REPORT SUBMITTED BY THE EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH NETWOR K FOR

WEST AND CENTRAL AFRICA (GAMBIA CHAPTER)

THE REPORT ON NGOs’

PERFORMANCE STANDARDS

by

Yves Benett

with

Abdoulie Bittaye Suruwa Jaiteh

Ousainou Loum Makaireh N’Jie Banna Sawaneh

VOLUME 1:

THE PERFORMANCE STANDARDS of NGOs

July 2012

i

CONTENTS page

Acknowledgements iii

Acronyms iii

Executive Summary iv

SECTION 1:INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 THE NATIONAL CONTEXT 1 1.2 THE PRIORITY SECTORS 2 1.3 THE NON-GOVERNMENTAL

ORGANISATIONS (NGOs) 2

1.4 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM 4 1.5 THE GENERAL OBJECTIVES 4

SECTION 2: METHODOLOGY 5 2.1 PRELIMINARY CONSIDERATIONS 5 2.2 THE OVERALL DESIGN 7 2.2.1 STAGE I: The small-scale survey of NGOs’

Performance Standards. 8

2.2.1.1 The Aim 8 2.2.1.2 The achieved sample of NGOs 8 2.2.1.3 The Data Collection procedures for the survey 9 2.2.1.3.1 The self-completion Questionnaire 9 2.2.1.3.2 The Desk Study 10 2.2.1.4 The Analysis of the survey data 10 2.2.2 STAGE II: The Qualitative Case Studies of the

Performance Standards in each Sector. 10

2.2.2.1 The Case Study Data 10 2.2.2.2 The Analysis of the Case Data 11 2.2.3 STAGE III: The development of a modular educational

programme about Performance Standards 11

2.3 RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY ISSUES 12

SECTION 3: THE FINDINGS 13 3.1 THE NGOs’ MISSION 13 3.2 THE SURVEYED ORGANISATIONS 13 3.2.1 The Staff establishment 15 3.2.2 The Programmes/ Services 15 3.3 THE MANAGEMENT OF NGOs 17 3.3.1 Strategic Planning 17 3.3.2 Quality Assurance 17 3.3.2.1 Monitoring the quality of provision 17 3.3.2.2 Monitoring progress against action plans and

budgets 18

3.3.3 Resources 18 3.3.3.1 Financial and physical resources 18 3.3.3.2 Human Resources 19 3.3.4 Efficiency and Effectiveness 22 3.3.4.1 Efficiency 22 3.3.4.2 Effectiveness 24

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SECTION 4: PERFORMANCE STANDARDS FOR NGOs 25 4.1 INTRODUCTION 25 4.2 MISSION, VALUES, AND OBJECTIVES 26 4.2.1 Mission 26 4.2.2 Values 26 4.2.3 Objectives 26 4.3 PERFORMANCE STANDARDS FOR

GOVERNANCE 27

4.3.1 Planning 28 4.4 PERFORMANCE STANDARDS FOR

MANAGEMENT 28

4.4.1 Leadership Style 29 4.4.2 Communication 29 4.4.3 Management Control 30 4.4.3.1 Administrative Support 30 4.4.4 External Relations 30 4.4.5 Advocacy/Lobby and/or Resource Mobilisation 31 4.4.6 Quality Assurance 31 4.4.6.1 Validation 31 4.4.6.2 Monitoring 31 4.5 PERFORMANCE STANDARDS FOR RESOURCES 32 4.5.1 Financial and Physical resources 32 4.5.2 Human Resource management 33 4.5.2.1 Staff Development 33 4.5.2.2 Gender empowerment 34 4.6 PERFORMANCE STANDARDS FOR OUTCOMES 34

SECTION 5: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 35 5.1 CONCLUSION 35 5.2 RECOMMENDATIONS 36

5.2.1 Governance 36 5.2.1.1 Accountability 36 5.2.2 Quality Assurance 36 5.2.2.1 Performance Standards 37 5.2.2.2 Monitoring and Evaluation 37 5.2.3 Advocacy/Lobby and/or Resource Mobilisation 37 5.2.4 Resources 37 5.2.4.1 Financial and Physical resources 37 5.2.4.2 Human Resources (Staff Development) 38 References 38 APPENDICES 39 APPENDIX I THE SELF-COMPLETION QUESTIONNAIRE FO R

MANAGERS

APPENDIX IITHE MANAGEMENT OF NGOs (from the Self-Completion Questionnaire) APPENDIX III THE INTERVIEW GUIDE FOR MANAGERS APPENDIX IV THE INTERVIEW GUIDE FOR CLIENTS

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Acknowledgements

The Educational Research Network for West and Central Africa (ERNWACA) is grateful to

TANGO for the contract for this very challenging consultancy. We are also grateful to the

respective Ministries and line Departments of State for Agriculture, Education and Health,

and to the NGO Affairs Agency, for their co-operation. This consultancy could not have

been undertaken without the collaboration of the participant NGO Managers and Clients,

and we extend our sincere thanks to all of them.

We owe a deep gratitude too to the Principal Researchers who undertook the fieldwork and

contributed to the Project Team’s deliberations. They were Messrs Abdoulie Bittaye,

Suruwa Jaiteh, Ousainou Loum and Banna Sawaneh. We also wish to put on record our

sincere thanks to Dr Yves Benett, UK-based International Education Consultant and

Scientific Adviser to ERNWACA for his leadership during this project. Our thanks go too

to Mrs Haddy Sillah (in The Gambia), and to Mrs Evelyn Benett (in the UK), for their

professional secretarial support throughout the consultancy.

Makaireh N’Jie National Co-ordinator for ERNWACA (Gambia Chapter)

Acronyms

DSFEA Department of State for Finance and Economic Affairs

NTA National Training Authority

MoHERST Ministry of Higher Education, Research, Science and

Technology

PAGE Programme for Accelerated Growth and Employment

Pro-PAG Pro-Poor Advocacy Group

PRSP Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper

RoG Republic of The Gambia

SPACO Strategy for Poverty Alleviation Co-ordinating Office

TANGO The Association of Non-Governmental Organisations

TVET Technical Vocational Education and Training

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THE REPORT ON NGOs’ PERFORMANCE STANDARDS

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Introduction

This two-month consultancy was sponsored by TANGO, in agreement with the

World Bank as the administrator of grant funds provided by Japan under the Japan Social

Development Fund. According to the terms of reference for this consultancy the focus was

to be on the Performance Standards of NGOs and on the development of a modular training

programme for NGO staff. The present set of documents is an outcome of this consultancy.

The report is in two volumes, with VOLUME 1 giving an account of the fieldwork

about NGOs’ Performance Standards, and VOLUME 2 outlining a proposal for an

appropriate modular training programme for NGO staff.

VOLUME 1

The Performance Standards of NGOs

VOLUME 1 describes and analyses the management data obtained from a stratified,

random, sample of 20 NGOs in three sectors (Agriculture, Education, and Health). The

methods used were:

(a) A Desk Study of relevant documents

(b) A quantitative survey of NGO Managers’ views on various aspects of their

organisations, through a self-completion Questionnaire

(c) Case Studies of the targeted organisations through semi-structured, individual

interviews of the organisations’ Managers and of their Clients about the delivery

of the organisations’ programmes/services.

The strengths and weaknesses of the sampled organisations were identified and

highlighted. Whilst there was much evidence of good practice, there were areas of

weakness and, consequently, recommendations were made of ways of bringing about

improvements. The recommendations covered the areas of Governance, Accountability,

Quality Assurance and Resources (in particular, human resources and the imperative of a

Staff Development policy for the non-support staff).

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VOLUME 2

The proposed modular training programme

The proposed programme focuses on topic areas deemed important for an

understanding of the many issues that underpin the establishment, maintenance and

improvement of Performance Standards at both programme/service level and organisational

level.

The modules are as follows:

Module 1: Perspectives on Assessments and Performance Standards

Module 2: Quality Assurance and Accountability

Module 3: Learning events, Work-based learning and Reflective learning

Module 4: The politics of Performance Assessments in organisations

Module 5: Staff Development

Dr Yves Benett UK based International Education Consultant

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THE REPORT ON

NGOs’ PERFORMANCE STANDARDS

SECTION 1: INTRODUCTION

This two-month consultancy was commissioned by TANGO inits resolve to

implement its national project for enhancing NGOs’ efficiency and accountability in

delivering basic services to the poor in The Gambia. The consultancy was undertaken in

agreement with the World Bank and with a grant from the Japan Social Development Fund.

1.1 THE NATIONAL CONTEXT

The Gambia is “among the poorest countries in the world” (RoG, 2011). However, over the

past years, various policies, strategies, and programmes (such as VISION 2020, PRSPII,

MDGs, PAGEand sector policies in, respectively, Agriculture, Education and Health) have

been “developed, adopted and implemented”; and the Pro-Poor Advocacy Group was set up

by a number of CSOs, Government, Donor institutions, the Media, and individuals to

address “the problem” of poverty (PRO-PAG, 2006). Indeed, the “pillars” of the strategy

for poverty alleviation had long been defined after various studies under the Social

Dimensions of Adjustment had been undertaken in the early 1990s, and the government had

launched a “national dialogue” with the assistance of UNDP in order “to engage citizens on

poverty issues and appropriate interventions” (DSFEA, 2002). Key elements of the priority

programmes in Agriculture, Education, and Health (complemented by a cross-cutting

programme in Nutrition, Population and HIV-AIDS) were implemented under the aegis of

the Strategy for Poverty Alleviation Co-ordinating Office (SPACO). This “national

dialogue” had been an important source of information for SPACO as Village Development

Groups, Community-Based Organisations (CBOs), NGOs and Government extension staff

forged working relationships at local community level; and at district level, District

Development Committees (formed through the “collaboration between government

departments and NGOs) brought together “federated CBOs and co-operative groups”, thus

linking the strategy for poverty alleviation with the grassroots.

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At national level, the National Task Force which was set up for overseeing the

formulation of the second Strategy for Poverty Alleviation (SPAII), following an assessment

led by TANGO of the first strategy, brought together NGOs, donors, Government

Departments of State, the Chamber of Commerce and representatives of other Civil Society

Organisations. TANGO “facilitated the SPAII consultations with NGOs” and the Focus

Group discussions which were part of the process for the formulation of SPAII put

Agriculture, Education, and Health at the top of the list of the sectors prioritised for action.

1.2 THE PRIORITY SECTORS

Taking each of these priority sectors in turn, the Agriculture sector is one of the

“main drivers of economic growth” (RoG, 2011), and the objective of both the Agriculture

and National Resources (ANR) policy and The Gambia National Agricultural Investment

Programme (GNAIP) is to increase the sector’s contribution to the national economy by

increasing productivity through commercialization and “active private sector participation”.

Education is seen as an investment (in the acquisition of skills and knowledge)

which will increase earnings and the country is “on track to achieve the education MDG

target for net enrolment in primary education” by 2015 − albeit that “quality education

remains a challenge”.

Along with Education and nutrition, Health is considered to be “one of the key

elements of the human capital stock” and the public health system is complemented by

private and NGO clinics. But despite recent progress in the delivery of health services (e.g.

with regard to measles immunization coverage), the country “is not on track to achieve

MDGs 4 and 5 by 2015” because of “increasing pressure” due to “problems”, such as the

high population growth rate.

1.3 THE NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANISATIONS (NGOS)

The Government accepts and recognises NGOs as non-profit, voluntary,

development ─oriented organisations operating in pursuit of national Development goals

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within the limits of the organisations’ financial, material and human resources, and of the

framework of articulated and enunciated Government policies and priorities.

The Government’s NGO Affairs Agency, Office of the President, is responsible for

the registration of NGOs, for the co-ordination between NGOs and the relevant sector

Ministries and Departments of State, and for monitoring NGOs’ activities through these

Ministries and Departments of State. The registered NGOs are expected to deposit with the

Agency their detailed plans of their annual work programmes and budgets prior to the

beginning of the Government's fiscal year, their detailed annual reports, highlighting their

progress on the activities undertaken over the year, their work plans for the following year,

their accounts audited by the Agency’s approved auditors, and their Budgets

All registered NGOs subscribe to and commit themselves to honour the Code of

Conduct which has been mutually agreed with the Government of The Gambia and from

which flows a Protocol of Accord between the Government and each registered NGO.

Moreover, for an organisation to be eligible for NGO status, it has to enter into an

agreement with a relevant line Department of State through a Memorandum of

Understanding. The establishment of such a co-operative relationship ensures the proper

utilization of the resources provided by the NGO, the maintenance of proper records of

how the resources are used, the maintenance of the desired community participation,

and the availability of technical assistance when ever necessary.

Registered NGOs are expected to participate in Development activities that

are in consonance with the policies and priorities (of the Government) for which

they have appropriate resources and expertise, and in accordance with the Code of

Conduct for Non-Governmental Organisations and with the Memoranda of

Understanding that they sign with the relevant Ministries, Departments of State, or

Agencies. Importantly, the registered NGOs are expected to employ qualified Gambian

nationals for the implementation of their programmes and to provide them with

opportunities for training and promotion within the framework of their programmes and

policies, with the view to ensuring the sustainability of these programmes. Importantly too,

registered NGOs are granted tax and duty waivers on materials, equipment, motor

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vehiclesand goods imported or acquired locally which are necessary for the implementation

of their programmes and projects, or for distribution to needy citizens. Local income-

generating activities designed to support educational and health programs are also exempt

from taxation.

1.4 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) have existed in the country for many

years, but it would appear that there is a question about the extent to which the anticipated

benefits due to the NGOs’ interventions have materialised, particularly in the case of the

rural poor.

1.5 THE GENERAL OBJECTIVES

In view of the foregoing, the general objectives of this consultancy were understood to be:

(a) To discern the operation, in practice, of TANGO member organisations

─highlighting best practice, identifying weaknesses, and evaluating Performance

Standards

(b) To write appropriate modules for a TANGO sponsored, training programme in the

understanding, establishment and maintenance of Performance Standards.

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SECTION 2: METHODOLOGY

2.1 PRELIMINARY CONSIDERATIONS

This consultancy sought to gauge empirically the standards to which NGOs in The

Gambia perform. A vexing question for the consultancy was about what is to pass as an

acceptable method for collecting the relevant data. The stance taken was to acknowledge

that in the organisational context, the realities of working life are crucial, and that they are to

be found in the administrative structures, the professional practices, and the discourses.

From the perspective of this consultancy, Standards are concerned with

competence at the workplace, and evidence of competence is primarily obtained from

performance, either through direct observation at work or through the product of

work, that is, through, for example, the contracts secured or the published reports.

Usually, Functional Analysis is used to develop standards for low level job-roles as

these are generally low in skills and knowledge content and consist of a small number of

relatively simple activities, performed frequently; but performance in “professional” job-

roles is determined not only by the application of analytical skills and knowledge but

also by factors such as individual reflection, ethics, and values, and by” higher order

skills”, such as “balanced judgement” and the ability to “read the situation”.

An important consideration was that the process of standards development depends

on practitioners and professional bodies being closely involved in the development, and

accepting standards as representing a reasonable consensus of what is required. National

standards specify the minimum level of performance that it is reasonable to expect in any

organisation. However, organisations are able to contextualise the standards to reflect

their own particular sector and organisational practice, and this ability provides the

organisation with a sense of ownership of the standards.

Another important consideration was that Performance Standards need a properly

structured assessment system in order to gain credibility and the question was whether

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NGOs had effective procedures for designing, approving, monitoring, and reviewing strategies

for the assessment of their performance regarding their programmes/services. The point was

that such assessments required collecting relevant information, having criteria for judging

this information, and having a set of values which provided the framework for the

information that had to be gathered about the achievements of the programmes/services.

That was not all. It was also thought necessary to look at the expected levels of

achievement and the assumption was that these expected levels of achievement were

precisely what was understood by the term Performance Standard within the meaning of

the law relating to NGOs. Another assumption was that there existed one common set of

Performance Standards for all the sectors, but that in addition there were specific

standards for each sector. The task for this consultancy then was to evaluate the

performance of the NGOs against these established standards.

In the event, the range of documented standards was very limited and the task then

extended to deriving additional Performance Standards from the relevant accounts of key

informants across the sectors. The presumption was that each NGO had established its own

system of Quality Assurance matched to its perceived needs, and that a crucial factor for each

programme/service was the existence of a programme/service team which undertook

“collective responsibility” for the standard of its delivery. Arguably, it was in the team’s

“dialogue” with the Validation Committee (during the programme/service validation

process) that the team became aware of national standards and that agreement on matters

of principle was reached through free and open discussion; and the plain fact was that

programme/service standards were not absolute; but were established and maintained

through negotiation coupled with “professional pragmatism” (Benett, 1986).That much

was acknowledged and this consultancy sought to establish the acceptability of NGOs’

Performance Standards to their Clients, to professional bodies and to employers.

Still another consideration concentrated on the comparability of performance standards

between NGOs that offered similar programmes/services. The issue here was reminiscent of the

principle of “reliability” (in the context of measurement in classical test theory), for the issue was,

in essence, whether observed Performance Standards were consistent from organisation to

organisation, from place to place, and from year to year, in terms of specified criteria. This issue

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pointed to the central role of the professional bodies in the establishment and maintenance of

standards, for such bodies attempt to guarantee the comparability of standards, claiming that only

fellow professionals are equipped to recognise the standard of professional practice. However,

it was realised that performance standards in professional practice referred not only to the

expected level of achievement as judged by professionals’ peers but also by organisations’

Clients, for the latter are discerning and are aware of the service that they seek from

professionals. Their perspective was very relevant indeed, and hence the extent of their

participation in the evaluation of NGOs’ programmes/services was crucially important. As

amatter of fact, such empowerment of NGOs’ Clients and of other stakeholders (such as the

employers of NGOs’ beneficiaries) broadened the agenda for NGOs’ performance beyond a

narrow concern with NGOs’ Efficiency (that is, with the relationship between their inputs

and outputs) to a concern with their Effectiveness (that is, with the relationship between

their programmes/services objectives and outcomes).

2.2 THE OVERALL DESIGN

In broad terms, the proposal for the Consultancy was implemented in three stages

and the activities at these stages were as follows:

At STAGE I: a small-scale survey of NGOs’ Performance Standards in three Sectors of the economy: Agriculture, Education, and Health

At STAGE II: Qualitative Case Studies of Performance Standards in each Sector.

AT STAGE III The development of a modular educational programme about Performance Standards

This design was aimed at getting a rounded portrayal of the organisational structure

and activities in the three Sectors. The understanding was that the consultancy had to

develop standards which reflect a 'broad' view of the key aspects of the NGO managers’

work-roles, so that overall job and organisational objectives are achieved. An important

facet of the design was to maximise the level of consultation during the development of the

standards. The reasoning was that the greater the level of consultation and practitioner

participation the greater the validity and legitimacy of the ultimate standards. Thus, as

explained below, interviews were conducted with the NGO managers.

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2.2.1 STAGE I: The small-scale survey of NGOs’ Performance Standards.

2.2.1.1 The Aim

The aim of the survey was to ensure that comprehensive evidence was obtained

of the operational framework for NGOs and to uncover relevant issues through probing

questions during the follow-up interviews of key informants at STAGE II.

2.2.1.2 The achieved sample of NGOs

The Project Team employed the well-known, randomised, stratified, sampling

methodology for obtaining a representative sample of NGOs across the country. The

aim was to select 24 NGOs, that is, 33% of the whole “population” (N=71) of NGOs

countrywide that were registered with TANGO. Thus the sampling frame consisted of

these 71 registered NGOs and they were initially stratified by Type of organisation

(National/International) and Administrative Region Next, the pressing concern was to

identify the NGOs that were exclusively in any one of the three designated sectors

(Agriculture, Education, and Health),and to group them separately. In the event, this

procedure resulted in the emergence of a fourth group of NGOs which was labelled a

“Composite Group” (as it was a very diverse, mixed group of NGOs that also offered

programmes/services for, respectively, Agriculture, Education and Health, but in

conjunction with programme/services in areas such as Community Development,

Microfinance, and Capacity Building). The whole stratification process thus ended with

the actual number of NGOs for each sector/group as indicated in Table 1(A) below, that

is, 6NGOs for the Agriculture sector, 18 for the Education sector, 6 for the Health

sector,and 41for the Composite Group.

The Project Team then turned its attention to the sampling of NGOs within each

sector. As Table 1(A) shows, the number of NGOs that had to be randomly selected

from each sector/group in proportion to the number of NGOs in the national “population

“of NGOs and had to make up a total of 24 was as follows: 2 from the Agriculture

sector, 6 from the Education sector, 2 from the Health sector and 14 from the Composite

Group. Subsequently, the NGOs from each sector/group were further classified

byPlace of residence (Urban/Rural) and randomly selected in proportion to the number

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of NGOs in each category. As a result, a sample of NGOs composed as follows, (see

Table 1 (B)) was obtained.

(a) for the Agricultural Sector: 1 Urban NGO and 1 Rural NGO (Total: 2 NGOs)

(b) for the Education Sector: 5 Urban NGOs and 1 Rural NGO (Total: 6 NGOs)

(c) for the Health Sector: 1Urban NGO and 1 Rural NGO (Total: 2 NGOs)

(d) for the Composite Group: 9 Urban NGOs and 5 Rural NGOs (Total: 14 NGOs)

Table 1(A): The number of sampled NGOs by Sector/ Group

Number of NGOs AGRICULTURE

Sector EDUCATION

Sector HEALTH

Sector COMPOSITE

Group TOTAL

The actual “population of TANGO registered NGOs” in The Gambia,

per sector 6 18 6 41 71

The required proportional No. ofNGOsfor

a representative sample 2 6 2 14 24

Table 1 (B): the number of sampled NGOs by Sector/Group andPlace of Residence

PLACE OF RESIDENCE

AGRICULTURE Sector

EDUCATION Sector

HEALTH Sector

COMPOSITE Group

Sub-totals

Urban 1 5 1 9 16

Rural 1 1 1 5 8

Sub-totals 2 6 2 14 24

Response Rate

However, in the event, four NGOs did not participate in the Survey and in the Case

studies, giving a response rate of approximately 83% (n=24). The backgrounds of these

four NGOs were considered in order to decide whether their non-inclusion in the

sample could possibly introduce some non-random effects. On inspection, one NGO

was found to be from Agriculture, two from Education, and one from Health, The

reasons given for non-participation varied greatly: one NGO was “dormant”, one

claimed not to be a member of TANGO, one could not be contacted at the time for lack

of communication facilities, and one was simply non-co-operative.

The decision was that the non-response rate was not of much consequence. Thus, the

size of the achieved sample of NGOs was reduced to 20.

2.2.1.3 The Data Collection procedures for the survey

2.2.1.3.1 The self-completion Questionnaire

The survey was based on a structured, pre-coded, self-completion questionnaire that

was developed by the Project Team and forwarded, in person, to the Senior Manager

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of each targeted NGO, in each selected Sector, after due negotiations with the

appropriate authorities.

As APPENDIXII shows, the questionnaire asked each NGO Manager about key

organisational matters, such as the organisational structure, the internal management

systems, policies and procedures, the organisation’s Resources, and the expected

Outcomes.

2.2.1.3.2 The Desk Study

A brief study of the relevant, official, documentary sources contributed to the

development of the self-completion Questionnaire at STAGE I (and of the two

Interview Guides at STAGE II). This documentary study related mostly to features

of the External Environment in which NGOs operate in The Gambia, such as, the

Legal framework for NGOs and the national Development objectives.

2.2.1.4 The Analysis of the survey data

Given the small sample size, the only statistical analysis that was undertaken

consisted in examining the distribution of the Managers’ responses for each item in

the self-Completion Questionnaire. The purpose of the analysis was to integrate the

survey findings with the interview data (at STAGE II) as the latter were grounded in

the interviewees’ personal understanding of “reality” in the NGO context and the

integration would enhance the validity of the conclusions based on the fieldwork.

2.2.2 STAGE II: The Qualitative Case Studies of the Performance Standards in each Sector.

2.2.2.1 The Case Study Data

For each Case Study, the “case” in question was the Performance Standard of

the targeted NGO and for the purpose of these Case Studies an appropriate Interview

Guide for the NGO Managers was developed. It was used by all the interviewers in

order to ensure that all the semi-structured, individual interviews of the managers

conformed to a set of common issues (see APPENDIX II). The interviews covered a

range of issues associated with the performance of NGOs such as, their Mission,

Strategic Plans, Administrative Support, Income-generating activities, and External

relationships.

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A shorter Interview Guide was developed for the semi-structured, individual,

interviews, at each NGO, of respectively, Community Leaders, Union Leaders,

Employers, Professional Bodies, and the organisations’ Clients/Beneficiaries (see

APPENDIXII). The interviews focused on matters such as the organisation’s’

communication strategies, impact on people’s lives, and effectiveness. The data for

each Case Study were thus derived from the combination of the self-completion

Questionnaire data collected at STAGE I, the Interview data obtained from the

individual interviews at STAGE II, and the relevant documentary data.

2.2.2.2 The Analysis of the Case Data

The analysis of the Case data was based on the Questionnaire data, the

Interview data and the documentary data, and was related to the objectives of this

consultancy. The analysis aimed to marshal, and describe the evidence for the

standards of performance for each NGO.

2.2.3 STAGE III: The development of a modular educational programme about Performance Standards

In this consultancy it was decided that the thrust for CapacityBuilding in the local

communities required the development of a Modular Educational Programme. A module

was taken to be a self-standing part of an educational programme designed to lead to a

certain level of attainment (Field and Drysdale, 1991). The implication was that the learning

content of the programme would be “chopped up” into discrete segments which could be

taken in whatever sequence suited the learner ── though not at the expense of

coherence (see APPENDIX II). And indeed, the structure of the programme is as

follows.

Module 1: Perspectives on Assessments and Performance Standards

Module 2: Quality Assurance and Accountability

Module 3: Work – Based Learning and Reflective Learning

Module 4: The politics of Performance assessment in organisations

Module 5: Staff Development

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The Module specifications detail the knowledge, understanding, and ability

outcomes for each module and describe the learning methods and assessment

strategies that enable the achievement of the outcomes to be demonstrated.

2.3 RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY ISSUES

This consultancy benefited from a team approach to various aspects of its work, in

particular to ensuring the reliability of the research data. The team consisted of a Project

Manager, three Principal Researchers (one per Sector), four Assistant Researchers, a

national Consultant, an International UK-based Consultant, and a Full-Time Secretary.

The approach to maximising “reliability” (in the sense of minimising errors) was for

the Project Team to go through the respective drafts of the self-completion Questionnaire

and of the two semi-structured Interview Guides, and to scrutinise the purpose and wording

of these “research instruments”. In addition, the researchers were briefed about the

procedures for administering the “research instruments” in person, and for recording

carefully the data that these instruments yielded.

The “validity” of the data was ensured through the “triangulation” of research

methods for collecting the relevant data and by grasping the dimensions of “the research

problem” in the Gambian context (through Project Team meetings). Furthermore, there was

an understanding that a formal validation event would be organised later. It would take the

form of a National Validation Workshop which would be attended by nominated

stakeholders (from the various relevant constituencies) and by the Project Team.

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SECTION 3: THE FINDINGS The present section highlights features of NGOs that are relevant to an

understanding of the overall framework for their management and their performance─ but

with the original sample of 24 NGOs substantially reduced to 20 (as explained in Section 2).

3.1 THE NGOs’ MISSION

The contents of the ubiquitous mission statements obtained from the NGOs surveyed

were clearly a testimony to their commitment to supporting local communities through the

provision of tailor-made programmes/services. Woven into the statements were

idiosyncratic themes associated with their particular sectors ─ such as an NGO’s statement

in the Agriculture Sector that its mission was designed to “support rural farmers generate

food security” and one in the Education Section, that its mission was “to provide accessible

education (technical, professional, and through vocational training, ensure environmental

health protection) programmes through community development initiative support, and

development enterprise”. Interestingly, understanding the mission of an organisation

requires a detailed reading of its prospectus, yet most NGOs (85%, n=20) did not include a

prospectus as part of their promotional strategy.

Another finding was that the development of an NGO mission statement involved a

number of stakeholders; to name but a few: they could be representatives of, for example,

the NGO Board of Directors, or the Community Management Chairpersons, or the

International Partners. For some 45% (n=20) of the NGOs, the validation of their mission

statements also involved stakeholders (and indeed other “Externals”), but for another 35%

(n=20), the validation would be an entirely internal affair.

3.2 THE SURVEYED ORGANISATIONS

The general picture to emerge from the survey of the randomised, stratified, sample

of NGOs was that relatively few (45%, n=20) identified themselves as “local” and that most

(75%, n=20) were situated in the KMC and WC Region contrary to expectations, given that

poverty is a predominantly rural phenomenon (RoG, 2011); but presumably these statistics

reflect the increasing number of urban poor (see Appendix II).

14

3.2.1 The Staff establishment

As Table 2shows, in the year 2012the non-support staff in the respondent NGOs

were overwhelmingly Gambians. Of these staff, 71% (n=185) held a Post-Senior Secondary

School educational qualification. What stood out as being of particular interest though, was

the consistently disproportionate number of Full-Time staff who were female: thus, in

2010,the proportion of female staff was 27.4% (n=197), in 2011 it was 23.3% (n=227), and

in 2012 it was down to 21.8% (n=225)(see Table 3)

Another notable feature of Table 3 was that, although the Part-Time staff were in the

minority, a high proportion among them were “qualified” in the sense that they held at least

a Senior Secondary School Certificate; thus, in 2010,the proportion was 93.8% (n=32),in

2011 it was 87.5% (n=24), and in 2012 it was 80% (n=15).

Table 2: The number of non-support staff for the Year2012 by HIGHEST Qualification and Nationality

Secondary School

educational Qualifications Post-Senior Secondary School educational

Qualifications Non-Support

Staff

Nationality Secondary

School Certificate

SeniorSecondary School

Certificate

Technical/ Vocational

Qualification

Tertiary Qualification

Professional Qualification

Qualn: Sub-Total

Naty: SubTotal

Gambian 36 18 34 47 50 131 185 Non-

Gambian - - - - 12 12 12

Total 36 18 34 47 62 143 197

Table 3: The number of non-support Staff by Qualified status, Gender and Mode of employment for the Years 2010-2012

[Note: As used here, the term “Qualified” means having at least a SeniorSecondary School Certificate. Key: FT= Full-Time; PT= Part-Time ]

Year 2010 Year 2011 Year 2012 Number of StaffbyGender and

Mode of employment Male Female Male Female Male Female

Number of Qualified Staff FT 114 41 142 37 149 39

PT 22 8 16 5 10 2

Number of UnqualifiedStaff FT 29 13 32 16 27 10

PT 2 - 2 1 2 1

TOTAL number of Staff (n) FT 143 54 174 53 176 49 for each sub-group PT 24 8 18 6 12 3

Percentage of Qualified Staff FT 79.7% 75.9% 81.6% 69.8% 84.6% 79.6%

for each sub-group PT 91.6% 100% 88.8% 83.3% 83.3% 66.7%

15

The Managers themselves were all Gambians, most (85%; n=20) of them male, and

65% (n=20) over 45 years of age (see Appendix II, Tables II,1;II,3;II,4;II,5).They were well

qualified academically, with at least a Higher/ Advanced Certificate or Diploma ─ indeed,

many (30%, n=20) of them possessed a Master’s degree. Their specialist subject areas

varied widely and the vast majority (85%, n=20) among them had attended, in the last two

years, official professional courses/seminars/conferences that were relevant to their present

positions in their organisations.

3.2.2 The Programmes/Services

Turning to the NGO programmes/services and their clientele, and looking at Table4,

in terms of data distribution, even a cursory glance indicates a provision of programme/

services that was in line with the common pattern, globally, of intervening through national

projects/programmes in the eradication of endemic diseases (such as Malaria) and in the

reduction of viral infections (such as HIV).

Table 4: The number of registered Clients by Programme/Service, Gender and Year

[Note: (a) as used here the term “clients” refers to the people registered on the Organisations’ Programmes/ Services

(b) GR stands for Gender Ratio (the number of Female Clients to the number of Male Clients) Key: more females; * only females; ** only males; NA =Not Applicable because

Gender was not recorded]

Year 2009 Year 2010 Year 2011 Gender Gender Gender

Programme/ Service Name

Male female GR male female GR male female GR

Six Programmes on good government, rights, HIV

- - - - - 24500 25500 1.04

Adult and non-formal education

- - - 21 273 13.0 14 223 15.9

Boat building 3 - ** 3 - - 2 - **

Crop production 30 20 0.67 25 25 1.00 25 25 1.00

Education 150 80 0.53 300 250 0.83 350 200 0.57

English ESOL 17 304 17.8 23 149 6.48 3 73 24.3

Environment 590 2030 3.44 900 2750 3.06 2890 3140 1.09

Fish marketing 25 70 2.80 25 70 2.80 30 60 2.00

Fish processing 15 50 3.33 20 55 2.75 20 60 3.00

Fishing 30 - ** 27 - ** 27 - **

Horticulture gardening - - 2 175 87.5 2 175 87.5

Malaria project 38458 NA 200 NA 415705 NA

Reflective literacy - - 59 1221 20.7 59 1462 24.8

Rice production - 3000 138 997 7.22 373 509 1.36

Sexual intervention project* - 360 * - 525 * - 455 *

Tourism 700 400 0.57 900 600 0.67 1100 700 0.64

16

But there was much evidence too of provision on a relatively limited scale (both in

diversity and quantity), such as the provision of programmes on Tourism, on the

Environment, and on Rice Production, at an average yearly cost of close to two million

Dalassis per programme, over the last two years (see Table5for the five NGOs from the

Education Sector and the Health Sector that provided the relevant data). But, admittedly,

this average cost is not very meaningful as it is based on data for only two years and there is

a wide difference in recruitment between these two years (see in particular, the massive

intake of Clients in 2011) together with a lack of detailed information about the

programmes/services (such as, their configuration, duration and level of content).

The balance of provision as between rural and urban areas and as between the

sectors was not examined due to time constraints, but a Gender bias was evident in the way

that the following programmes/services registered considerably more female Clients than

male in recent years (putting aside the “Sexual intervention project” for females only, and

Boat building and Fishing for males only).

• Adult and Non-Formal Education

• English (ESOL)

• Environment

• Fish Marketing

• Fish Processing

• Horticulture gardening

• Reflective literacy

• Rice Production

The programmes/services were offered with yearly budget allocations (for five

NGOs) approximating, on average, four million Dalassis, per NGO, over the last two years,

though the total budget allocation for the year 2011 was some 50% more than that for 2010.

Another striking point was that with almost 40 times more Clients in 2011, there had been

an almost 30 fold reduction in the average cost, per Client, year on year.

Table 5: The number of Programmes/ Services and of Clients, and the Organisations’ running Budget, per year (n=5). [Key: P/ S = Programmes/ Services;]

Year Total No. of P/S offered,

per year

Total No. of Clients, per year

Total Budget, per year ( Dmillions)

Average estimated Cost PerP/Sfor each year

(Dmillions)

Average Cost per Client

(Dalasis) 2010 10 11,147 15.611 1.561 D1,400 2011 10 427,553 23.563 2.356 D 55

Total budget of 5 NGOs over the 2 years 39.174 Average estimated Cost per P/S.over the 2 years

Average budget, per NGO, per year 3.917 1.959

17

3.3. THE MANAGEMENT OF NGOs

3.3.1 Strategic Planning

Informed by their missions, most (80%, n=20) NGO Senior Management Teams had

developed corporate Strategic Plans (including Action Plans), in order to guide their

progress towards the achievement of their goals. These plans were based on the results of

Needs Assessment surveys (in their local communities) which almost all (95%, n=20)

NGOs undertook, even if their capacity for researching local communities’ needs was not

adequate! However, only some 40% (n=20) did so “always” with the participation of the

local communities, although it is common knowledge that the participatory approach to

managing projects in developing countries enhances the acceptability of projects to those

most affected(Sumner and Tribe, 2008). The point is that there was the view among the

NGOs that “the most informative way of identifying needs for planning purposes” was

thought to be that of collaborating with stakeholders on projects.

3.3.2 Quality Assurance

The responsibilities for monitoring performance standards in the NGO sector were

examined with regard to, respectively:

(a) the quality of the programmes/services that the NGOs provided

(b) the progress against their Action Plans and budgets

…. 3.3.2.1 Monitoring the quality of provision

The approval of NGOs’ programmes/services was backed (albeit, in only half the

number of targeted NGOs) by a system of Quality Assurance which combined the validation

of programmes/ services with regular monitoring, mostly at two-year intervals, and quite

apart from the formal, periodic reviews of their missions and objectives--a practice well

established in the majority of NGOs (80%, n=20).

The monitoring process normally required making formal arrangements for

obtaining the views of Clients (and indeed of other stakeholders, such as Parent-Teachers

Associations) about the content and management of the programmes/services offered, with a

view to improving their delivery when necessary and possible. During the interviews of the

Managers, questions probed the support generally available to them and revealed that, on

18

the whole, they “got things done” effectively through the administrative services; and that

their decisions were communicated to staff through regular Programme Team meetings.

This consultancy did not look into the levels of any qualifications achieved on

completing the programmes/services and into any arrangements that might have been made

with examining/validating bodies for guaranteeing the quality of the programmes/services

offered.

…. 3.3.2.2 Monitoring progress against action plans and budgets

Under the Protocol of Accord (Article 13)between the Government and NGOs, every

registered NGO “shall deposit” with the Non-Governmental Organisations Affairs Agency

(NGOAA) “ a detailed plan of its annual work programmes and budget prior to the

beginning of the Government’s fiscal year, and a detailed annual report, highlighting

progress on activities undertaken over the year, work-plans for the following year, accounts

audited by the NGOAA approved auditors, and budget including quantities and costs at least

three months after the programme year ends”.

It was abundantly clear from the evidence furnished during the interviews of the

NGO Managers that they complied with the protocol, and that the M & E Unit (in those

NGOs where there was one in place) co-ordinated the monitoring process. However, the

strength of this finding was tempered by the fact that these annual, individual NGO reports

to the Agency were not formatted, and that they did not appear to come under a sufficiently

close scrutiny, as there was not much formal feedback from Government about the contents

of these reports. There was also the issue of whether, in general, quantitative measures of

performance (such as Completion Rates on programmes/services, as a measure of

Efficiency) were computed, and whether comparisons of NGOs’ standards of performance

had been formally made between NGOs (within the same sector), and between sectors.

3.3.3 Resources

3.3.3.1 Financial and physical resources

Funding, accommodation, equipment, training/learning materials and physical

support facilities were all part of the resourced environment, and were expected to have an

impact on Clients’ experiences of the programmes/services in which they participated.

There was no saying what the impact was, as it depended on how resources were deployed;

and given the time constraint on this consultancy, the researchers did not supplement their

19

interviews of Managers and Clients with tours of departmental/divisional resources (such as,

specialist equipment, computers, visual aids, study space, periodicals, books and technical

staff) in order to appraise their deployment.

Nonetheless, the Managers were questioned about the available resources for their

organisations, starting with their fund-raising activities ──even though their incomes might

not necessarily say much about expenditure in their organisations! Overall, the response of

the Managers interviewed was that, in general, NGOs were engaged in activities which had

levered in financial resources quite apart from their income from fees for

programmes/services. These fund-raising activities ranged over a wide variety of activities,

such as the sale of seeds and of fertilizers in the Agriculture sector and the offer of services

on safe motherhood in the Health sector. Indeed, in general, the NGOs had plans for

extending their range of fund-raising activities, but it was not clear whether such income

was exempt from taxation.

The targeted NGOs claimed that there were effective systems in place for managing

the equipment and other material resources of their organisations. These systems might be

governed by internal regulations and, critically, by various relevant policies, such as:

(a) a Transport Policy for the use of transport facilities

(b) a Depreciation Policy on the systematic replacement and updating of assets

(c) Assets Management Policy.

A Fixed Asset register of equipment and physical materials might be kept and there

were standard procedures for their use ─ as well as sanctions in case of deviance! The

replacement and updating of equipment and other physical materials might be based on

requests (from managers and line-managers) which were appropriately assessed and were

then subject to approval, in accordance with the relevant policies and with the annual

budgets for Development.

The purchase, routine maintenance, and replacement of equipment and physical

materials were proceeded with, through local or international tendering.

3.3.3.2 Human Resources

Probably the most important safeguard of a high standard of provision in an

organisation is the quality of its staff. This depends in part on their formal educational

qualifications and on their professional experience; and as Tables 2 and 3(in Section 3.2.1)

20

show, whilst this year, 83.5% (n = 225) of the NGOs’ full-time non-support staff were

“qualified”, in the sense of possessing at least a Senior Secondary School Certificate, less

(71%, n=185) held a post-secondary educational qualification. Moreover, the survey data

painted a rather dismal picture regarding their professional development as, unlike their

Managers, only a small proportion of the male staff (19.5%; n=174) and of the female staff

(22.6%, n=53) attended training programmes for professional development in the year 2011,

──and the proportions for 2010 were of a similar order (see Table 6A). The proportion of

male staff who attended (12%; n=174) training programmes for management development

also lagged behind the proportion of female staff (18.9%; n=53) in the year 2011, though

not in the year 2010 (see Table 6(B))

Table 6(A): The number of Full-Time (FT) non-support staff who attended Professional development training programmes by Year and Gender

Year 2010 Year 2011

male Female Male female

Number of FT non-support staff on Professional Development Training Programmes

26 13 34 12

Total Number of FT non-support staff 143 54 174 53

Proportion of NGO FT non-support staff on Professional Development Training Programmes

18.1% 24.1% 19.5% 22.6%

[Note: see also Appendix II; it was assumed that:-

(i) only Full-Time , non-support staff attended Professional Development training programmes (ii) a non-response for this questionnaire item implied that no FT member of the non-support

staff of the NGO had attended a training programme for professional development in these two years]

Table 6(B): The number of Full-Time (FT) non-support staff who attended Management Development training programmes by Year and Gender

Year 2010 Year 2011

male Female male female

Number of FT non-support staff on Management Development Training Programmes

42 12 21 10

Total Number of FT non-support staff 143 54 174 53

Proportion of NGO FT non-support staff on Management Development Training Programmes

29.3% 22.2% 12% 18.9%

[Note: see also Appendix II; it was assumed that:-

(i) only Full-Time , non-support staff attended Management Development training programmes (ii) a non-response for this questionnaire item implied that no FT member of the non-support

staff of the NGO had attended a training programme for management development in these two years]

21

The cost differential between College-based training and In-house training for both

Professional Development and Management Development programmes, across the sectors,

presents a perplexing picture, not least because the cost of the College-based programmes

were many times that of the In-house programmes (see Tables7 (A) and 7(B)) and the ratio

between these two costs for professional development in year 2010 was almost twice that in

Year 2011. Indeed, for management development, the ratio between the two costs in year

2010 was almost sixty times that in the year 2011.

In this consultancy, the performance standard of the departmental/divisional support

staff and of the support services staff did not figure in the Project Team’s view of resource

provision.

Table 7(A): The Unit cost of Professional Development training programmes for non-support NGO staff by Year

Year 2010 Year 2011 College-based Training Programmes

Total Cost D 515,780 D 750,000

Number of Staff on the programmes 3 14

Unit Cost of College–based training programmes D 171,927 D 53,571

In-house Training Programmes

Total Cost D 228,200 D 125,000

Number of Staff on the programmes 36 32

Unit Cost of In-house Training Programmes D 6,339 D 3.906

Ratio of costs of College-based training to costs of In-house training

27 : 1 14 : 1

Table 7(B): The Unit cost of Management Development training programmes for non-support NGO staff by Year

Year 2010 Year 2011

College-based Training Programmes

Total Cost D 90,000 D 84,000

Number of Staff on the programmes 5 14

Unit Cost of College–based training programmes D 18.000 D 6,068

In-house Training Programmes

Total Cost D 11,200 D 125,000

Number of Staff on the programmes 49 17

Unit Cost of In-house Training Programmes D 228.6 D 4,765

Ratio of costs of College-based training to costs of In-house training

79 : 1 1.3: 1

22

3.3.4 Efficiency and Effectiveness

NGOs do not have the criterion of profit as an overall index of performance.

However, in this consultancy, efficiency and effectiveness measures were identified and

taken to be indicators (or proxy indicators) of performance, recognising though that they are

crude indicators, that the concepts underpinning these measures are problematic, and that

such a small sample of NGOs prohibited cross-sector and “within sector” comparisons of

performance. Efficiency was taken to be the ratio of outputs to inputs and the Efficiency

indicators used were the Unit cost of programmes/services, the Client-Staff ratios, and the

Completion Rates on programmes/services. The Effectiveness indicators were the

destinations of programme/service leavers, and the contribution of Clients to society.

3.3.4.1 Efficiency

To take Efficiency first, Table 8 expands the earlier analysis of Efficiency (in terms

of the average Unit Cost for programmes/services, already indicated in Section 3.2 above)

with an analysis of the average Client-Staff ratio (for five respondent NGOs, over three

recent years) of approximately50:1, but an interpretation of this analysis is hampered by

questions about the reliability of the data that were collected.

Table 8: The respective numbers of Clients and of Staff on the NGO programmes/ services by Year (n=5).

Total No. of Programmes/ Total No. Total Number of Staff, per year Client-

Year Services offered,

per year of Clients per year Full-

Time Part-Time

Total Full-Time Equivalent

Staff Ratio

2009 6 47,606 53 4 54.76 29

2010 10 11,147 71 3 72.32 3

2011 10 427,553 72 3 73.32 117

[Note: the assumption was that Part-Time members of staff worked each for an average of 16 hours per week and that this was equivalent to 0.44 of the working time for a Full-Time member of staff]

Table 9 provides a comparative perspective on the extent to which one NGO was

efficient in terms of the Completion Rates for its Clients across its programmes/services,

over three years, and in three subject areas. Quite clearly, the Completion Rates were high,

except in Computer Training for women in 2011, and for men in 2010.

23

Another important observation arising from Table9was the dominance of women on

enrolments on all the three named programmes/services ── a point worth noting on the

positive side of the argument for a greater representation of women on education and

training programmes!

Table 9: the number of Entrants and of Clients who completed the Programmes/Services (P/S)by Gender and by Programmes/Services (in one NGO)

Programme / Service name Year

Number of Entrants on the

P/S

Number of Clients who completed the

P/S Completion rate

Male Female Male Female Male Female

2009 - 15 - 12 - 80.0%

2010 1 13 1 11 100% 84.6% Business management

studies 2011 3 11 3 10 100% 90.9%

2009 3 42 3 40 100% 95.2%

2010 1 28 1 28 100% 100% Tie & Dye and Batik

2011 1 15 1 14 100% 93.3%

2009 5 67 4 61 80% 91%

2010 3 27 1 27 33% 100% Computer training

2011 3 15 3 11 100% 73.3%

3.3.4.2 Effectiveness

Turning to Effectiveness and starting with the destinations of programmes/services

leavers, only 30% (n=6) of the NGOs had in place a formal system for finding out the

destinations of their Clients, 3to 6 months after leaving their programmes/services (see

Appendix II ). Yet, there was evidence (in the interview data) of NGOs showing a keen

interest in the outcomes of the programmes/services that they provided; thus, they

monitored the satisfaction of external bodies (such as the NTA) with the delivery of their

programmes/services, they set up supportive procedures for dealing with Clients’

complaints (indeed, even “dispatching staff to verify complaints”) and offered “counselling”

on their programmes/services. To pick out an illustrative case, one NGO was offering

“annual exit clientèle interviews”.

24

Regarding the other mentioned indicator of Effectiveness, namely, Clients’

contribution to society, a revealing feature of Table 10was that 95% (n=20) of the Managers

responded that as a result of their programmes/services, their local communities’

participation in community-initiated activities had improved (even if only “a little” for a

few),as had their capacity to address Development problems.

Table 11: The number of NGO Managers who said that as a result of their Organisations’ provision of Programmes/Services

Much A little Very little

Not at all

Not Sure

(a) The local Community’s Capacity to address Development problems had improved 8 11 - - 1

(b) The Participation rate in local Community- initiated activities had improved 14 5 - - 1

25

SECTION 4: PERFORMANCE STANDARDS FOR NGOs

4.1 INTRODUCTION

This section of the consultancy was predicated on the notion that management

development in NGOs turns largely around specifying applicable standards of

performance for all levels of management ─−given that managers have responsibility

for workers who themselves have direct influence on the quality of NGOs’ programmes/

services. This Performance Standards-led approach was expected to provide a focus for

NGO managers to examine what they are seeking to achieve and to enable them to

develop a common understanding of the nature and purpose of NGOs.

It goes without saying that any organisation’s performance is rooted in its

Strategic Plan. This sets out the organisation’s mission, values, and objectives in terms

which allow its actual and planned performance to be assessed and compared. It is

therefore of vital importance to make explicit the mission, values, and objectives of

NGOs in their pursuit of the Development agenda and of performing to the expected

standard. And indeed, the list of Performance Standards below is preceded by

statements about the Mission, Values and Objectives of NGOs and goes on to signal the

ways of working considered necessary for managing NGOs to the expected standard.

The list came out of the findings of the empirical research and of the desk study as

described in Sections 2 and 3 above. These standards are statements that set out what

NGOs’ senior, middle, and first-line managers are expected to know, understand, and be

able to do.

This section then is structured as follows:

• Mission, Values and Objectives

• Performance Standards for:

─ Governance

─ Management

─ Resources

─ Outcomes

26

4.2. MISSION, VALUES, AND OBJECTIVES

4.2.1 Mission

As non-profit, non-sectarian, voluntary, Development-oriented

organisations, the mission of the NGOs is to work towards the attainment of the national Development goals within the framework of the articulated and enunciated Government policies and priorities and in partnership with the Government and with the local communities at large.

4.2.2 Values

NGOs’ strategic plans are infused with values that inform all their activities. Thus,

NGOs value:-

(a) the empowerment of local communities

(b) the solidarity with the poor, the distressed, and the vulnerable

(c) the close collaboration with their partners

(d) social equity and justice

(e) efficiency and effectiveness for programmes/services

(f) the preservation of the sacredness and dignity of all human life

4.2.3 Objectives

(a) The General objective of NGOs should be to enable every Gambian citizen to have

a stake in society, as articulated in Vision 2020. Moreover, NGOs should develop

their own specific objectives as regards improving the livelihood of their local

communities and their environment (in accordance with the mission of NGOs and

their values).

(b) The Specific objectives should be principally to:-

(i) initiate, undertake and manage sustainable Development activities that meet

identified local and national priority needs

(ii) build up the capacities of local communities they work with in order to

determine these Development needs ─ and to do so through a participatory

approach

27

In order to achieve their objectives, NGOs should . . . . . . .

• collaborate actively with the respective Government Ministries and with one

another

• ensure their stakeholders’ continuous wide-ranging, active participation in all

their meaningful activities

• promote and support local and national partnership schemes between employing

organisations and educational/training institutions.

• establish strong resource bases locally that enable them to offer efficient and

effective programmes/services.

4.3 PERFORMANCE STANDARDS FOR GOVERNANCE

The legal status of the NGOs is as yet seemingly ambiguous. There are no

instruments and articles of government, as such, that articulate comprehensively their

responsibilities and obligations. However, for an organisation in The Gambia to be eligible

for NGO status it must meet the twelve criteria listed in the “Code of Conduct” for NGOs

(NGOAA, no date).Thus . . . . . . .

(a) have a constitution that clearly sets out its mission and its

objectives in compliance with the Constitution of The Gambia

To be eligible for NGO status, three of the criteria are should

(b) have a “Board of Directors

that an organisation . . . . of at least seven members”

(c) “enter into an agreement” with the relevant line Departments

of State through a Memorandum of Understanding”

Moreover, NGOs must comply with the “Protocol of Accord” made between

themselves and the Government of The Gambia.

The “Articles” in the “Protocol of Accord” require, amongst other things, that each NGO

should” deposit with the NGO Affairs Agency”:

(a) a “detailed Plan of its annual work Programme and budget

(b) a detailed annual report which “highlights progress on activities undertaken over

the year”

28

The legal framework (yet to be approved)is expected to:

(a) set the way in which the business of the NGOs is to be conducted

(b) indicate the powers of the Board of Directors to determine the affairs of the

organisation (such as providing programme/services and joining in co-operative

enterprises with local industry and/or local communities at large

(c) indicate the gender composition of the Board, and the representation of civil

society on it.

4.3.1 Planning

(a) NGOs should develop corporate Strategic Plans with the participation of a wide range of

stakeholders and for a planning time horizon of three years, normally.

(b) These Strategic Plans should:

(i) incorporate Action Plans

(ii) bedriven by the following:

• the imperative of the Government’s national policies for each sector

• the expansion of the NGOs’ interventions locally

• their close collaboration with stakeholders in local community activities

• their commitment to work with their partners through local institutions,

as appropriate

• the results of

─ their periodic reviews of their mandates (normally, every two years)

─ their participatory, in-depth, Needs Analyses in their local

communities

4.4 PERFORMANCE STANDARDS FOR MANAGEMENT

This sub-section draws together the Performance Standards to focus on, when

appraising the management of an NGO. However, not all the items in this set of standards

are relevant to all NGOs.

29

4.4.1 Leadership Style

1. NGO managers should seek to achieve the common goal of their organisations (namely,

the advancement of the Development agenda), through a participatory democratic style

of leadership.

2. Operating in community and with consultation, NGO managers should . . . . . . .

(a) devolve much of the management of the organisation to the communities that they serve

(b) ensure that stakeholders and Clients participate actively at all levels of the management process (that is, from Needs Assessment to programme/service Monitoring and Evaluation)

(c) improve stakeholders’ confidence

(d) improve compliance with relevant government legislation affecting NGOs

(e) ensure that the running Budget is analysed by programme/service activity, and/or is broken down into Cost Centres

(f) engage stakeholders’ support in the work of their Senior Management Teams, as appropriate

(g) emphasise the centrality of a Team development policy for all levels of management in their organisations (for example, through regular cross-departmental team meetings)

(h) assess risk factors in the delivery of their programmes/services.

4.4.2 Communication

NGOs should. . . . . . .

(a) operate an effective organisational policy of open information

(b) ensure the proper communication of management’s decisions through regular programme/service team meetings

(c) make it easy for their Clients to access their organisations’ official documents about their mission, their objectives and their programme/services

(d) ensure that their publicity materials describe realistically and accurately their:

(i) contributions to improving society and peoples’ lives

(ii) fund-raising activities

30

4.4.3 Management Control

NGOs should. . . . . . .

(a) measure their Efficiency and their Effectiveness, respectively, using well-known,

Performance Indicators

(b) highlight and explain deviations from their Strategic Plans (through the use of their

monitoring mechanisms)

(c) compare their performance with those of other NGOs within their own sectors

4.4.3.1 Administrative Support

NGOs should . . . . . . .

(a) put in place a clearly delineated administrative system

(b) operate an administrative support service that is:

(i) efficient

(ii) effective

(c) involve their Senior support staff in every decision-making process that affects

their work

(d) ensure the appropriate representation of the support staff on staff meetings at all

levels

(e) have an acceptable accounting/ recording system that can be audited annually

4.4.4 External Relations

1. In addition to co-operating with their respective line Departments of State (of the

relevant Ministries) and their subsidiary Offices, NGOs should, under the Code of

Conduct, commit themselves to developing mutually satisfactory relationships with

the communities that they serve/Beneficiaries, the Donor Agencies/ Partners, and the

other NGOs ―― through, for example, the TANGO’s capacity building workshops

that NGOs attend, the exchange of visits and of documents(such as reports of local

31

studies), and fund-raising activities (such as, renting office space, honey production,

and clinical services).

(a) set appropriate standards for these relationships

2. Regarding their relationshipswith the people outside their should

(b) support their staff to meet

organisations with whom they work directly, NGOs . . .

standards

(c) monitor the standards of these relationships.

4.4.5 Advocacy/Lobby and/or Resource Mobilisation

1. The extent to which the quasi-market for NGOs’ programmes/services is working is not

known. However, under the Code of Conduct, NGOs should ensure that “institutional

competition” between them is “minimised or prevented”

(a) raise the awareness of the benefits of their programmes/services (e.g. through appropriate, informative

campaigns)

2. A vibrant NGO sector ensures that individual NGOs have in

(b)be Client-centred (that is, accommodate the distinctive

place an advocacy/lobby should kinds of Clients, in terms of age, strategy which is effective and which therefore . . . . . . .

gender, educational background, and so on)

(c) provide training for their support

staff and their non-support staff to work their programme/service

delivery system effectively

4.4.6. Quality Assurance

4.4.6.1 Validation

NGOs should validate and review frequently their objectives internally, and involve

external bodies (such as the NTA) in the validation process.

32

4.4.6.2 Monitoring

NGOs should set up their individual Monitoring and Evaluation (M & E) systems, with

the participation of their stakeholders and of their local communities.

They should report annually to, respectively, Government, NTA, and TANGO, about:

(a) their progress with the implementation of their Strategic Plans at:-

(i) Central level (ii) Branch level

(b) their achievements and the challenges that they must meet

(c) the acquisition and deployment of their:

(i) physical assets (ii) financial assets

(d) the cost for each programme/service against the planned financial target

(e) the quality of their relationships with their local communities

(f) the ways in which the communities that they serve are benefiting from their

interventions

4.5 PERFORMANCE STANDARDS FOR RESOURCES

4.5.1 Financial and Physical Resources

The funding of NGOs is clearly a complex matter, as they may receive the bulk of

their funds from various sources and earn income from many different programmes/

services.

However,

1. under the Code of Conduct, NGOs should indicate their:

(a) Sources of funding

(b) Strategies for financial self-reliance

(c) Institutional sustainability

2. NGOs should:

(a) Formulate and implement their respective Assets Management policies, as

regards:

(i) the Registration of Fixed Assets

(ii) the Regulations for the use of assets

(iii) the Depreciation of equipment and materials and their replacement

33

(b) Seek to achieve the devolution of budgetary responsibility to designated managers within their departments/divisions

(c) Raise their profiles so as to reinforce their efforts in generating more funds

(d) Keep Donors up-to-date with organisational developments

4.5.2 Human Resource Management

Frontline members of staff are the most important asset in delivering high quality

work because NGOs depend largely on them to develop adequate relationships with the

local communities that they serve and to articulate the NGO cause.

Hence, NGOs should . . . . . . .

(a) Recruit and retain frontline, non-support, staff for their values, judgements, and

practical experience, as well as for their technical competence and level of their

educational qualifications (which should be, at least, the Senior Secondary School

Certificate).

(b) Formulate and implement a recruitment policy and deployment of non-support

frontline staff.

4.5.2.1 Staff Development

1. NGOs should promote vigorously the training and/or professional development

of all their staff.

(a) formulate its own, fit for purpose, Staff Development policy (with its priorities

Dependent on funding and demand)

Should

(b) set up an appropriate administrative system to support

2. In order for each NGO to ensure the effective management of its Staff Development programme it . . . . .

the efficient and effective implementation of the policy

(c) continually assess its

performance and use the feedback to encourage reflection

and improvement among its staff

34

4.5.2.2 Gender Empowerment

Men and women, boys and girls all contribute immensely to the development of the

nation. Hence NGOs should formulate and implement a gender policy that provides equal

employment opportunity in terms of recruitment and deployment of non-support frontline

staff.

4.6 PERFORMANCE STANDARDS FOR OUTCOMES

According to the Code of Conduct it is essential that NGOs act individually and collectively

to ensure that they are “true to their mission and goal”. This sub-section offers a set of

Performance Standards for the outcomes of NGOs’ actions at local Community level and at

Organisational level.

1. At local Community level:

(a) the Communities’ capacity to address Development problems should have

improved

(b) the Participation Rate in Community-initiated activities should have increased

(c) the opportunities for productive activity in the Community should be greater

(d) the Community members’ confidence in their own abilities should have grown

2. At Organisation level:

(a) the destinations of their Clients should have been formally traced

(b) the NGOs’ M & E systems should be effective for appraising the satisfaction of

external bodies with the delivery of their Programmes/Services

(c) NGOs should have put in place supportive procedures for:

(i) dealing with their Clients’ complaints

(ii) Counselling their Clients

35

SECTION 5: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

5.1 CONCLUSION

A complex blend of factors mediates the influence of NGOs on The Gambia’s

progress towards achieving the national goal of poverty alleviation. Principal amongst these

factors is the financial resourcing of NGOs as this varies between sectors and between

NGOs in the same sector, and for this reason it is impossible to generalise about NGOs’

standards of performance. Nonetheless, at the risk of over-simplification, the conclusion is

that with the binding regulatory framework imposed by the Government’s Code of Conduct

upon the Non-Governmental Organisations Affairs Agency and the NGOs, the latter have

been able to generate positive results for their interventions in terms of partnerships (with

local communities) developed and supported. These partnerships have resulted in turn in

the empowerment of these local communities, as is evident in their improved capacity to

address Development problems and in their increased participation in community-related

activities. Regrettably though, detailed descriptions of these results have not been possible

in this consultancy because of time constraints. Nor have detailed comparisons between the

three surveyed NGO sectors been attempted, given that these sectors embody very different

organisational cultures. But, overall, the evidence is that the foundation for the achievement

of acceptable performance standards has been laid in these three NGO sectors. Areas of

weakness have been highlighted but rather than bringing these down into specifics here, it

seemed appropriate for this consultancy to focus on recommendations (for these areas)

which, if implemented, are likely to result in considerable improvements in NGOs’

Performance Standards. There is therefore now an imperative for action and the agenda for

action should include, in the main, the enhanced effectiveness of the NGOs’ Quality

Assurance Systems for programmes/services and the greater participation of local

communities in raising NGOs’ Performance Standards.

5.2 RECOMMENDATIONS

Regarding the management of NGOs that are under the aegis of TANGO then,

Section 4 has already indicated how to build in ways of improving practice and standards.

However, further consideration of the following points is strongly recommended for action

in order for these NGOs to realise their general purpose.

36

5.2.1 Governance

• Each NGO to review the composition of its governing body where

appropriate and ensure that it has an adequate representation of Central

Government/Local Government, local Communities, local industry and

business, the professions, Development actors, and other stakeholders.

• TANGO Governing Board should serve as a mediating agency between all

NGOs.

5.2.1.1 Accountability

• The Government to place a duty on the NGO Affairs Agency to secure

appropriate advice on the quality of the NGOs’ annual reports submitted under

the Protocol of Accord (Article 13).

• The NGO Affairs Agency jointly with TANGO to review the balance of

NGOs’ autonomy and accountability (under the Code of Conduct) and report.

• The NGO Affairs Agency to couple its responsibilities for NGOs’

organisational performance with making known widely good practice in

programme/service delivery and providing assistance on implementing such

good practice.

• Each NGO to ensure the continuing development and implementation of its

information strategy (including an efficient and effective Client admissions and

record system).

5.2.2 Quality Assurance

���� TANGO to ensure that each NGO has set up and put into operation an appropriate Quality Assurance System

���� The Governing Body of each NGO to review annually its Quality Assurance System in order to ensure the effectiveness of the system and report

5.2.2.1 Performance Standards

• TANGO to work on describing and clarifying the work-roles and

responsibilities of non-support staff across the whole NGO sector, as a basis

37

for the identification of their competencies and the further development of

Performance Standards(whilst giving due consideration to the different

structures of services between the sectors and to the criticisms of

competency standards).

• TANGO to establish a national Advisory Group to provide an independent

view throughout this process of developing further the Performance

Standards

5.2.2.2 Monitoring and Evaluation

• TANGO to ensure that the validation, approval, and periodic reviews of

NGOs’ programmes/services are subject to external reference points, such

as professional bodies’ requirements, employer expectations, and views of

visiting “externals”

• review its plans for extending its range of fund-raising activities and to

consider setting up a Fund-raising Activities Unit for the management of its

activities. TANGO to visit NGOs at least once a year to see if the

performance standards are maintained.

5.2.3 Advocacy/Lobby and/or Resource Mobilisation

TANGO jointly with individual NGOs to ensure the more vigorous national and

international resource mobilisation and awareness campaign of the benefits of NGOs (such

as improved lives of people and employability) locally.

5.2.4 Resources

5.2.4.1 Financial and Physical resources

• Every NGO to review its present funding mechanism with the aim of

building up funds so as to improve the delivery of its programmes/services

• Every NGO delivering education and health programmes/services to

• Funds raised to be ploughed back to the education and health

programmes/services.

38

5.2.4.2 Human Resources (Staff Development)

TANGO jointly with NGOs to:

• formulate a Staff Development policy (for the whole NGO sector)which

provides the parameters within which the management system for

implementing the policy is to operate

• identify the responsibilities for the management functions associated with the

management of Staff Development for non-support staff

• develop common ways of describing and reporting Staff Development

programmes for non-support staff (such as subject up-dating, the acquisition

of new skills to meet changing organisational demands, and interactions

with industry, business and the professions).

• Formulate and implement a policy for Differentially–Able People which will

be in compliance with the Draft National “Persons With Disability” (PWD)

Policy and Special Needs Policy.

References

Benett Y. (1986)A fragmented view? London. Further Education Unit. Department of State for Education, UK.

Department of State for Finance and Economic Affairs (2002).Strategy for Poverty Alleviation.Banjul. The Gambia.

Field L and Drysdale D. (1991)Training for Competence London. Kogan Page.

Pro-PAG (2006)Pro-PAG’s 5-Year Strategic Plan (2006-2010). Bakau Newton. The Gambia.

Republic of The Gambia (2011)Programme for Accelerated Growth and Employment Banjul. Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs.

Sumner A. and Tribe M. (2008)International Development Studies.London. SAGE.

39

APPENDICES

APPENDIX I

NGOs’ Performance Standards

Self-completion Questionnaire for Managers

APPENDIX II The management of NGOs:

Summary of results from the Self-completion Questionnaire

APPENDIX III

The Interview Guide for Managers

APPENDIX IV The Interview Guide for Clients

Self-Completion QUESTIONNAIRE for MANAGERS 1

Appendix I

EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH NETWORK FOR

WEST AND CENTRAL AFRICA

THE SELF-COMPLETION QUESTIONNAIRE FOR

MANAGERS OF NGOs IN THE GAMBIA

Introduction

This questionnaire has been developed as part of a World Bank study (about NGOs’

Performance Standards)which aims to enhance the efficiency and accountability of NGOs in

delivering basic services to the poor in The Gambia.

Thank you very much for taking the time to complete this questionnaire. Your

Organisation was selected randomly from the list of registered NGOs. Please answer the

questions below and, where applicable, circle the number in the appropriate box. Your

answers will be confidential.

[Note: once completed, please return the questionnaire as soon as possible to

The ERNWACA Researcher or to the Secretary,

ERNWACA Office, Mile 7, Quarters No. 3, P.0. Box 4457, Bakau;

Tel 4497627; mobile: 9902867; e-mail: maxnjie@yahoo.co.uk ]

The Official Designation of the Sector Code

The Health Sector H

The Education Sector E

The Agriculture Sector (Social Dimensions) A

Date

(day) (month) (year)

ID Code for each respondent in each sector

For Health For Education For Agriculture (Social Dimension)

H …………… E …………… A ……………

NGOs’ PERFORMANCE STANDARDS

Self-Completion QUESTIONNAIRE for MANAGERS 2

QM1. Please circle the numbers in the appropriate boxes below:-

Gender Age Nationality

Male Female Less than

30 yrs old 30 to 45 yrs old

Over 45 yrs old

Gambian Non-

Gambian 1 2 1 2 3 1 2

QM2. YourPositionin this Organisation Please circle the numbers in the appropriate boxes below:-

Managing Director

Senior Manager

Line Manager (Head of Department/ Division/ Unit)

Other (please

specify)……..……. Full-

time Part-time

1 2 3 4 2 1

QM3. Your Specialist Subject Area :-………………………………………………………………

QM4. Your highest professional qualification in your specialist subject area: Please circle the number in the appropriate box below:

Certificate Higher /Advanced Certificate or Diploma

Bachelor’s degree

Master’s degree Doctorate Not

Applicable

1 2 3 4 5 0

IF YES, please give their title(s) IF NO, GO TO QM6

……………………………………………………………………….………………………

N

QM6.Name of thisOrganisation

Location of thisOrganisation.

YES 1 QM5.Haveyou attended any official professional courses /seminars/ conferences /workshops (that are relevant to your present position in the Organisation) in the last two years? (Please circle the number in the appropriate box) NO 2

…………………..………………………………………………. ……………………………………………………………….…..

……………………………………………………………………

QM7 The address of this Organization QM8 (Please circle the number in the

appropriate box) Village Town/City/District Region/Division Place of residence

………… ……………………… …………………. Rural Urban Rural-Urban ………… ……………………… …………………. 1 2 3

YOUR PERSONAL BACKGROUND

THIS ORGANISATION

Self-Completion QUESTIONNAIRE for MANAGERS 3

The type of Non-Government Organisation

QM9. Please circle the number in the appropriate box below to indicate the type of Organisation

Local National Regional International 1 2 3 4

QM10.Please name the organisation(s) that sponsor(s) the Organisation financially

…………………………………………………………………………………………………….

The Staff of this Organisation

QM11. Please complete the table below for the number ofnon-support staff for the Year2012byHIGHEST Qualification and Nationality

Nationality

Junior Secondary

School Certificate

SeniorSecondary School

Certificate

Technical/ Vocational

Qualification

Higher Tertiary

Qualification

Professional Qualification Total

Gambian Non-

Gambian

Total

QM12. Please complete the table below for the number of non-support Staffin each category

[Note: As used here, the term “Qualified” means having at least a SeniorSecondary School Certificate. Key: F= Full-Time; P= Part-Time ]

Year 2010 Year 2011 Year 2012 Number of Staff male Female male Female male female

Number of Qualified F

Staff P

Number ofUnqualified F

P

TOTAL number of Staff F

P

GRAND TOTAL

Percentage of Qualified F

Staff P

Self-Completion QUESTIONNAIRE for MANAGERS 4

This Organisation’s Clients

[Note: (a) as used here the term “clients” refers to the people registered on the Organisation’s Programmes/ Services

(b) GR stands for Gender Ratio (the number of Female Clients to the number of Male Clients) QM13.Please complete this table for the number of registered Clients

ByProgramme/ Service, Gender and Year

Year 2009 Year 2010 Year 2011 Gender Gender Gender

Programme/ Service Name

male female GR male female GR male female GR

The Organisation’s running Budget

QM14.Please complete this table

Total No. of Programmes offered,

Total No. of Clients,

Total Number of Staff, per year

Total Budget, per year

Year per year per year Full-Time Part-Time * (Dalasis)

2009 ( %)

2010 ( %)

2011 ( %)

Total ( %)

Self-Completion QUESTIONNAIRE for MANAGERS 5

[Key: * please indicate in the brackets the average percentage (%) amount of time per week for

which the Part-Time Staff worked,]

QM15.Was the mission statement validated By external validation? 1.

By internal validation? 2.

By external and internal 3.

validation?

Other (Please specify…..) 4.

QM16. How frequently is the mission statement

reviewed? Every year? 1.

Every two years? 2.

Every three years? 3.

Other (Please specify ….) 4.

QM17. How frequently are the Organisation’s statements about its general objectives reviewed?

Every year? 1.

Every two years? 2.

Every three years? 3.

Other (Please specify ….) 4.

Planning QM18. Has the Organisation a corporate Strategic

Plan? If YES: GO TO QM19 If NO: GO TO QM22

QM19.Do you think that the assumptions underlying the Strategic Plan are reasonable?

QM20. Are the Action Plans for the Organisation the result of discussions with the local communities?

QM21. IsPlanning in the Organisation Centralised? 1 Decentralised? 2

Budgeting QM22. Is the Organisation’s running budget:-

(a) broken down into Cost Centres?

(b) analysed by Programme/ Service/ Project activity?

Needs Analysis QM23. Are there established procedures at the

Organisational level for identifying Community needs? If YES:-GO TO QM24 If NO:- GO TO QM25

QM24. (a) Is the capacity for

researching local community needs adequate?

(b) Does the local community participate In the reviews/ evaluations of the Organisation’s Programmes/ Services?

Never Sometimes Always 1 2 3

(c) Does the local community participate in the recruitment of the Organisation’s staff?

Never Sometimes Always 1 2 3

YES NO 1 2

YES NO 1 2

YES NO 1 2

YES NO 1 2

YES NO 1 2

YES NO 1 2

YES NO 1 2

THE ORGANISATION’S MISSION

THE ORGANISATION’S MANAGEMENT

Self-Completion QUESTIONNAIRE for MANAGERS 6

Programmes/ Services

QM25.Please complete this table for each Programme/Service [P/S] that this organisation provides

The Level of the

[P/S]Content

Duration (months) of the [P/S]

Name of Programme/ Service[P/S]

The Year

that the [P/S]

Started Low

Med

ium

Hig

h Less than

1 1-3 4-6

More than

6

Average No. of clients

over the three years

(2009 to 2011)

Monitoring

QM26. Are the Programmes/ Services periodically reviewed?

Every two years?

Every three years?

Every four years?

Every five years?

YES NO YES NO YES NO YES NO

1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2

Self-Completion QUESTIONNAIRE for MANAGERS 7

Output

QM27. Please complete this table for three discrete Programmes/Services (P/S)

[Note: (a) include only Programmes/ Services of duration one month or more (full-time or part-time) but less than one calendar year.

(b) select one P/S established 5 years ago or longer, one established 3 to 4 years ago, and one 2 years ago or less

(c) for each P/S, select only one Group of clients, for each Year]

Number of APPLICANTS

for the P/S

Number who ENROLLED

on the P/S

Number who COMPLETED

the P/S Programme/ Service Name Year Male female male female male female

2009 2010 2011

2009 2010 2011

2009 2010 2011

Marketing

QM28. Turning to the Organisation’s Marketing plan, what proportion (%) of the Organisation’s budget is committed to Marketing?

QM29. Does the Organisation’s promotional strategy include the following? YES NO (a) A Prospectus ? 1 2 (b) Leaflets for the Programmes/ Services? 1 2 (c) Participation in School careers evenings 1 2 (d) Industrial visits 1 2 (e) Open days 1 2 (f) Exhibitions 1 2 (g) Other ( Please Specify)? 1 2

Human Resource Development

QM30. Please complete the tables below for the Number of non-support staff (in Years 2009 to 2011) who attended the types of Staff Development programmes indicated:-

Professional Development Programmes (including Subject Knowledge updating) Management Development Programmes

In-house Training

Programmes

College-based Training

Programmes

In-house Training Programmes

College-based Training

Programmes Number of staff Number of staff Number of staff Number of staff

Year male female Male female male female male female

2009

2010

2011

%

Self-Completion QUESTIONNAIRE for MANAGERS 8

QM31. Please complete the following table about the total Cost of each type of Staff Development programme for non-supportstaff, per year, for the Years 2009 to 2011?

Professional Development (including Subject Knowledge updating)

Management Development Programmes

In-house Training

Programmes

College-based Training

Programmes

In-house Training Programmes

College-based Training

Programmes Year Cost (in Dalasis) Cost (in Dalasis) Cost (in Dalasis) Cost (in Dalasis)

2009

2010

2011

QM32.Does the Organisation have a formal system for finding out the destinations of its Clients,

3 to 6 months after leaving the Programmes/Services (P/S) which they attended?

If YES: GO TO QM33

If NO: GO TO QM34

QM33 Please complete this table for any three Programmes/ Services that the Organisation offers

Number of former Clients who left P/S ……….

in 2010 in 2011 Programme/ Service Name

male female male female

Destinations of Clients They ………….

gained appropriate employment

had no change employment wise

obtained upgraded employment

continued with training and education

other (Please specify)

gained appropriate employment

had no change employment wise

obtained upgraded employment

continued with training and education

other (Please specify)

gained appropriate employment

had no change employment wise

obtained upgraded employment

continued with training and education

other (Please specify)

YES NO 1 2

OUTCOMES

Self-Completion QUESTIONNAIRE for MANAGERS 9

QM34 Regarding the Organisation’s provision of Programmes/ Services, would you say that as a result of this provision the following have improved?

Much A little Very

little Not at

all NOT SURE

(i) The local Community’s Capacity to address Development problems? 5 4 3 2 1

(ii) The Participation rate in local Community- initiated activities? 5 4 3 2 1

Thank you for completing this questionnaire

and for your time.

Please return the completed questionnaire to

the researcher

or to the ERNWACA Office,

ERNWACA Office, Mile 7, Quarters No. 3,

P.0. Box 4457, Bakau;

as explained in the Introduction

Appendix II (tabulates responses for the Self-Completion Questionnaire) 10

APPENDIX II: THE MANAGEMENT OF NGOs [Note: this appendix tabulates the responses (of the managers of the sampled NGOs) for

the Self-Completion Questionnaire]

N

II,T 1. The number of Managers by Gender; by Age: and by Nationality

Gender Age Nationality

Male Female Less than 30

years old 30 to 45 years old

Over 45 years old

Gambian Non-

Gambian

17 3 2 7 13 20 zero

II,T 2. The number of Managers by Position; and byMode of Employment

Managing Director

Senior Manager

Line Manager (Head of Department/ Division/ Unit)

Other

(please specify)……..…….

Full-Time

Part-Time

3 3 5 9 18 2

II,T 3. The Managers’ Specialist Subject Areas

NGO Managers Frequency Percentage

Development Studies 5 25% Agricultural Science 3 15% Education 3 15% Health 3 15% Management/Business 2 10% Social Work 2 10% Accountancy 1 5% Fisheries Management 1 5% 20 100%

II,T 4. The number of Managers byHighest Professional Qualification in their specialist areas

Certificate Higher /Advanced Certificate or Diploma

Bachelor’s degree

Master’s degree Doctorate Not

Applicable

2 9 3 6 - -

YES 17 II,T 5. The number of Managers who have attended official professional courses /seminars/ conferences /workshops (that are relevant to their present positions in the Organisations) in the last two years NO 3

The PERSONAL BACKGROUNDS of NGO Managers

Appendix II (tabulates responses for the Self-Completion Questionnaire) 11

N

II, T 6. The number of ManagersbyPlace of residence

II, T 7. The number of ManagersbyType of Non-Government Organisation

Local National Regional International

9 9 - 2

II, T 8. The number of Organisations sponsored financially by Divisions

KMC WCR North Bank LowerRiver CentralRiver 12 3 3 1 1

II, T 9. The number of Non-Support staff for the Year2012 by HIGHEST Qualification and Nationality

Nationality Secondary

School Certificate

SeniorSecondary School

Certificate

Technical/ Vocational

Qualification

Tertiary Qualification

Professional Qualification Total

Gambian 36 18 34 47 50 185 Non-Gambian - - - - 12 12

Total 36 18 34 47 62 197

II, T10. The number of Non-Support Staff by Qualified status and Mode of employment

[Note: As used here, the term “Qualified” means having at least a SeniorSecondary School Certificate.

Key: FT= Full-Time; PT= Part-Time ]

Year 2010 Year 2011 Year 2012 Number of StaffbyGender and

Mode of employment male female male female male female

Number of Qualified Staff FT 114 41 142 37 149 39

PT 22 8 16 5 10 2

Number of Unqualified Staff FT 29 13 32 16 27 10

PT 2 - 2 1 2 1

TOTAL number of Staff FT 143 54 174 53 176 49

PT 24 8 18 6 12 3

Percentage of Qualified Staff FT 79.7% 75.9% 81.6% 69.8% 84.6% 79.6%

by Year, Gender and Mode of Employment PT 91.6% 100% 88.8% 83.3% 83.3% 66.7%

Rural Urban Rural-Urban

7 9 4

THE ORGANISATION(S)

Appendix II (tabulates responses for the Self-Completion Questionnaire) 12

II, T 11. The number of registered Clients by Programme/ Service, Gender and Year

[Note: (a) as used here the term “clients” refers to the people registered on the Organisation’s Programmes/ Services

(b) GR stands for Gender Ratio (the number of Female Clients to the number of Male Clients)

Year 2009 Year 2010 Year 2011

Gender Gender Gender

Programme/ Service

Name

male female GR Male female GR male female GR

6 Programmes on good government, rights, HIV

- - - - - 24500 25500 1.04

Adult and non-formal education

- - - 21 273 13.0 14 223 15.9

Boat building 3 - - 3 - - 2 - -

Crop production 30 20 0.67 25 25 1.00 25 25 1.00

Education 150 80 0.53 300 250 0.83 350 200 0.57

English ESOL 17 304 17.8 23 149 6.48 3 73 24.3

Environment 590 2030 3.44 900 2750 3.06 2890 3140 1.09

Fish marketing 25 70 2.80 25 70 2.80 30 60 2.00

Fish processing 15 50 3.33 20 55 2.75 20 60 3.00

Fishing 30 - - 27 - - 27 - -

Horticulture gardening - - 2 175 87.5 2 175 87.5

Malaria project 38458 200 415705

Reflective literacy - - 59 1221 20.7 59 1462 24.8

Rice production - 3000 138 997 7.22 373 509 1.36

Sexual intervention project* - 360 * - 525 * - 455 *

Tourism 700 400 0.57 900 600 0.67 1100 700 0.64

[Key: ……..more females; * only females.

II,T 12. The number of Programmes, Clients, and Staff and the Organisations’ running Budgets per year

Total No. of Programmes

Total No. of Clients,

Total Number of Staff, per year

Total Budget, per year

Year offered, per year per year Full-Time Part-Time (Dalassis)

2009 6 44,606 53 4 D 10,162,003

2010 10 11,147 71 3 D 15,610,874

2011 10 427,553 72 3 D 23,563,041

Appendix II (tabulates responses for the Self-Completion Questionnaire) 13

II,T 13.The number of NGOs’ mission

statements validated . . . . . . . by external validation 2

by internal validation 7

by external and internal

validation 7

Other 4

II,T 14. The number of NGOs that reviewed

their mission statements . . . . . . every year 5

every two years 2

every three years 3

every five years 3

no reviews 3

Other 1

II,T 15.The number of NGOs that reviewed their

statements about their general objectives every year 5

every two years 1

every three years 2

every four years 5

every five years 3

no review 3

Other 1

II,T 16. The number of Organisations that had a corporate Strategic Plan

II,T 17.The number of Managers who thought that the assumptions underlying their Strategic Plan were reasonable

II,T 18. The number of NGOs where the Action Plans for the Organisation were the result of discussions with the local communities

II,T 19. The number of NGOs where the

Organisation’s running budget was (a) broken down into Cost Centres (b) analysed by

Programme/ Service/ Project activity

Needs Analysis II,T 20. The number of NGOs

where there are established procedures at the Organisation level for identifying Community needs

II,T 21.The number of NGOs where . . . .

(a) the capacity for researching local community needs was adequate

(b) the local community participated in the reviews /evaluations of the Organisation’s Programmes/ Services

Never Sometimes Always 1 11 8

(c) the local community participated in the recruitment of the Organisation’s staff

Never Sometimes Always 16 4 -

YES NO 16 6

YES NO NA 13 1 6

YES NO NA 12 2 6

YES NO (a) 12 8 (b) 14 6

YES NO 19 1

YES NO 12 8

THE ORGANISATION’S MISSION

THE ORGANISATION’S MANAGEMENT

Appendix II (tabulates responses for the Self-Completion Questionnaire) 14

Programmes/ Services

II,T 22. The Average number of Clients by Programme/ Service Subject Area and Duration over the years 2009 to 2011

Duration (months) of the [P/S] Name of Programme/ Service [P/S] Less

than 1 1-3 4-6 More than 6

Average No. of clients over the

three years (2009 to 2011)

Malaria project √ 452,358

Lower Niumi environment and national resources √ 2,500

Community action for environment conservation of Mgt. √ 2,400

Tourism √ 1,466

Reflective literacy √ 1,340

Rice production √ 1,136

Gambia local government talks √ 1,000

Sexual intervention agent √ 455

Education √ 443

Environment √ 133

Farming √ 37

Publication √ 29

Training institute √ 21

Lobbying and advocacy √ 10

Research √ 6

Capacity building √ 5

Development communication √ 3

HIV project √

Monitoring

II, T 23. The number of NGOs that periodically reviewed their Programmes/ Services

Every two years Every three years Every four years Every five years

YES NO YES NO YES NO YES NO

10 10 2 18 - 20 3 17

Appendix II (tabulates responses for the Self-Completion Questionnaire) 15

Marketing

II, T 24. The number of NGOs that included in their promotional strategy . . . . . .

YES NO

(d) A Prospectus 3 17

(e) Leaflets for the Programmes/ Services 7 13

(f) Participation in (i) School careers evenings 3 17

(ii) Industrial visits 3 17

(iii) Open days 5 15

(iv) Exhibitions 7 13

(v) Other (Website, sharing publication reports) 2 18

Human Resource Development

II, T 25. The Number of non-support staff (in Years 2009 to 2011) who attended the different types of Staff Development programmes offered:-

Professional Development Programmes (including Subject Knowledge updating)

Management Development Programmes

In-house Training

Programmes

College-based Training

Programmes

In-house Training Programmes

College-based Training

Programmes Number of staff Number of staff Number of staff Number of staff

Year male female Male female Male female male female

2009 34 12 4 3 14 3 2 -

2010 24 12 2 1 39 10 3 2

2011 25 7 9 5 12 5 9 5

Total 83 33 15 9 65 18 14 7

II, T 26. The total Cost of each type of Staff Development programme for non-support staff, per year, for the Years 2009 to 2011

Professional Development (including Subject Knowledge updating)

Management Development Programmes

In-house Training

Programmes

College-based Training

Programmes

In-house Training

Programmes

College-based Training

Programmes Year Cost (in Dalassis) Cost (in Dalassis) Cost (in Dalassis) Cost (in Dalassis)

2009 D 102, 200 D 465,000 D 65, 000 D 68, 000

2010 D 228, 200 D 515,780 D 11, 200 D 90, 000

2011 D 125, 000 D 750,000 D 81, 000 D 84, 950

TOTAL D 455, 400 D 1,730, 780 D 157, 200 D 292, 950

Appendix II (tabulates responses for the Self-Completion Questionnaire) 16

Appendix II (tabulates responses for the Self-Completion Questionnaire) 17

II,T 27. The number of NGOs that have a formal system for finding out the destinations of their Clients, 3 to 6 months after leaving the Programmes/Services (P/S) which they attended

II,T 28.

The number of NGOs Managers who said that as a result of their Organisations’

provision of Programmes/ Services, Much A little Very little

Not at all

Not Sure

(a) The local Community’s Capacity to address Development problems had improved

8 - 11 - 1

(b) The Participation rate in local Community- initiated activities had improved

14 4 5 - 1

YES 6 NO 14

OUTCOMES

Appendix II (tabulates responses for the Self-Completion Questionnaire) 18

Appendix III

THE INTERVIEW GUIDE FOR

THE INDIVIDUAL INTERVIEWS OF MANAGERS

The Official Designation of the Sector Code

The Health Sector H

The Education Sector E

The Agriculture Sector (Social Dimensions) A

ID Code for each respondent in each sector

For Health For Education For Agriculture (Social Dimensions)

HI …………… EI …………… AI ……………

[Notes for the Interviewer:

Please:

(a) ensure well in advance of the interview that the appropriate authorities understand the aim of this project and have: (i) given their consent for this first individual confidentialinterview (ii) set aside a quiet room for the interview (iii) allocatedone hour or so for this purpose

(b) explain to the interviewee that: (i) the word “organisation” is used here for convenience sake (ii) the aim of this first interview is to reflect on a number of issues, some of which were raised

in the completed Questionnaire (iii)you may need to interview him/her again in order to clarify further some issues (iv) you may need to interview other stakeholders

(c)frame the questions in this Interview Guide as appropriate in the particular context of the organisation but you should ask all the questions, including, importantly, the PROBE questions.

(d) ensure that you bring enough writing paper and a spare pen for the interview

(e) explain that in this Interview the term Organisation can refer to either the Organisation as a whole or to one of its Departments/ Divisions/ Units, and then agree on the focus of the interview]

Date ……… …… ……….

(day) (month) (year)

NGOs’ PERFORMANCE STANDARDS STUDY

Appendix II (tabulates responses for the Self-Completion Questionnaire) 19

MISSION

G1. The Mission statement:

Who was involved in the development of the mission statement? (e.g. was it the governors, the principal, the senior management, local Community leaders?).

ORGANISATIONAL STRATEGIES

G2. (a) Who was involved in articulating the organisational aims and objectives?

G2. (b) Who was involved in making Departmental/ Unit strategy statements? e.g. the management; support staff; clients;

parents; employers.

G2. (c) In what ways does the Organisation respond to the identified Community needs?

Answer G2. (d) Can I ask you which ONE of the

following is MOST informative for Planning Purposes

(i) Active Marketing; (ii) Employment Trends; (iii) Industry / Business, initiative (iv) Collaboration with stakeholders.

MANAGEMENT

Quality AssuranceG3.Is there a system of internal validation for Programme/ Service proposals prior

to final validation?

PROBEthe involvement of Externals in the system

Monitoring

G4. How does the Organisation monitor its Programmes/ Services?

PROBE Is it through the views of Clients/ Staff /Employers

G5.Does the Organisation monitor the cost per Programme/ Service review against agreed targets?

G6. Are the review/ monitoring/ evaluation activities conveyed to and analysed by the government’s National Stakeholder Monitoring Group?

If YES: PROBE the effectiveness of this protocol/ code of practice. If NO: GO TO G7

Leadership

G7. Can you explain. In what ways do the Organisation’s managers ensure that the Programmes/ Services are relevant to the demands of the communities that they serve?

PROBE, Can I just check the Number of new demand-driven developments introduced?

………...

Appendix II (tabulates responses for the Self-Completion Questionnaire) 20

G8. Do the Senior Managers in this Organisation work as a team?

If YES:PROBE:

Can you explain how managers ensure effective team development?

If NO:GO TO G9

Marketing G9. Has the Organisation determined the cost-effectiveness of its marketing strategies?

PROBE the effectiveness and the cost in turn

Management Control

G10. Have key Performance Indicators (e.g. the number of Clients enrolled and the number of dropouts) been established for all Programme/ Service managers?

PROBE are deviations highlighted and explained through the monitoring mechanism?

G11. Are there opportunities for comparing the Performance Standards of the various NGOs within this Sector?

PROBE: how each such comparison might be made and what would be the outcome of such comparisons

G12. Are the systems for authorising payments regularly followed, and are they subject to annual financial audit?

Communication G13. Which ONE of the following methods

for the communication of Organisational decisions to staff is the MOST effective?

Administrative Support

G14.Continuing with the topic of effectiveness, would you say that the administrative support service here is on the whole effective?

PROBE: Is it efficient? PROBE: Can you explain the basis for your views.

G15. (a) Are the support staff consulted and/or involved in every decision-making which affects their work? YESNO

PROBE:

(b) Are they represented on management meetings (i.e. those at Senior Management level and/or those at Line Management level)?

The publication of the Organisation’s Key documents (such as the Mission statement)

a

Newsletters b Programme Team meetings c

Appendix II (tabulates responses for the Self-Completion Questionnaire) 21

Income-Generating Activities

G16. I would now like to explore a different issue.

Can I ask you………..

(a) Has the Organisation got plans for extending the range of income-generating activities?

PROBE the range, the areas of activity,and the perceived benefit to accrue from such activities

(b) Are the income-generating activities exempt from taxation? YESNO

External Relationships

G17. In what ways does the Organisation monitor its relationships with external organisations (including other NGOs)?

PROBE: Which of these ways is the most effective?

G18. Are reports of the Organisation’s local surveys/ studies/ workshops disseminated to other local NGOs?

G19. Would you describe this Organisation’s ethos as one in which staff involvement is promoted (e.g. through participation in joint activities with outside bodies)? YESNO

IF YES: PROBEthe staff involvement in different types of activities

IF NO: GO TO G20

RESOURCES

Equipment and Materials

G20. What are the Organisation’s arrangements for managing and utilising its equipment and material resources?

PROBE the arrangements for replacing and/or updating equipment

Appendix II (tabulates responses for the Self-Completion Questionnaire) 22

OUTCOMES

The next issue about which I would welcome your overall view of this Organisation’s efforts is that of the Programmes/ Services delivery.

G21. Does the Organisation monitor the satisfaction of external bodies with the delivery of its Programmes/ Services that is, bodies such as, the Departments of State; the National Training Agencies; the Local Government Authorities; the Trade Unions; the Educational Institutions; local Communities)? YESNO

IF YES: PROBE the monitoring procedures for appraising external satisfaction with the Programmes/ Services?

IF NO: GO TO G22

G22. (a)Are there supportive procedures for dealing with Clients’ complaints? YESNO

PROBE: Can you take me through these procedures

(b) Does the Organisation provide effective Counselling on its Programmes/ Services?

YESNO

G23. Have you any other comments which would help this organisation to be more effective in achieving its Objectives?

Many thanks for your participation in this study

Interview Guide For Clients 1

Appendix IV

EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH NETWORK FOR

WEST AND CENTRAL AFRICA N

THE INTERVIEW GUIDE FOR COMMUNITY LEADERS, UNION LEADERS, EMPLOYERS, PROFESSIONAL BODIES

AND THE ORGANISATION’S CLIENTS

The Official Designation of the Sector Code

The Health Sector H

The Education Sector E

The Agriculture Sector (Social Dimensions) A

Respondent’s ORGANISATION(If any)

ID Code for EACH RESPONDENT in each sector SECTOR Position in his/her Organisation ID code

For Health HI…………

For Education EI…………

For Agriculture (Social Dimensions) AI…………

Introduction [Note: Interviewers must:-

(a) Ensurewellin advance of the individual interviews that: (i) all appropriate arrangements have been made for each interview to be conducted in a

quiet room and for the agreed time of about one hour]

(ii) they familiarise themselves with the Questionnaire data and the Interview data already collected from the Managers

(b) start each interview with a brief introduction explaining the aim of the interview, its approach, and the assurance of confidentiality as regards the respondent’s responses.

Date ……… …… ………. (day) (month) (year)

THE NGOs’ PERFORMANCE STANDARDS STUDY

Interview Guide For Clients 2

(c) frame the questions, as appropriate, but they should ask all of the questions including, importantly, the PROBE questions ]

QC1. Can I start with a question about Communication with this organisation from your experience

(a) How easy is it to contact the Organisation?

PROBE

(b) Does the Organisation respond to legitimate comments?

Please Turn Over.

(c) How easy is it to access the Organisation’s official documents (such as those about the Programmes/ Services)?

QC2. Can I just check also: Have you seen any materials for fund-raising purposes that the Organisation publishes?

IF YES: GO TO QC3 IF NO: GO TO QC4

QC3. Do you agree or disagree that the materials published by this Organisation ……….

Strongly Disagree

Disagree Not Sure Agree Strongly Agree

(i) are realistic? 5 4 3 2 1 (ii) are accurate? 5 4 3 2 1 (iii) acknowledge the limits of what it

can achieve? 5 4 3 2 1

(iv) describe its contribution to improving society and people’s lives?

5 4 3 2 1

QC3. (a) PROBE the justification for his/ her response to Item (ii)

QC3. (b) PROBE also the justification for his/her response to Item (iv)

QC4. Can I ask you. Do you participate in:

(a) the Organisation’s own assessment of its Performance? PROBE his/her involvement in monitoring, evaluating, reviewing, the Organisation’s

performance and the maintenance of standards

(b) the Organisation’s Planning activities? PROBE the type, variety, frequency, relevance, and purpose of these activities, such as

Strategic Planning, Action Plans, Policy decisions etc.

Very easy

Fairly easy

Quite easy

easy Not at all easy

5 4 3 2 1

YES NO 1 2

Interview Guide For Clients 3

QC5. Would you say that the Organisation has a sensitive understanding of the realities of life for its Clients?

PROBE the extent to which this understanding is reflected in the Programmes/ Services content

QC6. Can I follow this up with another question? Do you think the Organisation’s Programmes/

YES NO

Services have brought about changes in the lives of its Clients? 1 2

(g) In their earnings? 1 2

(h) In opportunities for productive activity? 1 2

(i) In their confidence in their own abilities? 1 2

PROBE the explanation for (b)

PROBE the explanation for (c)

QC7. Let us now turn to the Standard of Performance of the Organisation as regards its Programmes/ Services. If you were in a position to advise this Organisation about improving the standard of its Performance, what would you say?

QC8. Have you any other comments which would help this Organisation to be more effective in achieving its Objectives?

Thank you very much for your participation in this study

and for your time.