NewsLetter December 2009
Content of this NewsLetter
In this newsletter you can read more on:
- More with Less, editorial
- Result reporting on MfDR
- Organisational Capacity Assessments
- Baobab Metaphor
- A participant from 1985
- What do we do in Ghana?
- Upcoming courses
Upcoming courses
In the period from January till April 2010, we organise a series of training courses in de Bosrand in Ede on the following topics:
More with Less
This is the last Newsletter of MDF in the year 2009, the year of the banking sector led Financial Crisis which also have had an impact on the real economy. GDP in the Netherlands declined with almost 5%, in my opinion a marginal drop from an unprecedented high level of prosperity and consumption. Nevertheless ministers, politicians, bureaucrats and private sector managers all seem to yearn for the return of those years of high and uninterrupted economic growth. With an ever increasing demand for energy, an ever increasing consumption of luxury goods, new cars and exotic vacations. With the directly related consequences for traffic congestion, air pollution, growing dumping grounds, Co2 emission and thus the continuing climate change.
With the middle classes in the emerging markets of Asia and Latin America claiming their rights in terms of mobility and prosperity it is obvious that our behaviour in the North has to change. The climate top in Copenhagen is bound to fail if we are not willing to change our life style: More with Less:
- Less economic growth but more gross domestic happiness;
More pleasure and quality time with less stress time; - Less pressure on the planet by more emphasis for a genuine Green Technology Revolution;
- More demand led aid and less donor influence;
- More corporate social responsibility and less attention for shareholders interests;
- More fair trade and less import restrictions;
- More public transport and less vehicles on the road;
- More physical exercise and less snacking.
The list is almost endless. In our opinion creating a better world for all starts at our door steps here. Not by 'doing something good' in Indonesia, Ghana or Bolivia but by adjusting our own personal behaviour; Less material consumption and more spiritual satisfaction. It is a long road for sure but like Lao Tse said: "each journey start with the first step. Let us start now."
Hans Rijneveld, director MDF
Baobab Metaphor
The Baobab Metaphor ... is a speaking tree metaphor. It is meant as a tool to facilitate communication between people of different background about how to obtain real change. It is specially developed for the one's who values the power of indogenous knowledge in local organisational development and sustainable change in the situation of the poorest of the poor.
Read the article by Jolanda Buter and John Wilson in Development in Practice, Volume 13, Number 1, February 2003
Jolanda Buter, senior trainer MDF
What do we do in Ghana?
The National Health Insurance Scheme in Ghana, effective since 2006, is a major effort of the Ghanaian government to increase financial accessibility of health services in the country. Today, almost half of the population is insured. Utilisation of health services rapidly went up in the past 3 years.
With so many changes in a relative short period, the challenges are plenty. The biggest challenge for the implementing agencies is to avoid 'management by crisis' and to keep the focus on 'managing for results'. In such a situation it is particularly important to have the right information at the right time at the right level.
Together with a public health expert of the Royal Tropical Institute (KIT), MDF assisted the National Health Insurance Authority to further develop and improve their monitoring & evaluation system. Through a series of workshops, information needs were defined for different management levels, information flows were determined and indicators formulated. MDF and KIT developed the software, reporting formats and a user friendly manual. Field tests were organised to examine the M&E system on errors and unfeasible data collection. Head office and regional office staff members were trained in data collection and analysis. Before the end of the year, the system should be introduced in all 145 district offices. This will certainly not be the end of the assignment! KIT and MDF will continue to work with the National Health Insurance Authority during the first data collection and quarterly reporting. An on-the-job training on supervisory skills and feed back will be part of it.
Ingrid Plag, branch director MDF West Africa
Result reporting on MfDR
This week we were very happy to learn that together with GGI Canada we were awarded an assignment on more harmonized reporting by donors on development results to which international cooperation has contributed. This initiative is important because better and large diffusion on development results will stimulate joint learning from success and failures. Better and accessible information will also serve in the public debate that needs more balanced and objective information.
This harmonized reporting will also contribute to the increasing use and strengthening of national monitoring systems in partner countries. We will start collecting reports from different donors and compare how information on development results is presented and reflect on more harmonized presentations. But more interesting is to find out to what extent the new approach "Managing for Development Results" is being implemented in partner countries including the harmonized role of the donors. It will keep us busy for 80 days during the whole next year and we hope that you will read the difference in the reports of 2010.
Herman Snelder, Director MDF
31 Organizational Capacity Assessments (OCA)
From June till October 2009 MDF has assisted Woord en Daad (a Dutch co-financing NGO) with OCA's of 31 partner organisations, in 18 countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Woord en Daad has undertaken this assessment-operation in order to find out their partner's capacity to function in future regional networks and one global network. Woord en Daad and their partners want to create such networks to replace the typical bilateral donor-beneficiary relation that presently exists in the Dutch co-financing setting. With such networks (in each of which Woord en Daad will also take part), their donor-role and partner-role will be strictly separated. Moreover, as networks, Woord en Daad's partners become specialised, complementary, strong entities with a larger implementation capacity than individual organisations. As such they may apply for institutional donor support (US Aid, EC, UNDP) provided that they comply with the organisational capacity which such donors demand.
Woord en Daad adapted the OCA tool and process from the New Partner's Initiative (Initiatives Inc.), published for US AID. The tool was accompanied by a score guide and a format for an Action Plan. With the help of the tool all (50) relevant organisational issues were assessed in a participative manner: the partner organisation (PO) on the one hand, and Woord en Daad on the other hand, had to agree on scores (1-4) on each issue, on the basis of presentations, discussions, mutual experience and proof. Woord en Daad itself was also assessed, with help of their core partners. MDF facilitated all OCA-processes as independent process managers. The details of the procedure had been discussed and approved during a partner-conference in the spring of 2009 in Nairobi.
The experience has been very fruitful. Consultants from MDF-offices in Ede (the Netherlands), in Sri Lanka, and in Vietnam, travelled to the 18 partner-countries to meet Woord en Daad staff there, and with the PO they worked together during three days for each OCA. Altogether, 20 different Woord en Daad-MDF couples have performed together in the 31 OCA's Some OCA's led to heated discussions, but the MDF facilitators managed to channel these towards final consensus. This has forged a strong bond between Woord en Daad and MDF staff. In process-reports disseminated to each other after each OCA they have expressed their satisfaction with the collaboration. Moreover, MDF staff increased knowledge and experience with respect to many aspects of organisational assessment, facilitation in multi-cultural settings and Woord en Daad culture. They wish all partner organisations and Woord en Daad success with the (innovative) creation of their regional networks and the one global network.
Sjoerd Zanen, senior consultant MDF
At our weblog: a participant from 1985
I am currently serving as Program Director, Childfund Sri Lanka, I was one of the pioneers who recommended MDF to the Ministry of Planning and Implementaion to set up a M&E Unit of MDF under the regional development division, during Dr. Van Loo and Peter Portier's time. I was the first to particpate in a Project Planning program conducted in the MDF in the Netherlands in some where in 1985. I recommended the MDF program for the staff of the regional development Division of the Ministry of Planning and Implementaion, subsequent to my 6 weeks training in Ede. It has been a great experience and learning which I have gained a lot during my career as Deputy Director Planning, Assistant resident representaive, Program, UNDP, Colombo and as quality Assurance Team Leader, Practical Action, South Asia program.
Manel da Silva, Sri Lanka
PO Box 430
6710 BK Ede
Netherlands
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6710 BK Ede
Netherlands
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