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Managing for Impact Newsletter No. 2

Posted November 16th, 2007 by SMIP Team

Contents

Welcome to the second issue of the Managing for Impact (MfI) newsletter! The content of this newsletter is provided by the SMIP implementation team and members of the MfI network. We very much appreciate the efforts of network members to share interesting news and ideas about managing for impact.

If you would like to make any contributions to a future edition then please Contact Us!

  1. News and Updates from SMIP
  2. MfI network members experiences with and views on implementing MfI
  3. Questions on MfI
  4. Recent resources added to ERIL
  5. Reflecting aloud...

1. News and Updates from SMIP

The 2nd Regional MfI Training Workshop. Lesotho, September 2007

Discussing team roles using the Belbin's team roles testFrom the 17th to 27th of September, 2007; SMIP facilitated the second of regional MfI training workshop in Lesotho. Out of the 60 applicants, 18 participants (both service providers and project staff of pro-poor initiatives) attended the workshop from Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Tanzania Uganda, and Zambia.

The overall purpose of the workshop was to work with participants to "develop a shared understanding of what Managing for Impact means in practice; including principles and methodologies related to the empowerment of the rural poor to fully and effectively engage in the management of their own development - through active participation in the design of interventions, implementation, monitoring, evaluation and other decision making processes".  

To read more about the workshop, Click here

Managing for Impact in SANReMP

As the SMIP southern Africa Sub Regional Institution (SRI), Khanya- aicdd's engagement with SANReMP began as a result of two factors:

  1. The involvement of a senior Khanya- aicdd staff member in the UNOPS supervision mission of SANReMP from the 18-29 June, 2007, the purpose of which was to assess progress on the implementation of the SANReMP, and
  2. The participation of two senior SANReMP project managers in the SMIP workshops on MfI early in 2007 in Nairobi, of which Khanya- aicdd was an active role- player.

As a result of these associations, Khanya- aicdd was requested by SANReMP to facilitate an in- house workshop on MfI for the programme, targeting implementers, district- level managers, and government officials who have a direct stake in the programme. SANReMP's interest in MfI was motivated by the need to improve the programme's internal capacity to effectively implement the programme and meet its impact goal within the defined time- frame. Given this need, the workshop on MfI was structured in order to work with participants to "develop a shared understanding of what Managing for Impact means in practice including principles and methodologies related to empowerment of the rural poor to fully and effectively engage in the management of their own development - through active participation in the design of interventions, implementation, monitoring and evaluation and other decision making processes." (SANReMP MfI Training Workshop Report, August 2007)

To read more about the workshop, Click Here.

SMIP southern Africa Action Learning Site

Discussing the programme using a rich pictureThe Sustainable Agriculture and Natural Resources Programme (SANReMP) has been selected as the SMIP southern Africa action learning site as a result of previous interactions between SMIP and the Programme.

The purpose of establishing a SMIP SA action learning site within SANReMP would be twofold:

i) To improve management practices of the SANReMP implementing organisations in order to strengthen SANReMP's capacity to contribute to improved "food security, nutrition and incomes in the 3 target districts"; and

ii) To utilise experiences and lessons to strengthen the managing for impact approach and to share these with other pro poor initiatives in the eastern & southern Africa region.

To read more about the SMIP SA action learning site, Click Here

Managing for Impact in Zanzibar

Farmers discussing their situation in ZanzibarA training workshop on Managing for Impact: from theory to practice was organized for Agricultural Services Support Program (ASSP)/Agricultural Sector Development Program- Livestock (ASDP-L) from October 29th  to  November 8th, 2007 in Zanzibar.

The ASSP/ASDP-L is a Government of Zanzibar program financed by IFAD. The activities of ASSP/ASDP-L include empowerment of farmers; reform and enhancement of research and extension capabilities; and actual provision of services. It has a national mandate and targets all smallholder farmers and fisher folks of the nine rural districts covering both islands of Zanzibar (i.e. Pemba and Unguja).

Before the workshop was concluded, the project staff were assisted to develop an action plan which will help them implement some of the skills they learned in the workshop. This helped us to know the project action plan and the support the project requires from SMIP in the future. In the action plan they requested SMIP to assist ASSP/ASDP-L in developing the program's M&E system.

To read more about the workshop, Click Here

2. News & Views from MfI Network Members

(Click on highlighted links to read the posts or contact the authors through ERIL)

  

3. Questions? on MfI

(Click on highlighted links to read the posts or contact the authors through ERIL)

  

4. Recent resources added to ERIL

Links to other sites

The Impact Alliance. A global action network committed to strengthening the capacity of individuals and organizations to generate deep impact within the communities they service. The Impact Alliance facilitates access to local and international providers of innovative capacity building programs and services.  

In order to make information on SMIP and MfI available to a wider network of stakeholders (particularly those from non-IFAD funded programmes), the Impact Alliance has created a topic on "Managing for Impact" on its website at http://www.impactalliance.org/.  This folder highlights the key ideas behind SMIP and gives detailed information on the four pillars of MfI.

Members of the MfI network are encouraged to visit this folder so that they can access a wide variety of articles and case studies on Monitoring and Evaluation, Capacity Building Approaches, Planning and Strategy, Human Resource Management, Project Design and Management.  

Please follow this link to the website's MfI folder.  Links to all the topic folders included on the website are located on the Topics page.

  

5. Reflecting Aloud...

Managing for Impact (MfI) is a concept new to me. My background as an M&E specialist focused on the more technical aspect of developing M&E systems.

The focus of my work has been on a particular program without looking at its relationship with the larger system that is the organization and society as a whole. MfI is a management approach using monitoring and evaluation system that looks at the whole system - society, organization, program and people.

The development of an M&E system using MfI does not differ considerably from LFA and RBM in relation to its technical development. MfI uses an M&E matrix, looking at outputs, inputs, outcomes and impact just like LFA and RBM. Where it differs is in the approach of developing the system and its place in the spectrum of program management. The approach encourages participation from stakeholders, takes into consideration the differences in perspectives and paradigms, creating an environment where people can learn and interact openly and uses M&E as a thread that binds the different systems within a program or organization as a whole.

The greatest challenge that I see in implementing MfI may be the lack of commitment from organizations and project implementers to implement the concept fully. To implement MfI, it requires organizations to take a hard look at what they are currently doing and recognizing that there is a better approach to program management. Asking people to evaluate themselves may not be an easy sell.

Doda Johnson,MfI Associate, Malawi.