Organisational self- assessment - APC · PDF fileo The assessment findings were shared with APC staff and board members during their meetings in Buenos Aires in June 2009. ... passion

Association for Progressive Communications (APC)

2009 Sept

Organisational self-assessment

p r e p a r e d b y e l o i s e b u r k e : e e b c o n s u l t @ t e x a d a . n e t

APC Organisational Self-Assessment: 2009 March – 2009 June

Table of Contents

Summary page 3-5APC’s Mission Vision Values page 6Section One: Context Page 7

How is the report organised? Page 7What were the overall approach, methodology and processes? Page 8

Section Two: The Assessment Page 9Findings Page 9Summary Page 9Detailed Findings: Page 11Legitimacy Page 11Leadership Page 12Management and Administration Page 13

Management plans and policies Page 13Risk Management Page 14Management of Information Page 14Capacity Building Page 15Performance Management Page 16

Core Business Page 17Resources Page 18External Relations and Communications Page 19Sustainability Page 19Conclusion Page 21

Section Three: APC at twenty years young: some personal stories Page 23Attachments: Page 26Attachment A: Assessment participants and Conversation Protocols

Attachment B: Resource Mobilization Group discussions

Page 27

Page 34-39

Prepared by eloise burke:2009 September 8 final version 2 of 39


SummaryThe Association for Progressive Communications is a global network of civil society organisations whose mission is to empower and support organisations, social movements and individuals in and through the use of information and communication technologies to build strategic communities and initiatives for the purpose of making meaningful contributions to equitable human development, social justice, particularly political processes and environmental sustainability.” (APC Strategic Plan 2009)In the work that APC as an organisation and a network facilitates and implements, the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) is one of its strategic partners. As part of IDRC’s Institutional Strengthening Project with APC, a facilitated organisational self-assessment occurred between2009 March and 2009 June.

What were the overall approach, methodology and processes?The overall approach was designed to be inclusive with the data collection protocol designed to be conversational (qualitative) rather than quantitative. The conversation protocol was designed by the Assessment Facilitator and shared with the Executive Director (ED) and the APC Manager assigned to work on this project. Regular interactions with both individuals became the norm.o Discussions held with the ED and the APC Manager assigned to manage this assignment in

determining the best approach, methodology and process. This included: who best to involve in the organisational assessment leading to a selection of internal and external key stake holders with keen attention paid to the group being representative of a variety of organisational relationships.

o Recognition that the APC network was experiencing “consultation fatigue” and therefore given the focus of the assignment, “the network” would not be directly involved in the data collection processes.

o Agreement reached with the ED and the assigned APC Manager on the data collection protocol including the conversation guidelines, relevant documents for review, and preferred timelines.

o Regular ongoing interactions with the ED that led to specific “pieces of work” included in the assignment: assistance with review of Human Resources alignment and capacity; specific areas of the financial systems and gathering personal stories in celebration of APC’s forthcoming twentieth anniversary.

o Confidential conversations were held with a number of individuals. These were face to face, over the phone and through SKYPE; group discussions were also held but these were not confidential.

o Conversations lasted from a maximum of four hours to a minimum of forty-five minutes, with most interactions lasting for an hour.

o Over twenty-five conversations are documented; also, several informal interactions contributed to enriching the assessment.

o Participation in selected APC events and subsequent observations.o The assessment findings were shared with APC staff and board members during their meetings in

Buenos Aires in June 2009. The inputs received from this meeting are incorporated into in this report.



The process of sharing the findings involved: discussions with managers and staff regarding whether or not there were lessons to be learned from organisations similar to APC in core business, and /or organisational structure; exploring resource mobilization ideas with a foci on sustainability.

o Review of a number of APC documents and other related publications including web-based information. See Attachment A: assessment participants and conversation protocols.

FindingsAPC is an organisation that derives its legitimacy from the work it does at all levels of society – locally, regionally, nationally and globally. This includes working within and with diverse communities; recognition from national and international bodies for its input to ICT policies as well as having a strong international membership base. Its legitimacy is also grounded in its organisational structure that involves members in key decisions as well as joint programming initiatives. With almost twenty years of experiences, it is well established as an organisation that encourages leadership throughout the organisation. Its formal leadership structure is well understood by all. Leadership is also understood in the true sense of the concept as applied to organisations - that there are different leaders at different levels of an organisation. APC’s management and administration is perceived to be functional with some tweaking needed in some areas primarily due to its virtual nature, level of staffing and quantity of work, specifically the need to respond to programming possibilities: that is the development of projects, proposals and initiatives from members, in a timely manner. (Examples were given of missed opportunities.) Generally the core business is understood as working with communities to understand and use the information and communications tools available in their communities (which may or may not include the internet) to improve their lives while at the same time promoting the use and accessibility of the internet and related tools for communities’ development. Resources: given its virtual nature, physical resources are not an issue; finances are limited leading to staffing challenges as well as responding to opportunities. In recognising these challenges, keen attention is given to programmes and projects that are designed to bring the strategic plan alive. In other words, not all opportunities that present themselves are in line with the strategy. Sustainability of the organisation is a recognised challenge, and is addressed on an ongoing basis. The main challenge for APC is to be resource-rich without compromising its values. External relations and communications are good with strategic partners speaking highly of APC’s communication skills. At the same time, it was suggested that there was a need to expand the public face of the organisation so that the range of individuals representing the organisation was aligned with ability and skills of the individual to be the appropriate APC face and voice, in the right meeting/gathering at the right time.

In exploring sustainability strategies with assessment participants, a number of “brainstormed” ideas emerged. These range from APC packaging and selling its competencies in the form of consultancies and/or joint ventures, to eliciting online donations using its USA charitable status. All ideas will be explored and the best of the best will be pursued.



APC is an organisation led by women. This contributes, nay is responsible for its management style, organisational culture, norms and practices: collaborative not competitive; demonstrated caring and passion for the work at hand. Normal organisational challenges are taken in stride while continuing to perform well. Through its various management processes these challenges are regularly identified, articulated with the Board and staff constantly striving to find solutions. The organisation should be commended and promoted as a virtual organisation to be emulated.



APC’s mission1

The Association for Progressive Communications is a global network of civil society organisations whose mission is to empower and support organisations, social movements and individuals in and through the use of information and communication technologies to build strategic communities and initiatives for the purpose of making meaningful contributions to equitable human development, social justice, participatory political processes and environmental sustainability.

APC’s vision

All people have easy and affordable access to a free and open internet to improve their lives and create a more just world.

APC’s values and guiding principles

APC members are bound together by common values. Since our official founding in 1990, the network has developed guiding principles that we endeavour to integrate into all our activities. These values and principles guide what APC does and how it is done.

Local initiative and ownership Openness: freedom of information and expressionOpen contentFree and open source softwareSocial equality and gender equalityCollaboration and partnershipInclusiveness and diversityCreativity and capacity buildingDemocratic, accountable and transparent governanceAppropriate and affordable ICT solutionsFreedom of communications and information.

APC is committed to working:Through decentralised actionBy sharing information and tools in the public domainBy having a strong Southern base and orientationBy creating and strengthening an international membership community for joint action and learning

1 APC Strategic Plan 2009



SECTION ONE: Context

“APC is both an organisation and a network. APC has been operating as an international membership-based organisation since 1990. Our strength lies in our membership (a mix of southern and northern organisations) and our professional yet activist staff, and their combined knowledge and experience of promoting and using ICTs at local, national and regional levels. Through both our members and staff APC gains local perspectives and contact with grassroots organisations that we integrate into our global work. In January 2009, APC had 52 members in 37 countries. Members of APC are organisations that share common values and agree with and work to further APC's mission. They work actively with civil society and social movements in using ICTs to empower and support others to build strategic communities and initiatives contributing to equitable human development, social justice, participatory political processes and environmental sustainability. APC members work collaboratively with one another and with APC programmes and projects.” (2009 Strategic Plan)

As a part of IDRC’s Institutional Strengthening Project with APC, IDRC offered the services of a Development Practitioner/Organisational Development Specialist to work with APC as they wished. In consultation with the Executive Director, it was decided that a facilitated organisational self-assessment of the organisation would be beneficial. The self-assessment focuses on APC – the organisation and in so doing provides APC with an analysis of how the organisation is performing through the lens of its strategic stakeholders at a particular point in time and within the context of the recently developed 2009-12 strategic framework.

This document represents a summary report of the facilitated organisational self-assessment that APC – the organisation – engaged in over the period February 2009 to June 2009.

How is this report organised?

There are three main sections to the report. Section One: presents the context of the assessment, its overall approach, methodology and processes.

Section Two: the findings are discussed through the six organisational lens of organisational assessments – legitimacy, leadership, management and administration, core business, resources, and external relations/communications with a summary discussion on sustainability.

Section Three: Stakeholders share their experiences, a special story of APC as the organisation approaches twenty years.



What were the overall approach, methodology and processes?The overall approach was designed to be inclusive with the data collection protocol designed to be conversational (qualitative) rather than quantitative. The conversation protocol was designed by the Assessment Facilitator and shared with the Executive Director (ED) and the APC Manager assigned to work on this project. Regular interactions with both individuals became the norm.o Discussions held with the ED and the APC Manager assigned to manage this assignment in

determining the best approach, methodology and process. This included: who best to involve in the organisational assessment leading to a selection of internal and external key stake holders with keen attention paid to the group being representative of a variety of organisational relationships.

o Recognition that the APC network was experiencing “consultation fatigue” and therefore given the focus of the assignment, “the network” would not be directly involved in the data collection processes.

o Agreement reached with the ED and the assigned APC Manager on the data collection protocol including the conversation guidelines, relevant documents for review, and preferred timelines.

o Regular ongoing interactions with the ED that led to specific “pieces of work” included in the assignment: assistance with review of Human Resources alignment and capacity; specific areas of the financial systems and gathering personal stories in celebration of APC’s forthcoming twentieth anniversary.

o Confidential conversations were held with a number of individuals. These were face to face, over the phone and through SKYPE; group discussions were also held but these were not confidential.

o Conversations lasted from a maximum of four hours to a minimum of forty-five minutes, with most interactions lasting for an hour.

o Over twenty-five conversations are documented; also, several informal interactions contributed to enriching the assessment.

o Participation in selected APC events and subsequent observations.o The assessment findings were shared with APC staff and board members during their meetings in

Buenos Aires in June 2009. The inputs received from this meeting are incorporated into in this report. The process of sharing the findings involved: discussions with managers and staff regarding whether or not there were lessons to be learned from organisations similar to APC in core business, and /or organisational structure; exploring resource mobilization ideas with a foci on sustainability.

o Review of a number of APC documents and other related publications including web-based information.

See Attachment A: assessment participants and conversation protocols.



SECTION TWO: The Organisational Self - Assessment

IntroductionIn February 2009, the Executive Director of APC sent out an announcement to selected stakeholders regarding the assessment with a request to participate in sharing their thoughts with the Assessment Facilitator. Conversations concluded in June 2009, unfortunately not all identified stakeholders were able to participate for a variety of reasons. Those who were able to give of their time and share their thoughts did so willingly and with thoughtfulness. Individual conversations were conducted in confidence. Group discussions were not confidential. The assessment participants identified include all APC managers, board members, APC member representatives/programme partners, and strategic development partners. APC staff participated in the group discussions held in Buenos Aires. All together, over twenty-five conversations occurred. (See Attachment A)

The conversation protocol reflected questions in the six key areas associated with an organisational assessment. These are: Legitimacy, Leadership, Management and Administration, Core Business, Resources, and External Relations and Communications. Questions were designed to gather the individual’s opinion regarding their understanding of each specific organisational category within the context of their relationship with APC. The findings of each of the key areas are presented below. Each is grounded by a random selection of quotes that reflect the thoughts of assessment participants.

Findings

SummaryAPC is an organisation that derives its legitimacy from the work it does at all levels of society – locally, regionally, nationally and globally. This includes working within and with diverse communities; recognition from national and international bodies for its input to ICT policies as well as having a strong international membership base. Its legitimacy is also grounded in its organisational structure that involves members in key decisions as well as joint programming initiatives. With almost twenty years of experiences, it is well established as an organisation that encourages leadership throughout the organisation. Its formal leadership structure is well understood by all. Leadership is also understood in the true sense of the concept as applied to organisations - that there are different leaders at different levels of an organisation. APC’s management and administration is perceived to be functional with some tweaking needed in some areas primarily due to its virtual nature, level of staffing and quantity of work, specifically the need to respond to programming possibilities: that is the development of projects, proposals and initiatives from members, in a timely manner. (Examples were given of missed opportunities.)



Generally the core business is understood as working with communities to understand and use the information and communications tools available in their communities (which may or may not include the internet) to improve their lives while at the same time promoting the use and accessibility of the internet and related tools for communities’ development. Resources: given its virtual nature, physical resources are not an issue; finances are limited leading to staffing challenges as well as responding to opportunities. In recognising these challenges, keen attention is given to programmes and projects that are designed to bring the strategic plan alive. In other words, not all opportunities that present themselves are in line with the strategy. Sustainability of the organisation is a recognised challenge, and is addressed on an ongoing basis. The main challenge for APC is to be resource-rich without compromising its values. External relations and communications are good with strategic partners speaking highly of APC’s communication skills. At the same time, it was suggested that there was a need to expand the public face of the organisation so that the range of individuals representing the organisation was aligned with ability and skills of the individual to be the appropriate APC face and voice, in the right meeting/gathering at the right time.

APC is an organisation led by women. This contributes, nay is responsible for its organisational culture, norms and practices: collaborative not competitive; demonstrated caring for each other and colleagues and passion for their work. This makes a distinctive difference to the manner in which work is done2.

APC faces normal organisational challenges which are taken in stride while continuing to perform well. Through its various management processes these challenges are regularly identified, articulated with the Board and staff constantly striving to find solutions. The organisation should be commended and promoted as a virtual organisation to be emulated.

2 See John Gray’s “Men are from Mars and Women from Venus”. And, Louann Brizendine, M.D. “The Female Brain.”



Detailed findingsThe detailed findings reflect the opinions of the assessment participants. Some of the suggestions regarding how to improve are underway.

LegitimacyStakeholder Voices:“APC has a track record that is grounded in local realities. It’s the way we work. We respect the process of engaging everyone. A lot of thought and feelings go into the work we do. It’s about lived realities.” (Staff)“APC works locally, internationally; APC is very transparent in the way we work and report.” (Strategic Partner)“There is a global mix that forms the network and the organisation... Southern mostly with northern mix... History of working in Latin America and Africa...recognised as a player in civil society.” (Staff)“ Because of our global reach, we have a voice in the internet governance forum.” (Staff) “ My experiences with APC is that it supports the work of members and lends legitimacy to our work and in so doing contributes to our local credibility. It does not compete with the members. (Board Member)

APC is a legal entity registered in the United States with staff working virtually worldwide. All key stakeholders agreed that APC as an organisation draws its legitimacy from its demonstrated organisational integrity in the manner in which it works internally with staff and externally with programme participants, individual members specifically and the network in general. There is agreement that the various levels of interacting and relationships, with the ability to work locally, ground its legitimacy. Its work processes allow taking/using local information to influence and engage decision makers at the national and international levels while at the same time working at the community level contributes greatly to its legitimacy. Of particular importance is its ability to understand and work with Southern partners in a manner that allows Northern actors to better understand the evidence that emerges from southern experiences and realities in the world of ICT and in so doing influence global policy makers in making policies that contribute to social justice and community driven development . As APC approaches twenty years of being an organisation, its legitimacy is understood and well grounded. There is a sense of ownership that is conveyed during conversations!



LeadershipStakeholder Voices“Staff are leaders in their geographical areas/ in their programme areas. The virtual nature of the organisation demands everyone to be a leader.” (Board Member)“Leadership is demonstrated throughout the organisation: members have seats on the Council; day to day leadership is demonstrated by the ED and staff in programme development and implementation.” (Staff)

APC’s formal leadership structure and organisational interactions are well understood. All assessment participants were able to describe and/or draw the organisational structure with explicit lines defining the organisational relationships. Three programming areas: Communications and Information Policy (CIP); Women’s networking Support (WNS); Strategic Technologies and Network Development (STaND); feed into the APC Strategic Management Team who in turn reports and works closely with the Executive Board3. The Executive Board is accountable to the Council which is the top most organ of APC. The Council is made up of APC members.

The Council meets every two to three years and leads the development of strategic priorities and are responsible for electing an executive board. The executive director is appointed and supervised by the board. Like all healthy organisations, there is at times, tension between the board and staff which is attributed to different perspectives and priorities. These are usually worked through. In discussing the role of staff as leaders, it was felt that in spite of the hierarchical formal structure, the day to day organisational practices were participatory and enhanced by the annual staff meeting combined with a joint staff and executive board meeting - (which can be held hostage by availability of resources). Through observations, day to day practices were confirmed as being participatory and collegiate.

Leadership can be understood in so many different ways and like all other concepts and practices it is evolving. Leadership at APC does not lend itself to the traditional understanding of “everything” residing in one leader. Instead it is shared between the board members that avail themselves to the ED, the ED and the way in which she works and interacts with key stakeholders. This type of leadership lends itself to the Complexity leadership theory4. “In the complex adaptive system (CAS)...In such systems, relationships are not primarily defined hierarchically, as they are in bureaucratic systems, but rather by interactions among heterogeneous agents and across agent networks. In other words, “leaders” in the formal sense can enable the conditions within which the process occurs, but they are not the direct source of change.” The challenge for APC is a well thought out documented secession strategy for the senior positions within the organisation.

3 Note: under a relatively new law in the United States, executive directors must now be members of their boards.4 Complexity leadership theory: An interactive perspective on leading in complex adaptive systems. Benyamin B. Lichtenstein, Mary Uhl-Bien, Russ Marion, Anson Seers, James Douglas Orton, and Craig Schreiber. E:CO Vol.8 No.4 2006 pp2-12



Management and AdministrationStakeholder Voices“Not everyone is suited for working virtually. Face to face works best for some individuals.” (Strategic partner)“Sometimes there is need to make a decision while attending an event, this can be done once consultation with the team takes place.” (Staff)“I think at times we take on too many projects without the resources to manage them. We need to better set our priorities.”“Most decisions are informed by an online process that spells out expected input and processes” (Staff)“Manuals are available on line.” (Staff)“Face to face meetings are very important. You can read the information, but the face to face exchange offers a richer result. It offers opportunities to collaborate with each other and supports capacity building.” (member)

APC mostly fares well in this area. Conversations explored organisational structure and systems; management plans and policies; decision making processes and procedures; risk management; management of information; capacity building; and performance management.

There are some challenges identified and attributed to its virtual nature. For example, not everyone works well in a virtual environment; the time differences across geographical areas can present issues around virtual meetings; and, there is the risk of becoming overloaded and taking on too much especially as opportunities present themselves while attending events. More than once it was suggested that more face to face was desirable. But, it was expressed that because face to face interactions were not the norm, when they did take place, the interactions were richer and appreciation of each other more palatable. Management plans and policies developed in a participatory manner are accessible online as well as in hard copies. The approval process is well understood, documented and followed. Some of the documents reviewed include, for example, the human resource manual that all staff are aware of and use on a need to basis; the strategic plan that drives programme and subsequent project development and implementation; the financial manual, governance manual, and an environment that encourages asking questions (and getting the response) from colleagues when in doubt about a policy and procedure or in fact any organisational issue. Written bimonthly reports are made by the Management Team to the Board. Work is driven by each individual’s “Key Results Area” (KRA) and managed by regular online ‘check-ins’, online meetings and the accessibility of the ED to all staff. Different teams have different routines. However, all staff do check-in to the APC team space once a week. Managers do daily check-ins.

Decision making is described as being consultative, with each manager and staff as well, confidently expressed knowing their decision making boundaries. Some decisions are made formally using an agreed to process while others are made informally. One example of an inappropriate decision being made was given, and the process used to manage the situation relayed. The resultant action indicates a learning organisational approach as the example cited was used as a learning opportunity and not viewed as a “failure” or “mistake” leading to the integrity of APC being strengthened and organisational learning enhanced. (The same example was used independently by more than one individual)



Risk management at APC is done at three levels. One, by checking the viability of a project against a programme’s strategic objective (which are grounded in overall APC strategy) and against the organisation’s overall values. Two, when working with members and partners, by assessing their capacity to deliver on a project with keen attention given to being supportive to the member or partner in delivering and performing to their best ability. The latter can be challenging at times as one of APC’s way of working is capacity building. Consequently, project implementation done by a member or partner that lacks all the competences requires more management. This is one capacity building strategy that has its advantages and disadvantages and has resulted in APC staff completing the tasks that a member or partner should have completed. Three, programme participants’ stories are carefully used as evidence to the wider public regarding a specific situation and are evaluated for use in order to prevent any risk to the individual and/or their communities. For example, digital stories are carefully screened with APC making sure that people who participate are willing to have their stories made public.

Because APC is a virtual organisation, insurance companies – who have not caught up on the new ways of working – will not cover some of the physical assets because there is no physical office that everyone reports to in one country. This presents a dilemma for regular organisational administration. E.g. APC as an organisation cannot get travel insurance for its staff (staff gets this individually); and office equipment cannot be insured.

Management of Information systems, policies and procedures are in place, but not all practices are documented in a policies and procedures format. Almost all, if not all APC organisational information and programming information can be found online with different levels of accessibility – password protected. Staff manuals, contracts, project proposals, funding documents, reviews, evaluation reports, educational tools, publications etc are kept on line. Systems run on two servers located in different countries. Hard copies of some of the documents are available in the ED’s office. Hard copies of all financial documents are stored by the finance staff for auditing purposes. The entire financial management system is online with secure levels of accessibility in place. The website provides a range of options for accessing information and is constantly being revised and upgraded. It is well laid out and easy to navigate as tested by the Assessment Facilitator (who is easily discouraged by websites that are not easy to follow!) There are differences in opinion among the assessment participants regarding the efficiency of the MI with examples of the intranet, the project management system, and the wiki constituting a fractured system.

The management structure is well understood, with each assessment participant able to adequately describe the structure and the matrix of project management as it related to their interaction with the organisation. Staff felt that areas of on line project management needed improvement with strategies for improvement underway. There was also an expression of the need to better organize work. One assessment partner said that sometimes there was overkill of information as there are a number of e-lists. (e.g. APC Tech; APC Forum; APC Council; APC GEM) The individual is a member of all these lists and thought that there was a need for consolidation as well as strengthening the Africa space.



Capacity Building is embedded in the work that APC does: internally and with its programme partners. It is defined in a number of different ways: informal coaching; skills sharing/enhancement at any and every opportunity with specific examples given of how events are used to facilitate skills sharing; the development of on line tools and training materials; and implementing projects through learning by doing with immediate application of the learning and in so doing applying adult education philosophy and techniques. APC, in its most recent annual report, describes its capacity building methodology as follows:“First we develop resources to demystify the issue – be it the whole theme of 'ICT policy' at first – and then later specific issues like content regulation. We involve civil society in the development of the resources to build their capacity. Then we use these resources for broader capacity development: training, building knowledge of the issues, making information available in the public domain. Simultaneously we facilitate participation in policy processes, thereby building knowledge, confidence and capacity at the same time as giving people an opportunity to use and test the resources in real policy processes. The other element of this method, which is what makes it produce sustainable results, is that we link people at the national level, thereby supporting the emergence of networks that tend to continue on their own.”

A question... how do we build internal capacity?Why... does almost everyone give the Women’s programme as an example of a successful programme?What...are the elements of the programme that can be deconstructed, documented and used to train others?How... can these good practices be institutionalized? Is there a way to use these practices in building APC’s sustainability?

“The perception that the Women’s programme is perceived as being successful, and indeed is, is because of its strong management and leadership and having greater staff capacity than other programmes.” (Voice of ED) True. But, how what are the transferrable components that can be highlighted, extracted and used in other programmes?

Networking and collaboration is a cornerstone of APC yet the learning that emerges from the various “capacity building interventions” is not documented in a manner that showcases APC’s approaches. “There needs to be a knowledge management strategy” said more than one assessment partner. The need to “record” the APC multi-facetted approach to capacity building was identified by several assessment partners. Partners give examples of the seed of an idea growing into a project that grows globally based on an ‘informal’ discussion with APC and celebrate the value of this kind of networking. Is there a process and a methodology to have this way of working turned into a resource mobilization strategy? This is a question worth exploring by the organisation. In reviewing a number APC publications and listening to personal stories there is a significant amount of material that can be used to build the APC’s capacity building model.



One of the recent key capacity building activities was that of learning how to use and adapt outcome mapping 5 for the development of APC’s strategic plan. It is anticipated that with outcome mapping the KRAs will be better evaluated and the impact of the work that APC does will be better measured through the lens of behaviour change. Through outcome mapping, the APC’s processes and good practices should be better captured although there is some concern expressed about how outcome mapping can be used to capture advocacy work. While the introduction of outcome mapping was not formalized training throughout the organisation, its introduction into the organisational way of managing is seen as a step in the right direction.

Given the importance of capacity building, allocation of resources to staff capacity development is described as “patchy”. There is no budget specifically for staff capacity building, however it is built into most funding proposals as an integral part of APC’s work in all APC programmes and ways and means are found to build it into events. A number of the assessment participants recommended that staff capacity building needs to be budgeted for as a standalone and in so doing have the necessary resources allocated to it. And although everyone identified capacity building as essential, doable suggestions for resourcing it were short in coming. Some suggestions are documented under Attachment B.

Internal capacity building was also discussed recognising that the ED and the management team are all long standing members of the organisation. While there may be an informal succession plan, it should be formalized and built into APC’s sustainability plan. Specific staff were identified as being the face of the organisation in many different spaces, it is suggested that other “faces” need to be mentored and encouraged to present APC appropriately.

Performance Management: There are the appropriate processes, tools and formats for effective performance management. The board facilitates the ED’s performance review with reviews cascading down to all levels of staff. The reviewed tools are adequate. The process could be improved with a 360° methodology to performance management applied to all staffing levels, not just the ED6

5 Outcome mapping provides a development program with the tools to think holistically and strategically about how it intends to achieve results. Ideally, monitoring and evaluation would be integrated at the planning stages of a program. However, this is not always the case, so outcome mapping has elements and tools that can be adapted and used separately. The full outcome mapping process includes three stages and twelve steps. For each stage, tools and worksheets are provided to assist programs to organize and collect information on their contributions to desired outcomes. (Outcome Mapping: “Those Who Dream Make a Difference”. Pg.3)

6 In human resources or industrial/organizational psychology, 360-degree feedback, also known as "multi-rater feedback," "multisource feedback," or "multisource assessment," is feedback that comes from all around an employee. "360" refers to the 360 degrees in a circle, with an individual figuratively in the center of the circle. Feedback is provided by subordinates, peers, and supervisors. It also includes a self-assessment and, in some cases, feedback from external sources such as customers and suppliers or other interested stakeholders. It may be contrasted with "upward feedback," where managers are given feedback by their direct reports, or a "traditional performance appraisal," where the employees are most often reviewed only by their managers. Wikipedia. Accessed 2009 August 26.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Performance_appraisal

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Degree_(angle)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industrial_and_Organizational_Psychology

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_resources


Core BusinessStakeholder Voices“...strategic use of ICTs. ...influence policy to allow access by all people”(Staff)“ICT for development; enablers of capacity building locally and globally; advocates for ICT policy and practise.” (Member)“APC wants to make sure that the internet is used for social change..through working with civil society.” (Member)“APC needs to do less better, be more focused. E.g. the gender methodology- go more in depth rather than wider.”(strategic partner)“assisting with development of open policy access to ICT in areas where government is still in control on different levels; grass root training.” (Board Member)Generally speaking, APC’s core business is understood as finding ways and means of making the internet more accessible and affordable to civil society in general and to marginalised and disadvantaged groups specifically. While most assessment participants focused on the internet, some indicated that the work emerged from starting with the level of information and communications access and capacity that was resident in a community and working with the community to maximise what was available for their community. A variety of strategies are employed including working with network members on local projects that produce evidence necessary for influencing internet global policy.

The question raised by everyone was the extent to which the programming activities were stretching the organisational capacity. APC’s management team is aware of this concern and has tried to address it in the new strategic plan. During group discussions in the June meetings, it was suggested that APC should focus on research, advocacy, capacity building and implementation. Staff are well aware of all KRAs and the inter- relationships and connectivity. Visuals drawn to demonstrate understanding of the organisation showed a complex matrix of relationships and interdependency across programmes, the management team and partners.

APC’s Internet Rights Charter details seven themes: 1) Internet access for all; 2) Freedom of expression and association; 3) Access to knowledge; 4) Shared learning and creation-free and open source software and technology development; 5) Privacy, surveillance and encryption; 6) governance of the internet; 7) Awareness, protection and realisation of rights. APC’s core business is reflected in this Charter. The challenge is how to focus with limited resources.



ResourcesStakeholder Voices“Funding for APC is not an easy thing to do given its virtual nature. It is easier to fund a country specific programme.”(Strategic partner)“Involve members more in identifying resources for a project.” (Board member)“The Women’s programme has successfully raised funds over the last few years, what worked, what did not work and what can we learn from their experiences to inform the rest of APC?” (Several stake holders)

Human resources – a glance at the Managerial Level:A rapid review of the work done by the Management Team (Desk Survey) does not suggest a great deal of overlap at the managerial level. What it does document is a significant amount of hours over and above what is usually considered a “normal” working day! For example, close examination of the Finance Manager’s Desk Survey demonstrate work done that is directly related to the stated KRAs. The extent to which there is overlap between managers and project coordinators was not reviewed. APC may want to think about conducting a more detailed similar analysis at the end of year one of the current strategic plan implementation that involves all staff and in so doing, for example, any Program Team (manager and all relevant staff) will be able to see where, if any, overlaps are and determine how best make adjustments. The current strategic plan uses the available human resources well. Although some programming responsibilities that reside with the ED reflect more than oversight. With limited financial resources it is difficult to avoid this situation. (The ED does considerable amount of work on the CIPP). Global policy work demands a significant amount of travel, how can work be done without so much travel is one of the questions that APC struggles with. Different programmes indicate different levels of staffing needs (shortfalls) and identify where there is a felt need. For example, internal Information management was identified as needing a staff person to support the system. The need for an ED’s assistant was also identified – this has been resolved during the course of the assessment.

Physical resources: There are no major issues surrounding procurement, issuing and maintenance of physical resources usually associated with organisations. Given the virtual nature of APC, staff are responsible for their own computers and office space. An allowance is issued to cover reasonable costs. The main issue (insurance) is already mentioned earlier in this report.

Financial resources: budgets are developed in a participatory manner with all relevant staff playing a role. All financial management systems are in place with manuals, assistance from the finance manager and relevant staff easily accessible. Levels of authorization are clear and understood. There is segregation of duties and controls. New funders need to be approved by the Council. With the management systems in place, it is difficult to cover all the costs associated with programme implementation as usually donors will not pay for core costs. This presents a challenge in charging management functions against projects. In working towards improving the internal cost centres, under this assignment, assistance was accessed for advice from an associate of the Assessment Facilitator who is a specialist in this area. Conversations were held, formats reviewed and it is reported that the engagement was useful.



Some of the assessment participants indicated that APC under budgets for overheads and project coordination costs in project budgets.

Resource mobilization7 and its role in organisational sustainability remains a challenge for APC. Given the work the organisation does, partnering and accessing resources needs to be carefully determined in order that contradictions do not occur and its values compromised. Or, that there is no competition with network members by approaching the same funding source. Suggestions explored during the assessment are documented under Attachment B.

External relations and CommunicationsStakeholder Voices“Our perception of how we are perceived is that we are well respected. We are recognised as hard working. Open to discussions. Critical but constructive”. (Staff) “Publications are very good. The annual reports are very good.” (Strategic partner)The ED represents the organisation well, but they need a few more individuals that are as good as the ED.” (Strategic Partner)“I like the annual report and how it is organized.” (Member)

External relations and communications are considered to be reasonaby good. The public website is well organised and easily accessible. All managers have network building in their KRAs.The communication strategy includes reports due to strategic partners. Strategic partners indicated that APC’s style of communication was good.

Sustainability

Stakeholder Voice“Membership remains a hugh resource that remains untapped.” (member)

Throughout the conversations, the challenge faced by APC in sustaining itself was explored. Individuals were asked to make suggestions that would contribute to improving the organisation’s sustainability. The discussion was pursued in two different threads. One was to identify like minded organisations with the intention of exploring their organisational model to see the extent to which there were lessons to learn that could inform APC’s search for sustainability. A list was very easy to establish with the assessment actors all being players in the ICT sector. Although, when a suggestion was made, there would be a pause then a comment to the effect that in fact APC is unique and therefore a similar organisation did not exist! The suggested organisations had either similarities in core business or organisational structure. Discussions with APC staff resulted in one organisation identified as perhaps being the one organisation to examine in depth with a view to learning more about how they sustain themselves financially. APC management staff decided that the APC RM consultant would follow-up on this suggestion.

7 Resource mobilization includes, but is not limited to, fund raising, in-kind donations by organisations, consultants, fees for work done by APC and resources saved by partnering with a member or like mined organisation in an event or venture.



Strategic partners have a great deal of respect for APC and demonstrate understanding of its core business, but in their opinion APC needs to focus, be clearer about what they do well and use their competencies to leverage partnerships and joint ventures without compromising their values. APC is aware of this potential dilemma and have ongoing conversations about how best to maximise on its expertise. The notion of developing a business arm was raised. How would this be done? Would this not contribute to stretching staff even more than they were currently stretched? Is this one way of moving “matured” staff into a “consulting department” and in so doing make room for “younger” staff? What would be the key products of this business arm? For example:

o Training on how to set up and maintain a virtual organisationo Training on how to network effectively and the effect steps in influencing policy makers and

policieso Demystifying the internet with Civil Society

And yes some if not all of the above is being done now, the question is can it be done differently and bring some financial rewards? This idea needs more exploration.

The second thread was to begin an initial discussion with management staff around “what if one had to reduce the size of the organization?” This was a difficult discussion as there was an appreciation that the work done by APC was important, and the current staff were working to full capacity and if there was any kind of reduction how would that affect the quality of work? Some of the key points out of this discussion were:

• Reconfirming the difficulty of raising core funding while it was easier to raise project related funds.• Confirmation that APC was getting commissioned work but to do anymore would risk

compromising work as the capacity was limited.• If there was a definite need to reduce the organisation then the choice would be to “just do

research and advocacy” and have members do more implementation - use members more strategically

• Sell publications• “Ask members what are their priority areas, but they would implement and we would be the

partners.” Reducing the size of the organization was not a “natural” thought; even with less money, the management staff felt that they would still do the work that was needed to be done.

A range of suggestions were made and most if not all of the resource mobilization ideas are captured and presented under Attachment B. What became clear is a recognition that APC is unique and presents the cutting edge of virtual organisations.



ConclusionStakeholders’ voices“We will be members for a long time. We are using GEM in several of our projects. The capacity building is making us stronger.” (Member)“They are trying to do too much. They need to be clear about what they can do and will not do. They need to partner around some issues. Issues are always coming up.” (Strategic Partner)“Their strength is their commitment to each other. There reputation is their currency.” (Strategic Partner)“Because we are mostly women, there is a lot of interaction: collaborative not autocratic interactions. (Member)“I do not know if any other organisations like APC. It is the way of the future.” (Member) This report presents the self-assessment done by key internal and external stakeholders. It is not an external evaluation consequently there are no recommendations made. There are a number of observations and suggestions that can be used to inform improving practices, knowledge management and sustainability. Ongoing discussions with management demonstrate an awareness of the issues raised and solutions are being regularly explored.

APC is a virtual organisation. It is unique in its organisational structure. There are no other organisations like it. The structure works well and as more than one individual said, perhaps the virtual nature -that of being apart for long periods of time, make face to face meetings more meaningful and productive. Not everyone is suited to working virtually across several different time zones. For the most part working virtually for APC works and they are leaders in how to work virtually. In attempting to identify similar virtual organisations, a number of organisations were identified by assessment participants that they thought were similar to APC either in organisational structure or core business. An initial web-based review of the organisations with a subsequent group discussion with APC staff allowed a number of observations to be made. In listening to APC staff discussions, it became clear that given the various fora in which APC participated, they knew the organisations well and were able to identify where there was possible learning especially in the area of resource mobilisation. There is ongoing work with a RM Specialist that will take all suggestions under consideration.

Observations: there was a genuine feeling of working hard, being passionate about the work and a caring environment that confirmed the various statements about working as a team. An excellent demonstration of the extent of the team effort (which was not “planned”) was how individuals rallied around a staff member whose wallet was stolen during the course of the June Buenos Aires meetings. The level of supportive problem solving was commendable. And while, one can dismiss this as being normal organisational behaviour, this is not necessarily true. There is a palatable synergy that cannot be faked. It is difficult to imagine APC not being able to find doable solutions to the challenges of adequate resources, accelerated member involvement through different ways of partnering and growing its capacity development model.



Some more evidence of what APC has to offer:

“There is no doubt that WSIS was a more substantive, inclusive and meaningful exercise in global governance because of the civil society mobilization ion pioneered by [the] CRIS [Campaign] and managed so impressively by APC.” “APC’s network of affiliated organisations involves and incorporates actors from nearly all communication-information policy issues, and its network contains an unusual degree of technical knowledge about the Internet and telecommunication.APC have put particular emphasis on broadening access to ICTs in the developing world. But they were never just an ICT4D group; they also promoted free expression rights, privacy rights and gender equality as well. […] …when the WSIS debates shifted toward Internet governance APC alone was well prepared to handle it. That flexibility and scope, coupled with the facilitation and organising skills of APC’s professional staff, accounts for its centrality and influence.” Conclusion of Milton Mueller et al in a case study on the role of advocacy groups in international communication and information policy.4 Mueller, M. et al. (2007) “Democratising Global Communication? Global Civil Society and the Campaign for Communication Rights in the Information Society” in International Journal of Communication 1 (2007), pp. 267-296. research.yale.edu/isp/a2k/wiki/images/8/84/Mueller-cris-wsis-cs.pdf



Section Three: Stories

“In 2010 APC will be twenty years young as an organisation and a network. Based on your involvement with APC, can you share a story that demonstrates what APC means to you personally? And can I use this story in the report with your name attached?” This was the question to assessment participants. Everyone had a story. Some individuals requested time to think about it and submit their story at a later date – a number of stories remain outstanding. Others immediately shared their story. A selection of stories is presented below. They are not in any relevant order. But the stories do demonstrate APC’s inclusivity and its ability to contribute to expanding communities of interests.

Story One“APC events and meetings are always organised in a manner that allows relationship building to take place. You are warmly welcomed and always there is at least one formally organised meal that allows me to feel included.” Paul Maassen: Strategic Partner, HIVOS

Story Two“I went to England from Australia because of West African music. I wanted to go to Ghana. I did go to Ghana. Visited the university but I was more affected by what I saw around me outside of the university setting. When I got back to the UK from Africa I got involved with international studies, one of the lecturers was affiliated with the Institute for African Alternatives where in the late 80’s UNECA was coming up with different alternatives. My boss at the Institute went to a technical event and came back and wanted to link up all our offices. He told me, “you need to talk with Mike Jensen at GreenNet.” I did, Mike guided me through the process of linking up. Within six months, GNFIDO developed by Mike connecting 7/8 countries. I subsequently applied for Mike’s job at GreenNet to look after the gateway – 50 -70 hosts in Africa formed the basis of the first generation of internet users in Africa. My first night on the job, I disconnected everything and ended up with piles and piles of paper. Eventually I found a sheet that allowed me to re-entry what I had dismantled and with this experience the realization of how incredible important to those using the internet!” Karen Banks: APC Manager

Story ThreeWhen I first started at IDRC, I met with a colleague of mine who was first taught about gender issues and ICT by APC and for him it was a personal transformation. This set the tone for me. I have kept what was shared with me and through a reciprocal relationship with APC, I have benefited by working collaboratively and openly with APC. There has been joint learning. There is an ongoing discussion around how not to lose their fundamental beliefs yet work smartly. Sarah Earl: IDRC, Evaluation Unit: Strategic Partner



Story Four”For me personally, APC is transformative. I was able to see and feel their effectiveness of bringing the civil society perspective to the global agenda and how they contribute to making policy makers aware of the connectivity issues in Africa. At an event in Tunisia, APC organised a dinner with the Tunisian Human Rights Commission...and they attended the dinner. I feel as if it was only APC that could pull this off in Tunisia! Also at my first meeting to the GKP EXCOMM, (the new kid on the block) where I met Anriette for the first time, she was the first to come and say hello to me (the little kid). She impressed me with her contribution to discussions, with evidence, solid examples and a demonstrated understanding of the issues. Our relationship has grown from then.”Khaled Fourati: Strategic Partner, IDRC.

Story Five“It was in 1999 during the Beijing+5 review process where WNSP had been instrumental in setting up a global media and communications network of women's organisations who wanted to input into the platform for action and advocate around Section J. And achieve many more things like building regional networks, a global network, training women in using ICTs etc etc. http://www.womenaction.org/ We had a regional workshop and built a network and website called Flamme - http://www.flamme.org/ It was an extraordinary workshop where French and English speaking African women's activists came together to build a website, create a network, teach each other (based on the Women'sNet methodology we had pioneered in 1997) around the Beijing+5 platform for action. I had just learnt how to build a website using HTLM (the old way of doing it) and was one of the trainers at this Flamme workshop. I felt so scared and inadequate but all the women trainers helped each other, shared skills, asked if they did not know... it was so supportive even though we had been thrown in the deep end. So few women know much about technology but each one who knew something taught and we built our skills through this and our confidence. It was so fantastic to see women in a safe, supportive and nurturing space working on computers that used to scare them. And they were building something REAL that would be useful, used and developed. Women came from diverse cultures, races, backgrounds, languages and everyone made an effort to contribute, understand each other - it was quite extraordinary. We threw ourselves into the work and produced a website, a network, we produced newspapers at conferences, interviewed women, produced really cutting-edge research (no-one had PHd's).We took this to New York to the UN and there we set up information and communication systems so women who could not afford to attend could send through emails and we would put them on websites, channel through to regional caucuses etc. We partnered with radio FIRE who interviewed women, reported from NGO caucuses and put this all online in audio files so radio stations could download these to broadcast further. I had never facilitated a mailing list but Karen Banks patiently showed me how to do this and it was not a trial run but "the real thing". As we were working around the clock, she was snoozing on the couch and I was hunched over a laptop trying to work out how to add emails to the list, moderate settings and each time I was stuck I could wake her up and she would guide me through. (3 am in the morning!). At the same event we were constantly updating the website with news, events, interviews etc and I sat next to Anna Feldman and she would guide me through how to do was very pleased when women started asked me how to do things. At big events such as the World Summit on the Information Society I watched my colleagues/friends address huge plenaries with confidence and passion. They could segue between "on the ground" activism and "fancy" policy spaces with ease and never making out it was a


http://www.flamme.org/

http://www.womenaction.org/


big thing - just necessary. With APC, I have often been thrown in the deep end (so to speak) but always known my colleagues are watching out for me. It has taught me huge confidence. There are many other stories... more recent ones - 2007 at the Women's Electronic Network Training (WENT) Africa which we hold every 2 years. l storytelling - women's experiences of violence - started, had to go and support my friend who's 10 year old boy had been killed. I arrived at the workshop quite shattered but my colleagues held the space, were so supportive, I found the energy to "hold back" the part of myself that was in pain and be present for the workshop. I could never have done that if the trainers and the participants had not been so caring. This workshop also reinforced how good our methodologies are. The technologies seemed easy to the women because they really wanted to make their digital stories.

2008 - workshop in Senegal - a small budget, demanding participants, a French speaking country and I don't speak French. Colleagues who pulled out all the stops to work wonders including coming to the workshop to assist in training and doing extra work and taking on extra duties. The support from IDRC in Dakar was also wonderful. Mmmm - many more but these are for now. Jennifer Radloff, APC WNSP - Africa

Story FiveAs a person involved with APC, there are a lot of moments to remember. When I think of the Women’s Program, the spirit of the programme is very strong. The group is cohesive, one can sit and chat and laugh...there is always a computer in front of someone but that does not take away from the humanness of the interactions. APC – these are my friends. Although we only meet every two years, this is my community. I am understood. Whatever it is I am struggling with is understood and there is help. There is no other organisation like APC. Caring is demonstrated. How do we keep the humanness within the virtual space? Valentina Pellizzer, Board Member

Story SixI applied for the job as Web editor for English and Spanish. I was interviewed on the phone by three persons. Five days later I am in Prague at an APC meeting. On the first day the Acting ED was fired! I thought what a weird organisation. I spent the next year threading water trying to stay out of trouble. As time went on it became clear that it was a group of people that were passionate about what they were doing. Karen Higgs. Communications Officer, APC.

Story SevenIn 2001 I attended my first APC- GEM meeting in the Philippines. I was overwhelmed and confused. Mind you I still feel confused and overwhelmed but in addition now I am also excited and feeling good. I am constantly challenged but am more comfortable in the space now. APC has shown me what virtual work can do. APC could do with a little slowing down and reflection. Sally-Jean Shackleton (WNSP)



ATTACHMENTS

Attachment A: List of self-assessment participantsConversation guidelines for:

Managers, staff and boardDonors and strategic partners

Attachment B: Resource Mobilization suggestions



ATTACHMENT A Table One: list of self-assessment participants in alphabetical order per grouping.

Individuals Organization RemarkManagement Staff:Anriette Esterhuysen (South Africa)

Executive Director APC Assessment Oversight

Chat Garcia (The Philippines) WNSP interviewedKaren Banks (UK) Network Development and

Strategic Uses Programme,APCinterviewed

Karen Higgs (Uruguay) Communications, APC Interviewed & Assessment Manager

Maya Sooka(South Africa) Finance APC interviewedWillie Currie (USA) CIPP APC interviewedAllManagement Staff Group discussion in Jo’burg 2009 MarchBoard Members:Al Alegre, member Interviewed & group discussionAndrew Garton, Secretary Interviewed & group discussionDanilo Lujambio, Chair Group discussionMagela Sigilito, Treasurer Group discussionValentina Pellizzer, member OWPSEE Interviewed & group discussionProgramme Staff:Jenny Radloff, Coordinator Women’s Program (Africa)

Interviewed

Programme/ Project Staff Most of APC programme staff in attendance at the June meeting in Buenos Aires participated in at least one of two workshops where aspects of the assessment were discussed

Donors/ Strategic Partners:Helen Belcastro Policy Specialist, Knowledge, ICT

and Education Team, Dept for Human Development, Swedish International development Coop Agency (SIDA)

interviewed

Khalid Fourati APC Programme Officer, IDRC interviewedLaurent Elder IDRC Contacted Patrick Kalas contactedPaul Massen HIVOS interviewedSarah Earl Evaluation Unit, IDRC interviewedProgramme PartnersBen Akoth Open Society Initiative for West

AfricaInterviewed

Grant McHerron (SU) ContactedJuan Fernando (WNSP) CEPES InterviewedJulian Casasbuenas (CIPP) ColnodoSally-Jean Shakleton (WNSP) Women’s Net InterviewedShahzad Ahmad (SU) Bytes for all Contacted



Conversation guidelinesConversation guidelines with managers, staff and project staff: Note: board member and partners conversation guidelines were a variation on this guideline.

PreambleBy the time you receive this, you will have received information from APC regarding the purpose of this facilitated organisational self- assessment exercise and where it fits within a larger APC project.The intent of this facilitated self-assessment is to determine the current state of APC - the organization; and, to gather information from you regarding suggestions for how best to implement the 2008-2012 strategic action plan. Conversations will be held with as many stakeholders as possible, keeping in mind the different types of relationships with APC and within a specific timeframe. The timeframe is 2009 March – 2009 May 31. While this sounds like a long period of time, it is not. Therefore, your assistance in participating and responding is anticipated with a great deal of appreciation. Conversations will take place in a number of different ways: face to face – where possible; virtually – more than likely through SKYPE; e-mail; and, over the telephone. Your preferred format will be respected within the available resources. The facilitator, eloise burke, will be in touch with you once you have confirmed to APC your availability and conversation preference. The process o You are being asked to share your thoughts, opinions, analysis and suggestions about APC in a systematic

manner. By using specific organisational categories, a picture will emerge of APC that allows the Board and Management to make decisions regarding how best to implement the 2008-2012 strategic plan.

o Conversations are confidential. You will not be quoted unless you specifically request that a statement of yours

be shared in the summary report. o All conversations will inform a summary report that will be presented and discussed with the board and the

management team for verification and agreement on the way forward. The result of this process will be shared with you by the end of July 2009.

o We will discuss the following categories related to APC: Legitimacy, Leadership, Management and

Administration, Core Business, Organisational Resources, and External Relations. There will be no scoring or rating, just your considered thoughts.

o How much time this will take will depend on the mode of conversation. Face to face, SKYPE and telephone can

take between one to two hours. It usually depends on an individual’s style of communicating, and how much he or she has to/ wants to share.



Starting the conversation:I will need to confirm your relationship with APC and how long you have been involved with the organization and in what capacities. Please remember – this is a confidential conversation.

Conversation Guidelines: The following represents the categories that I would like us to discuss. If you feel that areas of exploration are missing, please do not hesitate to say so during the course of our conversation or in your e-mail.

1. Legitimacy:In your opinion, what gives legitimacy to APC as an organisation?

2. Leadership:1. What is your understanding of the leadership structure of APC?

How does it work? What is staff’s role in leadership?

2. Management and Administration:

Organisational Structure and Systems1. Please describe the management structure of APC 2. Please draw your understanding of the organogram

3. What is working well?4. What needs improvement and how can this be done?5. Do you have a role in addressing the suggested improvement? Please explain

Management Plans and Policies1. Are there management plans and policies?2. How are these formulated? What is the process? What is your role?3. How accessible are these documents?4. How and when do you use them?

Decision-making processes and procedures1. What are the decision-making processes and procedures?2. Do you have a role in decision making? Please explain your answer.

Risk Management1. Given the virtual nature of the APC what are considered risks and how are these articulated?2. What are the factors considered in determining whether or not to work with a member or implementing

partner in the delivery of a project?Management of Information

1. Is there a management of information policy? Please explain your answer.



2. What are the systems in place for management of information?3. Is there a policy regarding documentation? Please explain your answer4. What is documented? Is there anything else that needs to be documented?5. Given the virtual nature of the organisation where and how are documents held?6. How accessible are public documents?7. How does APC’s key strategic vision impact on its approach to management of information? 8. What is the IT support and maintenance processes and practices?

Capacity Building1. What is APC’s definition of capacity building and how is this demonstrated?2. How does APC facilitate capacity building?3. APC considers learning and evaluation as a key element of capacity building, how is this demonstrated

within the organisation?4. Networking and collaboration is a cornerstone of APC, how does this contribute to capacity building? Please

give specific examples in your response.5. How is capacity building resourced? 6. What are your suggestions for resourcing capacity builidng?

Performance Management1. Is there a performance management plan for all levels of the organisation?2. What is the performance management plan development process?3. What is the performance management plan review process?

3. APC’s Core business:1. What is APC’s core business? That is, what does APC ?

2. Using the new Strategic Plan as a guide, please comment on each of the Key Results Areas (KRA)?

4. APC’s Resources:APC works virtually. This is not always understood by those who are not engaged in similar organisational structures. In responding to the following questions, please frame your responses keeping in mind the virtual nature of the organisation and subsequently how you do your work. Human Resources

1. Is the HR structure aligned with the strategic action plan? Please explain your answer.2. Are there HR policies and procedures? Is there a manual? How and when do you use the manual? 3. Is there a process for your input into keeping the manual current? Please explain your answer.4. Are there staff job descriptions?

Do you have a copy of your job description?



Does it adequately reflect the job that you do? Please explain your answer. What is the process for reviewing your job description? Do you have a contract for your job What is the staff remuneration package? (Salary, benefit package, leaves etc.) do you have any

comments about the package? Did you receive an orientation to APC on joining as a staff member?

5. Do you feel that you are a member of a team? Please explain your answer. If yes, how does being a team member factor into your performance management plan?

6. Is there staff development? Please explain your answer. What works? What needs improving? What is your role in the suggested improvement?

7. What are the roles and responsibilities of board members? Are these clear to you? Please explain your answer Are there documented board deliverables and how are these monitored? What is the process for you to interact with the Board?

Physical resources8. Are facilities adequate for carrying out the work of APC? Please explain your answer.9. Is equipment adequate for carrying out the work you do? Please explain your answer.

Financial resources10. Are budgets relevant, detailed and related to each activity?11. Do all relevant staff participate in budget development?12. Are there financial policies, procedures and control systems in place?

Is there a manual? How often do you use it? Is it helpful?13. Is there recording of transactions with the accompanying trail?14. Is there proper allocation of shared costs?15. Are the records up-to-date?

Is there a trail of records? (E.g. from originator to ledger to journal to financial statements?)16. Is their segregation of duties and controls?

Are cash receipts separated from bank reconciliation?17. Is there accounting software? Does it meet your needs? Please explain your answer.18. Do board and staff have an understanding of the finances of APC? Please explain your answer.19. Do you have any responsibility for resource mobilization? Please explain your answer.



5. External Relations and Communications:1. What is the strategy for managing external relationships?2. What is your perception of your various audiences’ perception of APC? Please explain your answer.

Donors/funders Implementing partners Members National governments

3. Are there any other virtual organisations similar to APC? Please explain your answer.

Closure1. Given your thoughts, in summary, what would you suggest that APC as an organisation needs to pay keen

attention to and how should they organise themselves to do this?2. In 2010 APC will be twenty years young as an organisation and a network. Based on your involvement with

APC, can you share a story that demonstrates what APC means to you personally? And can I use this story in my report with your name attached?

3. Is there anything else that you would like to share with me that may not have emerged so far?

Thank you very much for taking the time to share your thoughts with me. APC will share the results of this project with you.

Conversation Guidelines with Strategic partners/donors:Dear Colleagues:By now you have received information from APC that puts this e-mail in context. I would very much appreciate a response to the areas identified below. We can have a telephone call, SKYPE or you can respond in writing. I would appreciate hearing from you sooner than later. If you prefer to talk with me, do you have time during the week of March 23rd ? If this time does not work for you please suggest another time that works best for you and I will try my best to accommodate you. The information that you share with me will contribute to APC’s self assessment as APC explores ways and means of enhancing their sustainability. Your comments are confidential and will be seen only by me. Thank you.

1. What is the nature of your relationship with APC?Consider:

How long have you funded programs or projects and why have you done so?Who is your primary contact at APC?How often do you interact with this individual? What are the interactions about?

2. What is your understanding of APC’s mission and to what extend are their programming activities geared towards the stated Mission?



3. Is it clear to you the difference between APC the organization and APC the network? Please explain.4. Do you know of any other organization that is set up in a manner similar to APC and if so which organizations

are these? 5. Given your knowledge of the donor/funder community, can you suggest other donors/funders that APC could

consider approaching to support the work they do? 6. Based on your understanding of APC, can you suggest one or two strategies that could be implemented that

would contribute to their sustainability as an organization?7. What does APC do well and what needs improving? Why do you say so?8. Do you have a role in effecting any of the improvements that you have suggested? Please explain your answer.9. Given your thoughts, in summary, what would you suggest that APC as an organisation needs to pay keen

attention to and how should they organise themselves to do this?10. In 2010 APC will be twenty years young as an organisation and a network. Based on your involvement with

APC, can you share a story that demonstrates what APC means to you personally or to your organization? And can I use this story in my report with your name attached?

11. Is there anything else that you would like to share with me that may not have emerged during this ‘conversation’?

Again, thanks!!!



Attachment B: Resource Mobilization: Some suggestions

The following suggestions are made based on discussions with the assessment participants. Also, some of the suggestions are presented based on the Assessment Facilitator’s experiences. They are presented in order of priorities. Priorities are suggested based on the perceived level of effort that the suggestion would take to operationalize as well as the potential reward to APC. E.g. while priority one at a glance may appear to take time to set up, in fact once the initial set-up is done “it takes care of itself.” And, given APC’s level of expertise with the internet it is not perceived as a challenge for APC.

1. APC is registered as a charitable organisation in the USA. Use the US registration to the advantage:o Investigate how other organisations have developed their online donation using credit card

donations with taxable receipts issued immediately; and what internal financial systems need to be tweaked. Look at, for example, www.codecan.org

o Set up “donations” in a manner that allows an individual to donate to the organisation (because

they believe in all that you do and who you are; or have them identify a specific project).o Find out if there is a way to be affiliated with a “sister” organisation in Canada that allows you also

fund raise in Canada. Unfortunately, taxable donations are not interchangeable between US and Canada.

I think this is a golden goose. US residents receive a tax benefit for making a donation to APC. APC receives donations with accountability built in by the nature of your annual reports. Let me know if you would like a formal introduction to CODE.

2. Cost out the time of board and managers’ time for contributing at conferences, workshops, consultations and charge accordingly for APC’s management time.

o Using the established internal costing mechanism, identify the cost of having the ED and managers

contribute to various fora. While (for one reason or the other) not all interactions can be charged, there should be sliding scale of fees developed and charged accordingly to organisations. This is separate from per diems and transportation costs.

3. Ask donors, strategic partners and members to allocate a space or two to APC when they are doing relevant training and have staff training done in this manner.

o In approaching donors, strategic partners and members indicate that this is a part of your resource

mobilization strategy and offer to do the same for their staff when APC is conducting relevant training.


http://www.codecan.org/


4. With the Women’s Programme, deconstruct their approaches to effective resource mobilization and determine what, if anything can be extrapolated and institutionalized in APC’s overall resource mobilization strategies. Is there an overall approach that is used, taken for granted without realising that it is an RM methodology?

o It may be as simple as designing a checklist of questions to ask oneself when interacting at

“events” that allows someone who does not have the intuitive skills to recognise opportunities and pursue the possibilities.

5. Conduct a project audit with the aim of identifying which projects can be replicated and how can this be done so that APC receives some funds.

6. Explore the possibility of a business wing of APC. CODE the organisation that is mentioned in #1 did this. Because they had developed expertise in shipping books and educational equipment overseas they were able to establish an arm’s length entity that allowed them to operate for profit with the profit supporting the core business of CODE – the NGO. (They ship NGO related materials for other NGOs).

o What aspects of APC’s core business can be repackaged and sold?

The following are reported as suggested by both internal and external partners. They are not in priority, because there is not enough information to expand on the suggestion. Revisit resource skills data base suggested in 2001 and reactivate. (Assume APC knows about this.) Adapt GEM – institutionalize evaluation and find a way to make money from it (GEM is highly respected and

being used extensively. How this could be done without getting into conflict around “access for all?”) Look at partnering with another organisation as a way of accessing funds for work that together the joint

expertise is outstanding and affordable to a client to work with the “partnership”. ( e.g. look at Keystone/IDS partnership for evaluation of AGRA)

Explore partnering with HIVOS to go to the EU for funds. Which members can “open doors” for APC (and of course they would be involved/benefit from the resultant

interaction) Linkages across programmes in countries could lead to RM. (no specific examples were given) Identify a like minded organisation that APC could team up with and have more regional meetings with

African members (and in so doing make some savings)



The “notes” below reflect some of the discussions that took place in Buenos Aires at APC’s June meeting of board and staff. They are presented as documented and shared with the Assessment Facilitator.#1. Group 1 – Resource Mobilisation: Notes from staff discussions: 2009 June in Buenos AiresWhat are we doing well?What do we need to do more of?What new things do we need to do more of?What do we need to do, to do successful RM?

What are we doing well?APC is offering our financial services to different organisations – our financial server and system allow us to offer financial services to organisations like SangoNet allowing us income without overtaxing our financial staff.

What do we need to do more of?Strategic networks, networking and good contactsWe do this well, and need to do it even better (and some better than others)including: participation on other organisations' boards or working groups

Looking for opportunities – some staff have an ability to sense or smell out opportunities; they are constantly attentive to this and are able to seize the moment.

Travelling with intentTrips/travel are excellent opportunities for good networking, and we have to learn to “travel with intent” - if we are going to spend so much time and resources (and increase our carbon footprint) then we need to make the most of it. This can means networking on planes, who we sit by at events, how we are participation or interventions are recognised????

Sharing experiences and storiesLearning from others on staff about how they have been successful and seized the moments, or learning about opportunities as they come up and follow-up on them. (learnings/sharings could also be of interest to APC members)

How to talk about money? We need to understand money/cost implications and also know how to broach the subject of money – be it if billing for our time, or if we want to get funding for our work with someone who has a connection to funding.



Understand cost to organisationMaya has developed a cost chart including our overall costs to APC, including admin/benefits/managing us, etc. To that cost we have an additional rate and a solidarity rate. We need to be aware of our daily costs when we are spending our time, and also, charge for our time. If we can't charge, then we need to make initiatives aware of our worth – our solidarity contribution to them has a value. It is about raising awareness of our own worth, in ourselves and with others with whom we work.

Demand recognition of our own contribution and reciprocateWhen we participate, especially voluntarily, make sure our contribution is recognised – is APC listed as a participating organisation? Given credit on website? Mentioned in programme? Likewise, do we do the same – this gets blurry when recognising individuals vs. their organisation, ie, FTX did not recognise organisations.

Joint proposals with other organisations Working with organisations with credibility and capacity to truly do a joint proposal, ie WNSP and AWID. Build sustaining relationships.

Keep building new projects on the learning and achievement of previous ones.

What new things do we need to do more of?Use our information skills, services and resources to generate income (eg. Repackaging – ie the list of African blogs on ICT) (We put in parenthesis “especially small grants” but I'm not sure why)

Explore the possibility of a registration fee for capacity-building and other events.

Charge fee for capacity-building when well-sourced organisations are benefitting. (could be a training fee or a small contribution.) (We did this in FTX Cape Town to cover lodging expenses).

We debated in general charging for capacity-building. In FTX Latinoamericano, some women said they would be willing to make a contribution to continue to receive training, or that with a partial scholarship they would have come. We talked about symbolic small contributions in such cases.



Improve grant writing – we need to be clearer, more concise and faster in producing grant proposals.

Build on branding and reusing methods and resources already developed (eg. TBTT to MDG3, GISWATCH)

What do we need to do, to do successful RM?Improved systems, ie. documenting - impacts, violations, solutions -database to help writing better grants and justify cause. What about a contacts database?------------------------------------------------------------------------#3. 2009 June Buenos Aires Meeting: Summary notes from meeting with the Board and Management

Staff: 1. What is the board’s role in resource mobilisation?

• Everyone has a role to play in Resource Mobilisation. In doing so weneed to resolve those issues that have inhibited APC wide activities inthe past.

• We need a fresh perspective on how APC relates to its members. Itsmembers require an equally fresh perspective on how it relates to APC.

• As such, it is proposed that APC simply communicates to its members toseed it with project proposals, either as individual organisations or,for example, within a region. Projects are developed in response tomeeting the objectives of the APC strategic plan with APC utilising itsskills base to further develop projects. This may consist of assistancewith budgets, proposal writing, introductions to donors and / or funders.

• Additionally, existing projects within APC could be developed forup-take by its members. We are told such kits exist, but their use andapplication has not been communicated to members in a way that would /could stimulate the collaborate approaches that are an imperative.

2. Is there a way to make the board stronger?First is to clarify what is stronger in APC context? To answer this; the group finds that it's first necessary

• Expectation * to clarify "neaten" the Board Mandate. * to clarify the expectations for the Board.

• Use of time * for board to be effective and give proper feedback-- it's more effective to receive (a) digestible (small) chunks of information more frequently e.g biweekly

(b) unpack acronyms in reports

• Regional "link" * for board to bridge the gap between APC the org and the network members



• Clarify the Board Tasks (eg MWG tasks, Audit) and Roles • Board Plan for the Strategic Plan

3. 4. Does the business of APC need to be more focused? Should you be focusing in fewer areas?

We should focus on fewer areas – 7 strategic priorities are too muchToo complicated to explain what APC doesNot easy for APC to attend to all the world’s problemsAPC should focus on a) research b) advocacy c) capacity building

d) implementationMembers should do implementation as part of organisational learning cycleCore business should be our methodology – it is what makes us unique hence it is our selling point


Documents

Organisational self- assessment - APC · PDF fileo The assessment findings were shared with APC staff and board members during their meetings in Buenos Aires in June 2009. ... passion