Transcript Progress report on the capacity building for partner

FANRPAN DUE DILIGENCE
MAIN FINDINGS AND
RECOMMENDATIONS
23rd February 2010
Introduction
Study Background
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SADC initiative to promote food security and poverty
reduction by strengthening seed security and disaster
preparedness of smallholder farmers
SDC Phase I support to SADC - project facilitated the
development of a regional protocol to harmonise seed
policies in the region
SDC Planned Phase II support – To promote
domestication of the seed protocol through evidencebased policy change and institutional capacity building
FANRPAN proposal submitted to SDC – application
for 4 –year grant of USD4.2m to implement Phase II
Study Objectives
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Overall objective (2 components)
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Assess adequacy of FANRPAN organisational
systems and resources to manage the risks
associated with large multi-stakeholder project
implementation
Assess FANRPAN management’s ability to implement
effective due diligence and meet monitoring, and
reporting requirements for the USD 4.2 million grant
requested
Assessment Criteria
Assessment criteria
Sub-issues to be analyzed
1. Governance
3. Programme and Project
Management
4. Milestones achieved
Board
Constituency
Accountability
Legality
Expertise for programme implementation
Adequacy of staffing capacity
Roles and responsibilities
Quality of M&E Systems
Financial Management Systems (fiduciary risk)
Treatment of cross-cutting themes (gender, HIV and
AIDS, environmental sustainability, innovation, etc)
Programme reporting
Inter- institutional links
Most significant developments/stages achieved
5. Struggles
Challenges/constraints
2. Organizational
development
Methods
Workplan
Activity
Briefing by SDC – Pretoria
Key dates (Year 2009)
31 August
Briefing by FANRPAN CEO - Maputo
1 September
FANRPAN Regional Secretariat Visit
15 – 18 September
Zimbabwe Country Visit
21 – 25 September
Zambia Country Visit
27 – 30 September
Malawi Country Visit
30 Sept – 3 October
Report writing
6-10 October
Presentation of Draft Report
16 October
Submission of Final Report
21 October
Data Collection
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Literature review
Key informant interviews
“Walk through” system reviews
Analytical Tools
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Best practice standards - SDC benchmarks
Institutional assessment framework
PIVA rating scale
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A=Mature/viable
B=Consolidating
C=Emerging
D=Nascent/Start-up
System-wide concept of capacity
UNDP System-wide Concept of Capacity
Broader System
Staff
Human
Resources
Management
System
P
Financial
Management
System
Corporate Governance
System
Main Findings
Governance -1Legality
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Officially registered as PVO in Zimbabwe in 2003
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Signed an Agreement with the Government of South Africa in 2006
and accorded full diplomatic status and privileges
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Dual “registration” reduces risk of discontinuity due to political or social
disturbances in any one of the two countries of registration
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FANRPAN complies with statutory reporting requirements of its
registration
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submits audited statements and annual reports to GoZ through reputable law firm
Governance -2Mandate
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Mandate given in 1994 by FANR Ministers and Heads of
State and Government from the Southern African region
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FANRPAN stakeholders keen to get solid evidence to
support their policy positions and advocacy work
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Farmers, private sector, NGOs, researchers keen to
engage government on equal terms through “neutral”
platform – and craft constitution (26.11.2002) and
amended (7.09.2009).
Governance -3Constituency
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Started as few academicians but now broadened to
include policy makers in government, private sector, civil
society, and farmers
Diversity of membership (sectors, skills, countries of
origin, interests, etc)
Derives legitimacy from own constitution – though not
yet self- financing activities of its Secretariat
Fast-growing membership – Now Network of networks…
Governance -4Constituency – 2009 FANRPAN Dialogue
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Media
Government
Farmers
Researchers
CSOs
Private sector
UN/Other
Node Hosts
FANRPAN
19
34
16
26
16
29
25
13
15
Governance -5Leadership and Management
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Several layers of accountability
 FANRPAN AGM
 FANRPAN Board of Governors
 AGMs of Node Hosting Institutions
 Boards of Node Hosting Institutions
 Annual Node Common Visioning Meetings
Governance -6Leadership and Management
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High profile persons in the boards
 Bring expertise
 Have social capital
 Strong commitment to success of FANRPAN
 Link to funding opportunities and advocacy platforms
 “Able to give strategic direction”
Governance -7-
Governance -8-
Governance -9Leadership and Management
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COMESA and SADC represented as RIOs
– but SADC attendance is irregular
Donor representative
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Ensures transparency
Strengthens donor coordination
Private sector representative
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More difficult to get, especially if woman
Governance -10Leadership and Management
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CEO highly rated by members of the network
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Woman visionary, and strong leadership qualities
Sacrificed for the network on several occasions
The only staff member on long-term contract (5 years)
Been with FANRPAN since early days, also ex-Board
Member
“Delivers what she promises”, Marko Ngwenya, Director of
World Vision International Swaziland
“Is an ambassador for Malawi”, Idrissa Mwale, Chief
Economist, Ministry of Transport, Malawi
Conscious of need for succession planning but constrained
by the short tenure of contracts for subordinates
Governance Summary
Overall rating: “A” – Viable/mature
Issues of concern/Recommendations:
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Secure Board member from private sector
Strengthen ownership by SADC
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signing of MoU with SADC
Strengthen participation and coordination of donor
support
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sell the corporate results framework, strategy and Business
Plan and resource requirements as package to donors
donors to shift from projects joint financing of FANRPAN
Business Plan in line with the 5 Paris Declaration Principles
Organizational Management -1Expertise for programme implementation
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Vast improvement in staffing situation (20089): 7 new staff
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Key challenge is short-term contracts (one-year)
Not able to fill positions of thematic programme
directors – resources for package inadequate
Seed expertise (crop science) limited
Seed expertise can be drawn from members
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Need planning meetings at project start
Organizational Management -2Staff member
Position
Academic Qualifications
Date
Joined
Current
Contract
Technical Staff
1. Lindiwe Sibanda
Chief Executive Officer
PhD Agriculture / Animal Production
August-04
Dec.07 - Dec.12
2. Oluwole Olaleye
Director of Research
Master of Philosophy (Social Science P2 Gross
Research Methods)
(12)
June-09
Jun.09 - May.10
3. Francis Hale
Director of Communication and Advocacy Masters in Business Administration
P2 Gross (4)
April-09
Apr.09 - Mar.10
4. David Kamchacha
Director - Agriculture Inputs and Outputs
Markets
PhD Business Administration
P2 Gross (1)
February-09
Feb.09 - Jan.10
5. Sithembile Ndema
Programme Manager - Agriculture Inputs
and Output Markets
Bachelor of Social Science (Hons)
P1 Gross (1)
March-08
Apr.09 - Mar.11
6. Chansa Chisanga
Administrative Staff
7. Sharon Alfred
Programme Manager - Food Systems
Masters – International Relations
P1 Gross (1)
February-09
Feb.09 - Jul.09
Office Manager
Diploma in Business Studies
P1 Gross (1)
June-04
Apr.09 - Mar.12
8. Lufingo
Mwamakamba
Protocol and Networking Officer
Masters in Health Promotion and
Public Health
P1 Gross (1)
August-05
Feb.08 - Mar.11
9. Samuel Manda
Finance Officer
Bachelor of Business Administration
in Accounting
P1 Gross (1)
June-07
Jul.08 - Jun.09
CIS Part B
P1 Gross (1)
June-09
Jun.09 - May.10
10. Getrude Chanakira Finance Officer
Staff Members - No Longer with FANRPAN
11. Douglas Merrey
Director of Research
12. Fred Kalibwani
Project Officer
13. Sizwile Sibindi
Finance Officer
PhD Anthropology
Masters in Development Studies
National Diploma in Accountancy
Salary
Scale
D2 Gross (4)
Jul. 06 - Dec. 08
Jun. 05 - Sep. 06
Aug. 08 - May 09
Organizational Management -3Adequacy of staffing levels at Regional
Secretariat
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Project managers (and some consultants) assigned
dual roles
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project and thematic portfolio management
Some staff multi-tasked and overworked
Quality assurance of technical reports/research
outputs needs more attention
Outsourcing of research and some project
management tasks to members of the Network
keeps the network productively engaged in
FANRPAN activities
Organizational Management -4Adequacy of staffing levels at Node Secretariat level
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Adequate skills for voice
Rather weak in operational research, capacity building and
sometimes financial management
FANRPAN activities usually not the core function
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Node secretariats not self-financed but donor dependent
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Except where mandates are similar (e.g., ACF Zambia)
No dedicated staff for FANRPAN activities
Staff funded through short-term projects
Generally not able to attract and retain top talent
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Skills upgrading done in-house – tied to projects (CISANET had 3
of 5 project staff on 2-year MSc courses) – lost time
Some nodes rely on volunteers – but only as short-term solution
Organizational Management -5Quality of Financial Management Systems
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Growing portfolio: 10 projects, annual spending of
USD 1.5m (position at Sept 2009)
Efficient project reporting through computerized
accounting system and own reporting format
Adequate segregation of duties – good practice
Due diligence done on Node hosting institution prior
to grant award – FANRPAN support pre-conditioned
on clean audit – good practice
Regular production of monthly management accounts
that are discussed in monthly meetings
Quarterly financial reports produced & shared with the
Board
Organizational Management -6
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Up-to-date annual audited accounts presented to
Board and AGM
Limited tenure of contract for external auditors –
good practice
USAID – long-standing funding partner is satisfied
Auditors raised concerns on liquidity constraint
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Working capital reserve considered too low
Predictable long-term funding commitment from the
network and from donors is needed
Organizational Management -7
Financial management capacity not even at node
level – Real – Life Example:
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No financial policies, and weak enforcement
Use of manual accounting system
No real strategic plan to guide the organisation
Board meetings not regular
Board too busy to follow-up Secretariat
AGA not regular (lack of funding, dependency on one
donor for the event?)
Organizational Management -8Quality of M&E Systems
 Main instrument is the Partner Institutional Viability
Assessment (PIVA)
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Introduced in 2005
Monitors capacity building outcomes in relation to organizational
development of Regional Secretariat and Nodes
Indicators: governance, operations and management, human
resources development, financial management and service
delivery, and external relations and advocacy
Baseline established in August 2005, update done in August 2007,
next update was planned for 2009
Results have been used to inform decisions on the capacity
building project
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Significant progress in governance and financial management
Slower progress in human resources development and service delivery
Organizational Management -8
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No holistic RBM, need to define first results framework at
Strategy level, then develop strategy to achieve the results
(strategic plan), then medium term programme of action
(business plan) and specific activities (projects) to
generate the outputs, outcomes and impacts identified at
the strategic level
 No logframe for Business Plan
 No M&E framework for Business Plan
 No baseline situation for Business Plan - except for
indicators tracked through individual projects (PIVA)
 M&E is project-based, results frameworks are at project
level, no mechanism to see the full picture of results
Focus on projects leads to focus on outputs and less on
outcomes and impacts
Yes
Holistic RBM
Model
Partly
No
No
Partly
Partly
Partly
Partly
Organizational Management -9Treatment of cross-cutting issues
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Cross-cutting issues to some extent being
addressed directly through specific projects
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WARM - gender issues
HVI project - HIV and AIDS issues
Several projects - climate change, water, biofuels and
biosafety
No explicit policies on treatment of cross-cutting
issues
In-house capacity to mainstream cross-cutting
issues to be strengthened
Summary of Organizational
Management
Overall Rating: “B” - Consolidating
Issues of concern/Recommendations:
 Inability to recruit senior staff – thematic
programme directors:
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need joint financing strategy for core activities
Mobilization of longer term funding so as to
enable issuance of longer term staff contracts
Recruit more staff at node level
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full-time research and capacity building coordinators
Summary of Organizational
Management
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Strengthen financial management at node level
Recruit seed expertise at Regional Secretariat
and node levels to coordinate the SDC project
activities
Develop results framework for FANRPAN
Strategic Plan, logframe for Business Plan
Align projects with corporate results framework
In-house capacity building on mainstreaming
cross-cutting issues
Programme and Project
Management -1Programme Reporting
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FANRPAN has adequate capacity to generate the
technical and financial reports (USAID and CTA)
Reporting for new projects will require additional
staff
Core-funding support needed to recruit Director of
Finance
Programme and Project
Management -2Inter-institutional links
 50 MoUs already signed (as of Sept 2009) with
technical and funding partners
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RECs (1)
Nodes (13)
Regional/international universities (10)
CG System (6)
Host governments (2)
Federations of farmer unions (2)
NGOs, research foundations, other (17)
FANRPAN benefiting greatly from expertise, learnings
and financial and material support from these
networks
SADC not yet signed MoU
Summary of Programme and
Project Management
Overall Rating: “B” Consolidating
Issues of concern/Recommendations:
 MoU with SADC
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Board to take this issue up and engage SADC at
the highest level
FANRPAN to intensify its visibility
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Nodes to sell FANRPAN activities at national level
Secretariat to hold organize special briefing sessions
with SADC Secretariat
Milestones
Summary of Main Achievements
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Call for FANRPAN by FANR Ministers 1994
Formal registration achieved 2003
Relocation of Secretariat and revamping of
organizational systems (2005)
Node Common Visioning meetings start (2006)
FANRPAN Website modernized (2006)
Agreement signed with COMESA and FARA
(2007)
Summary of Main Achievements
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Strategic Plan Revised and Business Plan
Launched (2007)
FANRPAN Constitution Reviewed (2007)
Accounting procedures manual developed and
aligns with Generally Accepted Accounting
Principles (2007)
FANRPAN launches staff recruitment drive to
consolidate establishment (2007)
Summary of Main Achievements
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Pastel Multi-currency System introduced
(2008)
FANRPAN introduces Partners’ Meeting
(2008)
FANRPAN introduces Annual Food
Security Policy Leadership Award (2008)**
Summary of Main Achievements
Summary of Main Achievements
Summary of Main Achievements
Struggles
Summary of Challenges
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Main one is Co-funding
THE REST CAN BE OVERCOME!!
Thank You!