Professional Documents
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April 2010 • Vol. 28 • Issue 4
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Monday Developments Magazine
The Latest Issues and Trends in International Development
and Humanitarian Assistance
Advancing
The Rights of
Women
Masculinities:
When Being a Man
Isn’t Enough
A Clue to Obama’s
Why Won’t NGOs Development Strategy?
Publish Their Budgets?
Climate Change
and the Return of
www.mondaydevelopments.org Population Control
FORUM 2010
Kicker
ConnectInfluenceEngage
Forum sessions feature current and emerging international issues,
compelling speakers and interactive workshops.
Convention Center
Washington, D.C.
Register
2 onlineDEVELOPMENTS
MONDAY at www.interaction.org/forum
APRIL 2010 or call 202-667-8227 for more information
Monday Developments Magazine
THIS ISSUE
19 Beijing + 15 Departments
March meetings at the UN review
progress on commitments made 4 Reflections from
in Beijing to advance the status of the President
women and girls. 5 Washington Update
April 2010 Vol. 28 • No. 4 By Jeannie Harvey
8 InfoBytes
12 20 Hidden NGO
Budgets: Shuffling the
29
31
Best Practices
Projects
Transparency Talk
Why won’t NGOs publish their 33 Events
project budgets?
By Till Bruckner 34 Job Opportunities
22 Climate Change
and the Return of
Population Control
The ties between population
growth and climate change should
galvanize new commitment to
reproductive rights and health, not
a return to coercive population
programs.
By Laurie Mazur
25 A Clue to His
Development Strategy?
Do two issue-specific
efforts indicate the Obama
administration’s direction on
Cover photo by Darcy Kiefel development writ large?
By Vanessa Dick
20
22
APRIL 2010 MONDAY DEVELOPMENTS 3
Reflections from the President
Advertising/Subscriptions
This year marks the 15th has not ratified CEDAW.
Katherine Delaney
OFDA Funding on the work on the ground; and sary of the Haiti earthquake, a assistance for Haiti.”
Early in February, InterAction a supplemental would eventually bi-partisan House and Senate Led by Speaker of the House
members started hearing from replenish the Disaster Assistance delegation traveled to Port-au- Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), the delega-
various USAID country missions account. InterAction members Prince. Members of Congress tion also included Senators Tom
that the Office of Foreign Disaster are concerned that, despite the were scheduled to meet with Harkin (D-IA), Amy Klobuchar
Assistance (OFDA) had decided administration’s assurances, there Haitian officials including (D-MN), Frank R. Lauten-
it would be making 40 percent will indeed be a detrimental and President René Préval and Prime berg (D-NJ), George LeMieux
cuts across all regions in order immediate impact on programs Minister Jean-Max Bellerive, (R-FL) and Bill Nelson (D-FL);
to make room for its response in places like Sudan and else- where the delegation committed Representatives Earl Blumenauer
in Haiti. While the cuts would where. to continue working with the (D-OR), John Conyers Jr. (D-MI),
not affect current or ongoing Through decisive action, Haitian government during the Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX), James
projects, they would delay project InterAction’s members have been approach of the hurricane season L. Oberstar (D-MN) and Charles
renewals and pending grants and instrumental in redirecting to this spring. One of the topics B. Rangel (D-NY); and Delegate
cooperative agreements until at some degree how OFDA will be discussed was the long-term Donna M.C. Christensen (D-VI).
least the third or fourth quarter covering the cost of helping Haiti reconstruction needs of the Hai-
of the fiscal year, pending the through the disastrous January tian government in light of the Analysis of the
passage of a supplemental. In 12 earthquake. It remains to be anticipated supplemental fund- President’s FY 2011
response to this news, InterAc- seen to what extent any programs ing request for the U.S. govern- Budget Request and FY
tion sent a letter to Secretary are in jeopardy, and InterAction ment’s 2010 fiscal year (FY 2010) 2010 Supplemental
Clinton and Administrator Shah, will continue to press USAID to fund its efforts in Haiti. The Funding Request
copying Peter Orzag (Director of and the State Department to group was also slated to visit aid President Obama submitted
the Office of Management and not cut vital OFDA programs in distribution sites, medical facili- his fiscal year (FY) 2011 budget
Budget) and Gayle Smith (Special other parts of the world. At press ties and meet with officials from request to Congress on February
Assistant to the President and time, there were unconfirmed the U.S. military, USAID, the 1. Overall, the President’s request
Senior Director, National Security reports that a Haiti supplemental UN and humanitarian organiza- for International Affairs (also
Council). InterAction also shared could be introduced soon that tions. In a statement on her Web called Function 150)—where
this letter with a handful of key could be up to $1.5-2 billion. site, Speaker Pelosi noted that funding for diplomacy and
congressional members. After it is “crucial that the House and foreign assistance programs is
receiving the letter, the adminis- Congressional Senate…have the opportunity to allocated—is $58.5 billion. This
tration publicly stated that: this Co-Delegation to examine the ongoing reconstruc- would be an increase of three
was not a final decision; no deci- Port-Au-Prince tion efforts ahead of the U.S. percent ($1.6 billion) over the FY
sion made would have an impact On the one-month anniver- Congress considering long-term 2010 estimated total, 60 percent
Book Showcases
Approaches to Fight Hunger
A
lthough progress has been made over the past decades in of which will fund programming for $9.6 billion, which would be
reducing global hunger, that progress has slowed, and there are in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq. a 50 percent increase over the
still about one billion people worldwide who are undernourished. The President also released FY 2010 omnibus enacted level.
Moreover, the challenge of meeting future food needs is exacerbated his request for FY 2010 supple- Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq
by factors such as stagnating yields, climate change, and population mental funding for expenses would receive 87 percent of the
growth. In the face of these challenges, a new book pulls together—for unanticipated during the regular funding request. ESF’s height-
the first time—major successes in agricultural development that have year appropriations process; $4.46 ened focus on countries where
brought millions of people out of hunger over the past 50 years. billion was requested for the the U.S. is militarily engaged
The release of this book International Affairs account, all comes at the expense of some
comes at a critical time. After of which was requested to bolster other countries, including Sudan,
about two decades of neglect, efforts in Afghanistan, Pakistan which sees a nearly nine percent
decisionmakers are recogniz- and Iraq. decrease in funding—this as the
ing the central importance of The accompanying chart country approaches a referendum
agriculture for development. shows the top line numbers for on southern independence. The
The G-20 recently commit- Function 150 and the subset of anticipated result of the referen-
ted an additional $22 billion Function 150 going to Foreign dum will create critical capacity
for agriculture, and the U.S. Operations, with a breakdown of building needs for the nascent
government is currently lead- the seven core humanitarian and Government of South Sudan.
ing an initiative to spur action, poverty focused accounts that Funding for climate change also
“Partnering for Food Security: InterAction tracks. increased to $1.4 billion. There
Moving Forward.” Of the seven accounts, Global is some disagreement on what
The book, Millions Fed: Health & Child Survival and the administration is counting as
Proven Successes in Agricul- Development assistance—the climate financing. Regardless of
tural Development, was com- two bilateral development how the numbers are computed,
missioned by the Bill & Melinda accounts—received the largest the President’s budget represents a
Gates Foundation to determine proposed increases, 22 percent continued commitment to climate
what works in agriculture—what sorts of programs, policies, and invest- and 18 percent respectively. In change financing. Of special
ments have had a proven impact on hunger and food security. The cul- contrast, the request for humani- note is the $187 million going to
mination of a major research project led by the International Food Policy tarian account MRA was $79.6 USAID for international adapta-
Research Institute (IFPRI), Millions Fed presents 20 case studies—not million (or five percent) less tion and $30 million going to the
pilot projects or short-lived experiments—but large-scale initiatives that than FY 2010. IDA was the only Least Developed Countries Fund.
are documented to have substantial, long-term effects. core humanitarian account to The administration continues
“Each of these cases tells a different story of what worked, how, and see even a nominal increase. No to support the President’s Global
why,” says David Spielman, IFPRI research fellow and book coeditor. additional money was requested Hunger and Food Security
“While no single story offers a complete solution to ending hunger, each for Haiti in either the FY 2011 Initiative, requesting an overall
one illustrates the importance of combined approaches to achieve suc- budget request or the FY 2010 increase to such accounts. $1.76
cess, including good science, collaboration, visionary leadership, com- supplemental request. billion was requested, with $1.6
munity action, and progressive policies.” The largest cuts among the billion for agricultural develop-
The successes have played an important role in the last 50 years, help- core accounts were proposed ment and nutrition programs,
ing to reduce the proportion of people in the world suffering from malnutri- to Transition Initiatives and including $438.4 million towards
tion from about one third to one sixth. These stories include achievements International Organizations and a new multi-donor trust fund as
not just in increasing the yields and production of staple food crops, but Programs, with decreases of 13 the World Bank.
also in expanding markets, developing better policies, conserving natural percent and 11 percent respec- The Millennium Challenge
resources, and improving nutrition. tively. Although four of the core Corporation (MCC) put forth its
“Learning from past achievements in agricultural development is now accounts saw decreases or flat most modest request since its
more urgent than ever,” says Rajul Pandya-Lorch, head of IFPRI’s 2020 lining, the aggregate of the seven inception, $1.2 billion or $174
Vision Initiative, and coeditor of the book. “These successes provide accounts grew by 11 percent. million over FY 2010 total
valuable lessons about how to put agriculture to work to solve hunger Foreign Operations, which enacted level. In recent years, the
and malnutrition. Until now, however, relatively little evidence has been encompasses most of the foreign MCC has been subject to a
available on where, why, and how these interventions succeeded.” assistance accounts, fared well. rescission and significantly lower
Of the 20 case studies selected, more than half come from Asia, five Within this category (breakdown funding levels. The MCC
are from Africa, one is from South America, and two are global in scope. not shown in chart), the Economic anticipates using FY 2010 and
Support Fund (ESF) would receive FY 2011 funding to sign
Download the entire book, as well as related materials at www.ifpri. the largest funding increase. The compacts with Indonesia and
org/book-5826/ourwork/programs/2020-vision-food-agriculture-and- FY 2011 budget and FY 2010 Zambia, and a second compact
environment/millions-fed-intiative. supplemental requests combine with Cape Verde. MD
Working with your counterparts in the field, you can determine what’s best
for the project, so speak up! Here are five important questions every IT
department should be asking when making a project decision:
1. Is this technology practical?
In development work, environmental conditions are big obstacles to overcome. Sure
it’s great that we have just figured out a way to talk in real time over the internet.
This film is intense. But when a storm takes out the internet access in a small African village, that
It follows three members of the Army’s communications vehicle will no longer be of use. Technically the technology works,
Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) squad
but practically it is a failure. Better to re-evaluate early on and, in this instance,
in Baghdad in 2004. When Staff Sergeant
William James (played by Jeremy Renner) takes develop offline workarounds.
over the unit, he freaks out his fellow squad
members by having an apparent total disregard
2. What is the true cost of this technology?
for safety and protocol. With only a short time Ongoing maintenance, training and other staff costs beyond the initial investment
left in their tours of duty in Iraq, the squad is are elements business planners factor in, not necessarily IT folks. Some experts
hoping the next call won’t be their last. estimate that the purchase price of a new technology is merely 10 to 15 percent of
As for the audience, they are left on the the long-term cost.
edge of their seat as screenwriter Mark Boal
takes them from one bomb scene to another. 3. Are we looking at all the options?
Boal, a journalist, was embedded with a Sometimes, what the organization thinks it needs is not actually what it needs. IT
special bomb unit in Iraq. experts (and business thinkers, as I’m encouraging) need to make sure they hone
The movie also shows the effects of in on what the actual problem is, then go from there; not hear what someone else
occupation on the occupiers. There are taut thinks the solution is, then deliver. For example, in one country, field workers thought
scenes where the squad is looking for hostile
they needed a very sophisticated product to be able to complete part of the project.
people on rooftops and where James is defusing
bombs. The squad is understandably paranoid That product would have been costly to not only purchase, but to install, teach to
as they never know which civilians to trust. use and maintain. By taking a moment to go over all other options, they discovered
Director Kathryn Bigelow does an that there was freeware available that would get the job done just as easily.
outstanding job of showing the audience
the psychological mess that accompanies 4. What existing solutions are there within the organization’s
the squad’s mission. The fly in the ointment global operations?
is Renner, who simply can’t carry the role Closely linked to considering all the options is making sure to check existing
he plays. While he does okay playing the inventory, see if anything can be outsourced and research what can be bought off
brash, devil may care soldier, he simply is the shelf. In most development organizations there is usually not a Fortune 500
not believable when it comes to showing his company IT budget, so figure out how to choose the best solution for the size of
emotional side. your organization.
As for the other actors, Anthony Mackie and
Brian Geraghty are solid as James‘s squad 5. Have you hired the best you can afford?
mates. And there are cameo appearances by
Take part in the hiring process. Let the IT department from headquarters get involved
Ralph Fiennes, David Morse, Evangeline Lilly,
and Guy Pearce. in setting up and interviewing the IT professional who will be working in the field.
“The Hurt Locker,” which recently won an Help find someone who you feel will be up to the task. This will help to ensure a
Oscar for Best Picture and Best Director, is smooth project start-up.
available to rent.
Malaria kills an African child every 30 seconds. Over one million people will die this year
of malaria, and 75% of them are children under the age of five. Even more disturbing,
insecticide-resistant mosquitoes are spreading across sub-Saharan Africa, rendering
current long-lasting treated nets (LN) less effective. To address this growing challenge,
we have developed the world’s first net with increased efficacy against pyrethroid-resistant
malaria vectors. With our PermaNet 3.0, we can help protect this mother’s bright dreams
for her child.
To learn more about Vestergaard Frandsen and our products, please visit: 3.0
www.vestergaard-frandsen.com
APRIL 2010 MONDAY DEVELOPMENTS 9
InfoBytes
NGOs Confront On January 28th ICCC welcomed repre- Bennet Communications, Inmarsat and
sentatives from InterAction member organi- FortiusOne.
Technical Barriers zations, as well as technology membership Following each presentation, a Q&A took
organizations and sponsors. The forum’s place that encompassed a wide array of NGO
“Imagine the global war on poverty has been focus was on sharing technology advance- technical concerns such as ground communi-
declared. Hundreds of NGOs have set out to ments and aiding in coordinated technologi- cation, mobility, remote area broadband con-
fight in every developing country. The CEOs cal efforts. nections, access to public data, and IT policy.
are the generals and the ground staff are ICCC is co-founded and co-chaired by Scott Mills moderated a roundtable where
the soldiers, while various rural towns and InterAction’s Allen Abtahi and AED’s CIO InterAction members joined representatives
villages across the globe are the battlefields. and Vice President of IT, Scott Mills. NGO from technology membership groups for a
As we assess the situation, how do we participants included representatives from discussion on current IT issues challenging
ICCC
determine our assets, shortcomings and Pathfinder, Winrock, Childfund, iMAAP, individual NGOs. Members agreed to have bi-
needs? How do we view our advancements Population Action, ICRW, Food for the annual roundtable meetings and it was sug-
and defeats while also taking into account Hungry and several others. Representatives gested that ICCC create an online space to
lessons to be learned?” Allen Abtahi, Inter- from technology membership groups NTEN, facilitate communications and collaboration.
Action’s CTO, painted this picture to set the Npower, Npoki, NetHope and InsideNGO For information regarding ICCC please
stage for the inaugural InterAction CTO/CIO were also present. Technology presenta- contact Allen Abtahi at aabtahi@InterAction.
Council (ICCC) conference. tions were given by Development Seed, org or ICCC@InterAction.org.
The Global
Women’s Treaty
Adopted in December 1979 by the UN General Assembly, CEDAW (also
called the “Treaty for the Rights of Women” or “International Women’s Bill of Rights”)
creates, as explained by Amnesty International USA, a global, “international standard for
protecting and promoting women’s human rights” and it offers a set of comprehensive
standards for defining women’s equality. The treaty addresses specific legal safeguards
for the advancement of women, provides a clear definition of equality, guidelines to achieve
that equality and an agenda for action. As Linda Tarr-Whelan noted in a December 2009
piece for WeNews, it is “the only international instrument that comprehensively addresses
women’s rights within political, civil, cultural, economic and social life.”
CEDAW has been ratified by 186 countries since 1979. President Jimmy Carter
signed the treaty in July 1980, but the U.S. congress has never ratified it. In 2002,
the Senate Foreign Relations Committee recommended ratification, but it did not make
it to the full Senate for a vote, which would require 67 votes to pass. The U.S. is the only
democracy and only country in the western hemisphere that has not ratified CEDAW. Other
non-signers include Iran, Somalia and Sudan. The U.S. cannot continue to be viewed as a
leader in women’s rights, human rights or other legal protections if it does not sign and ratify
CEDAW. This convention sets out to remove any barriers that exist to advancing gender
equality, not to impose laws on ratifying governments. As explained in a fact sheet produced
by the Women’s Environment & Development Organization, CEDAW asks that signers
“examine their policies and practices in relation to women and girls” to monitor and report
on progress to reducing those barriers. CEDAW defines gender equality broadly requiring
examination of all laws to scrutinize any differential impacts they have on women.
CEDAW Convention on
Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination Against
Women
12 MONDAY DEVELOPMENTS APRIL 2010
CEDAW
What it does,
why the U.S.
needs to ratify
it and how
you can get
involved.
By Jeannie Harvey,
Senior Manager for Gender
Integration, InterAction
Photo: Darcy Kiefel; Illustration: www.triptyrasaily.com
13
CEDAW
December 2009 marked the 30th anniver- of inheritance, property rights and access Myths surrounding what ratification
sary of CEDAW and a new effort by U.S. orga- to credit. The Treaty has encouraged the of CEDAW would mean for U.S. law have
nizations to push ratification by Congress and development of citizenship rights in resulted in organized resistance to its ratifica-
resigning by President Obama. Recently, June Botswana and Japan, inheritance rights tion by several groups. This resistance stems
Zeitlin, former WEDO Executive Director, in the United Republic of Tanzania, and from a belief that ratification would give too
was appointed Director of the new CEDAW property rights and political participa- much power to international law and would
Education Project at the Leadership Confer- tion in Costa Rica. CEDAW has fostered supersede U.S. law, resulting in frivolous law-
ence on Human and Civil Rights Education development of domestic violence laws suits and unacceptable mandates. In reality,
Fund. This project is actively working with in Turkey, Nepal, South Africa and the CEDAW “does not grant enforcement author-
organizations and individuals to push for Republic of Korea and anti-trafficking ity to the UN or any other body,” but requires
CEDAW ratification. InterAction will also laws in Ukraine and Moldova. only that a periodic review take place.
be involved in this project. Please watch the Another myth suggests that passage of
InterAction website for information or con- A specific benefit of CEDAW ratification CEDAW would require legalized abortion,
tact June Zeitlin at 202-263-2852, zeitlin@ for the U.S. would be enhanced credibility which is not true. A number of countries
civilrights.org or Jeannie Harvey at jharvey@ in the global community related to our abil- where abortion is illegal have signed and rati-
interaction.org ity to speak about women’s rights, violence fied CEDAW and the U.S. State Department
against women and other basic topics related states that CEDAW is “abortion neutral.”
Benefits and myths to women’s human rights and equity. Further, Some groups fear that family life would be
CEDAW has many benefits. According to given that the U.S. currently ranks 27th overall redefined or destroyed by CEDAW. How-
Amnesty International: on gender equity—“low among industrialized ever, as explained by the CEDAW Task Force
In nations that have ratified the treaty, countries on many comparative measures of of The Leadership Conference on Civil and
CEDAW has proved invaluable in oppos- women’s well-being” according to Citizens Human Rights, the treaty states simply that
ing the effects of discrimination, which for Global Solutions—ratification of CEDAW governments should “adopt education and
include violence, poverty, and lack of would promote steps to improve the status of public information programs [to] eliminate
legal protections, along with the denial women in the United States. prejudices and current practices that hin-
der the full operation of the principle of the
social equality of women.” The treaty does
not define or regulate family life.
Enough
By Muna Killingback, freelance
writer and editor specializing in
the work of NGOs
“At the beginning—according to them— essential or even desirable. Until well into the lence, men themselves became inspired to initi-
none of them were beating anyone. But as we 1980s, gender work had primarily looked at ate dialogue with other men about the problem.
went through the different forms of violence— experiences of the female half of humanity that One group of men in Canada, shocked by the
emotional, psychological, economic—it began had been eclipsed by the equating of person- 1989 massacre of 14 female college students,
to sink in that their [the men’s] behavior wasn’t hood with being male. With the realization that decided they needed to do something and in
the best. About halfway through the workshop, straightjacket gender roles were also hindering 1991 formed the White Ribbon Campaign. The
the men asked us to stop. They had decided to men, the study of masculinities was born. campaign invites men to wear a white ribbon to
ask for collective forgiveness and said ‘We’re Many of the threads came together in Mas- symbolize their pledge “to never commit, con-
sorry this situation exists and we are the perpe- culinities, Australian author R.W. Connell’s 1995 done or remain silent about violence against
trators.’ They went around the room and apolo- book that defined masculinity as “simultane- women and girls.” In Canada, the campaign is in
gized, and it was quite moving…” ously a place in gender relations, the practices particularly high gear each year from Novem-
—Doreen Boyd, Workshop Facilitator, speak- through which men and women engage that ber 25th, the International Day for the Eradica-
ing after a 2006 training session in St. Martin place in gender, and the effects of these practices tion of Violence Against Women, to December
organized by the World Council of Churches, in bodily experience, personality and culture.” 6th, Canada’s National Day of Remembrance
the World Alliance of Reformed Churches, and Gender analysis also continued to reveal the and Action on Violence Against Women.
the Methodist Church in the Caribbean enormous breadth and severity of the global The idea has spread quickly. White Ribbon
epidemic of violence against women. Women’s Campaign Executive Director Todd Miner-
T
his scene from a workshop empowerment and related legal and physical son says that, “Over the last 15 years we have
aimed at stamping out gender-based vio- protection issues became priorities. But despite acknowledged a huge demand from men around
lence is fast becoming a more familiar these measures, the violence continued and the world to use the symbol of the white ribbon
occurrence. Around the world, discussions with even grew. Over the last 15 years, its horrific to mobilize their own efforts to work with men
groups of men or with men and women together impact on the HIV/AIDS pandemic became and boys to end violence against women.” Cur-
are enabling men to recognize and resist male apparent as women faced increased risk of rently, organizations in 60 countries from Brazil
violence against women. Empowering men to infection due to abusive, unsafe sex and rape. to Pakistan have taken up the call and lead their
understand how they view their male identities Many men and women began to believe own national White Ribbon campaigns.
Photo: Sonke Gender Justice
is the first step in rooting out those aspects that that to be effective, solutions needed to involve However, Minerson acknowledges that,
contribute to violence. Around the world, there men as well. Could some men lead others to “There hasn’t been a long history of men doing
are now secular and faith-based organizations challenge the assumption that for men to be this kind of work and when it has been done,
that share this strategic goal and more groups men, they must dominate women? Aspects of it has been couched in notions of chivalry or
take up the issue every day. male self-definition that encouraged violent protecting women.” In contrast, the campaign’s
However, involving men in tackling violence behavior clearly needed to change. work is “done within the framework of wom-
against women has not always been viewed as Often in reaction to appalling acts of vio- en’s rights and human rights.” Discussions
its program field. “Gender Justice: Rethinking of the solution instead of perpetrators?”
Masculinities” was the theme of its November Moyo has 14 “movers”—seven men and
magazine, YMCA World. In it, an active YMCA seven women who facilitate workshops. She
volunteer, Reverend Solomuzi Mabuza of the says that, “Responses have been varied. There
Ujamaa Centre for Biblical and Theological are times when I have to be careful not to cre-
Community Development in South Africa, ate a space where men can be macho and really
urged YMCAs to “reshape negative features of strategize how to oppress women more… As
masculine identity” and encourage boys, young a world, we have not really built men with
men, and men to explore “alternative mascu- healthy self-images.” The WCC is working with
linities that are life-affirming, progressive and the World Alliance of Reformed Churches to
liberating.” He advised them to partner with produce a church manual for men on gender
The White Ribbon Campaign’s Walk a Mile In women’s organizations such as the Girl Guides/ awareness and the promotion of positive mas-
Her Shoes, encouraging men to think differently Scouts and the YWCAs, which prioritize the culinities that will be issued later this year.
about and take action against men’s violence elimination of violence against women. He also In parallel, the Ecumenical HIV and AIDS
against women. encouraged men to think critically about these Initiative in Africa actively promotes greater
issues in a theological context. societal acceptance of transformative or
reach to the core: “We’re working on ourselves. Reverend Mabuza also decried the role of “redemptive” masculinities in the fight against
We are also exploring our own issues of mas- media in forming masculine identity: “Sadly, HIV/AIDS as part of its mandate “to challenge
culine identity to transform some of the most dominant and violent masculinities are packaged traditional gender roles and power relations
harmful parts of our gender identity.” in ways that appeal to young minds. Through within the churches and church institutions
In November, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki- the print media, films, advertisements, toys and which have contributed to the disempower-
moon launched the Network of Men’s Leaders video games, young boys and men are taught at ment of women, and consequently to the
as part of his UNite to End Violence Against an early age that this is a man’s world and that spread of HIV and AIDS.”
Women campaign. This list of illustrious leaders violence is the norm. Violence is screened daily As a former staff member of the World
includes Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Brazilian on our TV sets; war is normalized in many hot YWCA, UNDP and United Methodist Church,
author Paulo Coelho, and founder of the Gra- spots across Africa and other continents.” Doreen Boyd has conducted gender trainings
meen Bank, Muhammad Yunus. A statement At the global epicenter of efforts to recruit for more than two decades in many cultural
describing the network explains that while churches and their leaders to the cause, the settings. With men as well as women now
“boys and young men are taught to equate mas- World Council of Churches (WCC) has pro- being trained in gender issues, she has noticed
culinity with the use of violence and dominance moted and led critical theological reflections a clear disparity in knowledge levels about gen-
over women…many men are uncomfortable on masculinities, propelling churches to act der: the women are far more informed.
with stereotypical and violent behavior towards as catalysts in challenging harmful aspects of Boyd also observes that, “We don’t have one
women and would intervene if they believed male identity in their societies and reinterpret- single definition of masculinity yet. It is shaped
other men would support them.” This premise ing their sources in biblical texts. In its statement differently in various cultures, but the common
is at the crux of the growing effort to engage for International Women’s Day 2009, the WCC thread that runs through is the need to have
men in the struggle against violence. welcomed “initiatives encouraging the involve- control and power over women.” She believes
In South Africa, where the number of ment of men to embark on a journey of what it that what is needed is a “whole sweeping
rapes per capita is among the highest in the means to be ‘a man’ within a world of gender jus- change in male thinking and male behavior.”
world, programs to redefine masculinity in tice and peace.” It called on member churches to Perhaps that change is on the way. MD
that society have emerged in both secular and promote “‘positive masculinities’ so as to address
religious sectors. For example, the Sonke Gen- gender-based violence that is directly connected Additional resources:
der Justice Network works on issues related to to certain social constructs of the male gender.” • UNite to End Violence Against Women
gender, HIV/AIDS and human rights. Dean Fulata Lusungu Moyo, the WCC’s Program Network of Men Leaders www.un.org/en/
Peacock, its founder and co-director is also a Executive for Women in Church and Society women/endviolence/network.shtml
member of the UNite campaign’s Network of explains that during its Decade to Overcome • Sonke Gender Justice Network www.
Men Leaders. Sonke’s flagship One Man Can Violence Against Women (2001-2011), “We genderjustice.org.za/
Campaign has used diverse media to promote have tried to address gender based violence • The Men Engage Global Alliance www.
positive male roles and attitudes. Speaking at a by building a movement of gender justice for menengage.org
UNICEF consultation in December on gender a culture of peace using two processes. One is • White Ribbon Campaign www.whiteribbon.ca/
equality and HIV operational guidance, Pea- the reclaiming of women’s spirituality of resil- • The World Council of Churches www.
cock discussed the need to mobilize men as ience and the second is the involvement of men oikoumene.org/
advocates and activists, noting that they need in what we call men and positive masculinities: • See also a new report by the International
education, skills and encouragement. How do men understand what it means to be Center for Research on Women, What Men
Photo: WRC
The World Alliance of YMCAs is an inter- men and how does this contribute to violence Have to do With It, available online at www.
national NGO with a focus on youth that has against women? How do we create safe spaces icrw.org/docs/2010/What-Men-Have-to-Do-
been integrating masculinities education into for men to wrestle with this so they can be part With-It.pdf.
Impact of a New
UN Women’s
Agency
Plans for a new, bold, unified
and well-funded UN agency for
women raise possibilities for
strengthening gender issues in
climate change.
By Rachel Harris, U.S. Climate Change Campaign
Coordinator, and Colette Tamko, Gender and
Governance Program Coordinator, Women’s
Environment & Development Organization (WEDO)
S
and girls will continue to be entrenched in a cycle of poverty, rather
ince 2007, two UN-related advocacy pro- than becoming empowered as leaders and agents for change.
cesses have been racing on parallel and complementary tracks
toward a finish line with the same goal: gender equality. A wide A new UN agency
range of civil society organizations around the world came This policy deficit spans every aspect of the UN system and has long
together to officially campaign for a well-resourced and strengthened prevented it from effectively delivering on much needed gender equal-
women’s entity at the United Nations; and numerous other organiza- ity and women’s empowerment. In 2006, the Women’s Environment
tions formed an alliance to ensure that the next global climate change & Development Organization (WEDO) and the Center for Women’s
agreement would be responsive to the different needs of women and Global Leadership, in collaboration with women’s groups around the
men. These efforts are known respectively as the Gender Equality world, began building the case for why a new women’s agency was
Architecture Reform (GEAR) Campaign and the Global Gender and needed to strengthen the UN’s ability to advance equality and wom-
Climate Alliance (GGCA). en’s rights. In 2006, then Secretary-General Kofi Annan appointed the
Photo: Geoff Parker
Globally, women and girls comprise an estimated 70 percent of the High-level Panel on System-wide Coherence (SWC) to look at the UN
world’s poor. Women are disproportionately responsible for house- system and make recommendations on how the UN could work more
hold tasks; they are providers, caretakers and resource managers. coherently and effectively in the areas of development, humanitarian
The burden of these responsibilities often prevents women and girls assistance and the environment. On gender, the panel recommended
from earning a formal wage or pursuing an education. Climate change that the UN:
1. Consolidate the four existing UN women and gender agencies (the Gender equality in global climate policy
Division for the Advancement of Women (DAW), the Office of the 2009 was seen as a make-or-break year in global climate policy. With
Secretary-General’s Special Advisor on Gender Issues (OSAGI), the a deadline of December 19, 2009 to develop a post-2012 climate change
United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) and the agreement, governments negotiated in an effort to ensure an agreement
International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement that would reflect the most pressing needs of their countries. To speed
of Women (INSTRAW)) into a single, strong UN agency for women; up progress, the UNFCCC held six meetings throughout the year so
2. Ensure the agency has the status it needs to be effective by making its country delegates could conclude a binding global climate change agree-
head an under-secretary-general; ment. Unfortunately this did not happen, to the disappointment of many
3. Provide the agency with a dual mandate of policy-setting functions civil society and government representatives, especially as the impacts
at UN headquarters and operational/ programming responsibilities of climate change are already threatening many regions of the world.
at the country level; and Although the UNFCCC process failed to produce a binding global agree-
4. Fund the agency “ambitiously” at $1 billion. ment, 2009 saw great and historic strides for gender language in climate
change texts. At the end of 2008, gender equality considerations were
These High-level Panel recommendations were presented to the still not on the policy-making agenda, but awareness raising and advo-
UN General Assembly (GA) and endorsed by both former Secretary- cacy efforts by numerous groups resulted in more than 40 references to
General Kofi Annan and current Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. women and gender in the early draft of the 2009 negotiating text. Refer-
The persistent advocacy of civil society, combined with the push by ences decreased as the overall text decreased, but the substance remained
strong government supporters, achieved tangible results. In Sep- strong, emphasizing women and men’s necessary participation in all
tember 2009, the GA adopted a historic resolution to create a strong responses to climate change and engaging women as agents of change.
women’s entity in the UN. If fully implemented, the resolution prom- Never before has gender been addressed in global climate agreements,
ises a powerful agency with strong leadership and adequate funds to but now gender equality language has support from numerous govern-
move forward on gender equality goals and women’s empowerment. ments in regions around the world. The 2009 negotiating year ended in
This year, the appointment of an under-secretary-general for the new Copenhagen with draft text that includes eight strong references to gen-
women’s agency is expected, and will mark a firm step towards the der equality, recognizing not just women’s vulnerability, but also their
actual implementation of this GA resolution adopted by consensus in important role in all areas of addressing climate change: adaptation, tech-
the fall. nology transfer, mitigation, capacity building and finance. As govern-
ments work to create a binding agreement from these draft texts, gender
advocates are working to ensure that these eight references are retained.
LOOKING FOR A NEW JOB What could the agency accomplish?
in International Development or Humanitarian Relief?
Given that the adopted GA resolution reflects the recommendations
of the High-level Panel on System-wide Coherence, the new agency
could have an influence on global climate policy. Mandates and reso-
lutions are already in place at the UN calling for gender to be main-
streamed into all aspects of global policy and decision-making. For
the past 15 years, since the adoption of the Beijing Platform of Action,
gender mainstreaming has been promoted throughout the UN system
but has had minimal results due to UN machineries on gender being
fragmented, under-resourced and lacking strong capacity to deliver on
women’s rights around the world.
Experience has shown that gender mainstreaming alone does not
work and must instead be complemented by women-specific program-
ming at both the headquarters and country levels. These are the needs
that the new entity can deliver if properly implemented. It can be the
InterAction’s online job board instantly driver needed to ensure accountability on gender equality and women’s
connects you to the latest humanitarian relief empowerment throughout the UN system. The new women’s agency,
and international development jobs as they when fully implemented, will have the ability to coordinate and lead
become available. system-wide efforts on gender, while also providing technical expertise
to governments in accordance with their established national priori-
Search by job sector, level, region and ties—something that has not been possible in the current fragmented
country—or post your resume and let the state of women and gender agencies at the UN. The new agency could
hiring managers come to you! use its resources and high-level status to ensure that gender equality
and women’s empowerment is not left out of critical global issues such
as climate change. All global policies need to reflect and respond to the
Visit: careers.interaction.org different needs of women and men. And the new women’s agency is the
way to move forward on that charge. MD
Beijing +15
• violence against women;
• women and armed conflict;
• women and the economy;
• women in power and decision-making;
• institutional mechanisms for the
March meetings at the UN review progress •
advancement of women;
human rights of women;
on commitments made in Beijing to • women and the media;
advance the status of women and girls. •
•
women and the environment; and
the girl-child.
By Jeannie Harvey, Senior Manager for Gender Integration, InterAction
With key actions specified for each player
(e.g., governments, NGOs and the private sec-
tor), the Platform for Action suggested opti-
mal organizational relationships that would
facilitate greater accountability, coordination
and a better chance of realizing the goals set
forth. The PfA urged that greater resources
be given to accomplishing the objectives and
actions outlined in the Platform document.
However, financial commitments to gen-
S
der equality continue to be insufficient and
o, what is the Beijing Decla- including land, credit, science, technology, change will only occur, these signers say, with
ration? Adopted at the 4th UN World training, information, communications and strong political commitment that ensures
Conference on Women in Beijing in markets. Governments that signed the Bei- adequate resources to reach these goals.
September 1995, the Beijing Declaration jing Declaration recognized that it would With the 15th anniversary of the Beijing Dec-
committed governments to ensuring that: take strong commitment by leaders around laration and the Platform for Action, this year’s
• women and girls would enjoy full human the world. They also challenged organiza- 54th annual UN Commission on the Status of
rights and basic freedoms and efforts inten- tions and institutions to mobilize resources Women (UN CSW) meetings addressed prog-
sified to remove all barriers they faced; to this end. They charged donor organiza- ress toward reaching those actions and goals.
• necessary measures would be taken to stop tions, NGOs, multilateral and bilateral agen- Regions across the globe engaged in participa-
discrimination against women and girls; cies, as well as private funders to work toward tory processes and research to identify which
• men would be engaged in promoting and the advancement of women. The declaration goals have been met and where challenges
achieving gender equality; called for strong accountability structures to remain. These Regional and Country Reports,
• women’s economic independence would measure progress related to the advancement NGO and other statements submitted, along
be promoted, with special attention to of the world’s women. The meetings at the with expert presentations scheduled for the
eradicating extreme poverty, including UN headquarters in New York from March UN CSW meetings, formed the basis of dia-
addressing the structural causes of pov- 1-12, 2010 coincided with the 54th session logue about how are women faring in 2010.
erty and women’s lack of access to formal of the Commission on the Status of Women Another goal of the meetings was to assess the
economic programs and services; (CSW) which has met since 1956 to address extent to which progress has been made toward
• people-centered, sustainable develop- the global human rights of women. This year reaching the Millennium Development Goals
ment would be promoted, focusing on the meetings reviewed the Beijing Declaration and to identify challenges and action steps
economic growth, education, literacy and commitments and their progress. toward their achievement by 2015. MD
training and health services; Governments that signed the Beijing Dec-
• women’s key roles in maintaining and laration, a relatively short document, were Additional resources:
promoting peace would be recognized committing to an agenda of specific actions • For further information about the Beijing
and included in all peace processes; called the Platform for Action (PfA). The PfA Declaration, go to www.un.org/womenwatch/
• prevention and elimination of all forms identified key strategies for meeting the goal daw/beijing/platform/declar.htm
of violence against women and girls of advancing women’s empowerment. These • For more information about the Platform for
would be recognized as a priority; and strategies were outlined in a global frame- Action, go to www.un.org/womenwatch/
Photo: Homira Nassery
• equal access to education and health care work that identified key areas of concern and daw/beijing/platform/plat1.htm
would be ensured for all women and men. included specific actions to be taken. These • For more information on the UN Commission
key areas include the following: on the Advancement of Women annual
The declaration was specific about issues • women and poverty; meetings, including reports and statements
such as equal protection under the law and • education and training of women; from this year’s meetings, go to www.un.org/
access to economic resources and services, • women and health; womenwatch/daw/beijing15/index.html
Why won’t
NGOs publish
their project
budgets?
By Till Bruckner, former Transparency International
Georgia aid monitoring coordinator
A
re you ashamed of your organization’s bud- As organizations claiming to spend the public’s money for the public
gets? Do you think your supporters would be shocked if they good, NGOs’ legitimacy to a large extent rests on their transparency
could see exactly how you are spending their money? Do you and accountability in using these funds. Of course the overheads of any
feel the need to keep your finances hidden from your local partners and pilot project are bound to be high and may be hard to explain and jus-
clients? If you answered all three questions with “yes”, you are probably tify to beneficiaries and other stakeholders. But are expenditures hard
working for an international NGO. to explain or inexplicable? Are they hard to justify or unjustifiable? The
After the war between Georgia and Russia in August 2008, Trans- more an NGO insulates itself from the views of its stakeholders, the
parency International (TI) Georgia, a local organization working on harder it will find it to draw that line. History teaches us that no matter
transparency and accountability issues, tried to track and monitor 4.5 how well-intentioned and dedicated the people involved, any organiza-
billion dollars in humanitarian and reconstruction aid that donors had tion that operates behind closed doors for too long will inevitably fall
pledged. The results were surprisingly mixed. Some donors were very prey to self-serving delusions. The choice is simple: embrace transpar-
open about how they were spending their money; others kept their ency now or find yourself on the wrong side of the line when your
cards closer to their chests. The Georgian Ministry of Finance imme- NGO finally hits the headlines for the “scandalous” expenses that your
diately agreed to publicly list all donor contributions on its website; the insulated staff had always considered perfectly justifiable.
Ministry of Interior studiously ignored all requests for information. Those who spend the public’s money in the name of the poor have
When TI Georgia turned its attention to the many international aid a duty to be actively transparent in their operations towards the public
and development NGOs working in Georgia, it was in for a shock. Out at large. NGOs themselves frequently argue that transparency limits
of twelve organizations that it asked to publicize the budgets of their opportunities for corruption, builds local trust and ownership, helps
ongoing projects, only one (Oxfam GB) complied. In an unusual dis- to secure voluntary contributions and reduces the danger of misalloca-
play of interagency coordination, ten NGOs convened a meeting and tion and waste. They are right. It is time for NGOs to walk the transpar-
wrote a joint letter to TI Georgia, arguing that they were unable to ency talk and publish their project budgets wherever they work.
share their budgets at short notice as “there are a number of legal and The views in this article are those of the author alone, and do not neces-
contractual implications involved with donors, head office and other sarily reflect the views of TI Georgia. The author can be contacted at till-
stakeholders which will take time to resolve.” bruckner@gmail.com. MD
Nine of the signatories to the letter were members of InterAction, whose
standards state that “organizations shall substantiate, upon request, that
their application of funds is in accordance with donor intent or request”
and that “the member organization shall be committed to full, honest and
accurate disclosure of relevant information concerning its goals, programs,
finances and governance.” In theory, the NGOs had committed themselves
to transparency. Why were they so reluctant to walk the talk in practice? InsideNGO conducts
Walk into the country or field office of any aid agency and ask for
their full project budgets, and you are likely to encounter puzzled looks essential training workshops—worldwide.
at best and hostility at worst. NGOs might claim that they are fully
accountable to their institutional donors and that their internal con- Upcoming 2010 Workshops
trols are very strong so there is no need to make such data more widely
Contract Management for NGOs—April 12‐13—DC
accessible. They might argue that publishing budgets would put them
at a disadvantage when competing for grants against other organiza- HR: Key Concepts & Practices—April 21‐22—Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
tions. NGOs might also talk of the confidentiality of staff salaries, cite USAID/Federal Rules & Regulations—April 27‐29—DC
donor or head office restrictions, or explain that they fear that local
politicians might use information on expenditures to attack them. Young Professionals Forum: Facilitation Skills—May 4—DC
Whatever the argument used, their answer is nearly always the same: Indirect Costs: Basics & Advanced Concepts —May 5 & 6—DC
here is our great annual report, there are some figures in there, now
please forget about our detailed project budgets and go away. Training of Trainers—May 5‐7—DC
In Georgia, international development organizations have been Navigating Int’l HR in the Nonprofit World—May 18‐19—DC
advocating for greater transparency for years, teaching citizens that
they have the right to know how their money is spent, ordering com- Federal Grant & Contract Requirements for HR —May 20—DC
Photo: Renee Jansoa - Fotolia.com
Climate
First, let’s look at population
“If humanity wishes growth and climate change. The
relationship is complex, in part
to preserve a planet because there are such stark dif-
similar to that on which ferences in per capita emissions.
civilization developed Americans emit more carbon
Change
dioxide (CO2) per capita than
and to which life on anyone else on Earth—about
Earth is adapted…CO2 20 tons each year. The average
will need to be reduced Bangladeshi or Ethiopian, on
the other hand, emits less than
from its current 385 ppm one ton. But human numbers
Population
is not fair to say that population
growth, per se, is a significant cause of climate change today.
But that could change. The total world population now stands at 6.8
Control
billion and choices made today will determine whether human numbers
grow to anywhere between eight billion and 11 billion by the middle of
the century. Most of that growth will take place in low-income countries,
which is also where development must occur so that the three billion
people who now live on less than $2 per day can escape from poverty.
Affluent countries can reduce emissions by curbing the vast amounts of
waste in our systems of production and con- countries identified rapid population growth Women’s health and human rights advo-
sumption. But developing countries are not as a barrier to adaptation; slower growth could cates criticized these programs and went on to
likely to raise their standards of living without help those nations cultivate resilience. articulate and implement an alternative para-
increasingly intense resource usage and there- Here is the good news: we know how to digm for reproductive health. Importantly,
fore greater emissions. do this. Over the last half century, much has they showed that it is not necessary to con-
If we take seriously the need to eliminate been learned about how to slow population trol anyone to slow population growth. Given
severe poverty and protect the planet, it growth—and how not to. high levels of unwanted fertility in many parts
becomes clear that it would be easier to do so The international family planning move- of the world, simply addressing this “unmet
with a population of eight billion rather than ment was launched in the 1960s in response need” by providing reproductive health ser-
11 billion. This may be especially true of cli- to growing fears about the “population bomb.” vices that enable women to realize their own
mate change. An analysis of climate studies That movement brought contraceptive ser- fertility goals would decrease birthrates by as
by Brian O’Neill at the National Center for vices to the developing world and sparked a much, or more, than was called for in most
Atmospheric Research shows that stabilizing revolution in reproductive behavior. Between countries’ demographic targets.
world population at eight billion, rather than the mid-1960s and the mid-1990s, contracep- The new approach won out at the 1994
nine billion or more, would eliminate one bil- tive use increased from less than 10 percent to International Conference on Population
lion tons of CO2 per year by 2050: as much as nearly 60 percent, and average fertility in the and Development held in Cairo. That meet-
completely ending deforestation. developing world fell from six children per ing produced a new, rights-based approach
Slower population growth would be ben- woman to around three. to population that embraces voluntary con-
eficial for other reasons as well. Slower growth But some family planning programs made traception and comprehensive reproductive
can spur development in low-income coun- serious mistakes. Some—notably in India and health services, as well as efforts to empower
tries by enabling governments to make essen- China—flagrantly abused human rights with women and foster development.
tial investments in health, education and social coercive practices such as forced sterilization The Cairo consensus holds that when
services. And slower growth could help nations and abortion (which continue to this day in women have more control over their lives—
adapt to the now inevitable changes in climate. China). And many first-generation programs including their reproductive destinies—they
A recent analysis of national adaptation plans focused more on demographic “targets” than will have healthier, smaller families and invest
found that 93 percent of the least developed on individual needs. more in each child. This has immediate ben-
efits for women and families, and those ben-
efits reverberate outward to communities,
nations and the world.
Unfortunately, implementation of the Cairo
agreement has stalled. While developing coun-
tries are spending about half of what they prom-
ised in Cairo, the donor countries have provided
less than a quarter of the promised funding. As a
result, some 200 million women worldwide lack
access to family planning services.
Despite its many benefits, implementing
Master of New Professional Studies: the Cairo plan would not break the bank.
Peace Operations The developed countries’ share of the cost to
provide reproductive health services for every
woman on earth is $20 billion—about what
Study the theory and practice of peace operations, international the bankers on Wall Street gave themselves in
civilian police operations, nongovernmental organizations, bonuses last year. The U.S. share of the cost is
elections, refugees/internally displaced persons, and $1 billion, which is what we spend on the war
governance with world-renowned scholars and practitioners in Afghanistan every 13 hours.
at one of the nation’s leading schools of public policy. The connection between population growth
• Small classes taught by world-renowned faculty and climate change is real. And, as the econo-
• Conveniently located in the metropolitan mist Robert Cassen has pointed out, “Virtually
Washington, D.C., area everything that needs doing from a population
• Full-time or part-time study point of view needs doing anyway.” What’s more,
• Affordable cost slowing population growth would help mitigate
climate change and build resilient societies. That
To find out more, please contact Graduate Admissions does not mean we should turn back to the bad
at the School of Public Policy at George Mason University old days of “population control.” Instead, let’s
at spp@gmu.edu or 703-993-8099. implement the Cairo agreement and move for-
ward to a world that is sustainable and just. MD
P
resident Obama came to AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and the remaining $12 agriculture growth.” (www.america.gov/st/
office with his mantra of “Yes we can” billion directed to other global health issues. texttrans-english/2009/April/200904021709
and a rallying cry for change. What In addition, the U.S. government is develop- 52xjsnommis4.413348e-02.html) The initia-
that meant for international development was ing a comprehensive whole-of-government tive then grew into a three-year commitment
opaque. And uncertainty remains over a year approach to global health that embraces the of at least $3.5 billion with a focus on overall
later. For example, it remains unclear how the dual objective of achieving significant health food security, not just agricultural develop-
Presidential Study Directive on Global Devel- improvements and creating an effective, effi- ment.
opment Policy, a comprehensive review of cient and country-led platform for the sus- The interagency team tasked with devel-
U.S. development efforts announced by the tainable delivery of essential health care and oping the strategy has promised to develop
White House in the fall of 2009, will influ- public health programs. Many have inter- a comprehensive plan based on country and
ence foreign assistance reform efforts. Similar preted the GHI as a step away from disease- community-led planning with integrated
questions exist concerning the State Depart- specific interventions and towards a focus on solutions that utilize all the hunger fighting
ment’s Quadrennial Diplomacy and Develop- strengthening health systems. The consulta- tools across U.S. government agencies and
ment Review, an assessment of diplomacy and tion document released on the GHI states departments. It defines food security as “not
development programs in the State Depart- that success is to be “measured not by the only the availability of food, but the ability
HIS
indicate the Obama
administration’s
direction on
development writ
large?
development By Vanessa Dick, Senior
strategy?
Legislative Associate for
International Development,
InterAction
offer some insights are the President’s Global for the U.S. Congress to double U.S. financial rural poor; and (3) reduce the number of chil-
Health Initiative and the Global Hunger and support for agricultural development in devel- dren suffering from under-nutrition. (www.
Food Security Initiative (also known as Feed oping countries to more than $1 billion in state.gov/s/globalfoodsecurity/129952.
the Future). 2010. He also directed Secretary of State Hill- htm).
The Global Health Initiative (GHI), ary Clinton, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vil- The GHI and the GHFSI include some
launched in May 2009, coincided with the sack and the leadership of USAID to develop common operational themes: strategic coor-
release of the President’s budget request for a comprehensive strategy for agricultural dination globally, regionally and locally;
the U.S. government’s 2010 fiscal year. The development. A related fact sheet released by strengthening and leveraging multilateral
initiative includes a six-year, $63 billion dollar the White House explained “[w]e can directly organizations; and encouraging country own-
commitment to global health with $51 billion improve the lives of poor populations by grow- ership, including the development of coun-
funding the President’s Emergency Plan for ing rural economies through broad-based try-led plans. The administration has stated
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W
e all know that the way
we work with our field partners and
beneficiaries, and the quality of those
relationships, have a major impact on our
effectiveness. When morale is high, people
work harder and more creatively. When trust
is high, people share more about what is really
happening, good and bad. When relation-
ships are appreciated and nurtured everyone
is more likely to learn and improve.
And now the biting irony: at a time when we
are pressed from all sides to better measure our
Constituency Voice:
results, we invest few management resources in
measuring the performance enabling aspects
of these all-important relationships. Over the
Towards Measuring
past decade it has become the norm to sur-
vey stakeholders, but our research shows that
these surveys are not normally done in a way
What Matters
that leads to improvements in relationships or
effectiveness.
This is a very difficult problem to crack for
two reasons. First, measuring development and
social change is difficult and there are no silver
bullets. Second, the party that pays for the work
Finding the right tools to measure
is not the intended beneficiary and the tools we meaningful program impact.
currently use do not help the funder under-
stand the beneficiaries’ experiences. By David Bonbright, Founder and Chief Executive,
International development is complex Keystone Accountability
and everyone knows measurement can’t be
perfect. That said, the prevailing measure-
ment tools are the wrong ones. A mountain creates perverse incentives and sends wrong that seeks to maximize the developmental
of research shows that conventional tools for messages in every direction. As a result, man- impact of citizen organizations, business and
Photo: Diane Hauenstein
planning, monitoring and evaluation often agers and funders alike are left with inade- government, we are committed to addressing
fall short. These conventional tools posit cer- quate data to improve resource allocation and this question. We believe that the answer lies
tainty over braving discovery. They demand performance. in tackling the fundamental accountability
linear causal attribution over assessment of So if this is something that we all know, problem that faces the international develop-
more complex patterns of how various factors why don’t we develop and use better tools? ment community. Since the payer is not the
affect results. We all know the current system At Keystone Accountability, an organization intended recipient of the benefit, we need to
Best Practices
could benefit others? Send your
summary of less than 1000 words to
cbrobst@interaction.org and share
your expertise with the entire NGO
community.
Yemen:
Dr. Zain insists the simplic- and the Middle East.
ity of the best practices was a While there, the team of service
major reason for their success. providers, government officials
on maternal and
lot of human and extra budgetary of the best practices and left the
resources,” he said. meeting empowered to “scale-up”
these practices at home.
Demonstrating Success Before the intervention, “it was mary healthcare centers and the collaborative, Al Saba’een staff
“We had a plan coming back not uncommon to see a woman, few private midwifery clinics. recently trained providers in the
from Bangkok, a grant from ESD each day, leaving the hospital Reaching all levels of the eight best practices at Al Zuberi
and money from the USAID mis- dead on a stretcher,” said Dr. healthcare continuum is part of Maternity Center. The maternity
sion. We started in one hospital, Hanafi. “Not one woman left with ESD’s “improvement collaborative center, also in Sana’a, is now
spread to five and now are going a family planning method.” approach” used throughout Asia equipped to relieve some of the
to spread nationally,” said Dr. Through active management of and the Middle East to create a case load at Al Saba’een.
Hamouda Hanafi, the Chief of the third stage of labor and strict “chain reaction” of improved care. The best practices have already
Party for BHS. infection control provisions, fewer First, ESD trains a few key staff had a huge impact, said Khwala
BHS introduced the practices women now leave Al Saba’een members at target facilities. The Ahmed Al-Alwzy, Al Zuberi’s
at Al Saba’een Hospital because on stretchers. All mothers are trainees then become managers Director. “I delivered [the baby of
it was the main referral hospital counseled within two hours of of the best practices and develop a] midwife and she learned more
for deliveries and the teaching delivery, usually in the company a plan for spreading their training from the services here than she
hospital for Yemen’s national insti- of their husbands, and leave to area facilities where they teach did from practicing.”
tute of medicine. Hospital officials the hospital with contraception, their professional counterparts BHS and the Ministry of Public
also expressed a dire need for knowledge about birth spacing the technicalities and value of Health and Population now have
improved services, as they handle and breastfeeding. quick adoption. a plan to expand use of the
30 to 50 deliveries every day. “In Yemen, things get transmit- approach to 138 additional health
Two years later, the best Spreading Success ted from top to bottom,” said Dr. facilities.
practices have transformed the Because much of Yemen’s Hanafi. “The improvement col- “There is a high probability of
services at Al Saba’een and at population is rural and dispersed, laborative [approach] brings in the being able to implement the best
six expansion hospitals including the goal of the project is to have democracy [with the involvement] practices as a whole in Yemen,”
Ibn Khaldoun. The hospitals have the best practices reach not only of the administrators and the said Dr. Zain. “Every day that we
changed from places women fear large hospitals like Al Saba’een, providers.” wait, we are losing another
to ones that they welcome. but also maternity centers, pri- Through the improvement mother, another baby.” MD
Plant knowledge.
Grow justice.
GRADUATE PROGRAMS IN
SUSTAINABLE INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
• MA in Sustainable International Development
• MS in International Health Policy and Management
• Dual MA in Sustainable Development & Coexistence
http://heller.brandeis.edu
Projects
Does your organization implement
unique projects or programs? Share
them with the Monday Developments
community. Send your project’s
name, implementing organization,
location and funder(s) along with a
brief description of 400 words or less
to cbrobst@interaction.org
and that their planning is based on their that they can do it.”
Values-Based Cooperative hopes for the future. Ganga Khanal, president of a small self-
Promotion Pilot Project “Passing on the Gift,” the first help group and a member of Shantikunja
Cornerstone and Heifer’s unique executive board, is ready to move forward.
Organization practice for ensuring future success and “The main objective of the co-ops is to
Heifer International sustainability of communities, is at work develop the village and the country. It’s
Location in transforming these smaller self-help why they exist,” she said. “I hope this
Nepal’s Chitwan and groups into the cooperative project that is cooperative will become involved in new
expected to grow to serve all of Heifer’s industries and opportunities that my
Nawalparasi districts
projects in Asia and the South Pacific. children and the children of the village can
In Jirouna, Nepal, the Shantikunja Social be involved in. It’s a dream we are working
The Project Entrepreneurs Women’s Cooperative to make come true. We just started our first
Heifer International’s Values-Based Limited was the first in the Chitwan District steps. But that is the future we hope for.”
Cooperative Promotion Pilot Project to qualify for $1,300 in incentive money
harnesses the power of its senior or from the government. With the money, the Virtual Programs in
“graduate” women’s savings and self-help women opened a store to sell rice, beans, Management and Leadership
groups to start and expand businesses in chickpeas and other staples grown by their
their districts. own members. Organization
The project, which began in July 2009 The cooperative also sells fertilizer to its Management Sciences for
and extends to 2012, unites graduate own members, as well as to local farmers. Health (MSH)
groups into an economic enterprise In Nepal, agriculture makes up 34 percent
known as a cooperative. Recognized and of the gross domestic product, employs Location
regulated by the government of Nepal, two-thirds of the work force and provides Worldwide
these co-ops are akin to corporations in the a livelihood for more than 80 percent of the Funders
United States. The pilot project consists of population. Sensing an opportunity to help
USAID
10 cooperatives in two districts, Chitwan themselves and neighboring farmers, 15
and Nawalparasi. members of the group are learning to use
“The increasing enthusiasm of these earthworms to make compost. They plan The Project
groups, their spirit of cooperation and to make the fertilizer to enrich their own In response to demand from public
untiring commitment to explore more forced farmland at reasonable prices. They will and private health care organizations for
us to think, ‘What next?’” said Neena Joshi, also sell it to other small farmers, making cost-effective, practical and accessible
Heifer Nepal senior program manager. money while teaching others that organic leadership and management development,
“They had already created capital—both fertilizer is better for the Earth and crops Cambridge, Massachusetts-based
financial and social. We needed a way than chemical fertilizers. Management Sciences for Health
for them to continue with their newfound For the project, Heifer helps provide (MSH) developed a portfolio of internet-
confidence to find greater prosperity training in management, accounting and based distance learning programs with
and a stronger voice in mainstream market analysis for a few women, who then funding from the United States Agency
development.” pass that knowledge on to the rest of the for International Development (USAID)
Heifer’s programs are all built on its 12 group. Heifer covers office rent, furniture through the Leadership, Management
Cornerstones for Just and Sustainable and supplies for the first year. The rest is up and Sustainability Program, and the
Development, with a particular focus on to the women. Management and Leadership Program.
the Values-Based Holistic Community The pilot project in Nepal is a very MSH virtual programs have significantly
Development model in its Asia/South strategic move, said Mahendra Lohani, extended access to management,
Pacific area programs. This development Heifer Vice President of Asia/South Pacific leadership and governance capacity-
model builds on strengths and values that Programs at Heifer’s headquarters in Little building for health managers and their
are innate in every culture and assures Rock, Arkansas. “These groups are ready teams around the world. First launched
that the starting point for the development to take up a bigger enterprise. They’ve in 2002, these team-based programs in
process is in the participants’ own culture already been primed. We’ve already seen leadership development, strategic planning,
human resources management, business Measuring Impact the performance of the other participating
planning, fostering change and civil society continued from page 28 grantmakers. This aggregate view of all eight
organization board governance have reached grantmakers shows a de facto standard for
more than 3,000 health professionals from tangible rewards from better feedback in the East African philanthropy. Notice that in two
56 countries. next round of surveys. This kind of feedback areas—monitoring and evaluation, and non-
MSH virtual programs, which engage system can fundamentally change incentives financial support—virtually the entire group
up to 12 organizational teams over the across the entire value chain. Feedback data, was rated as unsatisfactory by their grant-
course of eight to 20 weeks for four to six when shared and discussed with respondents, ees. Perhaps generously, three-quarters were
hours a week, are practical and focus on generates new insights and creative solu- rated as excellent in terms of their relation-
improving performance without requiring tions, energizes relationships, and ultimately ships. (The full public report is available at
participants to travel or be absent from their enhances impacts. www.keystoneaccountability.org/resources/
work. Programs require that teams develop Independent feedback and comparable reports.)
and implement a plan: an action plan, a perceptual data generally are not the whole This kind of comparative feedback exercise
strategic plan, a business plan or other key story of impact assessment. However, they has many benefits. By participating in a com-
organizational deliverables. provide actionable low-cost data on perfor- mon survey of their partners’ perceptions of
Participating teams have demonstrated mance and relationships—and they are not them, organizations get a much better sense
improvements in service delivery and part of the picture today. of the range of responses and how their per-
organizational performance. For example, Currently most federal funding for human formance compares to that of others. While
a team from an HIV/AIDS organization services domestically in the U.S. requires cli- each organization’s scores remain anony-
in Zambia participating in the Virtual ent satisfaction surveys. Regrettably, as shown mous, any wide variation in responses cre-
Leadership Development Program identified in a recent report, The 21st Century Poten- ates an opportunity for inter-organizational
and developed a plan to address the tial of Constituency Voice: Opportunities for learning: “How come Organization X did
challenge of integrating male circumcision Reform in the United States Human Services so well with its feedback about its technical
services into their voluntary counseling and Sector, those surveys are not well administered expertise? How important is that in relation
testing services. At the time of program and little effective use is made of the data. to other factors?”
follow-up, the team reported that 250 male Now, thanks to the new generation of philan- We have also found that when organiza-
circumcisions had been completed at one thropists and impact innovators, we have new tions report back to respondents on the find-
of their sites. A team from a family planning models on the domestic side to take forward. ings, it yields a big dividend in goodwill and
organization in Peru that participated in (One of the best current examples is the Youth- generates practical actions that can improve
the Virtual Business Planning for Health Truth high school education project.) effectiveness. In addition, this kind of com-
Program reported that they secured more One of the first international development parative constituency feedback exercise is cost
than $47,000 in funding from the Peruvian networks to collect partner feedback using effective, costing little more than a solo feed-
government to make spermicidal latex a common survey instrument was in East back survey but delivering far more valuable
condoms available for low-income young Africa. With support from the Ford Founda- results. MD
adults. Finally, a team from a Nicaraguan tion, Keystone worked with members of the
family planning organization that participated East African Association of Grantmakers to
in the Virtual Strategic Planning Program generate systematic, comparative feedback InterAction’s Evaluation and
developed and implemented a strategic plan data from their grantees. We used a common, Program Effectiveness Working
that they reported helped them to strengthen standardized questionnaire to gather anony- Group is assessing whether
their pharmacy services in all clinics and mous feedback from 350 community-based InterAction members are interested
enabled the organization to provide more organizations (CBOs). Questions covered in working with Keystone to
family planning consultations. performance-related issues in six areas such undertake a comparative international
Management, leadership, governance and as the application process, monitoring and development field partner feedback
overall organizational strengthening are key evaluation requirements, non-financial sup- survey. Keystone would facilitate
to greater efficiency and effectiveness of port and general responsiveness. We devel- the development of the survey
health service delivery organizations. MSH oped six comparative indices that proved to with interested organizations and
virtual programs demonstrate that it is be compelling for the participating founda- then independently administer the
possible to successfully reach and build the tions. At a more granular level, the feedback survey. Respondents would remain
capacity of thousands of health provided a wealth of actionable findings. The anonymous, and each organization’s
professionals via facilitated, internet-based pictured dashboard provides a snapshot of feedback data would be kept
programs without the costs of travel and the aggregated index for all eight foundations. confidential. If you would like to
absenteeism. MD The black needle is the mean of all 350 CBO learn more about this initiative and
respondents: your NGO might be interested in
Project claims are made by the featured Each foundation received an individual- participating, please contact Laia
organizations and are not confirmed or ized report showing how it was rated by its Grino at lgrino@interaction.org
endorsed by InterAction. grantees and how those scores compare to
Events
It’s free and easy to publicize
your upcoming events in Monday
Developments Magazine. Send your
event’s name, date, location and
contact information to publications@
interaction.org
INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND ing small grants management. For complete Technology Programs will lead organizational
DISABILITY PROJECT COORDINATOR job description and instructions to apply: efforts to advance the use of new technolo-
Eugene, OR http://www.miusa.org/about-miusa/jobs-and- gies in youth development programming. In
Mobility International USA (MIUSA) is a U.S. internships/iddjobposting. Applicants required particular, the Director will identify and develop
nonprofit whose mission is to empower people to submit a cover letter and resume to lenge@ new initiatives that utilize mobile technology
with disabilities to achieve their human rights miusa.org. to achieve scale, impact and sustainability of
through international exchange and interna- youth programming. The Program Manager,
tional development. Project Coordinator is re- Director, Technology Citizenship will manage and facilitate Make a
sponsible for supporting the implementation of Programs and Program Connection program activities, a global youth
an inclusive development project in four coun- Manager, Citizenship development initiative between IYF and Nokia,
tries. DUTIES INCLUDE: logistics coordination Baltimore, MD designed to equip young people with the
for international technical assistance trainings, IYF, founded in 1990, and a global, non-profit, knowledge and skills needed to participate
tracking communication with international proj- NGO based in Baltimore, Maryland, is dedi- as active citizens. S/he will collaborate with
ect partners, and coordination of a small grants cated to creating positive change for young IYF staff and local Partners in the concept and
program. REQUIREMENTS: Bachelor’s de- people throughout the world. IYF identifies and design of new programs, in particular those
gree and 2-4 years experience in international adapts evidence-based programs that have with a focus on the use of mobile telephony in
development; experience managing complex proven impact on the education, employabil- youth development programming. Competitive
logistics for travel to developing countries; ex- ity and leadership skills of young people and salary and comprehensive benefits package.
perience in disability inclusive development; works through a worldwide network of partner For more information please visit our website:
personal/professional experience in disabilities organizations that has grown to include over www.iyfnet.org. International Youth Founda-
field; project coordination experience includ- 165 organizations in 70 countries. The Director, tion is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
NOW HIRING:
Country Directors* Program & Training Officers* Administrative Officers*
The Peace Corps is looking for senior-level executives and The Peace Corps is looking for senior-level managers with exceptional The Peace Corps is looking for senior-level managers with
managers with exceptional leadership and motivational skills to manage staff and design and manage international extensive administration and finance experience, international
skills, international experience (including living overseas), development programs in a variety of fields such as health, education, and cross-cultural experience (including living overseas),
administrative and financial management expertise, and small business development and agriculture/environment that and exceptional management and leadership skills to serve
strong cross-cultural experience to serve as country directors. positively impact communities overseas. International and cross- overseas as administrative officers.
International development experience is desired. cultural experience are required.
The Administrative Officer ensures the effective management
We seek candidates that are reflective of the diversity of PTOs manage, advise and develop teams of professional program of country operations in support of a population of staff
Peace Corps and our Volunteers. and training staff to support Peace Corps Volunteers at post. Our and Volunteers entirely dependent on the critical services
PTOs oversee the processes of planning, analysis, implementation (administrative unit supervision, financial analysis, policy
Country directors must be United States citizens and must not and monitoring of programs and training activities, support staff and execution and implementation) the AO provides.
have been associated with intelligence activities. Candidates Volunteers to meet the expectations of project partners and conduct
should have work experience managing a program or business staff development. These officers guide coordination between working We seek candidates that are reflective of the diversity of
of comparable size to a Peace Corps country program (i.e., units to ensure effective strategic planning, cost-effective budgeting, Peace Corps and our Volunteers.
approximately 15 to 50 staff, 50 to 250 Volunteers, and an and appropriate recommendations.
operating budget ranging from $900,000 to $4 million), as All Administrative Officers must be United States citizens and
well as experience mentoring staff and volunteers. Since We seek candidates that are reflective of the diversity of Peace Corps must not have been associated with intelligence activities.
approximately 90 percent of Peace Corps staff at each post and our Volunteers. Candidates should have work experience managing a program
are host country nationals, cross-cultural communication skills or business, and mentoring staff and volunteers. Since
are critical. All PTOs must be United States citizens and must not have been approximately 90 percent of Peace Corps staff at each post
associated with intelligence activities. Candidates should have work are host country nationals, cross-cultural communication skills
The salary range for these positions is $87,848 - $140,940. experience managing an international development program or are critical.
These positions are time limited, as are the positions of business, and mentoring staff and volunteers. Since approximately 90
all Peace Corps U.S. direct hire employees. Employees are percent of Peace Corps staff at each post are host country nationals, The salary range for these positions is $46,736 - $104,534.
appointed for a 30-month tour and may be granted a second strong cross-cultural communication skills are critical. All Peace Corps U.S. direct hire positions are time limited.
tour for a maximum of five years (60 months) with the agency. Employees are appointed for a 30-month tour and may
The salary range for these positions is $57,678 - $129,008. All Peace be granted a second tour for a maximum of five years (60
Corps U.S. direct hire positions are time limited. Employees are months) with the agency.
appointed for a 30-month tour and may be granted a second tour for a
maximum of five years (60 months) with the agency.
The Peace Corps is one of the most successful and respected development agencies in the world. More than 195,000 Volunteers have served in 139 countries
since the inception of the Peace Corps in 1961. Thousands more from every background are eager to serve as teachers, business advisors, information technology
consultants, health and HIV/AIDS educators, and agricultural extension Volunteers.
Peace Corps accepts applications for these positions throughout the year. You may apply on-line through the website, http://pcoverseasjobs.avuedigital.us/. You
must complete the on-line application to be considered for a position; resumes are supplemental.
If you have any questions, please contact the Office of Overseas Recruitment, Selection and Support at 202-692-2411 or e-mail AOandPTOjobs@peacecorps.gov for
AO and PTO positions and CDSelection@peacecorps.gov for Country Director positions.
*While many of these positions do not require fluency in a language, some do. We anticipate a specific need for fluent French, Portuguese and Spanish speakers.
Deputy, Chief
Financial Officer
Arlington,VA
Deputy Director,
Health
Arlington,VA
Chief of
Operations,
Infrastructure
Kabul,
Afghanistan
Deputy Chief
of Operations,
Infrastructure
Kabul,
Afghanistan
Member of CPAmerica and Horwath International - a worldwide network of independent CPA firms dedicated to the integrity of the profession.
InterAction’s
8TH ANNUAL
PHOTO CONTEST
ENTER BY
MARCH 30
GO online: www.interaction.org/photo
SUBMIT up to three photographs
DEADLINE: March 30, 2010