Afrika Kontakts strategi for fremtidens arbejde – workshop

Sted:
Afrika Kontakt - Wesselsgade 4 - 2200 København N.

Som et led i opfølgningen på kapacitetsundersøgelsen af Afrika Kontakt og vores partnerseminar i Swaziland indbydes der til en workshop for alle medlemmer torsdag den 26. november kl. 17.30 til 22. (bare rolig, der er mad) Tilmedling sker her.

Wordshoppen vil være faciliteret af Hans Peter Dejgaard, der har forfatter til kapacitetsundersøgelsen af Afrika Kontakt. Vi håber ligeledes at Erik fra Projektrådgivningen til kunne være med.

Som baggrund for vores strategi diskussion er der en række anbefalinger fra kapacitetsundersøgelsen og de mange input som vi har fået fra vores partnere på seminaret i Swaziland.

Denne workshop vil fokusere de anbefalinger der er på de områder, der kort kan beskrives som Afrika Kontakts arbejde i Danmark og projektarbejdet.

På vores partnerseminar i Swaziland, arbejdede vi sammen med vores partnere om at udvikle det som vi kalder ”Solidarity Partnersnips”. Konceptet er ganske kort fortalt, at Afrika Kontakt og partnere udbygger partnerskabet ud over projektsamarbejdet. Projekterne skal indgå som en del af solidaritetsarbejdet og det politiske arbejde. Vi skal vi gensidigt informere hinanden, og samarbejde om de politiske emner som der er enighed om at samarbejde om. Dette vil betyde langt mere arbejde i grupperne, som til gengæld vil blive aflastet i forhold til administrationen af projekterne.

På partnerseminaret i Swaziland bliv der udviklet på ideer, til såvel politiske emner vi kan samarbejde om, til mere praktiske administrative løsninger der kan lette projektarbejdet i nord og syd.

Alt i alt var der mange ideer og konkrete planer på flere af de anbefalinger som der er i kapacitetsundersøgelsen.

Der vil komme en mere udførlig rapport fra partnerseminariet, inden længe.

Diskussionen vil desuden tage udgangspunkt i nedenstående anbefalinger:

Recommendation 1: AC could do more to provide advice and written feedback to its partners on feasibility studies, project proposals and progress reports. A first step would be to improve the debriefing notes and travel reports for the benefit of the partners that have been visited.

Recommendation 2: Together with key partners, AC could support and initiate studies for improving the understanding and measurement of the effect/impact of the interventions as well as gaining further understanding and concrete mechanisms for empowering and organizing poorer people. This could both be done in collaboration with regional/national research centres.

Recommendation 3: In close collaboration with its partners, AC could seek to enhance the partners’ own capacity for planning, monitoring/results-based management and internal learning. Further, AC could step up efforts for harmonisation with other international NGOs/agencies as well as alignment to the partners’ governance structures, management, annual work plans and reports to their own annual assembly and board.

Recommendation 4: AC could work with more systematic methods and tools regarding organisational development and mobilisation and other capacity building needs, aiming at increasing partner organisations’ performance and sustainability. This would require the use of a resource base of good regional/national facilitators on organisational assessments/organisational development, change management processes and improvements of leadership/management, finance etc.

Recommendation 5: It is suggested joining forced with African partners on the development of methods on organisational development, mobilisation and other capacity building needs. This could be initiated with applying PRNGO for a partnership project during 2010, which could be implemented together with 1-2 NGOs in Southern Africa specialised in organisational development and change management.

Recommendation 6: AC could gradually upgrade the current project coordinator position at the Danish secretariat to a full-time position aiming at strengthening AC’s capacity building methods, advisory, documentation, backstopping to the project groups as well as responding to the partners request for increased continuity.

Recommendation 7: AC should agree with partners on adequate replicability mechanisms, sustainability criteria and exit strategies. Even when new partnerships are forged, these issues should be addressed in the dialogue at an early stage. In addition, organisational and financial sustainability should be a constant concern in future project documents and reporting from partners. Obviously, the desire for sustainability must be tempered with a realistic view of what is achievable.

Recommendation 8: AC and its partners should consider how to operationalise and speed up gender mainstreaming and its recognition by the leadership in partner organisations. Furthermore mainstreaming experiences can be interchanged with the HIV/AIDS topic.

Recommendation 9: AC would benefit from the formulation of an overall Strategy outlining the geographical focus and thematic specialisations in relation to the future project work. Such strategic planning should be seen as an instrument for further improvement of the quality and ‘added value’ of AC’s future work.