Organizational Capacity and Partnerships for Household Economic Strengthening Activities

Organizational Capacity and Partnerships for Household Economic Strengthening Activities

Course Objectives

By the end of the training, you will be able to…

Explain why HES activities will enhance existing programs for VC Explain how HES activities fit into their organizational mission and

goals List the general steps necessary for planning and implementing

HES activities Identify core organizational strengths and weaknesses for

implementing HES activities Name four key components of partnerships Identify key challenges of forming partnerships and corresponding

strategies for mitigating them Develop a plan for working with colleagues to do a deeper

assessment of organizational capacity

What is Household Economic Strengthening?

“A portfolio of interventions to reduce the economic vulnerability of households and empower them to

provide for the essential needs of the children they care for, rather than relying on external assistance.”

PEPFAR working definition, 2011

Why HES Activities?

Why HES Activities?

Benefits to target audience Benefits over other types of interventions Benefits to organization (mission fit, strategic

objectives, etc.)

Health Kits

??????? ???????

Organizational Capacity

Organizational Capacity

Overall OC

What do you do?

How well do you do it?

How strong are your ‘systems’?

OC to implement HES Activities

What are you planning to do?

How well can you do it with your current resources?

What is your capacity to enhance existing resources in order to do it well?

Overall Organizational Capacity

Resources for Assessing Organizational Strength

Technical and Organizational Capacity Assessment Tool (TOCAT)

Organizational Capacity Assessment (OCA)

Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats Analysis (SWOT)

MCAT – Management Capacity Assessment Tool Finance, administrative, grants management

MOST – Management Organizational Strengths Assessment Tool NHOCAT – National Harmonized Organizational Capacity

Assessment Tool


Core Functional Areas Principal Capacity Domains

A: Institutional & Programmatic Technical Capacity

1. Number, Mix and Capacity Of Technical Staff 2. Technical Quality Standards3. Technical Supervision4. Training and Mentoring5. Client/Beneficiary Communications6. Community Involvement7. Service Delivery Organization and Quality Assurance8. Referral Systems for Continuum of Prevention, Care and Support Services

B: Institutional & Programmatic Organizational Capacity

1. Governance and Leadership2. Management Practices3. Operational Planning4. Structure: Roles and Responsibility5. Structure: Delegation of Authority and Decision-Making6. Staffing and Human Resource Management7. Partnering and Networking

Core Functional Areas Principal Capacity DomainsC: Financial Management Systems

1. Financial Planning and Budgeting2. Cash and Banking3. Accounting and Record Keeping

D: Procurement and Supply Management 1. Procurement

E: Monitoring for Management

1. Technical Program Planning and M&E2. Data Collection Systems3. Data Use and Culture of Information4. Stakeholder Communications and Reporting


SWOT – HES ACTIVITIESSTRENGTHSWhat are we good at?

WEAKNESSESWhat do we do poorly?

OPPORTUNITIESWhat are our best strategies for improvement or growth? Of what or whom can/should we take advantage?

THREATSWhat can get in our way? In what do we have little or no control?

Internal Factors

External Factors

Negative Influences

Positive Influences

How can we use these tools?

COLLABORATION

ACTION PLANNING

ACCOUNTABILITY

What else?

Capacity to implement HES Activities What are you planning to do?

How well can you do it with your current resources?

What is your capacity to enhance existing resources in order to do it well?

What does it mean to do HES activities “well”?

HES For VC GuidanceKey question Why is this important?

What do people really need?Incorrectly matching HES activities to households can have long-lasting negative consequences in the home and community.

How will HES activities affect and be affected by the local economy (“the market”)?

To take advantages of opportunities in the market and avoid negative side-effects of HES activities within the community.

Who will be the direct participants or beneficiaries of HES activities?

There are pros and cons to targeting particular populations for HES activities.

How can we monitor and evaluate these activities?

To know if HES activities are having intended (positive) effects and avoiding unintended consequences.

Can we implement HES activities alone or should we partner?

HES activities are resource intensive and technically challenging; strong internal systems and partnerships are key to delivering effective, efficient programs.

HES For VC GuidanceKey question Why is this important? How do you do it?

What do people really need?Incorrectly matching HES activities to households can have long-lasting negative consequences in the home and community.

Conduct a household livelihood analysis

How will HES activities affect and be affected by the local economy (“the market”)?

To take advantages of opportunities in the market and avoid negative side-effects of HES activities within the community.

Conduct a market assessment

Who will be the direct participants or beneficiaries of HES activities?

There are pros and cons to targeting particular populations for HES activities.

Conduct an organizational analysis and assess strengths and weaknesses of potential partners

How can we monitor and evaluate these activities?

To know if HES activities are having intended (positive) effects and avoiding unintended consequences.

Choose a program structure that maximizes positive outcomes for direct and indirect beneficiaries

Can we implement HES activities alone or should we partner?

HES activities are resource intensive and technically challenging; strong internal systems and partnerships are key to delivering effective, efficient programs.

Create and implement a monitoring and evaluation plan

Designing HES Activities






An effective HLA will help you…

Develop a holistic understanding of household and community livelihoods and well-being, economic conditions, health, food security, political and environmental security, etc.

Determine household and community needs and designing interventions to meet them

Examine intra-household poverty and how it affects VCs and other household members differently

Understand household and community opportunities and capabilities

Establish a baseline or reference point from which to identify and measure changes (positive and negative) in the future. This information enables program course correction as required, and to assess overall program outcomes and impact.

Designing HES ActivitiesA poor HLA can lead to adoption of HES activities that… Are of little or no value Have a negative impact on households Encourage dependence Disrupt local markets and merchants Fail to take advantage of valuable local

opportunities and capabilities Have a positive impact on households but a

negative impact on communities Fail to address inequalities in intra-

household poverty Fail to result in positive outcomes for

vulnerable children







A good market assessment will tell you about…

The local supply and demand of goods, commodities, services and skills

The accessibility of inputs, including commodities, capital or services, and

How the environment (political, regulatory, etc.) shapes incentives and opportunities for household participation in the market







The results of a poor market assessment could result in…

Lack of necessary supplies Production of goods or skills for which

there is no demand or too much competition

Negative impacts on local sellers Breaking the law







Identifying and targeting appropriate direct and indirect beneficiaries…

???







Identifying and targeting appropriate direct and indirect beneficiaries…

…???







Effective M&E will help you by…

Providing program planners and implementers with information to select HES activities

Knowing what and how households and VC are doing

Giving managers insight into whether HES activities are meeting targets

Being accountable to stakeholders

Providing ‘data for decision-making’







Ineffective M&E…

Collects too much or too little information Is poorly accessible Does not feed directly into decision-making

processes Does not differentiate between program

objectives and household / VC realities












An organization assessment should tell you

Your capacity to do all of these things well to select and design HES activities

Your capacity to DELIVER selected HES activities well

Implementing HES Activity

Savings Groups

Cash Transfers

Asset Transfers

IGAs – example?

Key Decision Points?

Partnerships

Discussion Questions

Why partner?

What are the biggest benefits you’ve encountered of

forming partnerships?

What are the biggest problems you have had

with forming or operationalizing

partnerships?

How would you do things differently to

avoid them?

Four Core Principles for Strong Partnerships

Transparency

Goals

Motivations

Processes

Shared Goals and Principles

Values

Program objectives

& outcomes

Mutual Benefit

Meeting individual

and collective

goals

Mutual Respect

Value each other

beyond financial

contributions

Shared / equitable decision-makingT

ransparency

Trust is an important part of any relationship and transparency of goals, motivations and processes are essential for building trust and maintaining accountability to each other, beneficiaries, donors and communities

Shared goals

and

principles

Partners share the same values and aim to achieve the same objectives as your organization. Even when missions are different, you should be able to agree upon a shared set of program outcomes.

Mutual ben

efit

Healthy partnerships will design programs to ensure that all organizations meet individual as well as collective goals.

Mutual R

espe

ct

Partners should value each other for reasons other than financial contributions. Decision-making should be an equitable process.

CHAMPION

Choosing a Partner Use organizational capacity

tools to identify your needs and assess partner capabilities

Assess for the four principles Other key questions

Do they have a good reputation implementing the HES activity you are interesting in?

Do they have reports that show positive results from past HES projects?

Do they have a standardized and documented approach to the HES activity?

Do they have experience working with VC HHs or do they have the expertise necessary to tailor their approach to make it appropriate?

If they don’t have sufficient staff expertise currently, do they have the necessary resources to recruit new staff or consultants?

How are Partnerships Formed?

At the coffee shop / bar family reunion At a training / conference / meeting Via HQ (regional, national, international) Other working groups, government resources,

etc. Others?

How are Joint Programs / Projects Developed?

At the coffee shop / bar family reunion At a training / conference / meeting Via HQ (regional, national, international) Other working groups, government resources,

etc. Others?

How are Partnerships Formed?

Partner 1 Input

Partner 1 Input

Partner 2 Input

Partner 2 Input

Final Proposal or Plan

Final Proposal or Plan

VS.

HES Activities – What Capacities do we Need? Outline the process from A – Z

INPUT – PROCESS – OUTPUT – OUTCOME – IMPACT

What is A? B? C?

Who will do it?

Who are potential partners? In this room? Outside?

Leverage • Universal Basic Education

(UBE)• National Poverty Eradication

Programme (NAPEP)• MDG-No 1 goal• SMEDAN• Social Welfare• Primary Health Care• Sure-P• CPC• National Center for Women’s

Development

• COOPERATIVE SOCIETIES• Grants/Donor Agencies

(WASH, UNICEF etc.)• NGOs and CBOs• MFB• CSOs• Media• Traditional institutions• Religious institutions

Documents

Organizational Capacity and Partnerships for Household Economic Strengthening Activities