Created By: Brian M Touray, ODA

MID-TERM REVIEW
FOR KWIECO & TGNP
May 20, 2017
 List of Abbreviations

GBV Gender Based Violence

KWIECO Kilimanjaro Women Information Exchange and Community Organization
M&E Monitoring and Evaluation
NGOs Non-Governmental Organisations
OCAT Organizational Capability Assessment Tool
PDCA Plan-Do-Check-Act (Deming Cycle)
PEST Political Economic Social and Technology Analysis
SWOT Strength, Weakness, Opportunities and Threats Analysis
TGNP Tanzania Gender Networking Programme
Table of Contents
1. Executive Summary .............................................................................................. 4
2. Background .............................................................................................................. 5
3. Critical areas of Improvement for KWIECO & TNGP, Interventions
and Results .............................................................................................................. 6
3.1 KWIECO ............................................................................................................... 7
3.1.1 Crafting the Strategic Plan and the Future Vision and Direction .... 7
3.1.2 Organizational re-engineering and Transformation .......................... 7
3.1.3 Organizational Assessment.................................................................... 8
3.1.4 Organizational Capacity Assessment & Human Resource Planning
(HRP) ......................................................................................................... 8
3.1.5 Optimize Program Design ...................................................................... 9
3.1.6 Competency Development and Training Need Analysis ................... 9
3.1.7 Baseline Assessment ............................................................................ 10
3.2 TGNP 11
3.2.1 Organizational Assessment.................................................................. 11
3.2.2 Organizational Capacity Assessment & Human Resource Planning
(HRP) ....................................................................................................... 11
3.2.3 Baseline Assessment ............................................................................ 11
4. The Path Forward ................................................................................................ 12
5. Challenges encountered .................................................................................... 12
6. Conclusion .............................................................................................................. 13

3
1. Executive Summary
Crossroads International has been a Partner with many organizations
including KWIECO and TGNP acting as a catalyst in creating envisioned
Change of these Organizations, in the geographical regions that they
operate in. Crossroads International has brought in its expertise and
acumen in Organizational Management and assited the Organizations
take their next big leaps on various fronts resulting in better program
design, better coverage and outreach to the communitiy/ Benefeciaries,
accelerated program goal achievement and improved Organizational
efficiency.

This report is a mid-year review of the association and the interventions

that Crossroads International and its Advisor is engaged in, along with
these Organizations. The report will assess various facets of this
association and the interventions and their impact on the overall
microcosm in which these Organizations operate. The report intends to
provide valuable data about the impact of the interventions on the issues
that the Organizations and the Partners wish to address, the obstacles in
optimal performance of the programs and interventions, identify any
additional resource/ support requirements, requirements for change in
these strategic interventions/ Program realignment; in light of the
changng dynamics in which these Organizations operate and any lessons
for the future.

4
2. Background

KWIECO and TNGP both are Non-profit Organizations (NGOs) that work
on issues related to Gender equality, Human rights for all, women and
youth empowerment, sustainable employment generation and providing
Legal Aid.

Both the Organizations are house-hold names and very well-known due
to the impact their programs have had in past and the benefits the
Community has derived from the same.

KWIECO and TGNP are both at the Tipping point and further improvisation
in Organization functioning will help them transition to the next level of
the game plan where they operate similar to how International level NGOs
operate. They could attract better funding, more committed and valuable
partnership, bringing more rapid change and upliftment in the lives of the
Local community.

The Leadership of both the Organizations have been working with

Crossroads Internationals Advisor to seek expertise to develop
Organizational strategy to facilitate this Organizational change.

During the Partnership, Crossroad Internationals Advisor has counselled

and mentored the Leadership team on various aspects of Organizational
management and Leadership, through the use of a data backed objective
approach. Several diagnostic inventories have been administered which
has helped in creating primary data which is extremely valuable and not
only helps in mirroring the situation at the grassroot level but also helps
in drawing out the Benchmark and therefore the targets for the existing
and future programs.

The Crossroads Advisor has worked in designing and deployment of many

interventions including those related to Perception about Management/
Leadership communication, Organizational Assessment, Organizational
Capacity building, Benchmark establishment, Competency development
and Training need analysis, etc.

The OD Interventions evangelized in both KWIECO and TGNP, by the

Crossroads have been discussed in this report.

5
3. Critical areas of Improvement for KWIECO & TNGP,
Interventions and Results

Though both the Organizations hold a strong credibility in the geography

wih the community, and they have done a commendable amount of work,
there were several areas of improvement to improve their Organizational
capability, program design, efficacy, etc.

Both the Organizations have a strong Leadership and Management Team

but they needed expertise and hand-holding to make inroads on the areas
that required improvement.

Crossroads International which specializes in advancing womens rights,

Economic Empowerment and mentoring Organizations and Leadership
teams in building High performing teams and Organizations has partnered
with both teams to:
a. Identification of areas which needed improvement and the criticality
associated with each other.
b. Tailor-making a customised Intervention plan to address the
identified areas of impeovement.
c. Coaching the Team and the Leadership for sustainability of thie
process.

Some of the high impact and critical interventions that have been rolled
out at KWIECO and TGNP by the Crossroads International Advisor have
been discussed in the following section.

6
3.1 KWIECO

Interventions at KWIECO and their impact have been discussed below:

3.1.1 Crafting the Strategic Plan and the Future Vision and
Direction
The Organization Leadership was struggling to identify and percolate their
Strategic Plan objectives. The Crossroads International Advisor identified
the root issue and was intrumental in the launch of the successful
Strategic planning exercise for the period 2017-22. KWIECO Team was
unable to achieve the Strategic Goals from the Plan of the previous Plan.

The Crossroads International Advisor conducted the SWOT Analysis to

understand the potential of the KWIECO team and microcosm in which
the Organization operates. He conducted the Stakeholders analysis to
understand how these partnerships could be utilized more synergistically
for creating the Change which the KWIECO Leadership had envisioned.

Through detailed Organizational assessment and feedback from various

stakeholders, the Advisor identified that the Goals were themselves acting
as Obstacles in this process. They were unrealistic and unachievable. They
created an environment of inadequacy in an otherwise highly potential
and successful Team. The Consulatnat then worked in tandem with the
KWIECO Senior Leadership and facilitated the Strategic Planning 2017-22
exercise. The Goals identified are specific, measurable, achievable,
realistic and have clear time lines for milestones and overall goals. A lot
of these goals have clear baseline data so that the concerned Goal owner,
Leadership and other stakeholders can have better understanding of the
task alloted to them and review of performance is more objective. Clear
accontability and priority for each of these goals has also been identified
to reduce any ambiguity and to provide clear ownership of a goal to the
concerned stakeholder/ function head.

Second Quarter Strategic Goals achievement report indicates a very

impressive performance by various stakeholders. The report has also
indentified impediments in way of various strategic goals, Lessons learnt
and the Learnings which similar to a PDCA cycle will be used as inputs to
make mid-course corrections (if required) in the Strategic plan and/or the
resources provided to the Goal Owners.

3.1.2 Organizational re-engineering and Transformation

Based on the analysis of the data garnered from various sources and
diagnostics, the Crossroads International Advisor has been inistrumental
in the Organizational re-engineering and Transformation initiative. The

7
Organization now has demarcated functions with Function heads that are
accountable for goals associated with their function, Talent Management,
etc. This move would help KWIECO transform into a more mature, well
organized, efficient organization, which is better equipped to manage
larger projects and explore newer ways to reach out to the Target
population. The Organization is at its inflection point and this move would
it in making a smoother transition.

The Crossroads International Advisor also launched the Performance

Management System at KWIECO, thus bringing the necessary rigour and
objectivity in a critical process, which would have a cascading impact on
many processe like Talent Management and development, retention and
nurturing talent, Human Resource planning, Staff cost management, etc.

3.1.3 Organizational Assessment

Periodic Organizational Assessment to assess various facets of the
Organization with respect to its ability to achieve its targets and readiness
for future challenges was a growing necessity.

KWIECO is exploring options for better funding, Donors, partners and

build their capability to improve their outreach and connect with the
Community to deliver better results. However, in the absence of an
Organizational Assessment process, the Leadership needed more
objective data to identify the next steps. The Crossroads International
Advisor conducted a number of surveys to gather information about the
performance of various facets of the Oragnization, which was then input
in the OCAT tool to identify critical areas of improvements and
Organizations capability building measure to be Change Ready.

The Crossroads International Advisor deployed a number of diagnostic

inventories for the same. There were action areas identified for various
role holders in the Organization and the Intervention plan was also
designed and implemented by the Advisor.

3.1.4 Organizational Capacity Assessment & Human Resource

Planning (HRP)
As described above, the Capacity of the Organization (Leadership,
processes, M&E framework, policy framework, Finance and Budegting
framework, Partnerships, etc.) were assessed and the next critical steps
were identified.

The Advisor created an Organizational Capacity Guide which covers all

critical thematic areas of the organization and provides extremely

8
valuable data to Leadership and Function heads and other stakeholders
to further improve the functioning in each one of these Thematic areas.
This Guide has been highly appreciated by the Leadership teams of both
the Organizations as they now have a robust tool to conduct these
exercises periodically for Continuous Improvement.

1. Governance
2. Administration
3. Human Resources
4. Financial Management
5. Organizational Management
6. Program Management
7. Project Performance Management

The Data generated from this exercise will form an inputs for many
upcoming interventions at KWIECO.

3.1.5 Optimize Program Design

The Crossroads International Advisor also provided expertise in the area
of Baseline assessment and M&E framework deployment.

The Advisor also worked with his KWIECO conterparts and deviced a more
robust M&E framework for the Program Design which has added more
potency to the Program efficacy. Jointly,the Advisor and his KWIECO
conterparts revamped and designed the M&E field research diagnostic
tools which are the very first and critical step to collect relevant
information from various stakeholders.

3.1.6 Competency Development and Training Need Analysis

There were a number of areas the Crossroads International Advisor
identified which were functioning below their potential. This was due to
lack of resources and in many cases training and skill development of the
Team members. The Advisor ran a Training needs Identification Inventory
and also sought the inputs directly from the Community members and
Leaders to identify training/ skill building areas.

The Crossroads International Advisor conducted a Training needs

assessment and through various interactions with the Community leaders
and members, Paralegals, KWIECO leadership team, Legal team, etc.
Identified lack of proper training in Paralegals and lack of proper publicity/
promotional/ educational material and literature in the sub-par
performance and therefore result achievement in the area of Legal-aid.
This information provided the impetus to conduct extensive training of the
Paralegals. It also resulted in re-designing to craft more user friendly and

9
more comprehensive flyers and brochures to disseminate to the
community for better outreach and awareness creation on these issues,
etc. With the information so collected, KWIECO was able to provide
additional help to their staff working at the grassroot level, which has
significantly reduced the number GBV cases and increased the number of
people that come forward to report other type of abuses inflicted on them.

3.1.7 Baseline Assessment

Several program though successful, were running below their true
potential and in a couple of cases the absence of a baseline and grassroot
information was a major obstacle to craft a better program design. The
Crossroads International Advisor conducted these Baseline studies and
helped in creating more potent and objective Program designs.

The Crossroads International Advisor conducted the Baseline data

collection, diagnotic design, and data analysis on the area of service
quality and outreach of the Paralegal Team. This effort has contributed
immensely towards Competency development of the Paralegal Team and
in providing the necessary support to Paralegals of KWIECO. The Impact
of the Pilot program is such that it has given multifold results. The quality
of services rendered have improved, Paralegals have set up their own
offices/ infrastructure which will attract talent to KWIECO in future. The
Locals can see the impact and their awareness about the Legal Aid
available has gone up due to which KWIECO Paralegal team is witnessing
an upsurge in even non-GBV i.e. other type of Human Rights violation
cases coming to them. They are therefore creating a much needed shift
in the mindset of the Locals, which is critical for self-sustained positive
transformation in the Society.

10
3.2 TGNP

Interventions at TGNP and their impact have been discussed below:

3.2.1 Organizational Assessment

Similar to KWIECO, even at TGNP conducting a periodic Organizational
Assessment was necessary to find out more about the current health of
the Organization on multiple markers.

The Crossroads International Advisor collaborated with TGNP consultants

and staff, in designing the entire Initiative from formulation of the
Assessment plan to data collection and analysis. The Advisor also
provided his recommendations on the action items for various
stakeholders, with their priority. The impact of this exercise is multifold
and will be realised in phases, as the Organization goes about
implementing the recommendations as a planned and step-by-step
process.

3.2.2 Organizational Capacity Assessment & Human Resource

Planning (HRP)
The Crossroads International Advisor conducted a similar Organizational
Capacity assessment at TGNP which is the very first and most significant
step in Talent Management effort, Staff cost management, building a high
potential team, Change readiness for a more dynamic and stronger
organization. The Organizational Capacity guide which covers all critical
thematic areas of the organization and provides extremely valuable data
to Leadership and Function heads and other stakeholders to further
improve the functioning in each one of these Thematic areas, was
designed by the Crossroads International Advisor and the effort has been
lauded by the TGNP Leadership.

1. Governance
2. Administration
3. Human Resources
4. Financial Management
5. Organizational Management
6. Program Management
7. Project Performance Management

3.2.3 Baseline Assessment

The Crossroads International Advisor lent his experitise in collection of
primary data and therefore Baseline assessment. For a Diagnostic
exercise the Advisor with the consulatant, directly collected the Primary

11
data from the Beneficiaries over a span of 2 weeks, in Morogoro and
Mbeya regions. This data after analysis, provided TGNP with a
comprehensive and narrative information on their Gender and Economic
Empowerment projects on the ground. His engagement in the process not
only helped in culling out critical data but also acted like a on-job training
for other involved stakeholders to conduct similar diagostic surveys with
equal competency.

4. The Path Forward

The Advisor will continue to work in partneship with both the Leadership
teams to identify ways in which the Organization Capability, Program
performance, Team engagement levels and competency, Change
readiness, etc. may be continually enhanced.

5. Challenges encountered
There are still challenges being encountered in the successful
implementation of various interventions, which have been discussed with
the Leadership teams of the respective Organizations:

1. Talent Management: Ability to recruit, training and engage the right

talent, especially due to lack of a competent pool and availble funds.
2. Competency building takes a concerted effort and therefore needs
to be a consstent activity as there is a certain learning curve for a
team member to be able to internalize the training information and
utilize it for decision making in work situations.
3. Lacks of funds come in the way of paying Team members especially
Paralegals adequate compensation, travel expenses, rewarding the
superior performers, etc. It therefore impacts the morale of the
team members and increases the risk of competent team members
and hinders the Organizations ability to attract competent fresh
talent.
4. Baseline data for most programs and processes is still being built
and in the absence of the same, it is challening to create goals which
are realistic and achievable. The Advisor and the respective
Function Heads are in the process of creating this information for
further reference.

12
6. Conclusion
This report clearly depicts the impact Crossroads Interantional and its
Consulting efforts have had on various facets of both these Organizations.
The results being achieved by them, improvement in program
perfromance, better outreach to the community, better awareness about
the aid available to Locals, better services being renederd by the Teams
to the Target groups, improved morale, etc. is a clear indication of the
same. As stated earlier that both these Organizations hold high credibility
due to their part association and delivery of value to the Locals. They are
however still in the process to optimize their operations and therefore
continued association with an agency like Crossroads is extremely critical
for them, as they do not have another source of reqired expertise.
Satisfaction surveys which have been rolled out on earlier occasions
within the Organizations mirror similar sentiment amongst the various
stakeholders of these Organizations.

Crossroads International Leadership must engage in further discussions

with the Leadership of both the Organizations to develop partnership for
interventions required for both these Organizations to function like other
International NGOs do and therefore build the same level of process and
policy maturity, organizational competency, and most importantly
Change readiness to function in an environment where dynamics
(Government policies, fund availability, Donor policies, Target group
demographics and needs, talent availability, etc.) are ever changing.

13