BEP Quarterly meeting: an emerging framework for proving & improving effectiveness

1. BEP Quarterly meeting: an emerging framework for proving & improving effectiveness January 2011

2. Issues to cover • The BEP Story so far…. • The Effectiveness Self-Assessment • The Prove and Improve It! Framework • Approach & purpose • Building blocks • Details • Way forward

3. Story of BEP so far…. • The best way of understanding how the Bond Effectiveness Programme has evolved is by looking at the different diagrams that have been used to represent an effectiveness framework…

4. Development Effectiveness Programme Effectiveness Organisational Effectiveness One World Trust - Comprehensive effectiveness review Framework working group – revised effectiveness framework Principles of development effectiveness 7. Communicating evidence of effectiveness to stakeholders Prove and Improve It! Framework • Continually learning & improving • Demonstrating & managing by results • Respect for diversity & human rights 6. Using evidence for decision making & continuous improvement • Accountability to communities • Financial & political independence • Local ownership & partnership Common levers of organisational effectiveness Mission specific levers of effectiveness 5. Measuring effectiveness ● Tools ● Types of evidence Leadership and management Possible thematic areas: Microfinance Capacity building Development education Service delivery Advocacy/campaigning Policy research Humanitarian relief 3. Sector specific Levers e.g. • Microfinance • WASH etc (Refer to OECD Dac keywords etc) 4. Process Levers e.g. • Gender • Advocacy • Service delivery • Partnerships • Capacity development (Refer to 6 GRI indicators etc) Governance and strategy Financial management People management Communications Effectiveness Self-assessment and online portal Relationships and alliances 2. Organisational Effectiveness Levers/Drivers Eg. ●Leadership & strategy Governance ● Financial management ● People management ● Marketing & communications ● Continuous improvement and learning ● Relationships ● User/beneficiary focus Learning & knowledge management User / beneficiary focus Approaches to demonstrating your effectiveness 1. Foundation principles for development effectiveness Eg. ● Continuous learning ● Demonstrating & managing by results ● Respect for diversity/human rights ● Accountability to stakeholders ● Financial & political independence ● Local ownership & participation Tools and approaches for measuring effectiveness of different thematic activities Types of evidence for demonstrating change in specific areas of work

5. An effectiveness self-assessment & online portal on NGO Effectiveness Step 1. Conduct effectiveness self-assessment online HR capacity 5 Participation & partnership Learning & improvement 4 Step 2. Reveal strengths and weaknesses & benchmark performance with peers 3 2 NGO X 1 Sector average Leadership & governance Transparency Managing for effectiveness Establish peer groups to provide support in implementing action plans Step 4. agree action plan, ongoingsupport from peers Step 3. Go to online portal to identify how to plug gaps

6. Effectiveness self-assessment – moving forward • Will be working with a consultant to develop the effectiveness self-assessment and another to design the online platform and portal • Will be consulting the membership on this tool separately • Draft of self-assessment complete by July, with piloting between July - Oct • Final version completed by Nov

7. Education Water & sanitation Prove & Improve It! Framework Health Rights Women’s empowerment Livelihoods 2

8. Walking you through the Prove & Improve It! Framework

9. PIF unpacked: approach & purpose • A tool grounded in the distinctive contributions that NGOs make to international development that will enable organizations to assess, manage and report their effectiveness confidently and consistently • The framework will support organizations, depending on their ‘way(s) of working’ and thematic areas of work, in identifying: • What to assess – common output, outcome and impact areas and indicators • How to assess – common methodologies and approaches • What to report – common understanding of what we should be communicating to different stakeholders and how • The framework will provide the platform for the NGO sector to come together to agree on how it demonstrates effectiveness to itself and others

10. Walking you through the Prove & Improve It! Framework

11. PIF unpacked: the building blocks • Why use ways of working as the entry point to effectiveness? • Places NGOs distinctive contribution to international development at the heart of the framework • A NGO needs to understand and be monitoring its contribution in order to be able to show longer term impact • Provides a wide platform for NGOs to come together and identify common solutions to assessing and demonstrating effectiveness Ways of working are: “the distinctive contributions that NGOs make to international development; our added value” • Why have thematic areas? • Ways of working are a means to an end; they are pathways to supporting sustainable change. The framework needs to link our approachesto change with whether or not we are actually making a difference to the lives of poor and marginalised people Thematic areas are: “the core areas in which NGOs seek to bring about change; how we categorize our results”

12. Walking you through the Prove & Improve It! Framework

13. PIF unpacked: theories of change, indicators & assessment methods What will sit inside the ways of working and thematic areas? Common outcome areas Common indicators Common approaches to measurements Agreed ways of communicating change

14. PIF unpacked: theories of change, indicators & assessment methods • For each way of working: • Map out a general theory of change; broadly, what are the key areas in which we seek to bring about change and what are the links /relationships between them • For each step in the process of change answer three common questions: • What to assess? What are the best indicators to track progress? Quantitative / qualitative? • How to asses? What are the best methods for data collection and assessment? • What to communicate, to whom and how? What information should we be reportingthrouhg what methods? • For each thematic area: • Define and agree top level impact and outcome indicators • These would need to be adjusted to different ways of working eg capacity building for water and sanitation or direct service delivery in health

15. Education Water & sanitation Prove & Improve It! Framework Health Rights Women’s empowerment Livelihoods 2

16. Moving forward with PIF Feb July Oct Nov Case studies; ‘how to guides’; position papers; support piloting of new assessment approaches egVfM across different ways of working

17. PIF unpacked: a few final points • PIF will not provide an off the shelf solution to assessing and demonstrating effectiveness, but will provide a very helpful starting point • Organisations will need to interact with, adapt and contextualize it • PIF is not presenting anything new, BUT, it is presenting what we already know in one place AND generating agreement on what is best practice • Will support organisations in engaging with the effectiveness agenda with more confidence • Will generate greater consistency across the sector in how we assess, manage and report effectiveness

18. Water & sanitation Women’s empowerment Rights Livelihoods Health Education Less control Less attributable to NGO 11. Significant change s in people’s lives Sphere of interest: periodically assessed through impact assessments Impact 10. Improved practices of wider set of stakeholders 9. Improved practices and services of organisation Outcomes 6. Strengthened learning & organisational capacities Capacity development of southern partners and wider civil society 5.Strengthened specific internal processes 7. Strengthened financial stability 8. Strengthened technical capacities 3. Changes in skills, attitudes, behaviours & actions of individuals / staff 4. Strengthened relational & adaptive management capabilities Changes in capacity of organisation Political, economic, environmental factors / activities of other actors Sphere of influence: changes at this level tracked as part of routine performance management system Local capacity providers Southern NGOs Southern govt’s Activities and outputs More control More attributable to NGO 1.Delivery of training, mentoring, coaching, consultancy services and support as part of specific programme capacity development 2. Delivery of training, mentoring, coaching, consultancy services and support as part general organisational capacity development NNGO 3

19. The • Core areas in which NGOs seek to bring about change; how we categorize of our results Education Water & sanitation The distinctive contributions that NGOs make to international development; our added value Prove & Improve It! Framework Health Rights Women’s empowerment Livelihoods 2