FANRPAN DUE DILIGENCE

MAIN FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

23rd February 2010

Introduction

Study Background

SADC initiative to promote food security and poverty reduction by strengthening seed security and disaster preparedness of smallholder farmers

SDC Phase I support to SADC - project facilitated the development of a regional protocol to harmonise seed policies in the region

SDC Planned Phase II support – To promote domestication of the seed protocol through evidence-based policy change and institutional capacity building

FANRPAN proposal submitted to SDC – application for 4 –year grant of USD4.2m to implement Phase II

Study Objectives

Overall objective (2 components) Assess adequacy of FANRPAN organisational

systems and resources to manage the risks associated with large multi-stakeholder project implementation

Assess FANRPAN management’s ability to implement effective due diligence and meet monitoring, and reporting requirements for the USD 4.2 million grant requested

Assessment Criteria

Assessment criteria

Sub-issues to be analyzed

1. Governance BoardConstituencyAccountabilityLegality

2. Organizational development

Expertise for programme implementationAdequacy of staffing capacityRoles and responsibilitiesQuality of M&E SystemsFinancial Management Systems (fiduciary risk)Treatment of cross-cutting themes (gender, HIV and AIDS, environmental sustainability, innovation, etc)

3. Programme and Project Management

Programme reportingInter- institutional links

4. Milestones achieved Most significant developments/stages achieved

5. Struggles Challenges/constraints

Methods

Workplan

Activity Key dates (Year 2009)

Briefing by SDC – Pretoria 31 AugustBriefing by FANRPAN CEO - Maputo 1 SeptemberFANRPAN Regional Secretariat Visit 15 – 18

SeptemberZimbabwe Country Visit 21 – 25

SeptemberZambia Country Visit 27 – 30

SeptemberMalawi Country Visit 30 Sept – 3

OctoberReport writing 6-10 OctoberPresentation of Draft Report 16 OctoberSubmission of Final Report 21 October

Data Collection Literature review Key informant interviews “Walk through” system reviews

Analytical Tools Best practice standards - SDC benchmarks Institutional assessment framework PIVA rating scale

A=Mature/viable B=Consolidating C=Emerging D=Nascent/Start-up

System-wide concept of capacity

UNDP System-wide Concept of Capacity

P

Corporate Governance System

Financial Management

System

Human Resources

Management System

Staff

Bro

ader

Sys

tem

Main Findings

Governance -1-Legality Officially registered as PVO in Zimbabwe in 2003

Signed an Agreement with the Government of South Africa in 2006 and accorded full diplomatic status and privileges

Dual “registration” reduces risk of discontinuity due to political or social disturbances in any one of the two countries of registration

FANRPAN complies with statutory reporting requirements of its registration submits audited statements and annual reports to GoZ through reputable law firm

Governance -2-

Mandate Mandate given in 1994 by FANR Ministers and Heads of

State and Government from the Southern African region

FANRPAN stakeholders keen to get solid evidence to support their policy positions and advocacy work

Farmers, private sector, NGOs, researchers keen to engage government on equal terms through “neutral” platform – and craft constitution (26.11.2002) and amended (7.09.2009).

Governance -3-

Constituency Started as few academicians but now broadened to

include policy makers in government, private sector, civil society, and farmers

Diversity of membership (sectors, skills, countries of origin, interests, etc)

Derives legitimacy from own constitution – though not yet self- financing activities of its Secretariat

Fast-growing membership – Now Network of networks…

Governance -4-

Constituency – 2009 FANRPAN Dialogue Media 19 Government 34 Farmers 16 Researchers 26 CSOs 16 Private sector 29 UN/Other 25 Node Hosts 13 FANRPAN 15

Governance -5-

Leadership and Management Several layers of accountability

FANRPAN AGM FANRPAN Board of Governors AGMs of Node Hosting Institutions Boards of Node Hosting Institutions Annual Node Common Visioning Meetings

Governance -6-

Leadership and Management High profile persons in the boards

Bring expertise Have social capital Strong commitment to success of FANRPAN Link to funding opportunities and advocacy platforms “Able to give strategic direction”

Governance -7-

Governance -8-

Governance -9-

Leadership and Management COMESA and SADC represented as RIOs

– but SADC attendance is irregular Donor representative

Ensures transparency Strengthens donor coordination

Private sector representative More difficult to get, especially if woman

Governance -10-Leadership and Management CEO highly rated by members of the network

Woman visionary, and strong leadership qualities Sacrificed for the network on several occasions The only staff member on long-term contract (5 years) Been with FANRPAN since early days, also ex-Board

Member “Delivers what she promises”, Marko Ngwenya, Director of

World Vision International Swaziland “Is an ambassador for Malawi”, Idrissa Mwale, Chief

Economist, Ministry of Transport, Malawi Conscious of need for succession planning but constrained

by the short tenure of contracts for subordinates

Governance SummaryOverall rating: “A” – Viable/mature

Issues of concern/Recommendations: Secure Board member from private sector Strengthen ownership by SADC

signing of MoU with SADC Strengthen participation and coordination of donor

support sell the corporate results framework, strategy and Business

Plan and resource requirements as package to donors donors to shift from projects joint financing of FANRPAN

Business Plan in line with the 5 Paris Declaration Principles

Organizational Management -1-

Expertise for programme implementation Vast improvement in staffing situation (2008-

9): 7 new staff Key challenge is short-term contracts (one-year) Not able to fill positions of thematic programme

directors – resources for package inadequate Seed expertise (crop science) limited Seed expertise can be drawn from members

Need planning meetings at project start

Organizational Management -2-Staff member Position Academic Qualifications Salary

Scale Date

JoinedCurrent

Contract Technical Staff1. Lindiwe Sibanda Chief Executive Officer PhD Agriculture / Animal Production D2 Gross (4) August-04 Dec.07 - Dec.12

2. Oluwole Olaleye Director of Research Master of Philosophy (Social Science Research Methods)

P2 Gross (12) June-09 Jun.09 - May.10

3. Francis Hale Director of Communication and Advocacy Masters in Business Administration P2 Gross (4) April-09 Apr.09 - Mar.10

4. David Kamchacha Director - Agriculture Inputs and Outputs Markets

PhD Business Administration P2 Gross (1) February-09 Feb.09 - Jan.10

5. Sithembile Ndema Programme Manager - Agriculture Inputs and Output Markets

Bachelor of Social Science (Hons) P1 Gross (1) March-08 Apr.09 - Mar.11

6. Chansa Chisanga Programme Manager - Food Systems Masters – International Relations P1 Gross (1) February-09 Feb.09 - Jul.09Administrative Staff7. Sharon Alfred Office Manager Diploma in Business Studies P1 Gross (1) June-04 Apr.09 - Mar.12

8. Lufingo Mwamakamba

Protocol and Networking Officer Masters in Health Promotion and Public Health

P1 Gross (1) August-05 Feb.08 - Mar.11

9. Samuel Manda Finance Officer Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting

P1 Gross (1) June-07 Jul.08 - Jun.09

10. Getrude Chanakira Finance Officer CIS Part B P1 Gross (1) June-09 Jun.09 - May.10Staff Members - No Longer with FANRPAN11. Douglas Merrey Director of Research PhD Anthropology Jul. 06 - Dec. 0812. Fred Kalibwani Project Officer Masters in Development Studies Jun. 05 - Sep. 0613. Sizwile Sibindi Finance Officer National Diploma in Accountancy Aug. 08 - May 09

Organizational Management -3-

Adequacy of staffing levels at Regional Secretariat

Project managers (and some consultants) assigned dual roles project and thematic portfolio management

Some staff multi-tasked and overworked Quality assurance of technical reports/research

outputs needs more attention Outsourcing of research and some project

management tasks to members of the Network keeps the network productively engaged in FANRPAN activities

Organizational Management -4-Adequacy of staffing levels at Node Secretariat levelAdequate skills for voiceRather weak in operational research, capacity building and sometimes financial managementFANRPAN activities usually not the core function

Except where mandates are similar (e.g., ACF Zambia) No dedicated staff for FANRPAN activities

Node secretariats not self-financed but donor dependent Staff funded through short-term projects

Generally not able to attract and retain top talent Skills upgrading done in-house – tied to projects (CISANET had 3

of 5 project staff on 2-year MSc courses) – lost time Some nodes rely on volunteers – but only as short-term solution

Organizational Management -5-Quality of Financial Management SystemsGrowing portfolio: 10 projects, annual spending of USD 1.5m (position at Sept 2009)Efficient project reporting through computerized accounting system and own reporting formatAdequate segregation of duties – good practiceDue diligence done on Node hosting institution prior to grant award – FANRPAN support pre-conditioned on clean audit – good practiceRegular production of monthly management accounts that are discussed in monthly meetingsQuarterly financial reports produced & shared with the Board

Organizational Management -6- Up-to-date annual audited accounts presented to

Board and AGM Limited tenure of contract for external auditors –

good practice USAID – long-standing funding partner is satisfied Auditors raised concerns on liquidity constraint

Working capital reserve considered too low Predictable long-term funding commitment from the

network and from donors is needed

Organizational Management -7- Financial management capacity not even at node

level – Real – Life Example: No financial policies, and weak enforcement Use of manual accounting system No real strategic plan to guide the organisation Board meetings not regular Board too busy to follow-up Secretariat AGA not regular (lack of funding, dependency on one

donor for the event?)

Organizational Management -8-Quality of M&E Systems Main instrument is the Partner Institutional Viability

Assessment (PIVA) Introduced in 2005 Monitors capacity building outcomes in relation to organizational

development of Regional Secretariat and Nodes Indicators: governance, operations and management, human

resources development, financial management and service delivery, and external relations and advocacy

Baseline established in August 2005, update done in August 2007, next update was planned for 2009

Results have been used to inform decisions on the capacity building project Significant progress in governance and financial management Slower progress in human resources development and service delivery

Organizational Management -8- No holistic RBM, need to define first results framework at

Strategy level, then develop strategy to achieve the results (strategic plan), then medium term programme of action (business plan) and specific activities (projects) to generate the outputs, outcomes and impacts identified at the strategic level

No logframe for Business Plan No M&E framework for Business Plan No baseline situation for Business Plan - except for

indicators tracked through individual projects (PIVA) M&E is project-based, results frameworks are at project

level, no mechanism to see the full picture of results Focus on projects leads to focus on outputs and less on

outcomes and impacts

Holistic RBMModel

Yes

Partly

No

No

Partly

Partly

Partly

Partly

Organizational Management -9-

Treatment of cross-cutting issues Cross-cutting issues to some extent being

addressed directly through specific projects WARM - gender issues HVI project - HIV and AIDS issues Several projects - climate change, water, biofuels and

biosafety No explicit policies on treatment of cross-cutting

issues In-house capacity to mainstream cross-cutting

issues to be strengthened

Summary of Organizational Management

Overall Rating: “B” - Consolidating

Issues of concern/Recommendations:Inability to recruit senior staff – thematic programme directors:

need joint financing strategy for core activitiesMobilization of longer term funding so as to enable issuance of longer term staff contractsRecruit more staff at node level

full-time research and capacity building coordinators

Summary of Organizational Management

Strengthen financial management at node level Recruit seed expertise at Regional Secretariat

and node levels to coordinate the SDC project activities

Develop results framework for FANRPAN Strategic Plan, logframe for Business Plan

Align projects with corporate results framework In-house capacity building on mainstreaming

cross-cutting issues

Programme and Project Management -1-

Programme Reporting FANRPAN has adequate capacity to generate the

technical and financial reports (USAID and CTA) Reporting for new projects will require additional

staff Core-funding support needed to recruit Director of

Finance

Programme and Project Management -2-Inter-institutional links 50 MoUs already signed (as of Sept 2009) with

technical and funding partners RECs (1) Nodes (13) Regional/international universities (10) CG System (6) Host governments (2) Federations of farmer unions (2) NGOs, research foundations, other (17)

FANRPAN benefiting greatly from expertise, learnings and financial and material support from these networks

SADC not yet signed MoU

Summary of Programme and Project Management

Overall Rating: “B” Consolidating

Issues of concern/Recommendations: MoU with SADC

Board to take this issue up and engage SADC at the highest level

FANRPAN to intensify its visibility Nodes to sell FANRPAN activities at national level Secretariat to hold organize special briefing sessions

with SADC Secretariat

Milestones

Summary of Main Achievements

Call for FANRPAN by FANR Ministers 1994 Formal registration achieved 2003 Relocation of Secretariat and revamping of

organizational systems (2005) Node Common Visioning meetings start (2006) FANRPAN Website modernized (2006) Agreement signed with COMESA and FARA

(2007)

Summary of Main Achievements Strategic Plan Revised and Business Plan

Launched (2007) FANRPAN Constitution Reviewed (2007) Accounting procedures manual developed and

aligns with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (2007)

FANRPAN launches staff recruitment drive to consolidate establishment (2007)

Summary of Main Achievements Pastel Multi-currency System introduced

(2008) FANRPAN introduces Partners’ Meeting

(2008) FANRPAN introduces Annual Food

Security Policy Leadership Award (2008)**

Summary of Main Achievements

Summary of Main Achievements

Summary of Main Achievements

Struggles

Summary of Challenges

Main one is Co-funding

THE REST CAN BE OVERCOME!!

Thank You!