NZAID

PMC Update | March 2008

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The Programme Management Committee (PMC) is responsible for the running of the KOHA and HAF funding schemes for New Zealand 's international development NGOs. It holds six meetings a year; each is followed by an Update. The Updates include information on decisions taken by the PMC and issues of general interest to the New Zealand NGO community regarding the two schemes. The PMC appreciates your feedback on the usefulness of Updates and any suggestions for their improvement.

As well as being posted on the NZAID Website, this Update also goes directly to some individuals within KOHA-registered NGOs. This list is rather limited at present, so we would be pleased to add other names from your NGO to the distribution list. Just send their names and email addresses to claire-louise@koha-picd.org.nz  and we will oblige, starting with the next Update.

KOHA Update | March 2008

Introduction

The PMC met over 13-15 February 2008 and dealt with a full agenda of both KOHA and Humanitarian Action Fund (HAF) items of business. Belinda Gorman represented NDRF for the HAF session of business. We also met with Don Clarke, Global Group Director for NZAID, for a useful discussion on a number of broad topics relating to the KOHA and HAF schemes. The PMC reviewed the ‘reflection day' held in December, discussed the report on the 2007 training programme by CID staff and worked through reports and applications for the two funds. The main outcomes of the February meeting are as follows along with other items of interest to the NZ NGO development community.

Organisation Profiles

Provisional registration with KOHA-PICD was approved for the GO Trust and the Kyrgyzstan NZ Rural Trust. The GO Trust will be focused on improving health, education and development in needy communities. The central purpose of the Kyrgyzstan NZ Rural Trust is to assist with the alleviation of poverty in rural families in the province of Naryn , in south-eastern Kyrgyzstan .

Organisational Reviews

The PMC had an update report on the reviews that are currently underway and took decisions on which organisations would be reviewed during 2008/09. The usual review cycle for block grant organisations (BGOs) is 4/5 years and less regularly for individual grant organisations (IGOs). Accordingly, the PMC decided to review TEAR Fund, Save the Children NZ, and SurfAid during 2008/09. It may also consider commissioning a review of the review system itself during the year.

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KOHA Reports Considered

The PMC appreciates that providing in-depth reports makes extra demands on busy programme staff. In future, straight after the August PMC meeting, BGOs will be advised by email of which projects will need in-depth reports. This will give BGOs more time for preparation than is usually available by notification via the usual request by letter.

Several more annual notifications and in-depth reports from BGOs were received and accepted as ‘satisfactory'. In addition, the following ‘satisfactory' reports were received: OXFAM NZ (Integrated water, sanitation and hygiene promotion project for poor rural communities, Ghana); TEAR Fund NZ (Sustainable empowerment through community governance and management, India; Integrated community development project, China); BANZAid (Chandpur TCDC: baseline survey and project design, Bangladesh); ChildFund NZ (Accessing safe water for communities in Emali, Kenya; Weaving the safety net for children and youth in Emali, Kenya; Partner visit, Zambia); International Needs NZ (Prevention and withdrawal of children from the worst forms of child labour, Ghana); Mahitahi (AM&E, Solomon Islands); NZ China Friendship Society (Development of rural cooperatives in Shandan County, China; Sunflower seed training, Shanglin County, China); NZCTU (Education for Dalit and excluded workers rights, India); Rotary NZWCS (Scholarships for tertiary students, Nepal); UNICEF NZ (Partnership appraisal visit, Timor-Leste).

KOHA Applications Approved February 2008

  • GO Trust | Strengthening the community based organisation at Matigara , India (PfD)
  • International Needs NZ | Prevention and withdrawal of children from the worst forms of child labour, Ghana .
  • NZ China Friendship Society | Dongshan village programme: training, China
  • Pax Christi | Papuan women's right to a market, West Papua (provisionally approved pending a revised budget)

Feedback on the GFBO paper | deadline

In the last PMC Update (December 2007) KOHA-registered NGOs were reminded that the PMC had requested feedback on its paper “ GFBOs and the KOHA-PICD: Discussion paper on our sector's negotiation with development best practice and its intersection with faith, spirituality and religion ” which was circulated before the NGO/NZAID annual meeting in 2007. By the late January deadline, the response was disappointing, especially from secular NGOs. This is making it difficult to move this issue forward within the community as the responses do not reflect the full breadth of the sector. The PMC therefore decided to approach Ellie Sanderson to do some targeted follow up with some questions via telephone before drafting a new policy, with an underpinning statement of principles. The PMC then proposes that this policy would be workshopped by a small group with a view to presenting a proposal for a new policy to the NGO/NZAID Annual Meeting. The PMC is also proposing that Ellie produces some guidance notes/case studies, again to be agreed through the proposed workshop, to provide further clarification on the policy. Finally, the PMC is hoping that Ellie will be able to facilitate a lunchtime forum, together with a Muslim scholar who is currently working at Vic Uni, in order to stimulate further discussion on the broader questions of religion in development.

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MOU between PMC, NZAID and CID

The PMC is pleased to report that after discussions last year an MOU was finalised and signed in February between the PMC, NZAID and CID. The MOU details the relative responsibilities of the three parties with respect to the KOHA-PICD and HAF funding schemes. While it is not legally binding, the MOU should assist with the smooth running of the two schemes including the delivery of training and advice services to NGOs by CID, on behalf of the PMC.

Guidance Notes Proposal

The PMC is planning to develop a number of Guidance Notes that could be added to the KOHA-PICD Handbook as appendices. The Guidance Notes will be to guide and assist KOHA-registered NGOs, their overseas partners and the PMC on specific topics relevant to the KOHA scheme. A note on sending volunteers has been drafted and is being worked on by the PMC at present. Other possible topics include micro-credit, capital funding, governance and disability. If you have suggestions for other topics that would useful as Guidance Notes please feel free to contact the KOHA Administrator.

Reporting to PMC

A reminder to organisations that if a report is going to be late, and we know that development projects do not always go according to plan, then a letter should be sent to the PMC meeting at which the report would have been due. Please explain the reasons for the delay, briefly summarise progress with the project so far, and indicate when the report will be presented to the PMC. If there are further exceptional delays, further letters are required every six months until the report is presented. These requirements are elaborated in the KOHA Handbook. For example, page 62 details reporting requirements for IGO projects.

A number of reports were received for this meeting that had been written on the incorrect form. Since the reporting forms are specifically linked to specific activities, e.g. the PfD report form links to the PfD application form, please download the appropriate form for your reports. When reporting, NGOs are also requested to refer back to the Grant Approval letter from the PMC If the Grant Approval letter specifically asks for something to be commented on in reporting, then the subsequent report needs to do so..

Update on the Disability Working Group

Interest from the community has been encouraging with responses from 10 NGO participants. The inaugural meeting of this new (2008) group will be held on the 27 March in Auckland . A short presentation on the work of the Australian Disability and Development Consortium (a grouping of Australian NGOs/academics etc) will probably be made by a visiting representative of this Consortium.

KOHA Training and Advice

The PMC received the annual report on the 2007 training programme from Eleanor Doig, Training and Capacity Building Manager CID, and was pleased to see the positive feedback from well-attended courses. We also received a related report from Lee Sentes, Capacity Building Officer CID, on this new role in capacity building and providing KOHA/HAF advice to NGOs.

This new KOHA/HAF Helpline function at CID is providing welcome assistance to organisations new to KOHA. This is leading to an improved quality of applications sent to the PMC and reduces the time spent asking for clarification from organisations. The outcome is an improved workflow for both the PMC and the organisations concerned.

Any organisation requiring advice on good practice standards in project applications or reporting should feel free to contact Lee at the CID office:

T: +64 -4-496-9615
F: +64-4-496-9614
E: lee@cid.org.nz  

HAF Reports Considered

The PMC received tsunami reports from Caritas and World Vision. It also received further in-depth and revised Annual Notification reports. The following satisfactory reports were received from BGOs and also for EMDR activities: Caritas ( Thai-Burma Consortium Appeal, Thailand and Burma; Internally Displaced People (IDP) emergency response, Sri Lanka; Emergency relief, peace-building and reconciliation programme, Timor-Leste); Oxfam NZ (Community-based disaster preparedness and mitigation, Samoa); Save the Children NZ (Emergency assistance to children and displaced families in Kilinochchi, Sri Lanka; Afghanistan drought preparedness; Capacity building in emergency and disaster management, Pakistan; Care and protection of children and their families affected by the current emergency, Zimbabwe; Emergency education programme for children affected by war in northern Uganda); ChildFund (Providing assistance to children and families in IDP camps in Dili, Timor-Leste; rapid emergency response for children and youth affected by conflict in Batticaloa, Sri Lanka); Mahitahi (Shortlands Islands recovery project, Solomon Islands); World Vision (Lake Zone School feeding programme, Tanzania).

HAF Applications | February 2008

No new applications were approved at the meeting.

HAF Forms

Any organisation applying for funds or reporting on HAF projects need to go to the website to download the most recent version of the HAF forms. Forms that are well out of date are still being used. The link to the HAF Handbook is as follows: www.nzaid.govt.nz/what-we-do/humanitarian-action-fund.html

Chair's Comments

‘Change' is the theme for these thoughts after a busy meeting. After its second annual ‘reflection' day (December 07) the PMC decided that its next one should probably be given the more prosaic title of ‘Policy and review of recommendations' day. This is what the PMC spent much of the time discussing and there was no shortage of policy items on the agenda. The ‘Lessons learned' reports from the independent reviewers and the VASS evaluation of 2005 continue to provide important topics to work through and implement. We are spending considerable time identifying changes that need to be made to the KOHA Handbook. Most changes are small ones, but sometime larger ones as in relation to programmatic funding need to be considered. The welcome increases in funding levels that occurred in 2007 inevitably have flow-on effects for the scheme that will emerge over time.

A more immediate change was in the people the PMC has discussions with during its bi-monthly meetings. In February, we joined others at the memorable farewell function for Rae Julian, retiring Executive Director of CID. We wish Rae all the best for the future. The PMC met her replacement, David Culverhouse, during our February meeting and we look forward to a similarly productive and positive relationship with David in the years ahead.

Kia kaha

Wren Green

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