3.3.1.1 Preparations (2a, 2c)
CNV had already introduced a one partner per country approach at the start of the current VMP period. Most of the decisions about which partners to work with had already been taken, since most partnerships are based on long-standing collaboration.
CNV works with the selected confederations for a reason: the organisations should be politically independent, vigorously pursue dialogue over more radical choices, and support the notion of pluralism. Such organisations are few and far between. Once CNV has built a connection over many years, it does not readily give it up.
3.3.1.2 Place and function of contextual and organisational analyses (2) Place
CNV had already started implementing a new results-based PME system in 2003/2004 – well before the current VMP period. The introduction of contextual analyses was a direct consequence of IOB’s conclusions. Contextual analyses were included from 2008 onwards and organisational analyses were developed and included from 2009 onwards.
The contextual (17 by the end of 2011) and organisational analyses (12 by the end of 2011) conducted by CNV are listed in Table 3.
Table 3: Planned contextual and organisational analyses, PME training and preparation of multiannual plans in CNVI-assisted countries
Country Contextual analysis Organisational analysis PM training Multiannual plans Colombia 2010 2010 2010 2011-2014 El Salvador 2010 2010 2010 2011-2014 Honduras 2011 2011 2008 / 2011 2009-2012 Nicaragua 2011 2012 2012 from 2012 Costa Rica 2011 2011 2008 / 2011 2009-2012 Guatemala 2008/2009 - - - Panama* - - - - Paraguay - - - - Cuba 2010 - - - Chile* - - - - Benin CGTB 2010 2010 2010 2010-2013 Benin COSI 2010 2012 2012 From mid- 2012 Togo 2010 2010 2008 2009-2012 Senegal 2008 2009 2008 2009-2012 Niger 2011 2011 2008/2012 2011-2014 Guinea 2012* 2012 2008/2012 2011-2014
South Africa 2011 2011/12 2010/2012 from 2012
Cameroon 2011 2012 2012 from 2012
Ghana 2012 2012 2012 from 2010
Madagascar
SEKRIMA 2012 2012 2012 from 2012
Country Contextual analysis Organisational analysis PM training Multiannual plans Namibia - - - - Pakistan* - - 2008 2009-2012 Cambodia 2010 2010 2010 2011-2014 Indonesia 2008/2009 2010 2008 / 2009 2008-2012 Sri Lanka 2011 - - - Moldova 2010 2011 2012 from 2012 Macedonia 2008 2010 2010 2010-2013
* In Panama, Paraguay, Chile and Namibia CNV is ceasing or likely to cease its activities, but not as the result of a study.
* In Guinea the contextual analysis has been postponed due to unsafe circumstances.
* In Pakistan and Guatemala CNV has temporarily ceased activities due to internal management issues at partner level.
Source: CNV
Contextual analyses at CNV have been organised through a Netherlands-based steering committee which advises on the ToR and audits the quality of the studies. Through this network, mainly professors from Dutch academic institutions were selected in combination with a local consultant. At first, the ToR for the contextual analyses were too vague, thus producing analyses that were too general. Every analysis prompted an amendment of the ToR, so it was an ongoing learning process. In a second round, more focus was brought in by concentrating on the four themes and by including actor analyses.
The standard organisational analyses were done by an external Netherlands-based bureau according to fixed ToR66 and a contract from the PME Manual. The formats were introduced during the PME training, and during the subsequent multiannual planning trajectory one or more workshops were organised with the participation of the confederation and the affiliates. Updated checklists are filled out every year in preparation for the Annual Plan. A full internal organisational assessment is carried out every four years. Additionally, the programme officer checks on achievements when visiting the partner.
Function
In view of the options already taken, it was evident beforehand that contextual analyses would not greatly affect the choice of a key partner. Implicitly, the contextual analysis is driven from a one-partner point of view: how can this partner become stronger and make itself more useful in this particular context? Instead, value could be added by considering whether the right interventions and strategic issues had been chosen, what new interventions could be added, and to what extent the partner should team up with other organisations. In some cases, identifying additional collaborative opportunities for CNV would also have been useful.
For the few countries where the analyses were introduced before 2011, the follow-up could be given in annual plans and project proposals, for example by formulating extra results on strengthening the organisation (Representativeness and HR-Cambodia, Member Administration-Indonesia).
3.3.1.3 Conclusions on approach and options taken by CNV
- CNV has achieved most of the planned studies so far.
- The development and application of the instruments has been characterised as a learning process during the first years of the current VMP.
- In most countries, contextual and organisational analyses were conducted after the PME system had been introduced and multiannual planning had been finalised. Most partners and interventions had therefore already been fixed.
- The two instruments may therefore be relevant for multiannual plans that started in 2011 at the earliest, but mainly for consecutive years.
- Neither the contextual nor the organisational analyses were instrumental in deselecting countries and/or partners or in adding new ones. As pointed out in chapter 2, partnering has been terminated because a country has been phased out, or for a combination of reasons.
- For the countries where the studies were finalised before 2011, follow-up was given in the partners’ multiannual plans (if done) or through adapting annual plans and formulating new proposals. This indicates room for improved planning.
- Given the order in which the instruments were introduced, it is methodologically difficult to measure how far project proposals had improved by mid-2011, let alone whether projects are implemented more effectively.67 Only a few countries have followed the ‘correct’ order so far.68 Cambodia was therefore included in this study as an extra country dossier, to illustrate what benefit could possibly be derived from these instruments. A contextual and an organisational analysis have been done in Indonesia. However, too few cases have been analysed in comparison with the number of studies conducted to draw far-reaching conclusions.
- Implementation of context studies is done under the guidance of a steering committee external to CNV. This is a partial guarantee that the studies will also look more critically at the partners’ role and the programmatic choices made. The same applies to the role of an external consultant in organisational analyses, by including an external assessment in addition to the self-assessments.