NZAID

PMC Update | October 2007

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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 is aiming to produce an Update after each of its six meetings in the year. The Update will include information on decisions taken and issues of general interest to the NGO community. The PMC would like to hear from NGOs about the usefulness of these Updates, so please let us know what you think.

October 2007

Introduction

The 26/27th September meeting of the PMC considered both KOHA and Humanitarian Action Fund (HAF) items of business. A particular focus for discussion under General Business was preparation for input to the upcoming NGO/NZAID Annual Meeting. The Committee met with the independent reviewers to sort travel details for organisational reviews and also discussed KOHA training courses with Rae Julian, Eleanor Doig and Lee Sentes of CID. Belinda Gorman represented the NDRF for sessions dealing with the HAF agenda. The following is a summary of the main outcomes of the PMC’s September meeting.

Organisation Profiles

Requests to register with KOHA-PICD were received from the following organisations:
Kyrgyzstan New Zealand Rural Trust
Open Home Foundation International Trust
RESPONSE Trust
All applications were tabled, pending the receipt of further information.

Organisational Review

The PMC considered the final report and recommendations on the organisational review of Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand from the independent reviewers.

KOHA Reports Considered

The PMC received a Block Grant AM&E report from FPA International Development. Other ‘satisfactory’ project reports were received from Fred Hollows Foundation (Community Eye Health, Timor-Leste); International Needs NZ (Project Monitoring (Kidron Ministries), Bougainville); UNIFEM NZ (UNIFEM NZ National Committee Capacity Building); WWF NZ (Monitoring and Evaluating Visit: Restoring Sustainable Livelihoods on Kabara Island, Fiji)

KOHA Applications Approved September 2007

  • ChildFund New Zealand
    Loipi design phase project, Kenya.
  • Christian Blind Mission International NZ
    Samuha-Samarthya integrated therapeutic & rights-based community intervention for persons with disabilities, India.
  • International Needs NZ
    Konga water supply, Bougainville
  • UNICEF NZ
    Partnership appraisal visit, Timor-Leste
  • Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos Support Network (VICALSN)
    Evaluation: primary maternal and child health care, Laos.

NGO/NZAID Annual Meeting

There was considerable discussion about the PMC’s contribution to the Annual Meeting, including discussions with CID representatives. Given the successful small group discussions that were held last year, the PMC decided to repeat that approach and drew on ‘lessons learned’ by the independent reviewers to identify five key topic areas for discussion. This forum session will also involve input from NZAID staff.

Prior to the Annual Meeting the PMC resolved to send out for NGOs to consider, two documents relating to proposed changes to the KOHA Handbook and a paper prepared by Ellie Sanderson titled “GFBOs and the KOHA-PICD: Discussion paper on our sector’s negotiation with development best practice and its intersection with faith, spirituality and religion.” This paper arose out of last year’s Annual Meeting. One of the discussion groups had explored the ongoing issues around the GFBOs, identified the need for a discussion paper, and the PMC had followed it up. (Refer to the August KOHA Update)

HAF Reports Considered

The PMC considered tsunami reports from the following NGOs: Bethany Christian Missions Charitable Trust; Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand; Oxfam New Zealand; TEAR Fund NZ. EMDR reports were received and considered from: Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand; CBMI; Rotary NZ WCS; ChildFund NZ; Christian World Service; UNICEF NZ; World Vision NZ. HAF Block grant reports were considered from Oxfam NZ as well as HAF reports from ChildFund NZ.

HAF Applications Approved September 2007

  • Christian Blind Mission
    Disabled Peoples’ Rehabilitation, Flood, Bangladesh.
  • Surfaid International
    Post Earthquake Emergency Response Programme for the Mentawai Islands, Indonesia
  • The Leprosy Mission
    South-Asia flood assistance, India, Bangladesh

Timelines for Project Reports

Some NGOs seem to be unclear about the times within which project reports are required to be submitted and links with PMC meetings. Both KOHA and HAF Handbooks are clear on this point: “A project report should be provided within three months of the end of project activities or within fifteen months of receiving funding, whichever is the earlier.” These timelines are independent of when the PMC is scheduled to review the report. The Handbooks also require: “If, for some reason the report is delayed, an interim report by way of letter to the PMC should be provided by the date the report was due.”

Expenditure on Administration and AM&E

The PMC also wanted to draw to your attention to the fact that the 8% of the budget that is allocated for administration and AM&E is split on the basis that 5% is for administration costs and 3% is to fund AM&E activities.

Chair's Comments

This month I’d like to stress the good progress that has been made in strengthening the administrative support for KOHA and HAF. Like the money spent re-piling your house these (sometimes expensive) initiatives aren’t seen from the outside, but they sure do make a big difference for the occupants. Amanda Holdaway is now working hard with Claire-Louise to take over the HAF Administration services, and a working group involving NZAID staff and Claire-Louise are making steady progress in overhauling the KOHA and HAF databases. Another ‘strengthening’ initiative has been the meeting with BGOs over clarifying the Handbook sections relating to programmatic vs project approaches and the implications for reporting and accountabilities. This led to proposed changes to the Handbook that have now been circulated for comment before consideration at the Annual Meeting. All of these changes flow through into a more effective and responsive working environment within the PMC and outwards with the development community.

To end on a completely different note – I’m reading “Blessed Unrest. How the Largest Movement in the World Came into Being and Why No One Saw It Coming” by Paul Hawken (2007). I find it an inspiring and re-affirming book with a wealth of evidence that groups throughout the world are doing the right thing in transforming human society and redefining our relationship to the environment. Hawken concluded: “Our house is literally burning, and it is only logical that environmentalists expect the social justice movement to get on the environmental bus. But it is the other way around; the only way we are gong to put out the fire is to get on the social justice bus and heal our wounds, because in the end, there is only one bus.”
Kia kaha
Wren Green

Previous Updates 2007

Page Last Reviewed: 29 October, 2009

Document URL: http://www.nzaid.govt.nz/what-we-do/archive/pmc-update-october-07.html