Coming to the end...

This last month has seen a flurry of activity as I have sought to re-meet with a variety of project stakeholders and to consult them on the good practice recommendations that have been developed in response to the issues raised in the interim research report (available here). I was also able to visit Tearfund’s project office in Kandahar and to conduct interviews and relevant discussions with the Project Manager and local project staff in that location, as regards their thoughts and approaches to remotely managed programming.

For those of you that have been following the blog, you’ll remember that this research has sought to identify the key issues related to project monitoring and beneficiary accountability that arise in projects which are remotely managed, located in environments exhibiting medium-to-high insecurity. 38 stakeholders have now fed into this research, highlighting what for them are the most critical issues. An interim research report was produced documenting these issues, but alluding to some existing good practices that are already being utilised to address them.

Several of you fed back comments following the circulation of the interim research report, for which I am hugely grateful. It was noted that beneficiary accountability had not been given sufficient focus in the report, and that the project should seek the input of further humanitarian and development organisations outside of Afghanistan. These comments have been instrumental in developing the final project report. This builds on the interim research report, including details of the specific issues raised with relation to remote project monitoring and also remote accountability practices. The focus on the report, however, is in identifying existing and innovative good practices that can be used to improve the rigour of remote project monitoring, and to build accountable relationships with beneficiaries of remotely managed projects. A separate chapter on remote project monitoring and remote beneficiary accountability are included within the report, documenting the findings and good practice case study examples exhibited by individual stakeholders.

Further contact with organisations in Somalia and South Sudan was made in the last month, and case studies and examples from these discussions have also been included within the final report.

This week I will be editing the final report, which will be circulated to all project stakeholders and posted on this HIF website by Friday 17^th February. I’ll ensure that I write a final blog to accompany the final report, and look forward to your feedback on the findings and recommendations detailed in the report.

That will see the close of this six month project. The research and innovation that has been incorporated into this project is an essential addition to the ongoing discussions and debate as regards the future of remote management approaches to programming. Stakeholders and readers of this blog are encouraged to review the findings and recommendations in this report and to pilot and develop those recommendations for their own remotely managed programming. They are also encouraged to continue researching other publications that address remote management issues and seek to improve this practice.

I look forward to being able to share the final report with you on Friday, and thank you for your timing in reading this :)

Until next time,

Bryony Norman – Project Coordinator, Tearfund