Global Hand recommends InterAction’s PVO Standards, summarised here, where applicable to these issues.

The following is designed to be read in light of Principles, and Cross-referential Issues.

Information Sources? Please see our Reference Material to read, in full, those documents from which our draft standards are drawn.

Feedback? We would be grateful to hear from you if you have:

• Relevant resources
• Comments or suggestions or stories
• Stories of product unwisely/wisely placed.

Please email us at enquiries@globalhand.org

3.6. Programme

3.6.1. Initial assessment

Global Hand recommends InterAction’s PVO Standards where applicable to this issue.

Member comments:
Under 3.6.1 (and many other sections, including 3.6.2.1), the Sphere Project considers the member agency as providing the primary services and coordination in the field. It was suggested that Global Hand members may be several rungs down the “impact ladder” and therefore would have little control or contact with direct implementation and evaluation of projects.

3.6.1.1.

“In the planning of programs and projects, a member shall consider the full range of potential impacts upon the host country including: the potential to strengthen the capacity of local structures and institutions to absorb constructively financial and other inputs, and where resources exceed capacity, to create new auxiliary structures such as locally controlled foundations or funds; the potential for sustaining the program in the future; the effect upon the demand and markets for locally produced goods and services; the potential for individual and community empowerment; and the effects upon the natural environment and ecosystems.”

Program Standard 7.1: General Program Standards, Interaction PVO Standards

3.6.1.2.

“Materials provided shall be appropriate, based on an assessment of local needs, and sensitive to the local culture and situation. Any donations of goods and services will be accessible to disabled men, women and children.”
Program Standard 7.6: Material Assistance, Interaction PVO Standards

See InterAction’s PVO Standards for further detail.

Global Hand recommends The Sphere Project for guidelines on initial assessment.

3.6.1.3.

“Assessments provide an understanding of the disaster situation and a clear analysis of threats to life, dignity, health and livelihoods to determine, in consultation with the relevant authorities, whether an external response is required and, if so, the nature of the response.”

Common standard 2: initial assessment, page 29 Sphere Handbook 2004 Revised Edition

Key indicators include:

• “Information is gathered using standardised procedures and made available to allow for transparent decision-making.”
• “The assessment considers all technical sectors (water and sanitation, nutrition, food, shelter, health), and the physical, social, economic, political and security environment.”
• “Through consultation, the assessment takes into account the responses of the local and national authorities and other actors and agencies.”

See the Sphere Project for further detail.

3.6.2. Programme Activities

Global Hand recommends InterAction’s PVO Standards where applicable to this issue.

3.6.2.1.

“A member’s program shall facilitate self-reliance, self-help, popular participation and sustainable development, so as to avoid dependency.”

Program Standard 7.0: General Program Standards, Interaction PVO Standards

Member comments:
Section 3.6.2.1 is another example where Sphere assumes that the member has control of implementation and evaluation. (See member comments under section 3.6.1.)

3.6.2.2.

“In its program activities, members shall respect and foster human rights, both socio-economic and civil-political.”

Program Standard 7.0: General Program Standards, Interaction PVO Standards

3.6.2.3.

“A member’s programs shall respect the dignity, values, history, religion, and culture of the people served.”

Program Standard 7.0: General Program Standards, Interaction PVO Standards

3.6.2.4.

“A member’s fundamental concern shall be the well-being of those affected; its programs shall assist those who are at risk without political, religious, gender, or other discrimination; and a high priority shall be given to strengthening the capacities of the most vulnerable groups, typically women, children, minorities, the disabled, and the very poor.”

Program Standard 7.0: General Program Standards, Interaction PVO Standards

3.6.2.5.

“Where possible, programs shall promote the advancement of the status of women and their empowerment.”

Program Standard 7.0: General Program Standards, Interaction PVO Standards

3.6.2.6.

“A member shall be willing to share program knowledge and experience with program participants, other agencies, donors, and other constituencies.”

Member comments:
It was suggested that 3.6.2.6 should exclude information the member considers proprietary.

Program Standard 7.0: General Program Standards, Interaction PVO Standards

3.6.2.7.

“Members shall adhere to the professional standards in their field of activity.”

Program Standard 7.0: General Program Standards, Interaction PVO Standards

3.6.2.8.

“A member shall use its best efforts to ensure that assistance is provided on a non-discriminatory basis. To the maximum extent possible, disaster response should be treated as a humanitarian and non-political matter.” Program Standard 7.5: Emergency, Civil Conflict, and Disaster Response, Interaction PVO Standards

3.6.2.9.

“Programs involving the provision of emergency and material assistance shall be carried out, to the maximum extent feasible, in a manner intended to undergird and enhance local know-how and productive capacity, to avoid the creation of dependencies, to reduce vulnerability to future disasters, and to lay the basis for longer term development.”

Program Standard 7.6: Material Assistance, Interaction PVO Standards

3.6.2.10.

“A member utilizing gifts-in-kind shall have policies that clearly describe the valuation and auditing methods used, including diminution of value based on dating and shelf life; establish limits to the number of times that goods will be passed to other PVOs before being passed on to an end user; assure that only gifts-in-kind that are related to the basic mission and purposes of the organization, and that are appropriate to the local situation, will be received and disbursed; that processing fees will be assessed in relation to the cost incurred, not to the value of the goods involved; that gifts-in-kind will be used for the purpose intended by the donor and will not be diverted for financial gain unrelated to the purpose for which the gift was made; and that proper documentation will be maintained on all gift-in-kind transactions.” Program Standard 7.6: Material Assistance, Interaction PVO Standards

3.6.2.11.

“Members involved in development assistance shall be guided by the professional standards developed by recognized authorities related to their sectoral areas of discipline. Examples could include, but are not limited to the following: the”Guidelines for Drinking Water Quality"promulgated by the World Health Organization;“Housing and Health: An Agenda for Action”promulgated by the World Health Organization; the"World Declaration on the Survival, Protection and Development of Children"promulgated by UNICEF; and"Learning for All: Bridging Domestic and International Education; Conference Report, US Coalition for Education for All"." Program Standard 7.9: Development, Interaction PVO Standards

See InterAction’s PVO Standards for further detail.

3.6.3. Participation of the Affected Population

Global Hand recommends InterAction’s PVO Standards where applicable to this issue.

Member comments:
In reference to section 3.6.3, one member considers that local consultation is valuable up to a certain degree which varies with each situation. For example, educated townspeople in Honduras may be better equipped to assess their needs and evaluations, perhaps, than the pigmy groups in East Africa. See also comments under section 1.1.3.

3.6.3.1.

“Participants from all groups affected should, to the maximum extent possible, be responsible for the design, implementation, and evaluation of projects and programs.” Program Standard 7.0: General Program Standards, Interaction PVO Standards

3.6.3.2.

“A member shall give priority to working with or through local and national institutions and groups, encouraging their creation where they do not already exist, or strengthening them where they do.” Program Standard 7.0: General Program Standards, Interaction PVO Standards

See InterAction’s PVO Standards for further detail.

Global Hand also recommends The Sphere Project for guidelines on participation of the affected population.

3.6.3.3.

“The disaster-affected population actively participates in the assessment, design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the assistance programme.”

Common standard 1: participation, page 28 Sphere Handbook 2004 Revised Edition

Key indicators include:

• “Women and men of all ages from the disaster-affected and wider local populations, including vulnerable groups, receive information about the assistance programme, and are given the opportunity to comment to the assistance agency during all stages of the project cycle.”

Guidance notes include:

• “Local capacity: participation in the programme should reinforce people’s sense of dignity and hope in times of crisis, and people should be encouraged to participate in programmes in different ways. Programmes should be designed to build upon local capacity and to avoid undermining people’s own coping strategies.”

• “Communication and transparency: the sharing of information and knowledge among all those involved is fundamental to achieving a better understanding of the problem and to providing coordinated assistance. The results of assessments should be actively communicated to all concerned organisations and individuals. Mechanisms should be established to allow people to comment on the programme e.g. by means of public meetings or via community-based organisations. For individuals who are homebound or disabled, specific outreach programmes may be required.”

See the Sphere Project for further detail.  

3.6.4. Monitoring and Evaluation

Global Hand recommends InterAction’s PVO Standards where applicable to this issue.

3.6.4.1.

“A member shall have defined procedures for evaluating, both qualitatively and quantitatively, its programs and projects. These procedures shall address both the efficiency of the use of inputs, and the effectiveness of the outputs, i.e. the impacts on the program participants, and the relationship of these impacts to the cost of achieving them.”

Program Standard 7.1: General Program Standards, Interaction PVO Standards

 
bq. Member comments:
A Global Hand member suggested that having"defined procedures for evaluating, both qualitatively and quantitatively, its programs and projects"(Section 3.6.4.1) could be a burden for smaller NGOs who only send gifts-in-kind (GIK), and are not involved in the distribution of goods. This member suggested that, while monitoring and evaluation is vital, it should be, perhaps, a responsibility for the field staff of the organisation distributing the goods.

See InterAction’s PVO Standards for further detail.

Global Hand also recommends The Sphere Project for guidelines on monitoring and evaluation.

3.6.4.2.

“The effectiveness of the programme in responding to problems is identified and changes in the broader context are continually monitored, with a view to improving the programme, or to phasing it out as required.”

Common standard 5: monitoring, page 37 Sphere Handbook 2004 Revised Edition

3.6.4.3.

“There is a systematic and impartial examination of humanitarian action, intended to draw lessons to improve practice and policy and to enhance accountability.”

Common standard 6: evaluation, page 39 Sphere Handbook 2004 Revised Edition

See the Sphere Project for further detail.