Accountability, Learning And Planning System
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Alps Accountability, learning and planning system
ActionAid’s vision is a world without poverty in which every person can exercise their right to a life of dignity. ActionAid’s mission is to work with poor and marginalised people to eradicate poverty by overcoming the injustice and inequity that cause it.
ActionAid lives by the following values: Mutual respect: recognising the innate dignity and worth of all people and the value of diversity. Equity and justice: requiring us to work to ensure that everyone irrespective of sex, age, race, colour, class and religion has equal opportunity for expression and utilising their potential. Honesty and transparency: require us to be accountable for the effectiveness of our actions and open in our judgements and communications with others. Solidarity with the poor and marginalised: so that our only bias will be a commitment to the interests of the poor and powerless. Courage and conviction: require us to be creative and radical without fear of failure in pursuit of the highest possible impact on the causes of poverty. Humility: recognising that we are a part of a bigger alliance against poverty and requiring our presentation and behaviour to be modest.
COVER PHOTO: ELAINE DUIGENAN
Why Alps? A growing concern voiced by staff and local partners in recent years has been the disproportionate amount of time and effort that is going into meeting ActionAid’s planning and reporting requirements. If it were only a question of wrong priorities, the problem could be easily rectified by reordering time allocation. The bigger risk is the spread of a culture of bureaucratisation and disempowerment of staff, partners and ultimately the poor people that we work with. Alps aims to liberate staff and partners from the tyranny of filling endless forms and writing lengthy, beautifully presented plans and reports that mostly adorn some shelf or archive. Alps is essential to operationalising Fighting poverty together by: ●
fostering a culture where staff and partners do not have the comfort of relying on rules and
●
significantly improving the quality and quantity of interaction with poor people and other
procedures but have to use their own initiative to achieve our common mission; partners; ●
raising the premium on reflection, analysis and learning that can be converted into improved
●
ensuring that decisions are taken as close to the point where their consequences are felt and
●
bringing the concerns and aspirations of poor people into the centre of our decision-making.
programme and advocacy actions;
The work of the team which developed ACAS – the first shot at revising the old system – was crucial in helping us to get to this stage and I would like to thank them for their effort. A big “thank you” to the team which finally created Alps – Ephraim, Ros, David, Nigel SaxbySoffe and Lubna. It was Colin Williams’ single-mindedness and belief in the underlying principles of Alps that ultimately helped us to get the long-drawn process to closure. Many thanks to Robert Chambers, trustee and friend of ActionAid, who not only constantly challenged us to think differently but gave us a lot of his time to come up with a workable alternative. And to our board of trustees who unanimously approved Alps last month and demonstrated their commitment to the new ActionAid where accountability is exercised by ensuring that the right values, people and standards are in place. The Alps document is itself meant to be as live and dynamic as what it propagates – the loose-leaf format will help us to change the system as we learn from our experience. And we need each of you to constantly and critically review it and propose improvements. We can now say with some certainty and pride that we have a planning and review system that is as passionate and rigorous as Fighting poverty together. We are all aware that it is much easier to change the system than changing behaviours and practice. Please ensure that staff and partners at all levels read and understand this in a language in which they are comfortable and that the new approach goes beyond rhetoric into reality in the shortest possible time, even if it at times this is uncomfortable.
Salil Shetty, Chief Executive 24 June, 2000
PHOTO: JENNY MATTHEWS
Accountability, learning & planning system
July 2000
Accountability, learning and planning system
Contents Part I
Alps: making space for learning
2
Part II
Principles
3
Part III
Attitudes and behaviours
4
Part IV
Accountability to the poor and our partners 5
Part V
Other core elements of Alps
7
Appraisals
7
Strategies
8
Reviews
13
Three year Plans
16
Annual reports
17
Annual participatory reviews and reflections
18
Part VI
Supporting systems
20
Part VII
Appendix:
22
Guidelines for content in Alps submissions
July 2000
Accountability, learning and planning system
Alps: making space for learning ActionAid is moving in a new and inspiring direction as we pursue our common goals expressed in Fighting poverty together. This requires us to release and focus our energy and creativity towards the achievement of our common goals. It demands that in all our relationships we exercise trust, live and share our values, and are accountable for our actions at all levels – but most of all to poor women, men, girls and boys. It also demands creative commitment, continuous and radical learning, and personal change. By reducing the drudgery of written reporting, Alps should make space for staff to interact more with partners and poor people. And by introducing processes of review and reflection, it is intended to help poor people, our partners and ourselves, to learn from our experiences and those of others in order to continuously improve the quality of our work. Alps replaces the Annual planning and reporting system, which has been in operation, with a number of changes, since 1988. This placed strong emphasis on standardised planning and reporting. Alps includes sections on behaviours and attitudes to emphasise that the way in which our people relate to each other and to others is more important than the documents we produce. Alps requires that human resource and organisation development issues such as performance management are integrated into all the planning and review processes. Alps acts as a point of reference for all ActionAid staff, who should refer to it during any planning, reviewing or reporting process. It is also a core document to help induct new staff and benefit interested external people. Alps recognises the needs of donors and funding partners which might have to supplement the core requirements. All efforts will be made in the ensuing period to harmonise these needs with the spirit of Alps.
PHOTO: STEVE MORGAN
Alps encourages creativity and innovation while meeting our internal accountability needs. Where guidelines are given, they are for guidance – they are not prescriptive. And to keep it relevant, we will revise Alps as our experience grows.
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The overall custodian of Alps is the chief executive who will seek approval of the board of trustees for any substantive changes to the system.
Accountability, learning and planning system
Principles Alps strengthens ActionAid’s main accountability, which is to the poor and marginalised women, men, boys and girls and our partners with whom we, and they, work. Alps strengthens ActionAid’s commitment to gender equity. Alps applies to the whole organisation at all levels, and covers horizontal and downward relationships. Alps information must be relevant and useful to the people who produce it, receive it and who need it to make decisions. It should be written in the language spoken by the majority of users and translated, usually in summary form, where necessary. It must be approved, in most cases, only one level up in the line management. Alps requires that the information provider must receive feedback. Approvals should be given in a non-bureaucratic manner. Alps aims to make best use of staff time by cutting down the amount of written information needed. It also promotes learning, which in turn improves skills and programme quality. Alps recognises the need to relate financial expenditure to programme quality. Alps promotes critical reflection that enables us to learn not only from our successes but also our failures.
PHOTO: JENNY MATTHEWS
Procedures are important but so is discretion, sensibly exercised and properly and openly communicated.
July 2000
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Accountability, learning and planning system
Attitudes and behaviours Alps can only be effective if our staff hold attitudes and behave in ways that fit with our shared vision, mission and values. These include: Behaving in a way that is not domineering or patronising but that genuinely shares power with others rather than keeps it for oneself.
●
Behaving in a way that makes room for those who are excluded to fully participate.
●
Holding an attitude that reflects the need to address inequity in gender, caste, ethnic identity or religion in all of our work.
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Recognising that to help relevant people take part at all stages and levels is basic to our work. In this we note that ‘consultation’ does not necessarily achieve participation.
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Holding an attitude that reflects how much we can learn from others who are aiming for similar goals by different methods. In so doing we are aware that we are all still looking for a lasting solution to poverty.
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Behaving with good humour and a sense of balance, appreciating the resilience and ingenuity of poor and marginalised people. After all, we work with people who – even in abject poverty – present genuinely happy faces.
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To listen in a way that understands the different cultural, language and communications characteristics of others.
●
Understanding that most staff do not meet face-to-face with each other on a daily basis. This means that we all need to make a great effort to achieve effective communication at a distance (while at the same time using email with care).
© Julie Smith. Source: Bridging the Gap A Guide to monitoring and Evaluating Development Projects, B. Broughton & J. Hampshire,1997, Australian Council for Overseas Aid
●
4
Look, I’ve only got an afternoon to work on this logframe. Can’t this funeral wait?
July 2000
These attitudes and behaviours are seen as a pre-requisite for Alps to be successfully operationalised. It is therefore essential that all staff in ActionAid fully appreciate and demonstrate these attitudes and behaviours in their day-today functioning. And that ActionAid provides the necessary organisational support for staff to do so.
Accountability, learning and planning system
Accountability to the poor & our partners Our commitment to poor and marginalised people holds us accountable to them for the quality of our work, and that of our partners. In ActionAid we have multiple accountabilities – to donors, other staff, partners, governments, communities, and the poor and marginalised people within them. However, accountability – to poor people, especially women and girls – is central to the spirit of Fighting poverty together. Alps seeks to put this spirit into practice. It means that the priorities and perspectives of poor people should inform the decisions we make at all levels in ActionAid, and the decisions made by our partners. It means that we must be transparent in sharing full information about the outcomes of meetings, plans, budgets and expenditures with partners, communities and poor people. This is a real challenge as we increasingly expect staff and partners to make sure that: Poor and marginalised groups, especially women and girls, take part in programme-level planning. This will include such groups developing their own indicators of progress.
●
They invite poor and marginalised members of the community in particular to be involved in monitoring, reviewing and evaluating what progress has been made within programmes.
●
Where possible, poor and marginalised members of the community and partners are directly involved in recruiting and appraising members of front-line staff, of both partners and ActionAid.
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The insights, priorities and other learning gained through these processes: become a basic part of planning, making decisions and reporting at all levels and are communicated upwards faithfully through the right media and forums.
●
PHOTO: JENNY MATTHEWS
Information that feeds upwards about appraisals, strategies, plans, budgets, funds, expenditures and reviews is given to poor and marginalised members of the community for review. This should be in a language and form that they can access.
●
We would expect our partners to commit themselves to these ways of working as much as we do ourselves.
●
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Accountability, learning and planning system
Other core elements of Alps The diagram below shows the links between the key parts of the system. It defines what ActionAid’s basic accountability needs are. A time period and lifespan is also shown for each document within Alps, and this must be respected. It is absolutely essential that any document exceeding 10 pages should have a well-written executive summary not exceeding three to five pages. The person who is authorised to approve the document, in consultation with his/her line manger, will sign off any exceptions such as advancing or postponing strategies or reviews/reports. Some guidelines are provided in the Appendix, and a separate document on best practice guidelines will also be available to support staff.
Appraisals countries programmes
Strategies (three to five years) ActionAid regions functions countries programmes
Three year rolling plans and budgets (including plan update & budget) ActionAid regions divisions countries
Strategic reviews ActionAid countries programmes
Annual reports ActionAid regions divisions
Annual participatory reviews and reflections countries functions programmes
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Regions (Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean) Functions (Advocacy, Communications, Emergencies, Finance, Fundraising, Gender, IT and Organisation Development) Programmes (development areas, development initiatives, projects, campaigns).
Accountability, learning and planning system
Appraisals All ActionAid initiatives to set up a new country or programme should go through an appraisal process to ascertain their feasibility to contribute to ActionAid’s goals and objectives at different levels. All new country appraisals will be in line with the regional strategies and programme strategies in line with the country strategies. The content and detail in each appraisal will vary, and we encourage discretion and flexibility in deciding the details. The appraisal will justify why ActionAid should commence work in the country or programme and the actions that will be undertaken during the first one to two years before the strategy is finalised. When ActionAid works with partner organisations in a defined geographical area, the detail in the appraisal will depend on the partner’s length of experience in the area and the nature of the participatory processes it has carried out. In most cases, where official donor funding is received, the appraisal process will become a part of the programme strategy document that is finalised before the start of the programme.
Purpose: to determine the feasibility of a new programme or country. Process: key internal stakeholder groups (such as ActionAid Alliance members and staff from other teams), and external stakeholders (such as donors, partners and poor and marginalised members of the community), should be involved. The appraisal should be conducted by a genderbalanced team (including a person specifically assigned to deal with gender) and people who are experts in the geographic or subject area. Time to complete: about one month. Length: about 20 pages. Approval: programme appraisals by country director in consultation with funding partners; country appraisals by trustees.
PHOTO: GOVEDI ASUSTA
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Accountability, learning and planning system
Strategies The following diagram shows how the medium and long-term strategies fit together. It does not suggest layers of priorities or that strategies will follow a single sequence. The system is dynamic, with each strategy being prepared according to its own schedule and both drawing from, and feeding into, all other strategies in the system. The prime strategies are those at the country and ActionAid level. This is because the process of writing them is as valuable as the documents themselves and they have a great deal of influence on the way in which the organisation functions. Strategies at other levels (for example divisions) will put the core strategies into practice – but Alps does not require these. Our stakeholders inform all ActionAid strategies. This is particularly true for the poor and marginalised women, men, girls and boys with whom we work, community groups and our partners.
Informed by stakeholders/poor people, community-based organisations and partners
Programmes
Programmes
Country strategies
Programmes
Country strategies
Optional strategies, for example divisions, campaigns etc
Regional/ functional strategies
ActionAid strategy
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Regional/ functional strategies
Accountability, learning and planning system
Core strategies Alps needs core strategies at the following levels: ●
ActionAid,
●
regional (Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean)
functions (Advocacy, Communications, Emergencies, Finance, Fundraising, Gender, IT and Organisational Development)
●
●
country
●
programmes (DAs, projects, campaigns).
The method of writing a strategy will vary with different people and places. However, the lead team for any strategy should include at least one person equipped to concentrate on gender issues. ActionAid strategy Purpose: to define the strategic direction of the organisation including vision, mission, values, goals and high-level objectives and strategies. Process: the chief executive leads the process, in consultation with staff and Trustees. Time to complete: about three months. Length: about 20 pages. Frequency: every five years. Approval: by the board of trustees. PHOTO: LIBA TAYLOR
July 2000
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Accountability, learning and planning system
Regional strategies Purpose: to interpret and operationalise the ActionAid strategy at the regional level, to guide country strategies and to articulate value-adding regional initiatives. Process: regional directors will lead the process in consultation with country programmes, Alliance partners, the international directors’ team and other relevant stakeholders. Involvement of an appropriate trustee is essential. Time to complete: about two months. Length: about 20 pages. The structure and content may vary depending on the strength of the country strategies in the region. Frequency: at least once every five years.
PHOTO: CHARLES OWUSU
Approval: by the chief executive.
Functional strategies Purpose: to show how each function will contribute to ActionAid’s goals and objectives within a five-year period. These strategies cut across divisional and regional boundaries and should clearly relate to one another. Process: the international director with most direct responsibility will lead the process with the involvement of an appropriate trustee, the international directors’ team and other relevant stakeholders Time to complete: about two months. Length: about 20 pages. Frequency: at least once every five years. Approval: by the chief executive.
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Accountability, learning and planning system
Country strategies Purpose: to set out clear objectives and strategies that are relevant to the country in realising ActionAid’s global and regional strategies. Process: country directors will lead the process in consultation with country staff, Alliance and other funding partners, and all other relevant stakeholders. Linkages must be ensured to the ActionAid, regional and relevant functional strategies. Where possible, a trustee will be involved in the process. Time to complete: about three months. Length: about 20 pages. Frequency: at least once every five years.
PHOTO: MARC BÖTTCHER
Approval: regional director.
July 2000
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PHOTO: ROBERT MALETTA
Accountability, learning and planning system
Programme strategies Purpose: to show how each programme (DA, horizontal working group, campaign etc) will achieve its own goals and contribute to the relevant country, functional and regional strategies. Process: the programme manager is responsible for producing the strategy, which should be as participatory as possible* and reflect stakeholders’ views. Key elements will be transparency at all levels about potential funds, sponsorship arrangements, and decisions about financial expenditure. The team (to include a person assigned to deal with gender) should work with all stakeholder groups, particularly poor and marginalised members of the community and the major funding partners. In the case of long-term programmes like DAs, a clear sustainability and exit strategy should be included. Time to complete: about two months. Length: about 20 pages. Frequency: at least once every five years. Approval: By country director in countries, in consultation with funding partners. By appropriate line manager in divisions. International advocacy campaigns by trustees. Trustees also approve programmes or projects of a support nature, eg IT or HR/OD, which have a total expected cost of more than £500,000. Programmes (DAs, projects, cross-country initiatives etc) requiring strategies will have a life cycle that is greater than two years or an annual expenditure budget in excess of £100,000. The other category that requires a programme strategy is where an initiative is considered as high risk because of its public visibility and political sensitivity (normally advocacy campaigns). * Project strategies at community level will often be the result of several months’, if not years’, work. They should clearly show poor peoples’ perceptions of and the nature of, poverty and how ActionAid (or our partners) will support poor people to take control of their own development.
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Accountability, learning and planning system
Reviews At least one independent review should be carried out before the end of each strategy period*. Reviews are required for: ●
ActionAid
●
countries
●
programmes which run for three or more years.
Such a review is not essential for regional or cross-organisational functions, as they will be evaluated as part of the organisation-wide review.
PHOTO: JENNY MATTHEWS
* Interim reviews may also be carried out as appropriate.
ActionAid review Purpose: to assess performance and results against the five-year ActionAid strategy and beyond, and to use the learning to improve future work. Process: the chief executive leads the process. The review should be done in the last year of the strategy’s life. External reviewers are essential in the process, which should also involve staff. At least one of the external reviewers should be a gender specialist. The review will be informed by other reviews conducted at the regional and functional levels. Time to complete: about two months. Length: to be indicated in terms of reference. Timing: in last year of the strategy period. Approval: trustees to approve terms of reference and final report.
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Accountability, learning and planning system
PHOTO: LIBA TAYLOR
Country review Purpose: to assess performance and results against the country strategy and beyond, and to use the learning to improve future work. The review should: ●
assess the impact on poor and marginalised women, men, girls and boys;
judge effectiveness of accountability processes to the poor and our partners;
●
assess costs incurred in work on strategic objectives and in support of the country more generally;
●
capture the main learning that has taken place and feed into the next country strategy.
●
Process: the country director is responsible for leading the process. The review should be done in the last year of the strategy’s life. External reviewers are essential, and at least one of the team should specifically cover gender issues. The team should ensure that: ●
there is wide consultation with external and internal stakeholders;
●
the process supports our commitment to transparency;
our primary stakeholders, particularly poor and marginalised groups, participate fully.
●
Time to complete: about two months. Length: to be indicated in terms of reference. Timing: in the last year of the strategy period. Approval: the regional director will approve the terms of reference, composition of the review team, and the final report.
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PHOTO: LIBA TAYLOR
Accountability, learning and planning system
Programme review Purpose: to assess performance and results against the programme strategy and beyond, and to use the learning to improve future work. The review should: assess the impact of the programme on poor and marginalised women, men, girls and boys;
●
judge effectiveness of accountability processes to the poor and our partners;
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assess costs incurred in work on strategic objectives and in support of the programme more generally;
●
capture the main learning that has taken place and feed into the next programme strategy.
●
Process: the programme manager leads the process. External reviewers are essential with one of the team members specifically assigned to deal with gender. The team should ensure that: there is wide consultation with external and internal stakeholders (including donors);
●
●
the process supports our commitment to transparency ;
our primary stakeholders, particularly poor and marginalised groups, and groups of women and girls, take a full part.
●
Time to complete: about two months. Length: to be indicated in terms of reference. Timing: in the last year of the strategy period. Approval: by country director or appropriate line manager.
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PHOTO: ELAINE DUIGENAN
Accountability, learning and planning system
Three-year plans Three-year plans are required from: ●
regions
●
countries
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programmes
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divisions.
Purpose: to develop specific objectives and actions planned over the next three years, to provide all parts of ActionAid with the confidence that funds of the right type are available to achieve objectives in the medium-term, and to provide a basis for assessing progress in achieving strategic objectives. Timing: September to November. Contents: Plans are equally programme and financial documents. The documents will not be detailed and we encourage block budgeting. Approval: The organisation-wide plan to be approved by the board of trustees and others by the line manager.
PHOTO: ROGER YEATES
Simplified Annual budgets will also be required but the content and process will be refined based on our experience in 2000.
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Accountability, learning and planning system
Annual reports Annual reports are needed from: ●
ActionAid
●
divisions
●
regions
●
countries (only financial).
Purpose: to help each country programme assess its financial performance against the previous year’s, and the current year’s, budget. To learn lessons for future performance and allow a consolidated picture of financial performance to be prepared at the organisational level.
PHOTO: ELAINE DUIGENAN
Annual country financial report
Timing: March to April. Content: the finance function will provide annual guidelines. Approval: by line manager.
Regional, divisional and ActionAid annual reports Purpose: to monitor progress against the relevant strategy and three year plan. Process: the International Directors are responsible. Where relevant, we should promote organisational learning by making this more than a simple documentation exercise, so that it stresses our transparency and accountability to our stakeholders. Divisional annual reports should seek to reflect organisation-wide progress in their specific functional areas. Length: about 20 pages. Timing: February to March. Approval: by the board of trustees for the ActionAid and the chief executive for others.
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Accountability, learning and planning system
Annual participatory reviews and reflections Alps does not need any annual report from countries, programmes or functions. Instead, in the spirit of increasing accountability to the poor and our parners, the system asks that each of these entities carry out a set of participatory reviews and reflections with stakeholder groups. Purpose: to learn and share learning (achievements and failures) so that we can improve the responsiveness and quality of ongoing work. To increase our accountability to stakeholder groups, and increase transparency of financial/funding decisions and potential. To help poor and marginalised groups take control of, and lead, their own development. PHOTO: CHARLES OWUSU
Process: determined by the line manager, country director or relevant international director with their senior management teams and partner organisations. A key part of the ongoing review of progress against strategies, it should be fully transparent and participative (rather than consultative). It should involve as many stakeholder groups as possible (including poor and marginalised women, men, girls, boys, partners and donors if relevant) and provide space for them to express their ideas, priorities and concerns. No report is required from this process. However, in the spirit of organisational learning, we ask that rough notes including outputs such as matrices, photographs and diagrams are fed back and discussed at all levels, and shared on the ActionAid intranet. The process of sharing key learnings (particularly from our interaction with poor people) among staff, trustees and donors is considered to be a vital part of the process.
Frequency and timing: at least once a year, at the discretion of the relevant managers and their teams in consultation with partners and the community groups with whom they work. Approval: each manager will discuss with their line manager how the process is shaping future plans, and whether (and how) the changes in Alps have decreased the percentage of staff time spent on data collection, report writing (or answering email) versus face-to-face work with partners and the poor.
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Timing of Alps processes & submissions The annual timeline chart for Alps reports and processes will be finalised after the experience in 2000. This will be the first year of three-year rolling plans and budgets, and participatory reviews and reflections. Until the timeline chart is developed the following principles will guide timing of Alps processes: Participatory reviews and reflections: this should happen at the time that will produce the most effective process and output.
●
●
Annual organisational, divisional and regional reports: February to March.
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Annual country financial report: March to April.
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Income expenditure matching process: April to May.
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Three-year rolling plans and budgets: September to November.
PHOTO: JENNY MATTHEWS
PHOTO: STEVE MORGAN
Accountability, learning & planning system
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Accountability, learning & planning system
Supporting Systems There are several other processes in ActionAid that contribute to our internal and external accountability. While they are not duplicated in this document they are an integral part of Alps. The most important systems and their linkages with Alps are set out below.
i) Statutory accounts This system is laid out in the international financial policies and procedures manual (IFPPM). Its custodian is the finance director. The statutory accounts fulfil our accountability to our official regulators and are used to provide donors and others with financial information on the agency. Information in the trustees report, which forms part of the statutory accounts, may be derived from the annual reviews and reports, which form part of Alps.
Trustees’
Report
counts
and Ac
1998
ii) Management accounts, financial control, and audit These systems are detailed in the IFPPM, and their custodian is the finance director. Their purpose is to facilitate and protect the financial integrity of the agency, and to provide managers with current financial information. They include rules covering expenditure that is additional to previously approved plans and budgets. The audit functions in countries and at the centre will review the outputs of Alps from time to time as part of their wider audit work. The management accounts will feed into the annual financial reports. iii) Human resource systems The human resource systems within ActionAid are the responsibility of the organisation development (OD) director. Their purpose is to optimise the use of our human resources. The performance appraisal processes help us meet our internal and external accountability. Similarly, our HR systems should provide incentive mechanisms for staff to satisfy Alps and promote and reward learning, creativity and innovation. HR functions should also help managers develop their staff’s skills so that they can make a relevant contribution to Alps. iv) Knowledge management
PHOTO: MARC BÖTTCGER
This system is currently evolving under the charge of the OD director. Its purpose will be to promote learning and sharing of information within ActionAid. It will thus be closely connected to the learning and sharing processes covered in Alps.
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Aid Action nd sa Policie ures ed Proce al manu
Accountability, learning & planning system
PHOTO: JENNY MATTHEWS
v) Impact assessment, monitoring and evaluation Alps provides a framework for ActionAid’s overall monitoring and evaluation systems. Key papers such as the regional and functional annual reports will provide an update of progress against the ActionAid strategy. Similarly, reviews and evaluations at project, country and organisational level should help ActionAid understand the quality and value of its work to poor and marginalised groups. While Alps provides a framework, each part of the organisation (functions, countries, regions, departments and projects) is expected to have simple but effective internal monitoring systems. These systems are the responsibility of the line manager. A thematic impact assessment report is prepared annually, facilitated by the Impact Assessment Unit and presented to the board of trustees around September. Some countries also produce annual reports as a statutory requirement or to increase public accountability. vi) Donor reporting systems ActionA
id Spon sor
ship co mm
unicatio
ns ma nual
Sponsorship and other linked products The sponsorship manual details the management and administration processes for child and community sponsorship, and the needs that work funded by these income sources should meet. The custodian of the system is the marketing director, working through the sponsorship forum (International linked products action group). As other linked products are developed in the UK, the sponsorship manual will be extended to cover them. Funding partners Members of the ActionAid Alliance who fund different aspects of our work – in particular Ayuda en Acción and Azione Aiuto – have specific reporting requirements. Other donors, including official donors, have their own planning and reporting system needs, with which country programmes and other parts of ActionAid will be expected to comply. ActionAid will, however, seek to influence the systems of donors closer to Alps when engaging with them.
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Accountability, learning & planning system
Appendix: guidelines for content in Alps submissions Alps encourages creativity and innovation while meeting our internal accountability needs. Where guidelines are given, they are for guidance – they are not prescriptive. And to keep it relevant, we will revise Alps as our experience grows. An additional suppliment suggesting best practice will be available shortly.
Appraisals Summary: Each paper should have a three to five page summary which defines: ●
the type of initiative;
●
the major criteria for choosing this area of work;
●
the value we think the work will add;
●
information split into poor and marginalised women, boys, girls and men;
●
overall resource needs.
The main paper could address the following questions: ●
What is the project’s purpose?
How does the project relate to relevant strategies at the level of function, country, region, and organisation?
●
●
Who will manage it (ActionAid, a partner, a coalition etc)?
Where will the work be carried out? (Include a map if this is a fixed geographical area.)
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If in a fixed geographical area, what are the characteristics of that area? (Include information on demographics, geography, social, gender, economics, politics, administrative systems, infrastructure and service conditions etc.)
●
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What is the scale and what are the causes of poverty?
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How does poverty affect women and children?
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Which causes does the work seek to address?
Who do we/our partners plan to work with? (Give rough numbers and group, for example, by gender, age, social and institution.)
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Who are the key players and what do they do? (Describe those doing similar work, including NGOs and governments, and the potential for co-operating.)
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What criteria did you use to select this initiative? (Describe the weight given to each criterion in making the final judgement. The criteria could include:
●
(a) relevance to the appropriate strategy paper; 22
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Accountability, learning & planning system
PHOTO: JENNY MATTHEWS
(b) the scale of poverty and potential for impact on the quality of women’s, men’s, boy’s and girl’s lives; (c) the potential contribution to ActionAid’s understanding of poverty in the country or region; (d) opportunities for research, policy influencing and advocacy etc. What activities do you plan in the first two years before you develop a project strategy?
●
Who will take part in and benefit from these activities, and what impacts will they have on women, men, girls and boys?
●
How will this work be managed? (If ActionAid is working with partners, please discuss their background and how they fit with ActionAid’s vision, values and accountabilities.)
●
●
What is the overall timeframe for ActionAid’s involvement in the area?
●
What are the financial needs of the initiative?
What are the risks or possible threats (including conflict and instability) and how could you avoid or manage them?
●
What is the most appropriate source of funding? (For example sponsorship, non-sponsorship, draw on reserves.)
●
●
If child sponsorship is needed, please describe: (a) how stable the population is; (b) the number of children within the right age range; (c) any other sponsorship-funded NGOs in the area; (d) whether the culture of the local people will permit the mechanisms of sponsorship; (e) the agreement with local or central government to run the scheme; (f) any local institutions through which sponsorship can be run; (g) the nature of settlements; (h) how much access there is in and around areas of operation; (i) schedules to collect case histories; (j) sponsorship numbers; (k) how the scheme will be managed; (l) source of sponsorship (either UK, Spain, Italy, Ireland, Greece or other).
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23
Accountability, learning & planning system
ActionAid, regional and country strategy Summary: each paper should have a summary of three to five pages noting the reason for the strategy and its relationship with other cross organisation documents. The main paper should address the following questions: What mission, vision and values direct the agency’s work over the next strategic period?
●
What are the major issues in the external context over the next strategic period?
●
What is ActionAid’s understanding of poverty affecting poor and marginalised women, men, girls and boys at this level with particular emphasis on questions of gender, how power is structured and the different elements of how poverty and marginalisation as well micro and macro factors are linked? Who are the major players at this level and what are they doing? What are the issues concerning the role of government?
●
What is ActionAid’s comparative advantage and, given the external context and the major players, what strategies and objectives will we implement to achieve ActionAid’s mission during the next strategic period? (Please ensure that the linkage between the external context and the strategy is clear.)
●
●
How do these strategies draw on learning from past reviews? What financial resources will be needed? (These are broad resource projections and will link to tighter estimates of income and expenditure to be set out in the three-year rolling plan.)
●
Do we, and our partners, have the leadership and human capacity necessary and how do we build and strengthen it.
PHOTO: ELAINE DUIGENAN
●
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July 2000
How do we build our monitoring and evaluation systems recognising the primacy of accountability to the poor and our partners and transparency to the local community?
●
PHOTO: MARC BÖTTCHER
Accountability, learning & planning system
Programme strategy Summary: each paper should have a three to five page summary to explain: ●
the reason for the strategy;
●
its relation to the country strategy;
●
the objectives to be achieved over the life of the strategy.
The main document may wish to address the following issues: How poor and marginalised women, men, girls and boys perceive their problems. What do they see as their main causes and how can they shape their solutions? (Include diagrams, matrices, and perspectives of stakeholder groups – and how these differ.)
●
What are the characteristics (geographic, physical, economic and social) of the project’s work area?
●
How are key resources distributed (particularly in relation to gender or ethnic issues)?
●
What other major institutions and organisations are in the area? (Include background and how they affect social and gender relations.)
●
Background information on the people and how they affect social and gender relations.
●
What are the scale and the causes of poverty? What is ActionAid’s understanding of poverty affecting women, men, girls and boys at this level with particular emphasis on questions of gender, how power is structured and the different elements of how poverty and marginalisation as well micro and macro factors are linked? The report should split the data by poor and marginalised women, girls, boys and men.
●
What strategies and objectives will be put into practice over the strategy period?
●
How will poor and marginalised groups (of women, men, girls and boys) take part in shaping and changing the on-going work?
●
●
What measures of success will be used to assess progress?
What indicators of success have come from poor and marginalised women, men, boys and girls?
●
●
How will progress be monitored?
●
How will stakeholder groups take part in monitoring progress?
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Accountability, learning & planning system
What co-ordination mechanisms and/or agreements are in place so that work with local and central government, donors, NGOs and community-based organisations is effective?
●
What financial resources will be needed over the strategy period? (Please provide income and expenditure projections, ideally for three to five years, and review and adjust them each year.)
●
How do we build our monitoring and evaluation systems recognising the primacy of accountability to the poor and our partners and transparency to the poor and marginalised members of the community?
●
What is the most appropriate form of funding – sponsorship, draw on reserves, or non-sponsorship?
●
For sponsorship projects, what are your needs? (Please include a sponsorship level forecast for the three-to-five year period, taking into account expansion, replacing sponsor and child withdrawals, phase out, and transfers to (or from) other areas.)
●
●
How long do we plan to work in the area? What are the exit strategies? PHOTO: JENNY MATTHEWS
26
July 2000
Accountability, learning & planning system PHOTO: LIBA TAYLOR
Strategic review Summary: each paper should have a three-five page summary of the main findings and recommendations. Review reports could, among other things, answer the following: How successful has ActionAid or its partner been at meeting its strategies and objectives?
●
●
What constraints were there and how were they overcome?
●
What were the major external issues?
●
How relevant were the strategies and objectives detailed in the paper?
In relation to each objective, what were the effects, outcomes, or impacts of ActionAid’s work? (Please include and explain the views of different stakeholders (particularly poor and marginalised women, men, girls and boys), show both positive and negative changes, explain conflicts of interest and faithfully record people’s voices, diagrams and priorities.)
●
How effective were the monitoring and evaluation systems in helping the team? What did they say were the views of the communities with whom we have worked (Please describe the major changes that will be made to these systems.)
●
What were the major income and expenditure trends? (Please include an analysis of expenditure in relation to each objective.)
●
What major learnings, conclusions and recommendations can you draw from this review? What changes should we make to future strategy documents?
●
July 2000
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Accountability, learning & planning system
Regional, divisional and organisational annual reports PHOTO: ROGER YEATES
Summary: each paper should have a three to five page summary of the main findings and recommendations. Reports could, among other things:
Briefly explain work carried out under each organisational goal or strategic objective, with a rough estimate of expenditure;
●
Briefly share the achievements and failures during the period (giving quantitative information if possible);
●
●
Give an overview of lessons learnt and innovations which have happened;
Assess what percentage of staff time was spent writing reports (and answering emails) versus creative face-to-face work with partners and poor and marginalised members of the community;
●
Indicate which strategic objective has been the most, and which and least, successful. (Explain or show evidence of why each is so.)
●
Outline what changes will be made to the strategy (if relevant) and what changes will be made to work plans in the next year.
●
Where appropriate this report should be cross checked or shared with major stakeholder groups in an assessable format;
●
Project strategies at community level will often be the result of several months’, if not years’, work. They should clearly show people’s perceptions of, and the nature of, poverty and how ActionAid (or our partners) will support people to take control of their own development.
●
No guidance is given here for functional strategies as these are, by their very nature, highly diverse.
●
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July 2000
Accountability, learning & planning system
PHOTO: LIBA TAYLOR PHOTO: LIBA TAYLOR
July 2000
29
Alps Accountability, learning and planning system
ActionAid Registered Office
ActionAid Alliance Office
Hamlyn House, Macdonald Road, Archway, London N19 5PG International tel: 44 020 7561 7561 International fax: 44 020 7272 0899 Email: [email protected] Website: www.actionaid.org
70-72 rue du Commerce, B-1040, Brussels, Belgium Email: [email protected] International Tel: 32 2 502 55 01 International Fax: 32 2 502 62 03
ActionAid is a registered charity no. 274467
ActionAid is moving in a new and inspiring direction as we pursue our common goals expressed in Fighting poverty together. This requires us to release and focus our energy and creativity towards the achievement of our common goals. It demands that in all our relationships we exercise trust, live and share our values, and are accountable for our actions at all levels – but most of all to poor women, men, girls and boys. It also demands creative commitment, continuous and radical learning, and personal change.
Regional offices Africa regional office PO Box 2451, Causeway, 6 Natal Road, Belgravia, Harare, Zimbabwe Tel: 00 263 4 704 005 Fax: 00 263 4 704 004 Email: [email protected]
Asia regional office 13th Floor, Regent House Building, 183 Rajdamri Road, Lumpini, Patwumwan Bangkok, Thailand Tel: 00 662 651 9066 / 7 Fax: 00 662 651 9070
Latin America regional office 5a Avenida 8–58b, Zona 10, Guatemala, Guatemala CA Tel: 00 502 331 1883 Fax: 00 502 334 1792 Email: [email protected]
ActionAid’s vision is a world without poverty in which every person can exercise their right to a life of dignity. ActionAid’s mission is to work with poor and marginalised people to eradicate poverty by overcoming the injustice and inequity that cause it.
ActionAid lives by the following values: Mutual respect: recognising the innate dignity and worth of all people and the value of diversity. Equity and justice: requiring us to work to ensure that everyone irrespective of sex, age, race, colour, class and religion has equal opportunity for expression and utilising their potential. Honesty and transparency: require us to be accountable for the effectiveness of our actions and open in our judgements and communications with others. Solidarity with the poor and marginalised: so that our only bias will be a commitment to the interests of the poor and powerless. Courage and conviction: require us to be creative and radical without fear of failure in pursuit of the highest possible impact on the causes of poverty. Humility: recognising that we are a part of a bigger alliance against poverty and requiring our presentation and behaviour to be modest.
COVER PHOTO: ELAINE DUIGENAN
Why Alps? A growing concern voiced by staff and local partners in recent years has been the disproportionate amount of time and effort that is going into meeting ActionAid’s planning and reporting requirements. If it were only a question of wrong priorities, the problem could be easily rectified by reordering time allocation. The bigger risk is the spread of a culture of bureaucratisation and disempowerment of staff, partners and ultimately the poor people that we work with. Alps aims to liberate staff and partners from the tyranny of filling endless forms and writing lengthy, beautifully presented plans and reports that mostly adorn some shelf or archive. Alps is essential to operationalising Fighting poverty together by: ●
fostering a culture where staff and partners do not have the comfort of relying on rules and
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significantly improving the quality and quantity of interaction with poor people and other
procedures but have to use their own initiative to achieve our common mission; partners; ●
raising the premium on reflection, analysis and learning that can be converted into improved
●
ensuring that decisions are taken as close to the point where their consequences are felt and
●
bringing the concerns and aspirations of poor people into the centre of our decision-making.
programme and advocacy actions;
The work of the team which developed ACAS – the first shot at revising the old system – was crucial in helping us to get to this stage and I would like to thank them for their effort. A big “thank you” to the team which finally created Alps – Ephraim, Ros, David, Nigel SaxbySoffe and Lubna. It was Colin Williams’ single-mindedness and belief in the underlying principles of Alps that ultimately helped us to get the long-drawn process to closure. Many thanks to Robert Chambers, trustee and friend of ActionAid, who not only constantly challenged us to think differently but gave us a lot of his time to come up with a workable alternative. And to our board of trustees who unanimously approved Alps last month and demonstrated their commitment to the new ActionAid where accountability is exercised by ensuring that the right values, people and standards are in place. The Alps document is itself meant to be as live and dynamic as what it propagates – the loose-leaf format will help us to change the system as we learn from our experience. And we need each of you to constantly and critically review it and propose improvements. We can now say with some certainty and pride that we have a planning and review system that is as passionate and rigorous as Fighting poverty together. We are all aware that it is much easier to change the system than changing behaviours and practice. Please ensure that staff and partners at all levels read and understand this in a language in which they are comfortable and that the new approach goes beyond rhetoric into reality in the shortest possible time, even if it at times this is uncomfortable.
Salil Shetty, Chief Executive 24 June, 2000
PHOTO: JENNY MATTHEWS
Accountability, learning & planning system
July 2000
Accountability, learning and planning system
Contents Part I
Alps: making space for learning
2
Part II
Principles
3
Part III
Attitudes and behaviours
4
Part IV
Accountability to the poor and our partners 5
Part V
Other core elements of Alps
7
Appraisals
7
Strategies
8
Reviews
13
Three year Plans
16
Annual reports
17
Annual participatory reviews and reflections
18
Part VI
Supporting systems
20
Part VII
Appendix:
22
Guidelines for content in Alps submissions
July 2000
Accountability, learning and planning system
Alps: making space for learning ActionAid is moving in a new and inspiring direction as we pursue our common goals expressed in Fighting poverty together. This requires us to release and focus our energy and creativity towards the achievement of our common goals. It demands that in all our relationships we exercise trust, live and share our values, and are accountable for our actions at all levels – but most of all to poor women, men, girls and boys. It also demands creative commitment, continuous and radical learning, and personal change. By reducing the drudgery of written reporting, Alps should make space for staff to interact more with partners and poor people. And by introducing processes of review and reflection, it is intended to help poor people, our partners and ourselves, to learn from our experiences and those of others in order to continuously improve the quality of our work. Alps replaces the Annual planning and reporting system, which has been in operation, with a number of changes, since 1988. This placed strong emphasis on standardised planning and reporting. Alps includes sections on behaviours and attitudes to emphasise that the way in which our people relate to each other and to others is more important than the documents we produce. Alps requires that human resource and organisation development issues such as performance management are integrated into all the planning and review processes. Alps acts as a point of reference for all ActionAid staff, who should refer to it during any planning, reviewing or reporting process. It is also a core document to help induct new staff and benefit interested external people. Alps recognises the needs of donors and funding partners which might have to supplement the core requirements. All efforts will be made in the ensuing period to harmonise these needs with the spirit of Alps.
PHOTO: STEVE MORGAN
Alps encourages creativity and innovation while meeting our internal accountability needs. Where guidelines are given, they are for guidance – they are not prescriptive. And to keep it relevant, we will revise Alps as our experience grows.
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July 2000
The overall custodian of Alps is the chief executive who will seek approval of the board of trustees for any substantive changes to the system.
Accountability, learning and planning system
Principles Alps strengthens ActionAid’s main accountability, which is to the poor and marginalised women, men, boys and girls and our partners with whom we, and they, work. Alps strengthens ActionAid’s commitment to gender equity. Alps applies to the whole organisation at all levels, and covers horizontal and downward relationships. Alps information must be relevant and useful to the people who produce it, receive it and who need it to make decisions. It should be written in the language spoken by the majority of users and translated, usually in summary form, where necessary. It must be approved, in most cases, only one level up in the line management. Alps requires that the information provider must receive feedback. Approvals should be given in a non-bureaucratic manner. Alps aims to make best use of staff time by cutting down the amount of written information needed. It also promotes learning, which in turn improves skills and programme quality. Alps recognises the need to relate financial expenditure to programme quality. Alps promotes critical reflection that enables us to learn not only from our successes but also our failures.
PHOTO: JENNY MATTHEWS
Procedures are important but so is discretion, sensibly exercised and properly and openly communicated.
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Accountability, learning and planning system
Attitudes and behaviours Alps can only be effective if our staff hold attitudes and behave in ways that fit with our shared vision, mission and values. These include: Behaving in a way that is not domineering or patronising but that genuinely shares power with others rather than keeps it for oneself.
●
Behaving in a way that makes room for those who are excluded to fully participate.
●
Holding an attitude that reflects the need to address inequity in gender, caste, ethnic identity or religion in all of our work.
●
Recognising that to help relevant people take part at all stages and levels is basic to our work. In this we note that ‘consultation’ does not necessarily achieve participation.
●
Holding an attitude that reflects how much we can learn from others who are aiming for similar goals by different methods. In so doing we are aware that we are all still looking for a lasting solution to poverty.
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Behaving with good humour and a sense of balance, appreciating the resilience and ingenuity of poor and marginalised people. After all, we work with people who – even in abject poverty – present genuinely happy faces.
●
To listen in a way that understands the different cultural, language and communications characteristics of others.
●
Understanding that most staff do not meet face-to-face with each other on a daily basis. This means that we all need to make a great effort to achieve effective communication at a distance (while at the same time using email with care).
© Julie Smith. Source: Bridging the Gap A Guide to monitoring and Evaluating Development Projects, B. Broughton & J. Hampshire,1997, Australian Council for Overseas Aid
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4
Look, I’ve only got an afternoon to work on this logframe. Can’t this funeral wait?
July 2000
These attitudes and behaviours are seen as a pre-requisite for Alps to be successfully operationalised. It is therefore essential that all staff in ActionAid fully appreciate and demonstrate these attitudes and behaviours in their day-today functioning. And that ActionAid provides the necessary organisational support for staff to do so.
Accountability, learning and planning system
Accountability to the poor & our partners Our commitment to poor and marginalised people holds us accountable to them for the quality of our work, and that of our partners. In ActionAid we have multiple accountabilities – to donors, other staff, partners, governments, communities, and the poor and marginalised people within them. However, accountability – to poor people, especially women and girls – is central to the spirit of Fighting poverty together. Alps seeks to put this spirit into practice. It means that the priorities and perspectives of poor people should inform the decisions we make at all levels in ActionAid, and the decisions made by our partners. It means that we must be transparent in sharing full information about the outcomes of meetings, plans, budgets and expenditures with partners, communities and poor people. This is a real challenge as we increasingly expect staff and partners to make sure that: Poor and marginalised groups, especially women and girls, take part in programme-level planning. This will include such groups developing their own indicators of progress.
●
They invite poor and marginalised members of the community in particular to be involved in monitoring, reviewing and evaluating what progress has been made within programmes.
●
Where possible, poor and marginalised members of the community and partners are directly involved in recruiting and appraising members of front-line staff, of both partners and ActionAid.
●
The insights, priorities and other learning gained through these processes: become a basic part of planning, making decisions and reporting at all levels and are communicated upwards faithfully through the right media and forums.
●
PHOTO: JENNY MATTHEWS
Information that feeds upwards about appraisals, strategies, plans, budgets, funds, expenditures and reviews is given to poor and marginalised members of the community for review. This should be in a language and form that they can access.
●
We would expect our partners to commit themselves to these ways of working as much as we do ourselves.
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5
Accountability, learning and planning system
Other core elements of Alps The diagram below shows the links between the key parts of the system. It defines what ActionAid’s basic accountability needs are. A time period and lifespan is also shown for each document within Alps, and this must be respected. It is absolutely essential that any document exceeding 10 pages should have a well-written executive summary not exceeding three to five pages. The person who is authorised to approve the document, in consultation with his/her line manger, will sign off any exceptions such as advancing or postponing strategies or reviews/reports. Some guidelines are provided in the Appendix, and a separate document on best practice guidelines will also be available to support staff.
Appraisals countries programmes
Strategies (three to five years) ActionAid regions functions countries programmes
Three year rolling plans and budgets (including plan update & budget) ActionAid regions divisions countries
Strategic reviews ActionAid countries programmes
Annual reports ActionAid regions divisions
Annual participatory reviews and reflections countries functions programmes
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Regions (Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean) Functions (Advocacy, Communications, Emergencies, Finance, Fundraising, Gender, IT and Organisation Development) Programmes (development areas, development initiatives, projects, campaigns).
Accountability, learning and planning system
Appraisals All ActionAid initiatives to set up a new country or programme should go through an appraisal process to ascertain their feasibility to contribute to ActionAid’s goals and objectives at different levels. All new country appraisals will be in line with the regional strategies and programme strategies in line with the country strategies. The content and detail in each appraisal will vary, and we encourage discretion and flexibility in deciding the details. The appraisal will justify why ActionAid should commence work in the country or programme and the actions that will be undertaken during the first one to two years before the strategy is finalised. When ActionAid works with partner organisations in a defined geographical area, the detail in the appraisal will depend on the partner’s length of experience in the area and the nature of the participatory processes it has carried out. In most cases, where official donor funding is received, the appraisal process will become a part of the programme strategy document that is finalised before the start of the programme.
Purpose: to determine the feasibility of a new programme or country. Process: key internal stakeholder groups (such as ActionAid Alliance members and staff from other teams), and external stakeholders (such as donors, partners and poor and marginalised members of the community), should be involved. The appraisal should be conducted by a genderbalanced team (including a person specifically assigned to deal with gender) and people who are experts in the geographic or subject area. Time to complete: about one month. Length: about 20 pages. Approval: programme appraisals by country director in consultation with funding partners; country appraisals by trustees.
PHOTO: GOVEDI ASUSTA
July 2000
7
Accountability, learning and planning system
Strategies The following diagram shows how the medium and long-term strategies fit together. It does not suggest layers of priorities or that strategies will follow a single sequence. The system is dynamic, with each strategy being prepared according to its own schedule and both drawing from, and feeding into, all other strategies in the system. The prime strategies are those at the country and ActionAid level. This is because the process of writing them is as valuable as the documents themselves and they have a great deal of influence on the way in which the organisation functions. Strategies at other levels (for example divisions) will put the core strategies into practice – but Alps does not require these. Our stakeholders inform all ActionAid strategies. This is particularly true for the poor and marginalised women, men, girls and boys with whom we work, community groups and our partners.
Informed by stakeholders/poor people, community-based organisations and partners
Programmes
Programmes
Country strategies
Programmes
Country strategies
Optional strategies, for example divisions, campaigns etc
Regional/ functional strategies
ActionAid strategy
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July 2000
Regional/ functional strategies
Accountability, learning and planning system
Core strategies Alps needs core strategies at the following levels: ●
ActionAid,
●
regional (Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean)
functions (Advocacy, Communications, Emergencies, Finance, Fundraising, Gender, IT and Organisational Development)
●
●
country
●
programmes (DAs, projects, campaigns).
The method of writing a strategy will vary with different people and places. However, the lead team for any strategy should include at least one person equipped to concentrate on gender issues. ActionAid strategy Purpose: to define the strategic direction of the organisation including vision, mission, values, goals and high-level objectives and strategies. Process: the chief executive leads the process, in consultation with staff and Trustees. Time to complete: about three months. Length: about 20 pages. Frequency: every five years. Approval: by the board of trustees. PHOTO: LIBA TAYLOR
July 2000
9
Accountability, learning and planning system
Regional strategies Purpose: to interpret and operationalise the ActionAid strategy at the regional level, to guide country strategies and to articulate value-adding regional initiatives. Process: regional directors will lead the process in consultation with country programmes, Alliance partners, the international directors’ team and other relevant stakeholders. Involvement of an appropriate trustee is essential. Time to complete: about two months. Length: about 20 pages. The structure and content may vary depending on the strength of the country strategies in the region. Frequency: at least once every five years.
PHOTO: CHARLES OWUSU
Approval: by the chief executive.
Functional strategies Purpose: to show how each function will contribute to ActionAid’s goals and objectives within a five-year period. These strategies cut across divisional and regional boundaries and should clearly relate to one another. Process: the international director with most direct responsibility will lead the process with the involvement of an appropriate trustee, the international directors’ team and other relevant stakeholders Time to complete: about two months. Length: about 20 pages. Frequency: at least once every five years. Approval: by the chief executive.
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July 2000
Accountability, learning and planning system
Country strategies Purpose: to set out clear objectives and strategies that are relevant to the country in realising ActionAid’s global and regional strategies. Process: country directors will lead the process in consultation with country staff, Alliance and other funding partners, and all other relevant stakeholders. Linkages must be ensured to the ActionAid, regional and relevant functional strategies. Where possible, a trustee will be involved in the process. Time to complete: about three months. Length: about 20 pages. Frequency: at least once every five years.
PHOTO: MARC BÖTTCHER
Approval: regional director.
July 2000
11
PHOTO: ROBERT MALETTA
Accountability, learning and planning system
Programme strategies Purpose: to show how each programme (DA, horizontal working group, campaign etc) will achieve its own goals and contribute to the relevant country, functional and regional strategies. Process: the programme manager is responsible for producing the strategy, which should be as participatory as possible* and reflect stakeholders’ views. Key elements will be transparency at all levels about potential funds, sponsorship arrangements, and decisions about financial expenditure. The team (to include a person assigned to deal with gender) should work with all stakeholder groups, particularly poor and marginalised members of the community and the major funding partners. In the case of long-term programmes like DAs, a clear sustainability and exit strategy should be included. Time to complete: about two months. Length: about 20 pages. Frequency: at least once every five years. Approval: By country director in countries, in consultation with funding partners. By appropriate line manager in divisions. International advocacy campaigns by trustees. Trustees also approve programmes or projects of a support nature, eg IT or HR/OD, which have a total expected cost of more than £500,000. Programmes (DAs, projects, cross-country initiatives etc) requiring strategies will have a life cycle that is greater than two years or an annual expenditure budget in excess of £100,000. The other category that requires a programme strategy is where an initiative is considered as high risk because of its public visibility and political sensitivity (normally advocacy campaigns). * Project strategies at community level will often be the result of several months’, if not years’, work. They should clearly show poor peoples’ perceptions of and the nature of, poverty and how ActionAid (or our partners) will support poor people to take control of their own development.
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Accountability, learning and planning system
Reviews At least one independent review should be carried out before the end of each strategy period*. Reviews are required for: ●
ActionAid
●
countries
●
programmes which run for three or more years.
Such a review is not essential for regional or cross-organisational functions, as they will be evaluated as part of the organisation-wide review.
PHOTO: JENNY MATTHEWS
* Interim reviews may also be carried out as appropriate.
ActionAid review Purpose: to assess performance and results against the five-year ActionAid strategy and beyond, and to use the learning to improve future work. Process: the chief executive leads the process. The review should be done in the last year of the strategy’s life. External reviewers are essential in the process, which should also involve staff. At least one of the external reviewers should be a gender specialist. The review will be informed by other reviews conducted at the regional and functional levels. Time to complete: about two months. Length: to be indicated in terms of reference. Timing: in last year of the strategy period. Approval: trustees to approve terms of reference and final report.
July 2000
13
Accountability, learning and planning system
PHOTO: LIBA TAYLOR
Country review Purpose: to assess performance and results against the country strategy and beyond, and to use the learning to improve future work. The review should: ●
assess the impact on poor and marginalised women, men, girls and boys;
judge effectiveness of accountability processes to the poor and our partners;
●
assess costs incurred in work on strategic objectives and in support of the country more generally;
●
capture the main learning that has taken place and feed into the next country strategy.
●
Process: the country director is responsible for leading the process. The review should be done in the last year of the strategy’s life. External reviewers are essential, and at least one of the team should specifically cover gender issues. The team should ensure that: ●
there is wide consultation with external and internal stakeholders;
●
the process supports our commitment to transparency;
our primary stakeholders, particularly poor and marginalised groups, participate fully.
●
Time to complete: about two months. Length: to be indicated in terms of reference. Timing: in the last year of the strategy period. Approval: the regional director will approve the terms of reference, composition of the review team, and the final report.
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July 2000
PHOTO: LIBA TAYLOR
Accountability, learning and planning system
Programme review Purpose: to assess performance and results against the programme strategy and beyond, and to use the learning to improve future work. The review should: assess the impact of the programme on poor and marginalised women, men, girls and boys;
●
judge effectiveness of accountability processes to the poor and our partners;
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assess costs incurred in work on strategic objectives and in support of the programme more generally;
●
capture the main learning that has taken place and feed into the next programme strategy.
●
Process: the programme manager leads the process. External reviewers are essential with one of the team members specifically assigned to deal with gender. The team should ensure that: there is wide consultation with external and internal stakeholders (including donors);
●
●
the process supports our commitment to transparency ;
our primary stakeholders, particularly poor and marginalised groups, and groups of women and girls, take a full part.
●
Time to complete: about two months. Length: to be indicated in terms of reference. Timing: in the last year of the strategy period. Approval: by country director or appropriate line manager.
July 2000
15
PHOTO: ELAINE DUIGENAN
Accountability, learning and planning system
Three-year plans Three-year plans are required from: ●
regions
●
countries
●
programmes
●
divisions.
Purpose: to develop specific objectives and actions planned over the next three years, to provide all parts of ActionAid with the confidence that funds of the right type are available to achieve objectives in the medium-term, and to provide a basis for assessing progress in achieving strategic objectives. Timing: September to November. Contents: Plans are equally programme and financial documents. The documents will not be detailed and we encourage block budgeting. Approval: The organisation-wide plan to be approved by the board of trustees and others by the line manager.
PHOTO: ROGER YEATES
Simplified Annual budgets will also be required but the content and process will be refined based on our experience in 2000.
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Annual reports Annual reports are needed from: ●
ActionAid
●
divisions
●
regions
●
countries (only financial).
Purpose: to help each country programme assess its financial performance against the previous year’s, and the current year’s, budget. To learn lessons for future performance and allow a consolidated picture of financial performance to be prepared at the organisational level.
PHOTO: ELAINE DUIGENAN
Annual country financial report
Timing: March to April. Content: the finance function will provide annual guidelines. Approval: by line manager.
Regional, divisional and ActionAid annual reports Purpose: to monitor progress against the relevant strategy and three year plan. Process: the International Directors are responsible. Where relevant, we should promote organisational learning by making this more than a simple documentation exercise, so that it stresses our transparency and accountability to our stakeholders. Divisional annual reports should seek to reflect organisation-wide progress in their specific functional areas. Length: about 20 pages. Timing: February to March. Approval: by the board of trustees for the ActionAid and the chief executive for others.
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Accountability, learning and planning system
Annual participatory reviews and reflections Alps does not need any annual report from countries, programmes or functions. Instead, in the spirit of increasing accountability to the poor and our parners, the system asks that each of these entities carry out a set of participatory reviews and reflections with stakeholder groups. Purpose: to learn and share learning (achievements and failures) so that we can improve the responsiveness and quality of ongoing work. To increase our accountability to stakeholder groups, and increase transparency of financial/funding decisions and potential. To help poor and marginalised groups take control of, and lead, their own development. PHOTO: CHARLES OWUSU
Process: determined by the line manager, country director or relevant international director with their senior management teams and partner organisations. A key part of the ongoing review of progress against strategies, it should be fully transparent and participative (rather than consultative). It should involve as many stakeholder groups as possible (including poor and marginalised women, men, girls, boys, partners and donors if relevant) and provide space for them to express their ideas, priorities and concerns. No report is required from this process. However, in the spirit of organisational learning, we ask that rough notes including outputs such as matrices, photographs and diagrams are fed back and discussed at all levels, and shared on the ActionAid intranet. The process of sharing key learnings (particularly from our interaction with poor people) among staff, trustees and donors is considered to be a vital part of the process.
Frequency and timing: at least once a year, at the discretion of the relevant managers and their teams in consultation with partners and the community groups with whom they work. Approval: each manager will discuss with their line manager how the process is shaping future plans, and whether (and how) the changes in Alps have decreased the percentage of staff time spent on data collection, report writing (or answering email) versus face-to-face work with partners and the poor.
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Timing of Alps processes & submissions The annual timeline chart for Alps reports and processes will be finalised after the experience in 2000. This will be the first year of three-year rolling plans and budgets, and participatory reviews and reflections. Until the timeline chart is developed the following principles will guide timing of Alps processes: Participatory reviews and reflections: this should happen at the time that will produce the most effective process and output.
●
●
Annual organisational, divisional and regional reports: February to March.
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Annual country financial report: March to April.
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Income expenditure matching process: April to May.
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Three-year rolling plans and budgets: September to November.
PHOTO: JENNY MATTHEWS
PHOTO: STEVE MORGAN
Accountability, learning & planning system
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Accountability, learning & planning system
Supporting Systems There are several other processes in ActionAid that contribute to our internal and external accountability. While they are not duplicated in this document they are an integral part of Alps. The most important systems and their linkages with Alps are set out below.
i) Statutory accounts This system is laid out in the international financial policies and procedures manual (IFPPM). Its custodian is the finance director. The statutory accounts fulfil our accountability to our official regulators and are used to provide donors and others with financial information on the agency. Information in the trustees report, which forms part of the statutory accounts, may be derived from the annual reviews and reports, which form part of Alps.
Trustees’
Report
counts
and Ac
1998
ii) Management accounts, financial control, and audit These systems are detailed in the IFPPM, and their custodian is the finance director. Their purpose is to facilitate and protect the financial integrity of the agency, and to provide managers with current financial information. They include rules covering expenditure that is additional to previously approved plans and budgets. The audit functions in countries and at the centre will review the outputs of Alps from time to time as part of their wider audit work. The management accounts will feed into the annual financial reports. iii) Human resource systems The human resource systems within ActionAid are the responsibility of the organisation development (OD) director. Their purpose is to optimise the use of our human resources. The performance appraisal processes help us meet our internal and external accountability. Similarly, our HR systems should provide incentive mechanisms for staff to satisfy Alps and promote and reward learning, creativity and innovation. HR functions should also help managers develop their staff’s skills so that they can make a relevant contribution to Alps. iv) Knowledge management
PHOTO: MARC BÖTTCGER
This system is currently evolving under the charge of the OD director. Its purpose will be to promote learning and sharing of information within ActionAid. It will thus be closely connected to the learning and sharing processes covered in Alps.
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Aid Action nd sa Policie ures ed Proce al manu
Accountability, learning & planning system
PHOTO: JENNY MATTHEWS
v) Impact assessment, monitoring and evaluation Alps provides a framework for ActionAid’s overall monitoring and evaluation systems. Key papers such as the regional and functional annual reports will provide an update of progress against the ActionAid strategy. Similarly, reviews and evaluations at project, country and organisational level should help ActionAid understand the quality and value of its work to poor and marginalised groups. While Alps provides a framework, each part of the organisation (functions, countries, regions, departments and projects) is expected to have simple but effective internal monitoring systems. These systems are the responsibility of the line manager. A thematic impact assessment report is prepared annually, facilitated by the Impact Assessment Unit and presented to the board of trustees around September. Some countries also produce annual reports as a statutory requirement or to increase public accountability. vi) Donor reporting systems ActionA
id Spon sor
ship co mm
unicatio
ns ma nual
Sponsorship and other linked products The sponsorship manual details the management and administration processes for child and community sponsorship, and the needs that work funded by these income sources should meet. The custodian of the system is the marketing director, working through the sponsorship forum (International linked products action group). As other linked products are developed in the UK, the sponsorship manual will be extended to cover them. Funding partners Members of the ActionAid Alliance who fund different aspects of our work – in particular Ayuda en Acción and Azione Aiuto – have specific reporting requirements. Other donors, including official donors, have their own planning and reporting system needs, with which country programmes and other parts of ActionAid will be expected to comply. ActionAid will, however, seek to influence the systems of donors closer to Alps when engaging with them.
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Appendix: guidelines for content in Alps submissions Alps encourages creativity and innovation while meeting our internal accountability needs. Where guidelines are given, they are for guidance – they are not prescriptive. And to keep it relevant, we will revise Alps as our experience grows. An additional suppliment suggesting best practice will be available shortly.
Appraisals Summary: Each paper should have a three to five page summary which defines: ●
the type of initiative;
●
the major criteria for choosing this area of work;
●
the value we think the work will add;
●
information split into poor and marginalised women, boys, girls and men;
●
overall resource needs.
The main paper could address the following questions: ●
What is the project’s purpose?
How does the project relate to relevant strategies at the level of function, country, region, and organisation?
●
●
Who will manage it (ActionAid, a partner, a coalition etc)?
Where will the work be carried out? (Include a map if this is a fixed geographical area.)
●
If in a fixed geographical area, what are the characteristics of that area? (Include information on demographics, geography, social, gender, economics, politics, administrative systems, infrastructure and service conditions etc.)
●
●
What is the scale and what are the causes of poverty?
●
How does poverty affect women and children?
●
Which causes does the work seek to address?
Who do we/our partners plan to work with? (Give rough numbers and group, for example, by gender, age, social and institution.)
●
Who are the key players and what do they do? (Describe those doing similar work, including NGOs and governments, and the potential for co-operating.)
●
What criteria did you use to select this initiative? (Describe the weight given to each criterion in making the final judgement. The criteria could include:
●
(a) relevance to the appropriate strategy paper; 22
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Accountability, learning & planning system
PHOTO: JENNY MATTHEWS
(b) the scale of poverty and potential for impact on the quality of women’s, men’s, boy’s and girl’s lives; (c) the potential contribution to ActionAid’s understanding of poverty in the country or region; (d) opportunities for research, policy influencing and advocacy etc. What activities do you plan in the first two years before you develop a project strategy?
●
Who will take part in and benefit from these activities, and what impacts will they have on women, men, girls and boys?
●
How will this work be managed? (If ActionAid is working with partners, please discuss their background and how they fit with ActionAid’s vision, values and accountabilities.)
●
●
What is the overall timeframe for ActionAid’s involvement in the area?
●
What are the financial needs of the initiative?
What are the risks or possible threats (including conflict and instability) and how could you avoid or manage them?
●
What is the most appropriate source of funding? (For example sponsorship, non-sponsorship, draw on reserves.)
●
●
If child sponsorship is needed, please describe: (a) how stable the population is; (b) the number of children within the right age range; (c) any other sponsorship-funded NGOs in the area; (d) whether the culture of the local people will permit the mechanisms of sponsorship; (e) the agreement with local or central government to run the scheme; (f) any local institutions through which sponsorship can be run; (g) the nature of settlements; (h) how much access there is in and around areas of operation; (i) schedules to collect case histories; (j) sponsorship numbers; (k) how the scheme will be managed; (l) source of sponsorship (either UK, Spain, Italy, Ireland, Greece or other).
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Accountability, learning & planning system
ActionAid, regional and country strategy Summary: each paper should have a summary of three to five pages noting the reason for the strategy and its relationship with other cross organisation documents. The main paper should address the following questions: What mission, vision and values direct the agency’s work over the next strategic period?
●
What are the major issues in the external context over the next strategic period?
●
What is ActionAid’s understanding of poverty affecting poor and marginalised women, men, girls and boys at this level with particular emphasis on questions of gender, how power is structured and the different elements of how poverty and marginalisation as well micro and macro factors are linked? Who are the major players at this level and what are they doing? What are the issues concerning the role of government?
●
What is ActionAid’s comparative advantage and, given the external context and the major players, what strategies and objectives will we implement to achieve ActionAid’s mission during the next strategic period? (Please ensure that the linkage between the external context and the strategy is clear.)
●
●
How do these strategies draw on learning from past reviews? What financial resources will be needed? (These are broad resource projections and will link to tighter estimates of income and expenditure to be set out in the three-year rolling plan.)
●
Do we, and our partners, have the leadership and human capacity necessary and how do we build and strengthen it.
PHOTO: ELAINE DUIGENAN
●
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How do we build our monitoring and evaluation systems recognising the primacy of accountability to the poor and our partners and transparency to the local community?
●
PHOTO: MARC BÖTTCHER
Accountability, learning & planning system
Programme strategy Summary: each paper should have a three to five page summary to explain: ●
the reason for the strategy;
●
its relation to the country strategy;
●
the objectives to be achieved over the life of the strategy.
The main document may wish to address the following issues: How poor and marginalised women, men, girls and boys perceive their problems. What do they see as their main causes and how can they shape their solutions? (Include diagrams, matrices, and perspectives of stakeholder groups – and how these differ.)
●
What are the characteristics (geographic, physical, economic and social) of the project’s work area?
●
How are key resources distributed (particularly in relation to gender or ethnic issues)?
●
What other major institutions and organisations are in the area? (Include background and how they affect social and gender relations.)
●
Background information on the people and how they affect social and gender relations.
●
What are the scale and the causes of poverty? What is ActionAid’s understanding of poverty affecting women, men, girls and boys at this level with particular emphasis on questions of gender, how power is structured and the different elements of how poverty and marginalisation as well micro and macro factors are linked? The report should split the data by poor and marginalised women, girls, boys and men.
●
What strategies and objectives will be put into practice over the strategy period?
●
How will poor and marginalised groups (of women, men, girls and boys) take part in shaping and changing the on-going work?
●
●
What measures of success will be used to assess progress?
What indicators of success have come from poor and marginalised women, men, boys and girls?
●
●
How will progress be monitored?
●
How will stakeholder groups take part in monitoring progress?
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Accountability, learning & planning system
What co-ordination mechanisms and/or agreements are in place so that work with local and central government, donors, NGOs and community-based organisations is effective?
●
What financial resources will be needed over the strategy period? (Please provide income and expenditure projections, ideally for three to five years, and review and adjust them each year.)
●
How do we build our monitoring and evaluation systems recognising the primacy of accountability to the poor and our partners and transparency to the poor and marginalised members of the community?
●
What is the most appropriate form of funding – sponsorship, draw on reserves, or non-sponsorship?
●
For sponsorship projects, what are your needs? (Please include a sponsorship level forecast for the three-to-five year period, taking into account expansion, replacing sponsor and child withdrawals, phase out, and transfers to (or from) other areas.)
●
●
How long do we plan to work in the area? What are the exit strategies? PHOTO: JENNY MATTHEWS
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Accountability, learning & planning system PHOTO: LIBA TAYLOR
Strategic review Summary: each paper should have a three-five page summary of the main findings and recommendations. Review reports could, among other things, answer the following: How successful has ActionAid or its partner been at meeting its strategies and objectives?
●
●
What constraints were there and how were they overcome?
●
What were the major external issues?
●
How relevant were the strategies and objectives detailed in the paper?
In relation to each objective, what were the effects, outcomes, or impacts of ActionAid’s work? (Please include and explain the views of different stakeholders (particularly poor and marginalised women, men, girls and boys), show both positive and negative changes, explain conflicts of interest and faithfully record people’s voices, diagrams and priorities.)
●
How effective were the monitoring and evaluation systems in helping the team? What did they say were the views of the communities with whom we have worked (Please describe the major changes that will be made to these systems.)
●
What were the major income and expenditure trends? (Please include an analysis of expenditure in relation to each objective.)
●
What major learnings, conclusions and recommendations can you draw from this review? What changes should we make to future strategy documents?
●
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Accountability, learning & planning system
Regional, divisional and organisational annual reports PHOTO: ROGER YEATES
Summary: each paper should have a three to five page summary of the main findings and recommendations. Reports could, among other things:
Briefly explain work carried out under each organisational goal or strategic objective, with a rough estimate of expenditure;
●
Briefly share the achievements and failures during the period (giving quantitative information if possible);
●
●
Give an overview of lessons learnt and innovations which have happened;
Assess what percentage of staff time was spent writing reports (and answering emails) versus creative face-to-face work with partners and poor and marginalised members of the community;
●
Indicate which strategic objective has been the most, and which and least, successful. (Explain or show evidence of why each is so.)
●
Outline what changes will be made to the strategy (if relevant) and what changes will be made to work plans in the next year.
●
Where appropriate this report should be cross checked or shared with major stakeholder groups in an assessable format;
●
Project strategies at community level will often be the result of several months’, if not years’, work. They should clearly show people’s perceptions of, and the nature of, poverty and how ActionAid (or our partners) will support people to take control of their own development.
●
No guidance is given here for functional strategies as these are, by their very nature, highly diverse.
●
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PHOTO: LIBA TAYLOR PHOTO: LIBA TAYLOR
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Alps Accountability, learning and planning system
ActionAid Registered Office
ActionAid Alliance Office
Hamlyn House, Macdonald Road, Archway, London N19 5PG International tel: 44 020 7561 7561 International fax: 44 020 7272 0899 Email: [email protected] Website: www.actionaid.org
70-72 rue du Commerce, B-1040, Brussels, Belgium Email: [email protected] International Tel: 32 2 502 55 01 International Fax: 32 2 502 62 03
ActionAid is a registered charity no. 274467
ActionAid is moving in a new and inspiring direction as we pursue our common goals expressed in Fighting poverty together. This requires us to release and focus our energy and creativity towards the achievement of our common goals. It demands that in all our relationships we exercise trust, live and share our values, and are accountable for our actions at all levels – but most of all to poor women, men, girls and boys. It also demands creative commitment, continuous and radical learning, and personal change.
Regional offices Africa regional office PO Box 2451, Causeway, 6 Natal Road, Belgravia, Harare, Zimbabwe Tel: 00 263 4 704 005 Fax: 00 263 4 704 004 Email: [email protected]
Asia regional office 13th Floor, Regent House Building, 183 Rajdamri Road, Lumpini, Patwumwan Bangkok, Thailand Tel: 00 662 651 9066 / 7 Fax: 00 662 651 9070
Latin America regional office 5a Avenida 8–58b, Zona 10, Guatemala, Guatemala CA Tel: 00 502 331 1883 Fax: 00 502 334 1792 Email: [email protected]
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