Phase 3: Learning and Phasing out (Exit strategy)

Management and Learning Arrangement

Islamic Relief Pakistan as an international NGO is committed to build capacity at local level and support civil society organisations in order to build accountability and local ownership of the change and development process aimed at benefiting the most vulnerable individuals/families and communities.

The key focus will be on efficient and effective use of the approved budget. In this regard, at outset of the project, a financial monitoring system will be developed to clearly plan the use of approved budgets on monthly and quarterly basis by developing outturns as per the work plan, monitor spending on a monthly basis against the outturns and the quarterly work plan and report these on quarterly/annual basis along with the narrative reports. Any over spending/under spending will be discussed with the teams during field visits and quarterly review meetings. The same analysis will be done at Islamic Relief Worldwide’s level and shared with the donors giving a clear sense of spending and variances/justifications. Timely reporting will be ensured by Islamic Relief Pakistan.

The project will receive management, coordination and technical support through Islamic Relief’s Pakistan office in Islamabad, area programme office in Balochistan (Quetta) and field offices in Chagai and Thatta, Sindh. Coordinated overall management, support, monitoring and compliance will be ensured through the area programme manager Quetta and programme manger Thatta. The head of programmes will oversee the project implementation as per the project document and commitments made with the donor. The project will be closely monitored by senior management based in Islamabad through regular support and monitoring visits, feedback, periodic review meetings, technical support visits and regular contact with the field officers. On ground implementation will be ensured by the management in the field whereas regular monitoring will be the responsibility of the district coordinator at Chagai office and the programme coordinator at the Thatta office.

Gantt chart

S. No.	Activities	Targets	2013				2014				2015				2016
			Q-1	Q-2	Q-3	Q-4	Q-1	Q-2	Q-3	Q-4	Q-1	Q-2	Q-3	Q-4	Q-1
1	Staff Hiring
2	Staff Capacity Building
3	Programme Introduction	2
4	Development of Necessary Documents
5	Baseline for Sindh	1
6	CO Formation and CMST Trainings	40
7	Training of Village Development Plans	40
8	HVCA (Hazard Vulnerability and Capacity Assessment)	2
9	DRR Workshops	6
10	Early Warning System Training	2
11	Business Association Formation Training	3
12	Awareness and Advocacy Activities	33
13	Rehabilitation of Drinking Water Schemes	10
14	Solar Power Water Pumps	20
15	Water Ponds	10
16	Wind Mill installation for Water Pumping	10
17	Lead Hand Pump	15
18	Rehabilitation of Irrigation Channels	4
19	Demand Basis Irrigation Channel	2
20	Scholarship Programmes	200
21	Micro Enterprise Development Grants	100
22	Vocational Grants	450
23	Para vet Certification	10
24	Backyard Poultry	200
25	Value Addition	121
26	Feed Management	200
27	Commercial Vegetable Production	200
28	Cereal Production	500
29	Sunflower Production	150
30	Cereal Crop Production Training	8
31	Commercial Vegetable Production Training	4
32	Agriculture Management Training	16
33	Livestock Management Training	14
34	Artificial Insemination Training	50
35	Check Dams	3
36	Gabion Walls	3
37	Karez Rehabilitation	6
38	Solar Power Water Pumps	20
39	Solar Lights	1000
40	Establishment of Off Season Vegetables Farms	10
41	Establishment of Orchards	20
42	Animal Health Campaign	12
43	Annual Reporting both Narrative and Financial	3
44	Programme Reviews	3
45	Impact Assessment	1
	Project Closure	1

Reporting

The reports, both narrative and financial, will be compiled with details of actual plans vs. achievements as well as constraints and recommendations, lessons learned and immediate impact of activity on the targeted vulnerable groups. During the programme timeframe; the following reports will be produced and shared with the donor and other key stakeholders:

Report Type	Deadline for Submission to Donor
Bi-annual Reports	A report every mid-programme year
Annual Progress Report	January 31st of 2014, 2015 (tentative)
Project Completion Report	March 31st 2016 (tentative)

BASELINE

At the inception stage, a baseline study will be conducted to gather the basic information and data about the targeted communities. The data will be analyzed and compiled to form the basis of reference during the implementation; where appropriate the baseline data will be used to review the project appropriately and will also provide a benchmark for evaluations and planned impact assessment exercises

Monitoring and Evaluation

IRP country office in Islamabad, area office in Balochistan and field office in Sindh will carry out regular monitoring and evaluation visits. Achievements will be compared with targets and planning guidance will be provided to fill the identified gaps. During the monitoring process the following will be assessed:

• 
  Verification of vulnerable households
  
• 
  Number of items (deliverables) distributed
  
• 
  Number of skill enhancement trainings organised
  
• 
  Actual v estimated cost
  
• 
  Number of DWSS, irrigation channels, link roads and access paths constructed and operational
  
• 
  Number of beneficiaries benefited through agriculture and livestock inputs
  

As far as funds utilization is concerned, it will be according to set limits as per the organisation financial guidelines. However, the finance officer in the field and area office will monitor and ensure that the funds are used according to set guidelines and within respected budget lines.

Monitoring framework of the project

Respective area offices and country office will be guided by precise three -tiered monitoring framework consisting of periodic monitoring, peer reviews, reviews and reflections to ensure quality, responsiveness, transparency, sustainability and accountability towards community. The framework is illustrated as following:

Periodic monitoring: It will be an ongoing process of engagement with community and other stakeholders to look into the processes, activities and inputs leading towards outputs. It will help the project team and country programme to keep tracking the progress of the project and undertake timely decisions in the light of accurate and objective information.
Peer reviews: It envisages an extensive but informal stocktaking with the community groups in which tools and methods of participatory rural appraisal (PRA) will be used to learn from the extent of participation and satisfaction about the implementation process. It will expose the project teams on the ground to in-depth views and reflection of the community that will contribute to better planning and decision making. It will be conducted on a quarterly basis.
Reviews and reflection: It will give an opportunity to a cross section of the society, community, government officials, area offices and country office to intensively analyse the planning processes and programme strategies contributing towards effective and efficient delivery. It will be conducted on a six-monthly basis.
Case studies, documentaries and publications: To show the impact with human face, in-depth stories of benefiting communities will be developed from time-to-time for sharing with like minded organizations and donors. Documentaries of, and publications, will also be produced on innovative and participatory processes that has created positive impact on the community. At least six case studies, two documentaries and two publications will be produced during the project.

Annual programme evaluation: Internal evaluation and reviews will be done every six months to assess and evaluate overall progress, planning processes and programme strategies leading towards effectiveness and efficiency. The output of the exercise will be helpful in course correction, re-planning and re-strategizing. End-year evaluations will be supported by a team from IRW. The six internal evaluations are the impact assessment being mainstreamed into UKAM programmes by IRW. See next page the sequence of internal evaluations:

Sequence of internal evaluations
Sequence	Six months	12 months	18 months	24 months	30 months	36 months
Responsibility	IRK	IRK and IRW	IRK	IRK and IRW	IRK	IRK and IRW

External evaluation: In order to independently determine the relevance, efficiency, effectiveness and efficacy of the project an external evaluation will be conducted within six months after the completion of the project. For the external evaluation, IRW will draft the terms of reference to be shared with DfID for approval and further action. After approval, a worldwide and nationwide expression of interest will be floated to select the appropriate firm or individual. Before offering the contract, the documents along with details of the tendering process will be shared with IRW for approval. Islamic Relief Pakistan will provide all the programmatic and logistic support required to complete the process.

Learning

In December 2012, Islamic Relief Pakistan participated in IRW’s DRR and CCA global learning exchange in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The event brought together senior staff from UKAM countries and other IRW field offices to mainstream climate change and DRR interventions within their programmes. The workshop was also the vehicle to drive IRW’s resilience strategy.
Climate change, DRR and resilience learning was delivered by authorities in their fields. The five-day event enhanced participants existing knowledge and promoted a deeper understanding of DRR and CCA discourse. This was underpinned by field visits, sharing of good practices and lessons in the field of emergency response and climate sensitive disaster risk reduction.
Knowledge imparted from the workshop has been incorporated into this proposal. Knowledge sharing and transfer will further be facilitated by cross-country exchange visits.

The exchange concluded with a workshop on mainstreaming impact assessment into the UKAM programmes. This will encompass six evaluations at mid and end-year timelines. The mid-year ones will be conducted by country offices whilst the end-year will involve IRW Monitoring and Evaluation. An external evaluation, pending DfID funding approval, is planned for Pakistan which will also see the engagement of Islamic Relief Pakistan and IRW evaluation teams.

The impact assessment will also include a learning workshop at the two-year mark to analyse and assess risk and review progress towards results.
The comprehensive monitoring, assessment and reporting measures in this proposal provide mechanisms to facilitate learning and dissemination of information. Throughout the project span, different issues including lessons learnt will be documented and shared amongst stakeholders through formal meetings, monthly coordination meetings or quarterly reviews. Case studies, observations, focus group discussions, community meetings, testimonies and memos from the communities will present avenues and opportunities for learning.

Sustainability

The involvement of different stakeholders including government service providers, community organizations and disaster risk reduction committees would contribute in the ownership leading to sustainability of services and support even when IRP is not in the area. Continued access to such services will motivate the local communities to lobby for similar services outside their communities. Since the project will be implemented by community organizations chances of its sustainability are very high. Early support and guidance from design to implementation is another indicator to facilitate the continuation and sustainability of the activities beyond the project timeframe. Close coordination with concerned line departments would be another indicator for long term commitments and sustainability.

Risk Minimization

Risks/Assumption	Likelihood	Impact	What should be done?	How and when should it be done?
The political and security situation of the country in general and project areas in particular does not deteriorate further	Medium	High	Up-to-date security information system must be established and ensure end to end communication. Proper training on all aspects of security management and proper security measures put in place. Close monitoring of the political and security situation. In case of deterioration, control strategy will be executed with consultation and the donor will be informed accordingly. Coordination with UNDSS and other security forums will be maintained on regular basis	Timely situation reports will guide in taking timely decisions. Based on established security protocols, appropriate strategy will be executed with mutual consultation of the partners to minimize the impact on field staff and work and to ensure minimum business continuity
Community willingness to engage and contribute	Low	Medium	Ensure participation of village leaders, community groups and wider population in the project activities. Coordination and involvement of all stakeholders including government line agencies and other I/NGOs	Preparation and communication during inception phase and proper management with flexibility to adapt
Inflation trend does not fluctuate excessively during the project time-frame	Medium	Medium	Close monitoring of economic situation and inflation trends and develop contingency plans to address unexpected rise in commodity and material prices	Develop mechanism since the inception and monitor and update on quarterly basis. Any unexpected rise and subsequent impact on project implementation will be documented and shared with the donor with a contingency plan
Project areas hit by significant disasters	Medium	High	Experienced emergency response teams in place and emergency response plans developed	In case of a major disaster in the proposed working areas of the project, the emergency response plan will be executed to provide immediate relief. The situation on the ground, plan and subsequent decisions will be communicated to the donor in time
Project and operational No Objection Certificates (NOCs) from the relevant government authorities are not granted in time	Low	High	Provisional permissions should be sought and high level coordination mechanism with national level government authorities, PHF and UN would be engaged	In case operational NOCs are not granted within the time-lines specified by the respective government departments; all possible liaison and coordination channels will be employed immediately
General elections entail increased level of violence and disruption of civic life	Low	High	Security strategy will encompass this aspect and appropriate measures will be employed according to the security policy and protocols	Regular monitoring as guided by the security protocols and local security forums. Contingency plans will be executed immediately

Value for Money

Project activities are designed to give maximum output and benefit to the affected population. The cost benefit ratio of the activities is being correlated with the HR, operation cost and impact of the activities which provided 100% cost efficiency. Each pound spend will make impact on the lives of the affected population and improve their lives.

1. 
   Project activities are designed with complete consultation of communities to ensure that the impact of activities is for broader communities rather than benefiting few individuals
   
2. 
   Project staff is being proposed according to the activities and their functions
   
3. 
   Project running cost is also complementing the activities, IRP recognises the value of money and its use so planning has been done in operation cost after foreseeing the over length of the project and its activities
   
4. 
   There are minimum assets proposed which are the basic needs of the offices to implement the project activities. No asset is more than £ 1000
   
5. 
   Islamic Relief has very transparent procurement policy and procedures along with enterprise portal Microsoft dynamics financial and programme software which provide up-to-date information of procurement requests, purchase order and financial disbursements to the contractor
   

The cost per beneficiary of this three year project is around GBP 16 for direct and GBP 13 for indirect beneficiaries. This may appear to be a little on the higher side compared to conventional development programmes. However, given the scope of the project, implementation approach and interventions coupled with the geographical focus, this investment seems valuable when compared with the longer term sustainable benefits to the people of the regions.

Cross-cutting themes

Gender

As it is a male dominated society, the majority of domestic work is done by women like water fetching, fuel wood collection, livestock keeping and other chores. The male members of the society mostly work outside the village in adjacent districts due to lack of job opportunities. As IRP has been working in these districts for a long time, the women are now playing their role to some extent in decision-making in both domestic and other community related issues. Women’s involvement will be ensured in all sorts of decision making through female community organizations during implementation of project activities. IRP will continue to ensure that women and youth will be heard and participate in all matters that affect them for the betterment of their lives. The experiences of these positive changes will be documented and shared with other stakeholders.

Sustainable Initiative for Resilience and Transformation (SIRAT) Page

Directory: files -> documents
documents -> North Mankato Taylor Library
documents -> In the Red and Brown Water
documents -> -
documents -> I. Disaster Summary Sheet II. Tropical Cyclones
documents -> Cbp and Trade Automated Interface Requirements Appendix: pga december 22, 2015
documents -> Ace abi catair customs and Trade Automated Interface Requirements
documents -> Ace abi catair customs and Trade Automated Interface Requirements
documents -> Mobile audio/video recording systems
documents -> Cartographic Concepts for Realizing a Location Based umts service
documents -> 1/ Background Statistics Human development index rank

Download 0.99 Mb.

Share with your friends: