annual program management processes; and

Finalise a communications strategy for engaging with bilateral programs (Canberra desks and posts) and thematic areas.

4. Improve communication and the sharing of lessons between ANCP NGOs, local NGOs and DFAT

NVB will continue to hold NGO roundtables in-country as part of ANCP M&E visits and encourage and support Posts to hold additional roundtables. NVB has committed to work with ACFID to test new approaches to improve the sharing of lessons including:

Contributing to ACFID’s realignment of its on-line Good Practice Toolkit and Resource Library;

Collaborating with ACFID on future thematic reviews; ACFID participation at ANCP Annual Reflections workshops; and Collaborating to ensure consistency between ANCP MELF and the ACFID

MEL framework (to be developed).

@DFATDFAT.GOV.AU

@DFATDFAT.GOV.AU

ANNEX A - PROGRESS IN ADDRESSING MANAGEMENT RESPONSES

Management responses identified in 2014-15 APPR Rating Progress made in 2015-16Finalise an improved transparent funding allocation policy for ANCP Achieved The principles to inform the funding policy were agreed at the 2015 Annual

Performance Workshop and the Funding Policy released for staged implementation in April 2016.

Clarify partnership engagement Partly achieved

Discussions at the 2016 Annual Reflections workshop confirmed that no new MOU will be following the conclusion of the current ANCP Partnership MOU in June 2017. Instead, the ANCP Program logic will be updated in 2016-17 to include partnership principles and behaviours. In addition, the partnership relationship will continue to be discussed at the Annual Reflections and from 2017-18 would be reported on by all ANCP NGOs as part of their annual performance reporting.

Clarify the role of Posts and increase ANCP’s visibility within DFAT Partly achieved

In 2015-16, NVB undertook significant engagement with program areas and networks as well as Head of Mission/Head of Post briefings. NVB collaborated with Posts on the approval of ADPlans and undertook seven M&E trips which also included briefings for staff at Post. There is still work to be done on clarifying the role of Posts.

Strengthen the ANCP Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Framework (MELF)

Not achieved Due to competing priorities work was slower than expected on strengthening the MELF. However, at the 2016 Annual Reflection Workshop, NVB committed to reconvening the MELF reference group to review the MELF and work on the challenge of data validation in 2016-17.

Work with ACFID to test new approaches to improve the sharing of lessons between Australian and local NGOs and DFAT

Partly Achieved

NVB contributed to the review of ACFID’s Code of Conduct to ensure compliance requirements are aligned where appropriate to ANCP Accreditation requirements and to reduce duplication in assessment processes. NVB and ACFID have also had early discussions on options to take this commitment forward.

Note:   Achieved. Significant progress has been made in addressing the issue   Partly achieved. Some progress has been made in addressing the issue, but the issue has not been resolved   Not achieved. Progress in addressing the issue has been significantly below expectations

@DFATDFAT.GOV.AU

ANNEX B - PROGRESS TOWARDS PERFORMANCE BENCHMARKS IN 2015-16Aid objective 2014-15 benchmark Rating Progress in 2015-16

ANCP program and activities consider gender equality and women’s empowerment.

>80 per cent of activities funded under ANCP address gender equality and women’s empowerment.

Achieved In 2015-16, 87 per cent of ANCP projects addressed gender issues. Gender equality was the principal objective15 in 98 projects (16 per cent) with expenditure of $17.9 million reaching 822,000 beneficiaries.

Evidence of strengthened relationships between ANCP NGOs and country/thematic areas of DFAT

X% of Posts hold annual NGO roundtables

Achieved In addition to six NGO roundtables conducted in conjunction with ANCP M&E trips, Dili Post held an NGO Roundtable to launch the ANCP Thematic Review on Gender Equality. Posts in Kathmandu and Harare commenced biannual NGO roundtables and Kabul Post conducted a roundtable teleconference in March 2016.

ANCP program and activities promote prosperity

Maintain 20 per cent of ANCP focus on promoting prosperity

Partly achieved

In 2015-16, 111 projects (19 per cent) promoted aid for trade investing $23.9 million.

ANCP program and activities reduce poverty

35 per cent of ANCP funding invested in projects that promote economic growth through economic development activities

N/A This benchmark has been removed as economic development is now an out dated development objective that that is no longer reported against

ANCP program and activities engage the private sector

20 per cent of activities funded under ANCP promote private sector growth or engage the private sector

Achieved In 2015-16, 257 projects (44 per cent) involved engagement with the private sector

DFAT Service Charter developed in 2016

Not Achieved

Work has not progressed on this in 2015-16 due to work planned to develop partnership principles and behaviours which will be included in the Program Logic.

Improved data capture of projects addressing people with disability

Achieved ANCP reporting templates were updated to include disability marker questions for the 2015-16 period. In 2015-16, 67 per cent of ANCP projects addressed disability inclusion. Disability inclusion was the principal focus in 58 projects (10 per cent) with a total expenditure of over $9.3

15 All ANCP projects must indicate how it addresses gender equality and women’s empowerment using a scale of principal, significant or not targeted. Principal means promoting gender equality and empowering women is fundamental in the design and impact of the activity and is an explicit objective of the activity. Significant means promoting gender equality and empowering women is an important (but not principal) objective of the activity. Where an activity is not targeted gender equality could be addressed by ensuing participation of women and girls or a gender analysis will be/ has been undertaken as part of the activity’s design.

@DFATDFAT.GOV.AU

Aid objective 2014-15 benchmark Rating Progress in 2015-16

million reaching over 500,000 beneficiaries. This benchmark will be discussed by MELF Reference group for inclusion in 2016-17 reporting.

Note:   Achieved. Significant progress has been made and the performance benchmark was achieved   Partly achieved. Some progress has been made towards achieving the performance benchmark, but progress was less than anticipated.   Not achieved. Progress towards the performance benchmark has been significantly below expectations

ANNEX C - EVALUATION PLANNINGList of evaluations completed in the reporting period Investment number and name

Name of evaluation Date completed

Date Evaluation report Uploaded into AidWorks

Date Management response uploaded into AidWorks

Published on website

13B270 ANCP Australian NGO Cooperation Program (ANCP) Thematic Review: Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment

March 2016 17 October 2016 N/A 4 March 2016

List of program prioritised evaluations planned for the next 12 months Evaluation title Investment number

and name (if applicable)

Date – planned commencement (month/year)

Date – planned completion (month/year)

Purpose of evaluation Evaluation type

MELF Reference Group to consider timing and topics of future thematic reviewsData validation – Meta-Evaluation

13B270 June 2017 June 2018 Address recommendation 4 of ODE review

ANNEX D - AID QUALITY CHECK RATINGSAQC investment performance over the previous 12 months and where available last year’s AQC ratings are included.

@DFATDFAT.GOV.AU

Investment name

Appr

oved

bu

dget

and

du

rati

on

year

on

year

Rele

vanc

e

Effec

tive

ness

Effici

ency

Mon

itor

ing

and

Eval

uati

on

Sust

aina

bilit

y

Gen

der

equa

lity

Risk

s a

nd

Safe

guar

ds

ANCP $127.3m (2015-16) 2016 AQC 5 5 5 5 5 5 5$134m (2014-15) 2015 AQC 5 4 5 4 5 4 4

ANNEX E – PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT FRAMEWORKhttp://dfat.gov.au/about-us/publications/Pages/ancp-program-logic.aspx

@DFATDFAT.GOV.AU

0