Assessing your organisation’s capacity needs Catherine Gould, ECB Project Manager, Oxfam 19 th May 2011 www.ecbproject.org
SUMMARY OF PRESENTATION 1. Introducing our self assessment tool 2. The information we collect 3. How we make sense of the results 4. Using the results to prioritise, or not 5. Oxfam’s approach to the assessment 6. Where ECB are with the assessment 7. Where we plan to go next 8. What are your reflections?
1. Introducing our self-assessment tool How can agencies collaborate to measure and track collective national capacity ? Is benchmarking at global level achievable ? • Annual self-assessment process at field and headquarters levels • Benchmarks key dimensions of emergency and preparedness capacity • Joins up HR with programme, and organisational policy with practice • Part of M&E system to track capacity and capacity development • Used by 6 international NGOs and country offices of 15 organisations • Purpose to inform organisational priorities to further develop capacity
2. The information we collect What combination of key indicators should be included in humanitarian capacity assessments? How many is enough ? • Over 30 indicators identified by more than 18 thematic experts • Judgements about: o Surge mechanisms (existence and effectiveness) o Competency frameworks and approaches to staff capacity building o How systematically capacity is measured and monitored o Country office’s capacity to respond to different scale emergencies o Capacity to implement high quality programmes (incl. Partners) o Capacity to work with local communities e.g. on risk analysis o Capacity to work with others in-country e.g. on long-term strategies • The value of Quantitative vs. Qualitative
3. How we make sense of the results Who cares? Who is this kind of information useful to , how might they use it , and how is it most effectively presented ? • Multi-dimensional with analysis of : o collective results of all participating agencies in each country o agency-specific results at global and field levels - benchmarked • A series of snapshots highlighting trends over time • A ‘best approximation’ of reality • Interpretative analysis by programme staff
4. Using the results to prioritise, or not How is information about capacity best understood and utilised to adapt organisational policies and practice for effective response ? • Identify gaps between policies and practice or a lack of information • Understand differences between expectations and reality • Both challenge and confirm organisational priorities • Limitations to the utilisation of results
5. Oxfam’s approach to the assessment Are we measuring what we need to, to understand organisational capacity as it changes, and the effect of capacity initiatives ? • 2-hour facilitated workshop in which to made over 100 capacity judgements • Assessment ‘team’ chosen for valid representation • Facilitation methodologies selected to achieve consensus quickly • Based on perceptions and experience • ‘Don’t know’ a valid (and useful) answer
6. Where ECB are with the assessment What are the benefits and limitations of this tool? • More appropriate / valuable as a monitoring not evaluation tool? •Two years’ worth of data but questions over validity/comparability • Provides part of the capacity picture in/across agencies & country offices • Useful as logframe indicators with baseline data for project
7. Where we plan to go next What might a country-level humanitarian capacity ‘map’ look like in order to be useful to national / international decision makers? • ECB p lanning to develop: An accessible, visual and comparable ‘dashboard’ consolidating assessments of country-level capacities across the disaster management cycle in five diverse disaster-vulnerable countries that is available to national and international decision-makers. •By: o Reviewing and consolidating existing capacity assessment methods o Reviewing existing self-assessment data x 5 country/regional consortia o Presenting mock-up of the dashboard and agreeing specifications o Testing the tool through annual self-assessments including non-ECB o Presenting the methodology and data at global/regional/national events
8. What are your reflections? 1. How can agencies collaborate to measure and track collective national capacity? Is benchmarking at global level achievable? 2. What combination of key indicators should be included in humanitarian capacity assessments? How many is enough? 3. Who cares? Who is this kind of information useful to? How might they use it? And how is it most effectively presented? 4. How is information about capacity best understood and utilised to adapt organisational policies and practice for effective response? 5. Are we measuring what we need to, to understand organisational capacity as it changes, and the effect of capacity initiatives? 6. What are the benefits and limitations of the ECB self-assessment tool? 7. What might a country-level humanitarian capacity ‘map’ look like in order to be useful to national / international decision makers?
Thank you � � � � Catherine Gould, ECB Project Manager, Oxfam cgould@oxfam.org.uk www.ecbproject.org
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