1. cover page partnership activity (less than dkk 500,000) · afghanistan country’s gdi per...

THE PROJECT FUND – Partnership activities (less than DKK 500,000)

1. Cover page PARTNERSHIP ACTIVITY (less than DKK 500,000) Title of partnership activity:

Partners in development: strengthening local civil society organizations and processes in Badakhshan, Afghanistan.

Danish applicant organisation:

Mission East, Skt. Lukasvej 13, 2900 Hellerup

Other Danish partner(s), if any:

-

Local partner organisation(s):

AWOR (Afghanistan Women’s Organization for Rehabilitation)

and the Badakhshan Development Forum (BDF) Country(-ies):

AFGHANISTAN Country’s GDI per capita: USD 410 (2010 Atlas)

Commencement date: 1 February 2013

Completion date: 31 December 2013

Number of months: 11

Contact person for the partnership activity: Name: Filip Buff Pedersen Email address: [email protected]

Amount requested from the Project Fund: 300,000 DKK

Annual cost level: 300,000 DKK (Total amount requested divided by number of project years)

Is this a re-submission? (To the Project Fund or Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs)? [ x ] No [ ] Yes, previous date of application: In which language would you prefer the reply (chose one): [ ] Danish or [ x] English

Synthesis (maximum 10 lines – must be written in Danish, even if the rest of the application is in English) Projektet er rettet mod opbygning af civilsamfund i Afghanistan, og det omfatter styrkelse af 2 partner organisationer til Mission Øst. Det har som primært formål at styrke en lokal kvinde-organisation organisatorisk og strategisk, herunder at fremme evnen til at italesætte generelle problemstillinger for afghanske kvinder hos lokale myndigheder (advocacy). Ligeledes vil projektet omfatte drift og ledelse af et fælles trænings- og forsknings center for lokale NGO-er, efter registrering af denne organisation (hidtil drevet af andre internationale NGO-er) som selvstændig CSO og partner. Desuden vil projektet støtte landsbykvinder i Afghanistan via en forbedring af den primære partners evne til selvstændigt at håndtere udviklingsprojekter, rettet mod forbedring af kvinders sociale stilling og indtjeningsmuligheder på landet. Projektet vil foregå i det nordøstlige Afghanistan, i provinsen Badakhshan, og det vil have en tidsperiode på 11 måneder

17th of September 2012

Date

Person responsible (signature)

Copenhagen

DR. Kim Hartzner, Managing Director Mission East

Place Person responsible and position (block letters)

Ref. no. (to be filled out by CISU)

THE PROJECT FUND – Partnership activity (less than DKK 500,000) 1

2. Application text

Structure:

A. THE PARTNERS A.1 The Danish organisation

Mission East is a Danish relief and development organisation established in 1991, which works to help vulnerable populations by supporting communities’ capacities to organise and assist themselves, through activities ranging from disaster relief to development assistance. As well as doing direct implementation, all of Mission East’s country programmes work with and through local civil society actors in order to enhance the relevance, impact and sustainability of their interventions. Capacity building of the local partners, organisationally, technically, in project cycle management, and in advocacy and inclusive approaches, remains core to Mission East’s approach.

During its 10-year engagement in north-eastern Afghanistan (the provinces of Badakhshan and Takhar), Mission East along with providing humanitarian assistance to affected communities in post-disaster and post-conflict emergency situations, has also been engaged in the rehabilitation and/or provision of basic infrastructure and agricultural and public health services through its approach linking relief, rehabilitation and development (LRRD). Despite the inherent challenges of working in a fundamentally unstable, volatile and fragile political context such as Afghanistan, the organisation has sought to maximize the sustainability and impact of project activities by creating local ownership through the involvement of key stakeholders (both government and civil society) in the identification and implementation of projects with the eventual aim of full handover through the following steps by:

a. Developing and strengthening participatory systems for post-project management;

b. Building the capacity of community-based groups to take ownership and responsibility for operating and maintaining created assets (Community Development Councils or CDCs, Water User Committees or WUCs, Self Help Groups or SHGs, women’s producer groups, farmers’ associations etc.);

c. Ensuring linkages of community groups with relevant local government departments and alternative assistance groups such as local NGOs that may provide future training and support;

d. Building up the institutional (technical, financial and management) capacities of local partner NGOs to identify local needs and to develop and undertake appropriate responses; and

e. Facilitating market linkages between all players in the market chain, from producer to consumer, where possible.

Mission East is a member of the Badakhshan and Takhar Development Forums (BDF and TDF) whose overall objective is to strengthen the capacities of local development actors, in particular local civil society organizations. Since 2011, under the umbrella of the BDF and its Self Help Women’s Empowerment Project (SHWEP) in Badakhshan, Mission East has been supporting the women-led and managed NGO AWOR (Afghan Women’s Organisation for Rehabilitation) to support and follow-up on established women’s self help groups in the district of Shohadah. In Takhar Mission East is continuing to build up its existing partnership with another local NGO, PHDO (Peace and Human Development Organisation) by slowly expanding its role in the implementation of water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) projects funded by Danida.

As the political and economic landscape in Afghanistan is expected to remain in a ‘fragile’ state of flux with the impending drawdown of international security forces and the ongoing ‘transitioning’ in governance and security management to national and provincial structures, it is becoming increasingly imperative to develop even closer linkages between government and other local stakeholders while at the same time, to build up their capacity to engage fully in the developmental process with greater accountability, transparency and effectiveness. If the developmental gains made in the last decade or so are not to be reversed and with a state which has limited resources and capacities, it is local civil society organisations, which can help to ensure that the needs and rights of the population, particularly the majority rural population and within it, of its most marginalized and vulnerable members such as women, children, and people with disabilities, continue to be adequately represented and served in a post-transition Afghanistan.


Mission East has developed a specific ”Strategy for Partnership Development” to streamline its partnership activities. See Annex 4

A.2 Other Danish partners (to be filled in if several Danish organisations are forming an alliance) No other Danish partners are involved in this project. A.3 The local organisations

A - Afghanistan Women’s Organisation for Rehabilitation (AWOR)

The proposed partnership activity envisions a strengthening, both of Mission East’s relationship with its main local partner in Badakhshan, the Afghanistan Women's Organization for Rehabilitation (AWOR) as well as of AWOR’s institutional and organizational capacities.

Background, mission and goal. AWOR was established on 15th March 1998 in Faizabad, the capital of

Badakhshan province, as a women's organization with the objective of mobilizing women to be aware of their rights and to enhance their productive capacities to earn a livelihood.

AWOR's vision is to create a society in which women achieve their equal rights and have equal access to economic opportunities, thereby improving their standards of living. This, AWOR believes, can be achieved through social, economic and political empowerment. By offering women more opportunities to earn a livelihood, their influence in household and community-level decision-making and governance can be expected to increase too. Its objectives are:

• To improve household incomes through women-led productive activities.

• To increase the education level among rural women and to make them aware of their rights.

• To link women with respective government agencies and services for addressing their issues.

• To use CDCs and other civil society networks to improve the information available to women on public services etc.

• To create, support and train Self Help Groups (SHGs) as a community-based mechanism to provide funds to women to meet basic emergency needs and to invest in livelihood activities, and to provide a platform for their socio-cultural activities

• To implement literacy, health, women’s rights, and humanitarian projects funded by different organizations & government agencies.

Project implementation experience. AWOR has focused its activities on the implementation of projects to help women in income-generating activities and in finding employment, with a special focus on widows and women with disabilities. Members of the SHGs supported by AWOR have received literacy training. . Some efforts have also been made to link SHGs to relevant government institutions in order to give them a channel to advocate their issues. Currently the organisation is involved with:

- Formation of Self Help Groups in Shohada District, second round - Fellowship program, coordinated through the BDF. - Carpet weaving and sewing project in Faizabad - Literacy Projects in Yawan, Raghistan and Shuhada districts

Additionally AWOR has been engaged with poultry rearing, vegetable production, literacy & health activities, carpet weaving, repairs on a Faizabad secondary school, and Computer, English & Maths teaching – a variety of small-scale projects supported financially by different international donors (AKF, Oxfam, the Embassy of Japan, and UN agencies).

Organizational structure and capacity. AWOR has a Director and Deputy Director with field staff to implement the projects (all female). As a national NGO, AWOR’s staff has the added advantage of being local, themselves belonging to the targeted communities and with a strong record of providing assistance to local women on issues relating to skills development and income generation. As a local organization they are accustomed to operate in a politically unstable, conflict-sensitive environment. In the present area of operation, in Shohada district, they have in the past one year been responsible for all follow-up activity related to existing SHGs (for details please see Annex B - AWOR fact sheet)

1.

However, with regards to their organizational, monitoring and project management capacities, AWOR remains quite weak. The organization is heavily dependent on the personal qualities and capacity of the chairperson. They are locally known to be one of the better performing local NGOs; however, they have not

1

As the BDF as of yet does not have an independent legal status in Afghanistan, no organizational factsheet has been provided.

This, however, can be provided once the legal status of the BDF becomes clear.


had the ability to produce or maintain reports of their activities in a manner capable of encouraging internal knowledge-sharing from lessons learnt and best practices. Similar to a lot of other national NGOs and CSOs, in order to ensure its continued survival the organization has often been forced to try to respond to changing donor preferences and priorities, and there was no clear strategy in place for defining and sustaining their own priorities and action areas prior to their entering into a partnership with Mission East in 2011.

B – The Badakhshan Development Forum (BDF)

The BDF was founded in 2004 as a network of four international NGOs - Aga Khan Foundation (AKF), Afghan Aid, Concern, and Oxfam. The network was established to support the coordination of development activities in the province, to combine efforts for capacity building of local NGOs/CSOs and to bridge the gaps between international NGOs, local civil society organisations and government agencies in Badakhshan. The network was later widened to include other international NGOs such as Norwegian Afghanistan Committee (NAC), the Agency for Technical Cooperation and Development (ACTED), and Mission East. The organization has a chairmanship, which, after being headed by AKF from 2004-2011, now rotates between the member organizations. Mission East is currently doing the preparatory work for taking over the BDF chairmanship from January 2013.

The expanded membership has provided the BDF with the opportunity to play a stronger role in coordination and collaboration. In recent years it has been gradually equipped with computers and other equipment which have enabled it to offer its services as a resource and training facility for local CSOs in Badakhshan. Workshops on topics such as CDC capacity building, workshops on natural resource management, enterprise development and microfinance, together with internal and international exposure visits, have been arranged to build the capacities of local government and local NGO’s/CSO’s and to improve their level of coordination. Additionally, collaborative projects between the BDF and provincial line departments have been carried out, and the collaboration has strengthened the participating institutions in their appropriate roles and functions.

BDF has thus over the years increasingly become a centre for collaboration, synergy, training and knowledge-sharing between the main development actors in the province, through sectorial coordination, consistent sharing of information, cross-learning workshops and training programmes. However, if it is to become a truly local institution embedded in local civil society and working for and with it, it needs to expand its membership to include those existing and new local CSOs as full members whose capacities have been built up to meet pre-determined eligibility criteria. Ultimately the international NGO’ should phase out completely. In taking over the chairmanship it is Mission East’s aim to start this process of local NGO/CSO inclusion and membership. Discussions in BDF meetings so far indicate that there is a willingness of the partners to be more inclusive. BDF’s Vision. BDF’s vision is to create an enabling environment for local civil society actors as key partners in development through the stimulation and expansion of an inclusive governance and development process in Badakhshan. BDF’s Objectives. Objective 1: To promote and support the active participation of sub-national governance institutions and civil society organizations in the planning, implementation and monitoring of relevant provincial and district level development plans.

BDF contributes towards the development and achievement of provincial and district level planning by supporting inclusive processes. This is done by engaging both civil society and subnational governance institutions. It aims at improving working relationships between the Provincial Development Council (PDC) and District Development Assemblies (DDAs).

Objective 2: To build the capacity of local civil society organizations including NGOs, media and other civil society actors to work towards meeting local needs and priorities in a more effective, transparent and accountable manner, The member organizations of the BDF gather together experiences and technical expertise from different districts to build the capacity of local partners. This is done through a range of capacity-building inputs, including programme diversification, to broaden sectorial capacity of CSO’s/local NGO’s. Activities to this effect include small project grants, training, cross-learning workshops and thematic working groups.

Objective 3: To increase coordination among development actors.The BDF builds advocacy-capacity among local CSO’s/NGO’s and participates in joint proactive research to learn from best practices. This is done through sectorial working groups, cross learning workshops and discussions on how to develop synergies in approaches. The BDF also plays a coordinating role in the creation of joint programmes/projects aimed to enhance service delivery and improved governance, as well as civil society engagement.


Objective 4: To collect, analyse and disseminate best practices in development and governance

A BDF website for communication and information-sharing with all actors is planned. The present member organizations have additionally committed to joint research initiatives, to learn from best practices in their various thematic and geographical areas. A.4 The cooperative relationship and its prospects

In 2011 Mission East - through its membership of the BDF network - entered into a strategic partnership with the Afghanistan Women's Organization for Rehabilitation (AWOR), due to their sectorial and geographic compatibility with Mission East’s own strategic and programmatic priorities

In 2011 the BDF launched the “Self Help Women’s Empowerment Project” (SHWEP) in the district of Shohada, and Mission East and Concern (the current chair of the BDF) signed a tripartite agreement together with AWOR to support and implement the initiative. The aim of SHWEP is to provide affordable savings and credit facilities to poor women in Badakhshan, with the district of Shohada being covered by AWOR, due to their extensive experience of working in this district since 1998. Mission East provided the funding for the first 8 months, through the BDF, (January to August 2011) for this one-year project. Currently, AWOR is working under a second grant in which the main focus lies on the strengthening of AWOR's thematic capacities and programming.

AWOR has has steadily improved the follow up with SHGs and Mission East aims to hand over its own SHGs there in 2013. AWOR is expected to run this activity completely on their own in the future, after having received the training and assistance provided in this project. AWOR is already and continuously supported by Mission East in the process, as their employees are included in all Mission East SHG trainings. Additionally Mission East staff provides them with continuous field assistance during regular monitoring and exposure visits.

In the latest partnership assessment in August 2011, carried out through the BDF, AWOR’s operational and programmatic capacities were assessed as well. In this assessment it became clear that although AWOR has obtained significant experience with project implementation, they lack sufficient operational capacity. This is especially true for procurement, financial management and accountancy, for which they have only basic skills. In addition, the organization could use more guidance on organizational development and project management.

For this reason: This proposal and the expected continued partnership with AWOR will focus on building the organizational and programmatic capacities at AWOR.

Mission East will facilitate AWOR in the field through monitoring and guidance on SHG building, for which Mission East over the years has developed a tried and tested methodology. Mission East will additionally assist AWOR with the provision of organizational and management trainings through the BDF.

Mission East expects to take over the chairmanship of the BDF within the timeframe of this project provided that before the inception of the project, the BDF has acquired independent legal status as a local civil society organisation. Through its platform Mission East will take the lead in organizing and implementing the necessary trainings. By providing trainings through the BDF Mission East aims to strengthen the BDF from its hitherto primary role of a coordinating body for international NGO’s, to a key training institution to service local CSO’s/NGO’s in Badakhshan.

For this reason: This proposal will focus on expanding the BDF to become a major provider of capacity training to local CSO’s/NGO’s in Badakhshan, as well as a provider of research

Using the BDF for common training purposes will allow for the combined expertise and experience of the INGO members to be drawn upon, while at the same time preventing a duplication of efforts. Given sufficient need and demand, these trainings could also be extended to some other local CSOs that have partnered with the BDF, such as:

• Badakhshan Volunteer Women’s Organization (BVWO)

• Relation and Cooperation Women Organization (RCWO)

• Kohistan Health and Social Development Organization (KHSDO)

• Self Development Social and Cultural Association (SDSCA)

• Badakhshan Women Help Organization (BHWO)

• Afghan Women for Development and Cultural Organization (AWDCO)


B. CONTEXT ANALYSIS B.1. Relevance of the partnership activity

In Badakhshan international NGOs working in the province constantly face challenges in coordinating and cooperating with local development actors (CDCs, CSOs and local NGOs). These challenges are mainly caused by low organizational capacity, limited resources and weak or non-existent networking & coordination between the local organizations. Their potential role as key actors in influencing local policies and to contribute to long-term development has not yet been recognized in the wider society. This is of particular importance because of the expected decrease in international development support to Afghanistan in the next few years of the ‘transition’ phase. Local CSOs and NGOs have to be strengthened to take on a leading role in the development process of Badakhshan province (as well as in the rest of the country), both to build up the sustainability of humanitarian interventions and to bridge the gap towards recovery and long-term rehabilitation.

AWOR - Mission East's major partner in this intervention - was the only partner working with women which was identified as having enough potential to work with adequate effectiveness and independence in the long run. Their management and operational capacities, however, could use improvement. The latest capacity assessment, done by BDF, shows a lack in capacities (please refer to Annex I). For instance, AWOR lacks full understanding of the concept of civil society and its role in development and advocacy. Prior to their partnership with BDF and Mission East, the organization’s strategy and priorities were mostly donor-driven. Their financial/accounting skills and procedures which were initially quite rudimentary have since improved as a result of trainings and follow-up but more capacity building is still needed. The quality of projects implemented in the field has improved since 2011.As a result, the quality of bookkeeping of the SHGs has improved and these groups have been meeting more frequently. Whereas prior to the support received from the BDF and Mission East, the social trainings (such as SHG formation, SHG laws, gender and development, decision making, small business, etc.) provided by AWOR were only partially done and with limited quality, since the inception of the partnership there has been a marked increase in quality. Through the new, extended partnership AWOR should be better able to capitalize on its unique position as an organisation run and managed entirely by women themselves and the unique access this affords them to poor, vulnerable women in remote rural communities in Badakhshan, enabling them to work more effectively to further their development needs and priorities.

Mission East finds it imperative to work with women's organizations in Afghanistan to help build up their capacities to mobilize, manage, deliver and advocate, since women – in spite of constituting half of the population - are one of the most marginalized groups in Afghan society and lack an effective voice. Women, trying to form groups to promote their common interests, often have to deal with resistance from the community due to traditional perceptions of their roles. In addition, women in rural Badakhshan lack general knowledge and skills. Women in Afghanistan have limited opportunities, due to cultural restrictions and they suffer from a much more difficult development situation than men. Generally their contributions to the household economy are not recognized to the same extent as men, they have very few opportunities to take up paid work or run a small business to support their families. Consequently, they also have very few possibilities to influence decisions within their households and communities.

One of the most marginalized categories of women in Afghan society are widows, female heads of households and women with sick and/or elderly spouses who are unable to provide for the family. Due to years of conflict and poor health care this group of women comprises a significant part of Afghan society and they are often solely responsible for the raising of sizeable families. However, Afghan culture can exclude such (and other) women from their relatives, from the labour market and from the community, resulting in these women experiencing extreme hardship and failing to participate in civil society.

B.2. In what context is the activity placed ?

Decades of warfare and negligence have devastated the country and held back development and progress. Afghanistan’s human development indicators are among the lowest in the world. Life expectancy is estimated at 43 years, adult literacy at 36% and the proportion of the population below the poverty line at 56%. Food security is low and large sectors of the population are vulnerable as they have lost their material and social assets due to war or displacement. Essential physical, agrarian and social infrastructure has been destroyed. The economy is poorly developed and largely dependent on foreign aid and a significant proportion revolves around the cultivation of poppy and the illegal production and trade in opium.


The term ‘fragile state’ is generally used to refer to countries that are facing particularly severe development challenges such as weak governance, limited administrative capacity, and a legacy of conflict or failure to include/protect certain parts of the population. A fragile state is particularly characterized by its lack of capacity to deliver basic services to its population. Typically, one in three is undernourished, twice the figures in poor countries not classified as ‘fragile states’

2. All these criteria unfortunately hold true for Afghanistan,

characterized as it is by a lack of government capacity and resources - or sometimes political will - to provide the most basic services. Civil society organisations in Afghanistan can help to bridge the gaps in service provision and meeting of basic needs– and to play a decisive role in advocacy. Additionally civil society organizations should also act positively as a counterweight to the state and as a vehicle for democracy

3. An

active citizenry is essential in the creation of a functioning “social contract” between state and society, in order to push the government to accept necessary compromises. However, in the case where basic services are absent, CSOs usually see themselves more in the role of service delivery and distribution of humanitarian aid. The beneficiaries (people deprived of basic services) might as well also see advocacy activities as less of a priority than service delivery, and organisations performing a strictly advocacy role will likely not have legitimacy within society. It is an understandable perception at a community level, because people deprived of clean water, food, healthcare or education wants these needs to be served first. However, advocating for good governance and accountability are very necessary and essential activities over the long term, and it is important to work on all three key aspects -service delivery, capacity-building and advocacy- of an active civil society at the same time.

Such efforts have so far been tried by other actors. From a situation of an almost non-existent civil society (not active) in 2001 international donors have since pressed through a programme of decentralized village & district level of governance. It is named the “National Solidarity Programme” (NSP), with an ultimate aim of establishing Community Development Councils (CDCs) all over the country. The name refers to the original intended role as basic civil society organizations, with each CDC to be responsible to pressurize for development of their particular community. Much of the training provided by facilitating partners in the NSP programme serves this purpose. Additionally, at the same time the CDC’s also became incorporated into the government structure (as a lowest ranking structure), with democratic election procedures, and with the ultimate expectations of acting as community-based service providers on behalf of the government. For this reason the CDC’s can be said to serve double functions – governmental as well as non-governmental – with a common purpose of creating a “bottom up” participation in the development process.

However, in the Afghan context and reality still none of the roles have been clearly defined and implemented. The final position of the CDC’s within the government system is still not finally clarified (due to conflicts between responsible ministries). Additionally, as the funding of the single CDC’s within the NSP programme is concentrated to one or two community projects only (and nothing beyond that) it remains to be seen if the intended future advocacy role for more development, besides the intention of a basic governance structure, can materialize.

With NSP being a government managed programme, additional assistance to the CDCs to enter on a stronger advocacy position would have to take place within this programme (as a facilitating partner). To embark on advocacy assistance to the CDCs outside of the NSP would effectively mean to duplicate activity supposed to take place within the NSP. For that reason, although having plenty of experience in working directly with communities, Mission East have in this proposal decided to concentrate on CSOs standing completely outside of the government/NSP structure. B.3 How has the partnership activity been prepared ?

As explained above, in 2011 Mission East - in the process of identifying a suitable local partner to continue SHG activity – identified AWOR as the only local organization with sufficient potential in working with rural community women on a long-term, sustainable basis. The potential for partnership was identified through an analysis of local NGOs, carried out through the BDF (facilitated by Concern). In the conclusion of the analysis AWOR was acknowledged as having performed well in SHG implementation and maintenance, and with a good understanding of the methodology (although they were found weak in day-to-day organizational management).

This project proposal has been prepared in close cooperation with AWOR. As described, Mission East has since the initiation of the partnership worked consistently during regular monitoring, in workshops and in discussions to train AWOR staff organizationally. As part of this on-going collaboration, Mission East has helped AWOR to better understand the need for a more clearly defined strategy, to realize strengths and weaknesses, and to prioritize the type of projects to engage with in the future. This has succeeded to the

2 DFID: ‘Why we need to work more effectively in fragile states’. January 2005

3ibid.


extent that AWOR now has a more well-defined vision, which helped to form the basis for this proposal. From a new position of concentration on SHG methodology, and on the provision of income generation / skills training to rural women, they have been able to give very valuable inputs in the drafting process. Thus, with AWOR having a greater focus on the human capacities of their target groups (the rural women who are members of the SHGs supported by AWOR), they have been closely involved in the project design, thereby assuring that this project will fit well with the needs and priorities identified by them.

C. THE PARTNERSHIP ACTIVITY C.1 Objective and expected processes

Development objective: In the ‘fragile state’ context of Afghanistan, to promote the emergence of a strong and vibrant civil society as a key development actor, capable of (and committed to) identifying and working effectively for the needs and rights of poor and marginalized communities.

Immediate (specific) Objectives Outputs / Results

1. To facilitate the growth of AWOR to become an independent, competent development actor - through operational and programmatic capacity building

1.1 increased strategic capacity of AWOR.

1.2 Improved operational capacities of AWOR.

1.3 Increased programmatic capacity of AWOR to facilitate the SHG members to run their groups on a daily basis and independently of external support.

2. Strengthen the Badakhshan Development Forum’s (BDF) roles as a key facilitator/provider of local CSO/NGO capacity building, as well as forum for interaction between national and international development organizations.

2.1 Increased linkages and coordination between BDF members (national and international) and government authorities on district & provincial level

2.2 Increased membership including full membership of local CSO’s/NGO’s

Specific Processes: The proposed partnership activity is expected to undertake and support the following processes:

For AWOR:

1. Formulation of strategic priorities and directions Mission East will facilitate AWOR to conduct a comprehensive review of its activities to date in order to determine its future strategic priorities and directions. Upon completion of this review, a strategy plan will be drafted together with guidelines for future action. Through a Training of Trainers (ToTs), AWOR will also be helped to develop a curriculum on context-specific gender rights for awareness-raising with the women’s groups it supports.

2. Trainings for strengthening of operational and programmatic capacities A series of trainings will be organized and conducted through the BDF for AWOR (and other interested local CSOs) on different topics related to programme and operational management. Post-training assessments will also be conducted to assess knowledge retention and impact on daily practices of the NGO(s).

For BDF:

1. Facilitation and support for improving the research, training and outreach services of the BDF

Assuming that Mission East is able to take over the chairmanship of the BDF from January 2013 onwards (provided the BDF can be registered as a local CSO prior to that date), Mission East will work to strengthen the BDF’s role as a major provider of training and research services to other local CSOs engaged in development and advocacy in Badakhshan. Mission East will also encourage the BDF to improve coordination between the different local and international NGOs and CSOs operating in Badakhshan.


C.2 Participants

Component (immediate objective) 1:

To facilitate the growth of AWOR to become an independent, competent development actor - through operational and programmatic capacity building

Component (immediate objective) 2:

Strengthening BDF roles as a key facilitator / provider of local CSO/NGO capacity building, as well as a forum for interaction between national and international development organizations.

Direct Beneficiaries

AWOR operational staff, 7 persons, + guards, cook etc.

BDF operational Staff, 2 persons, + guards, cook etc

Indirect Beneficiaries

80 SHG’s in communities monitored by AWOR, comprising of 1360 community women, from households representing 11000 persons

7 local NGO’s/CSO’s (to receive training through BDF, alongside with AWOR)

Other local civil society organisations, NGOs, media and local government agencies supported by the BDF

C.3 Methodology and modus operandi Specific objective 1: To facilitate the growth of AWOR to become an independent, competent development actor - through operational and programmatic capacity building

Based on the BDF capacity assessment of AWOR the capacity building of the organization will focus on 3 major components: To build AWOR in respect to improved strategic direction and functionality, as well as increased operational and programmatic capacity

Strategic AWOR will be assisted in securing a strong vision, direction and strategy. Similarly, staff development will have a high focus, since staff commitment and functionality indisputable is an organizations most valuable resource. As well, to master the “art” of advocacy requires specific knowledge and methodology to be successful in approaching power-holding people and authorities, and stakeholders in general. The trainings will focus on organizational &human resource strengthening, as well of formulation of strategy, on fundraising, networking and advocacy

Operational Programme quality in the field that is the key for the reputation of any NGO/CSO, and a large part of the training will be devoted to capacitate AWOR for the “technical” side of project management and in implementation of the project cycle. Similarly, proper financial policies and procedures are essential to avoid mismanagement or corruption. Trainings will be concentrated around general project management (monitoring, report writing, evaluation) and financial management (budgeting, accounting, bookkeeping)

Programmatic Programmatic capacity relates to the capacity and mastering of methodology to perform in the chosen, specific sector of operation. This training will focus on specific methodology in working with SHG’s such as community sensitization, implementation, regularity of meetings, internal saving procedures in the SHG’s, follow-ups etc. It implies methodology in how to deal with female SHG members, as well as male authority-holding members of communities (CDC’s/shura). Since formation and maturing of SHG’s is an essential part of Mission East - as well as of AWOR - strategy, this methology requires a more detailed explanation:

Training and strategy in relation to working with SHG’s (community women):

Mission East has implemented Self-Help Groups programmes for 5 years in Badakhshan. As such we have an extensive programmatic experience and a tried and tested methodology. AWOR, through the Self Help Women Empowerment Project (SHWEP) and its continuation grant, has been working with Mission East guidance since 2011.

The concept and approach is developed in the African and Indian context (where women are generally engaged in small-scale market activity). Correctly, according to the methodology, these groups should be


labelled “Women’s Groups”, since it is basically a methodology to empower women at community level. Everything within the concept is designed to address particular female living and communication patterns.

In the methodology the purpose is social development (strengthening of women), just as much as it is economic. The official economic purpose gives women official reasons to meet regularly, and in this way develop socially as well. The social purpose is normally played down in the introduction of the concept to communities. They are officially to be introduced as vehicles for economic development (to economically develop the family, from economic contribution from female members). To Mission East the methodology is a very useful tool, and the double purpose makes good sense. However, in Afghanistan, it must be balanced much more to the economic side, since in the Afghan context women are still a largely unused resource, when it comes to opportunities to increase household income. In addition, exclusively social activities with women are met with suspicion in this conservative society.

"Self Help” is to be taken literally, meaning no material incentives from outside. The assumption and belief is that a community always possess unused resources, which can be released through joint action (the only sustainable way to truly sustain local development processes). Contrary, common community resources will not be released if there are expectations of donations from NGOs. In such cases dependency develops, instead of starting to rely on own efforts

The self help groups are deliberately to be organized among the poorest and most vulnerable families in the community, on same economical (low) ground. From humanitarian considerations, but also by experience, the poorest are found to be a most committed social group. The socio-economic characteristics of each member family must be recorded in the beginning, to be able to measure progress.

AWOR has already made progress, when it comes to group formation and regularity of follow-ups. What needs to be imparted more is now the social aspect of the SHG work. Here there is a gap in capacity (”social” training of community women), which will have more focus under this grant, together with a stress on stronger bookkeeping. Mission East will build AWOR capacities directly by providing an experienced master trainer for the needed ToT’s, in order to achieve better programmatic quality.

The awareness raising sessions on women's role in society will be done under the social part of the SHG meetings which typically takes place after the formalities concerning the provision of loans and repayments have been finished. As mentioned above, this can be a sensitive issue in Afghan society and the objective is definitely not to externally impose western values. A local partner is much better placed to address such issues and put it in a local context, as they are from the local society themselves. However, Mission East has experienced female local staff, having worked to improve the status of women since the inception of its SHG work. Their experience can as well be used to educate and inform AWOR, and to develop a joint 'curriculum' that is both culturally appropriate and at the same time offers opportunities to improve the status of women.

Specific Objective 2: Strengthening BDF roles as a key facilitator / provider of local CSO/NGO capacity building, as well as a forum for interaction between national and international development organizations. This part of the project will be taken up by the BDF (of which Mission East is a core member). The mandate of BDF is to build the capacity of civil society organizations and local NGOs. Since Mission East will take the position of Chair of the BDF from New Year 2013, Mission East will therefore take the lead in the organization and implementation of the proposed training programme. Working through the BDF on civil society capacity building will have at least 3 main benefits:

1. BDF pulls together the combined expertise of reputable international NGOs with extensive experience in Badakhshan. These organizations have been engaged in partnerships with local NGOs in Badakhshan for years, and they have a solid insight in abilities and limitations of the local civil society, which will be of great help to develop appropriate solutions.

2. With all international INGOs working in Badakhshan united in a single forum, and with channeling of support to the local civil society through this forum (BDF), risks of duplication are negated and focus is more on cooperation.

3. Cooperation through the BDF saves costs. Before the BDF each INGO would have its own separate capacity building workshops. At present all partners working with this issue participate together in workshops. This has the added benefit of facilitating informal relations between INGO’s (and local CSO’s/NGO’s) which in turn helps to build civil society in a more organic manner. For that reason other local civil society organizations will participate in trainings provided to AWOR by Mission East.


Mission East has been arguing for the inclusion of local NGOs as full members of the BDF, together with a number of other BDF core members, and this graduation to full membership is expected to take place in the near future. Mission East will advocate strongly to establish such a common civil society capacity building organization in Badakhshan, including local as well as international NGO’s, though the decision has to be based on consensus of all the members. As the present stepping stone to full membership local CSO’s/NGO’s participate in the monthly BDF meetings. This is very relevant, as the discussions taking place in these meetings are of concern to the local partners directly, whenever it is training programs or advocacy issues with a need to be brought to the government. Increased linkages will as well become facilitated through the joined training sessions, as described above. C.4 Activity plan and specific outputs

Expected outputs Activities

In pursuit of objective 1:

1. To facilitate a growth of AWOR to become an independent, competent development actor - through operational and programmatic capacity building

1.1 Increased strategic capacity of AWOR.

1.1.1 Organization of trainings through the BDF for AWOR (and other local CSO’s/NGO’s) on the topics of:

a. Organizational development b. Leadership, human resource and meeting

management c. Strategy formation for NGOs. d. Fundraising & resource mobilisation e. Networking and Coordination f. Advocacy

1.2 Improved operational capacities of AWOR.

1.2.1 Organize trainings through the BDF for AWOR on the topics of:

a. Project management b. Report writing training c. Financial management d. Evaluation and monitoring

1.3 Increased programmatic capacity of AWOR to facilitate the SHG members to run their groups on a daily basis and independently of external support.

1.3.1 Provide a curriculum and Training of Trainers (ToT) to AWOR to enable them to conduct gender awareness raising sessions with:

a. Female SHG members b. Male authority-holding members of

communities (CDC’s/shura) 1.3.2 Build AWOR’s capacities in working with SHG’s, through ToT’s, to effectively:

a. Conduct community sensitization on importance and benefits of common savings and loans

b. Initiate dialogues and agreements with CDCs for continuation of women-based SHGs.

c. Follow up on existing SHGs d. Facilitate SHGs to convene weekly meetings

to secure regular savings, sufficient turnover, continued account keeping, transparency and inclusion of weaker members

e. Follow-up and monitoring of SHG operations f. Provide on the job training of community

women on SHG operation and management.


Expected outputs Activities

In pursuit of objective 2:

2. Strengthen Badakhshan Dev. Forum’s (BDF) roles as a key facilitator/provider of local CSO/NGO capacity building, as well as forum for interaction between national and international development organizations.

2.1 Increased linkages and coordination between BDF members (national and international) and government authorities on district & provincial level

2.1.1 Facilitate monthly coordination meetings of local CSOs as part of the BDF framework

2.1.2 Facilitation and introduction by Mission East, through BDF, of AWOR and other local CSO’s/NGO’s to local government and other stakeholders in the province

2.2 Increased membership including full membership of local CSOs

2.2.1 Advocate for the inclusion of local CSOs in to the BDF (by Mission East)


Preliminary timetable for these actions.

Activities Month 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

1.1.1 Organization of trainings through the BDF for AWOR (and other local CSO’s/NGO’s) on the topics of:

a. Organizational development b. Leadership, human resource and meeting

management c. Strategy formation for NGOs. d. Fundraising & resource mobilisation e. Networking and Coordination f. Advocacy

1.2.1 Organize trainings through the BDF for AWOR on the topics of:

a. Project management b. Report writing training c. Financial management d. Evaluation and monitoring

1.3.1 Provide a curriculum and Training of Trainers (ToT) to AWOR to enable them to conduct gender awareness raising sessions with:

a. Female SHG members b. Male authority-holding members of communities

(CDC’s/shura)

1.3.2 Build AWORs capacities in working with SHG’s, through ToT’s, to effectively:

a. Conduct community sensitization on importance and benefits of common savings and loans

b. Initiate dialogues and agreements with CDCs for continuation of women-based SHGs.

c. Follow up on existing SHGs d. Facilitate SHGs to convene weekly meetings to

secure regular savings, sufficient turnover, continued account keeping, transparency and inclusion of weaker members

e. Follow-up and monitoring of SHG operations f. Provide on the job training of community women on

SHG operation and management.

2.1.1 Facilitate monthly coordination meetings of local CSOs as part of the BDF framework

2.1.2 Facilitation and introduction by Mission East, through BDF, of AWOR and other local CSO’s/NGO’s to local government and other stakeholders in the province

2.2.1 Advocate for the inclusion of local CSOs in to the BDF (by Mission East)


C.5 Assumptions and risks (please refer to Annex 2 for additional Assumptions and Risks)

Identified Risks Mitigation strategy

Security risk: Afghanistan’s deteriorating security situation creates two main challenges for NGOs. The first is lawlessness and the use of violence. The conflict between the government and the insurgents creates a law & order vacuum in which criminal groups operate with impunity, restricting freedom of movement and adding to the extreme insecurity faced by the local population. Secondly, the conflict has the chance of evolving into a more distinctive polarisation between Afghanistan and other regional players, just as much as it is between traditional conservative elements and ideologies advocating change. However, Badakhshan is still recognised as one of Afghanistan’s more peaceful provinces where changes are more readily embraced.

Security risk mitigation:

To mitigate the security risk for our staff, acceptance of the project by the candidate communities and in particular, the CDCs (or shuras), is seen as crucial. Acceptance by the community means that they will endeavour to ensure the security of personnel working in an area. Mission East and its partners work to ensure that staff understands the local power dynamics and customs. It is also important for Mission East and its partners to portray ourselves as being neutral in terms of political, ideological and religious beliefs. As a development organisation, we emphasise the needs of the people, as expressed by the people themselves, in order to facilitate social and economic development. Mission East's 10 years of operation in Afghanistan has won the organisation a reputation of being community-orientated and people-supportive, regardless of the prevailing political dynamics. Mission East is actively using this reputation to negotiate access to new communities.

Political and ideological risks: The goals of the proposed project, to increase social and economic empowerment of women, have the potential to challenge the current power structures in the targeted rural areas. Afghanistan is a highly patriarchal and traditional society. The tolerance of more liberal ideas by more conservative elements varies between ethnic groups, between provinces and districts, between villages and even between families within a village.

Political/ideological risk mitigation:

To mitigate the risk of political and ideological beliefs acting as an obstacle to equal opportunities for participation, we focus on our local presence and our knowledge of, and acceptance in, the communities in which we are working. If women’s participation in the cash-income economy is considered a controversial issue, we draw attention to the equal rights afforded to women within Islam and begin a process of “quiet, but effective” lobbying the power-holders to allay fears and convince the more conservative elements. It is not the policy of Mission East to impose a project on communities without the permission of local leaders. Also, Mission East strives to portray itself as a role model in ensuring that our female employees are directly involved in projects on an equal basis to their male colleagues. The implementation of current SHG activities in the Shohada district of Badakhshan is being done without obstacles or objection from the communities. By thoroughly introducing the idea of supporting CSOs working with women’s issues to the respective CDCs/shuras and the broader community and considering the fact that the partner (AWOR) has been working in communities in the area for years, the communities are expected will not to be resistant to the project and will at best, after a thorough community mobilization process, support the project.


D. ORGANISATION AND FOLLOW-UP D.1 Division of responsibilities and tasks in the partnership activity Division of responsibilities between the Danish organisation and the local partners Role of AWOR All relevant AWOR staff will participate in the respective training courses for the improvement of their operational and programmatic capacities. AWOR staff will also participate in post-training evaluations. With the help of Mission East, AWOR will undertake a comprehensive review and revision of its current programming and projects to set strategic priorities for the future and to develop a strategic plan and guidelines. The AWOR Head of Organization will be responsible for the general overview of all activities and ensure that all staff members are fulfilling their allocated tasks. Additionally, AWOR will work towards raising awareness of women’s rights and issues amongst the Self Help Groups it supports and will develop and produce a curriculum on how to educate community women in gender rights in the context of Afghanistan. Role of BDF The role of BDF will be (i) to provide the training services for the proposed partner capacity building – to AWOR as well as to other local CSOs/NGOs wishing to participate in the trainings, (ii) in collaboration with Mission East in its capacity as (future) chair of BDF, to improve its own capacities as a training and resource centre for local CSOs in Badakhshan, (iii) to lead coordination activities between local and international CSOs working in the province, and (iv) to coordinate with the Badakhshan Civil Society Forum to provide training on advocacy and awareness-raising to local CSOs. Role of Mission East The role of Mission East is (i) to facilitate the operational and programmatic capacity-building of AWOR, (ii) to assist AWOR in formulating its strategic priorities and in developing a strategic plan, (iii) to regularly monitor and guide AWOR in its follow-up and support of the SHG programme, and (iv) to take over the chairmanship of the BDF, to facilitate its capacity-building as a training and resource centre for local civil society and to open up its membership to local civil society organizations. Mission East Afghanistan staff involvement in the project:

Position Function in project Duration of assignment

SHG officer Provision of thematic trainings on SHG work to AWOR. Monitor quality of SHG programme implementation in the field. Participatory development with the partner and consultant of a culturally appropriate curriculum for women's rights awareness. Conduct a ToT on this curriculum to AWOR.

Depending on the budget

ELU Officer Ensure M&E capacity upgrade among AWOR staff. Assess the project's impact through the design of KAP surveys, data analysis and monitoring visits.


Finance and Administration Manager

Monitor review, upgrade and training of AWOR staff on finance, administrative, logistic and HR guidelines.


D.2 Systematisation of experiences – during and after implementation Monitoring

The BDF will develop KAP surveys to measure the impact of the trainings provided. These will be followed up by a knowledge retention survey to be conducted 3 months after the project to see to what extent the trainings have been successful in the long run.

AWOR's SHG activities in the field will be monitored through monthly visits by Mission East staff, who will survey a random set of SHGs. To this end, a female monitor will be recruited for Mission East's ELU department.


During such visits Mission East staff will check the SHG workbooks and have focus group discussions with SHG members to check their capacities.

The results of these assessments and KAP surveys will be shared with the Mission East provincial management in Badakhshan, and during the BDF coordination meetings. Any suggestions for improvements in the operational and programmatic capacity building of AWOR will be based on consensus in this forum. AWOR is expected to become a full member of the BDF, but until that occurs AWOR will be requested to participate in the BDF meetings. As such, the progress and quality of this project will be jointly reviewed by the BDF partners on a monthly basis. Mission East takes the approach of maximizing the sustainability and impact of project activities by creating ownership through the involvement of key stakeholders (both CSO and community) in the identification and implementation of projects, with the eventual aim of full handover through the following steps:

1.1 Develop and strengthen partner capacities; 1.2 Building capacity of the partner, to take ownership and responsibility for operation and maintenance

in the work with SHGs 1.3 Ensuring linkages (and eventually membership) of the partner with the Badakhshan Development

Forum (BDF) to enable them to become key partners in development.

To ensure that AWOR is up to the task, Mission East will (through the BDF) support in the following:

1.4 Provision of training and support; 1.5 Building institutional (technical, financial and management) capacities of AWOR to identify local

needs, and to develop and undertake appropriate responses;

By using the BDF as the main channel for capacity building, Mission East reduces the possibility of AWOR becoming dependent on Mission East alone. This is important in a transition period, where most (all) local NGOs/CSOs are fully dependent on external financial assistance. This can be considered as a realistic alternative to the usual relations of dependency that characterise most INGO/LNGO relationships. In addition, Mission East will advocate for the inclusion of AWOR as a full member in the BDF so as to increase their participation in decision-making within the consortium, when it comes to decisions of their concern. It is envisaged that with the increase of AWOR's capacities, their ability to attract funding independently will increase as well, thereby reducing their dependence. Sharing of Lessons Learnt and Best Practices for better sustainability and replication

Mission East’s recently established Evaluation and Learning Unit (ELU) plays a key role in maintain and developing our monitoring and evaluation tools, which will be used to monitor the progress of activities and outputs throughout the project cycle, and measure its results and impact at the end. The ELU is currently undertaking a cross-cutting programme-wide review and strengthening of Mission East monitoring and evaluation processes, and tools in order to (i) better assess the impact and sustainability of interventions; (ii) introduce participatory monitoring and evaluation tools, to increase local ownership and accountability; and (iii) to facilitate the process of learning, adaptation and replication by identifying and disseminating lessons learnt and best practices, both within the organisation and externally for the local partner NGOs and community-based structures supported by our programmes.

E. INFORMATION WORK E.1 Has information work in Denmark been planned in connection with the partnership activity? The subject of the chosen information work is to inform the Danish public about the project and it’s beneficiaries. The information will be communicated through a video showing various aspects of the project and the beneficiaries. This video will be shown at Mission East’s booth at Danske Kirkedage 2013 in Aalborg where 5.000 people gather. The video will also be posted on Mission East’s YouTube and Facebook accounts. The video will likewise be posted and combined with a text on www.miseast.org which has approx. 15.000 unique visitors a year. AWOR, the BDF and their staff (Mission East’s 2 partners) will be responsible for retrieving the information and Mission East’s communications department will be responsible for the creation and publishing of the video. The information will make readers aware of and help them to understand how Danish aid reaches and is used to empower the women of Afghanistan through self help groups, local civil society organisations and advocacy in the fragile state context of Afghanistan.


3. Budget summary

Budget summary Currency Indicate the total cost (i.e. including contributions from the Project Fund as well as other sources)

300,000 DKK

Of this, the Project Fund is to contribute

300,000 DKK

Of this, indicate the amount to be contributed by other sources of finance, including self-funding by the Danish organisation or its local partner, if any

Indicate total cost in local currency

2,575,567 AFN

Indicate exchange rate applied

8.58523 AFN/DKK

Indicate the extent of project-specific consultancy assistance 50,003 DKK (spreadsheet 3 of the budget format), see also ‘Guide to budget preparation’

Main budget items: Financing plan Full amount Of this, from

Project Fund Of this, from other

sources

1. Activities 149,019 149,019 2. Investments - - 3. Expatriate staff - - 4. Local staff 43,563 43,563 5. Local administration 34,293 34,293 6. Monitoring of the activity 27,818 27,818 7. Evaluation - - 8. Information in Denmark (max 2% of 1-

7) 5,094 5,094

9. Budget margin (min 6% and max 10% of 1-

8) 15,587 15,587

10. Activity expenses in total (1-9) 275,373 275,373 11. Auditing in Denmark 5,000 5,000 12. Subtotal (10 + 11) 280,373 280,373 13. Administration in Denmark (max 7%

of 12) 19,626 19,626

- 14. Total 300,000 300,000


4. ANNEXES

OBLIGATORY ANNEXES The following annexes must be submitted both in print by post and electronically by email:

A. Basic information about the Danish applicant organisation B. Factsheet about the local organisation C. Budget format

Annex B is filled in and signed by the local partner. It can also be submitted in a copied/scanned version. The following annexes about the Danish organisation must be submitted in print by post:

D. The organisation’s statutes E. The latest annual report F. The latest audited annual accounts

SUPPLEMENTARY ANNEXES (max 30 pages):

Annex no. Annex title

1 Logical Framework

2 Assumptions and Risks

3 AWOR Staff Structure

4 Tool for Local Partner Development

Notice: All annexes should be submitted in print in three copies (no magazines, books, newspaper cuttings or ring binders, but copies of relevant excerpts thereof).

1. cover page partnership activity (less than dkk 500,000) · afghanistan country’s gdi per...

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