Project Management

Hi
It is now time to mainstream the whole concept of human rights in programmes. I work with an African NGO (GRASSROOTS ACTION) and we have been working on the concepts of human rights in the progamming of CSOs, Govermnt where there is one because in Somalia where we are currently working there has not been a central government for the last 16 years, this time round there is tension because the transitional goverment that has been formed in Kenya a neighbouring country with support of IGAD and international community is facing challenges from the Islamic courts that currently have control of most parts od southern Somalia.

I'm a UNV in Burkina Faso. I'll be interested to have information, training tools, capacity building documents in the skills of Health (Mother and child nutrition, HIV, Child survival) and Community mobilsation. My working language is french, please send me specific documents in this language.

Dear all,

I will shortly be tasked to assist a DFID-funded good governance programme develop a dissemination strategy that will capture the learning, experience and expertise developed through the programme's activities to ensure that others can learn from them in the future. With the programme having run for about 6 years there's a large number of reports (200+) and it's inevitable that many will only be read by a handful of people and most are probably sitting on shelves gathering dust. I suspect that this must be a common feature of a large number of donor-funded initiatives that require the assistance of a large number of short-term consultants. I'd be interested to see if there are "best practice" guidelines or thoughts - DFID or otherwise - about how best programme's/projects can document the key successes and approaches in a structured way, and communicate such with a number of distinct stakeholders.

Elamma Varughese
India

Born in a small town in India, with father being a political personality working in Congress party, who started the fight for the rights of the tribal population of Gujarat in early 70s and mother complementing the roles and responsibilities from home, there was no way me and my 2 sisters could escape the reality of social problems existing due to inequality between the rich and the poor. As young children we practiced a simple living at home and were introduced to socio-economic issues through various exposures we received from our parents.

Working for security sector reform and development issues including DDR.
Interested to promote security education and forum discussion in security policy issues.
Educate for security management issu

AidProject M+E is comprehensive & straightforward Monitoring & Evaluation software for Donor-funded aid projects. Software & support is free.

AidProject FMS is a quality financial management & procurement system designed specifically to empower the management of Donor-funded aid projects.

Topics included:

• Pond Water Quality
• Monitoring Relief Projects
• Local Volunteers
• Emergency Operation Centres Staff
• Leadership Training
• Human Rights Standards and Local Legislation
• Project Cycle Management

Can you offer any insights or pointers to useful information/contacts on these topics? Thank you.

Two weeks into my first mission, sat at the bar with my new boss, a growing pile of empty bottles before us, I received my first appraisal: "You know your problem Richard, you think too much. You will never be a good aid worker as you just have to react quickly in emergencies..."

Let's face it, records management isn't exactly an exciting subject and many people working in the field are not 'administratively inclined'. Most people do, however, recognise the importance of good administration and do the best they can to comply with head office guidelines or ensure that some form of basic records management is in place. This isn't always easy and there are plenty of excuses not to - like the war going on around you, the thousands of daily arrivals at your camp, or an office the size of a wardrobe. It's a tedious and time consuming chore but paying attention to basic records management can save you and your organization from some very awkward or embarrassing legal problems later on. More than one project has been closed down for failing to provide evidence of compliance with a donor's criteria for use of aid money and that's not something you want on your CV.

The purpose of an assessment is to collect accurate information about a situation in order to analyse problems and decide what to do (Sphere training course). Needs assessment is the first stage of an accountable and responsible humanitarian response, and it can be repeated at intervals as needed. What are your "lessons learned" from recent projects?

Come gather round people wherever you roam,
And admit that the waters around you have grown,
And accept it that soon you'll be drenched to the bone,
If your time to you is worth savin'
So you better start swimmin' or you'll sink like a stone,
For the times they are a changing.