bond.org.uk The Bond Effectiveness Programme: developing a sector wide framework for assessing and demonstrating effectiveness July 2011

bond.org.uk Issues to cover Overview of Bond Drivers of Bond’s work on effectiveness Overview of the Bond Effectiveness Programme (BEP) The Im-Prove it! Framework Key points to take away 2

bond.org.uk 3 The membership body for UK international development organisations 1993: 61 members 2010: 370 members Small NGOs – 43% of membership Medium NGOs – 34% Large NGOs – 12% Bond aims to build a diverse, inclusive, informed and active UK NGO sector A key part of what Bond does is to strengthen the sector by facilitating learning and sharing, building skills and knowledge and creating common approaches

bond.org.uk Why a programme on effectiveness now? Drivers of BEP 1. Growing recognition that as a sector we need to improve the rigor of how we assess and demonstrate our effectiveness 1. Need to stop reinventing the wheel on issues of assessing effectiveness. We often develop approaches and tools in isolation that are similar but slightly different. Greater collaboration and sharing is more cost-effective 2. Shifts in the operating environment (political, donor, public, media) and the need to provide a coordinated response 4

bond.org.uk 5 1. Developing agreement and supporting implementation of: Sector wide framework of indicators, data collection tools and assessment methods to improve the consistency of how NGOs measure, learn from and report results (Im-Prove it! Framework) Online effectiveness self-assessment and resource portal that enables benchmarking with peers, sign posts to existing tools, and supports improvements in effectiveness systems and capacities 2. Building knowledge and skills to support members in measuring and managing effectiveness through training, peer learning and support, piloting, and resource development (eg Value for Money) 3. Creating an enabling environment that encourages and supports organisations to deliver improvements in their effectiveness through engagement with donors, NGO leaders and promoting greater transparency about performance …a process of supporting UK NGOs in improving how they assess, learn from and demonstrate their contribution to social development; this involves: The Bond Effectiveness Programme (BEP)

bond.org.uk Im-Prove it! Framework: what is it? A framework grounded in the distinctive contributions that NGOs make to international development that will support organizations to assess, learn from and report their effectiveness more confidently and consistently The framework will support organizations, depending on their ‘way(s) of working’ and ‘thematic areas’ of work, in identifying: What to assess – what is considered good evidence of change? How to assess – what are the best methods for collecting and interrogating this evidence? What to report – what evidence should be reported to what stakeholders? The framework will provide the sector with: A platform for systematic learning and sharing on assessing effectiveness A common framework that individual organisations can draw on and adapt to their own context 6

Influencing decision makers Delivery of essential goods & services to the poor Education Governance & accountability Markets & Livelihoods Infrastructure services Health & HIV/AIDS Environmental sustainability Rights & empowerment Care and Protection Citizen mobilisation and engagement Organisational Capacity development Enterprise development Building Public support for development Voice Inclusion Transparency Learning Triangulation The Im-Prove it! Framework

Education Governance & accountability Markets & Livelihoods Infrastructure services Environmental sustainability Rights & empowerment Care and Protection Thematic areas: “The long term changes in the lives of poor and marginalised people that NGOs seek to contribute to” Health & HIV/AIDS

Influencing decision makers Delivery of essential goods & services to the poor Education Governance & accountability Markets & Livelihoods Infrastructure services Environmental sustainability Rights & empowerment Care and Protection Citizen mobilisation and engagement Organisational Capacity development Enterprise development Building public support for development Ways of working: “the distinctive strategies adopted by NGOs to contribute to change” Thematic areas: “The long term changes in the lives of poor and marginalised people that NGOs seek to contribute to” Health & HIV/AIDS

Significant changes in people’s lives Policy change achieved & implemented Way of working: Influencing decision makers NNGO Changed attitudes, behaviours & actions of decision makers Improved public awareness & understanding Media attention generated Mobilised supporter base Strong alliances between actors created Build alliances & coalitions on specific issue Media outreach on specific issue Public awareness raising on specific issue Mobilising public / supporters on specific issue lobbying and advocacy of decision makers More control More attributable to NGO Less control Less attributable to NGO Engage & link with southern partners on specific issue Research & develop policy on specific issue Education Health & HIV/AIDS Markets & Livelihoods Rights & empowerment Care & Protection Infrastructure services Private sector Multilateral & regional orgs Bilateral donors Governance & accountability Environmental sustainability Thematic areas Way of working

Influencing decision makers Delivery of essential goods & services to the poor Education Governance & accountability Markets & Livelihoods Infrastructure services Environmental sustainability Rights & empowerment Care and Protection Citizen mobilisation and engagement Organisational Capacity development Enterprise development Building public support for development Voice Inclusion Transparency Learning Triangulation Core principles for assessing effectiveness: “The principles that need to be reflected in any assessment of effectiveness to ensure it supports the development process, generates data that is sufficiently robust, and drives ongoing improvement” Ways of working: “the distinctive strategies adopted by NGOs to contribute to change” Thematic areas: “The long term changes in the lives of poor and marginalised people that NGOs seek to contribute to” Health & HIV/AIDS

bond.org.uk The Im-Prove it! Framework is not about creating a single definitive way of assessing effectiveness –it’s about, where possible, encouraging greater harmonisation and consistency in the sector identifying the similarities in what we do rather than the differences 2. The Framework is about providing a collective resource that UK NGOs can draw on when developing their own context specific M&E frameworks 3. The Framework is about providing organisations with the tools to be able to tell a more robust story of how they are contributing to change 4. The Framework is a work in progress and even when it is ‘complete’ will continue to evolve Key points to take away