Q1 (October – December 2013) | Smile Project Nigeria

Quarter Progress

SO 1: State & LGAs coordinate and monitor holistic care to OVC and their households

Activities/Achievements:

During the the reporting period, SMILE conducted a series of activities aimed at improving the capacity of states and LGA to coordinate and monitor programs for vulverable children. These activties included the harmonization of Organisational Capacity Assessment Tool (OCAT) and orientation workshop on the OCAT for state government officials; organisational capacity assessment of the Ministries of Women Affairs and social development in the five SMILE program states.

Harmonization of Organisational Capacity Assessment Tool:

In order to come up with a standard tool for assessing organizational capacity across the two USAID UGM programs ( SMILE and STEER), a three day meeeting was convened from the 28^th of October to the 1^st of November to review and harmonize the UGM Organisational Capacity Assessment tool and develop guidelines for conducting capacity assessments for Ministries of Women Affairs and Social Development (SMWASD) and the Local Government social welfare departments in all the states that the SMILE and STEER programs are implemented. This process involved the adaptation of the National harmonized organizational capacity tool (NHOCAT) for HIV programs for use in the area of service delivery for OVC programs. Participants were drawn from the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development (FMWASD), Catholic Relief Services, Action Aid Nigeria, Save the Children, Management Science for Health ,Mercy Corps and Association for Reproductive and Family Health . Following the succesful harmonization of the OCAT, a two day orientation workshop was organised for OVC desk officers of SMWASD drawn from the SMILE and STEER program states .The workshop provided the opportunity to develop the capacity of government officials and members of staff of SMILE and STEER on how to use the UGM Harmonised Organisational Capacity Assessment Tool. It also provided a forum to discuss and plan for the baseline organizational capacity assesments in the SMILE and STEER program states.

Organisational Capacity Assessment of Ministry of Women Affairs:

State organizational capacity assessments were conducted in the five SMILE states from 11th to 14th November 2013.

The key objectives of the assessments were to;

Obtain baseline information on the status of the organizational capacity of the SMWASD using a harmonized assessment tool developed by SMILE and STEER
Identify gaps in institutional, organizational and technical capacity in the states.
Develop state led capacity building plans for the SMWASD

The assessment focused on the following domains; planning, multi-sectoral coordination, staffing and human resource management, resource mobilization and financial management, logistics and procurement management, monitoring and evaluation, supervision and oversight standard, physical infrastructure and management system.

In all the states were the assessment was conducted, the following areas were identified for improvement:

Weak coordination mechanisms
Limited technical capacity of staff to coordinate and monitor VC services

Inadequate staff in the different departments of the SMWASD

Weak systems for monitoring and evaluation of OVC programs by the state
Inadequate budgeting for OVC activities

The state specific findings are as follows as well as summaries of some activities carried out in the states to improve the coordination role of the SMWASD are as follows:

BENUE: The baseline organizational capacity for Benue state MWASD was held 12^th-14^th November 2014. In all, 20 staff of the SMWASD (8 males and 12 females) participated in the assessment. Using a harmonized OCAT, various components and units of the MWASD was assessed and the Benue State Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development obtained an average score was 19.8%. This score revealed major capacity gaps in all the domains assessed but specifically in the areas of staffing and human resource management, M&E knowledge management, multi-sectoral coordination and partnership, supervision and oversight standard and planning. A capacity development plan was developed for staff of the SMWASD details of steps and activities aimed at addressing the identified gaps

NASARAWA State: The baseline organizational capacity assessment for the Nasarawa MWASD was attended by the 6 directors representing the six departments of the ministry. Twenty-one persons (9 males & 12 females) participated in the process. The assessment showed that the SMWASD obtained an average score of 38.1% using the harmonized VC OCAT. Capacity gaps were observed in the following domains; multi-sectoral coordination& partnership, staffing and human resource management, Monitoring and Evaluation &knowledge management. Capacity development plans were developed to address the identified gaps

F.C.T: The Gender Development Department of the FCTA scored 30.6% in the assessment using the harmonized OCAT. This showed the existence of capacity gaps that there is an urgent need to strengthening the systems and structures of the department so that it can meets its mandates of coordinating and monitoring of OVC response in the F.C.T. Domains that have been prioritized includes multi-sectoral coordination& partnership, staffing and human resource management, Monitoring and Evaluation &knowledge management. Seventeen government officials (8 females and 9 males) participated in the process. On conclusion of the assessment, capacity development plans were developed to address the identified gaps.

Also in FCT as part of strengthening the technical capacity of the State and Local Government, a Technical Working group was inaugurated in November 2013, this was achieved with collaboration and support from Capacity Plus. A Database of members of the TWG have been established and this will enhance effective mobilization of members for the meeting. TWG will be meeting on a quarterly basis to deliberate on OVC issues as it affects their sectors.

The TWG will also validate the findings of the ongoing mapping and assessment exercise on child protection system in the F.C.T. Representative of the following organizations that attended the inauguration meeting included the Children Parliament, Education secretariat, AONN, Child Justice Clinic, NAPTIP, Legal Secretariat, National Population Commission, Abaji Area Council, National Human Right Commission, F.C.T Emergency Response, National Assembly, CPN, CRIB, Primary Health Care Development Board, F.C.T High Court, F.C.T UBEB, HIV and AIDS Unit (SDS), Legal unit (SDS), Capacity Plus and UNICEF

KOGI: Kogi State Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development scored 28.2% in assessment , some of the domains prioritized for immediate technical and organizational support includes staffing and human resource management, M&E knowledge management, multi-sectoral coordination and partnership , supervision and oversight standard and planning. 17 participants attended the meeting for the assessment made up of 8 males and 9 females.

In a bid to obtain government buy-in for the SMILE project, a team from paid a sensitization visit to the governor of Kogi State Governor, Captain Idris Wada on the 2nd of December 2014. The meeting had the following objectives;

To introduce the SMILE project and sensitize the Governor and his team about the project and the progress made so far in the state.
To solicit for support from the Kogi State Government, and the State Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development to collaborate and jointly implement the SMILE project
To get commitment from the Kogi State Government in providing a conducive work-space with furniture for the SMILE project staff in the SMWASD.

The SMILE team was received by the Kogi state deputy governor Architect Sunday Awoniyi and other top government officials including the honorable commissioner for women affairs and social development.

The meeting provided an avenue for the two parties to understand the partnership and clarify misconception concerning the SMILE project. The highlight of the meeting was a commitment by the government and people of Kogi state to support the project.

EDO: The baseline OCAT assessment carried out for the SMWASD Edo State showed an average score of 42% in the assessment, 30 persons (13 males & 17 females) participated in the process from the planning, assessment and debriefing. Domains that have been prioritized include multi-sectoral coordination& partnership, staffing and human resource management, Monitoring and Evaluation & knowledge management.

In all of the states, the following areas were identified for improvement and capacity development plans and steps to be taken in addressing them

Child Protection Systems Mapping. Representatives from SMILE participated in the C

Child Protection Systems Mapping in Benue state and FCT. The proceedings of this activity in the two states are as follows:

Benue State: The activity was led by UNICEF and Capacity plus with support from the Benue SMWASD and other development partners. As part of the mapping exercise, a stakeholders meeting was held on the 24^th October 2013, with participants from civil society, Nigerian police force, SMILE, NAPTIP, Nigerian human rights commission, child protection network Benue state, SMWASD, Nigerian prison service, Nigerian immigration service and Line ministries.

FCT: The activity which held in November was led by UNICEF and Capacity plus with support from the FCT GDD and other development partners. As part of strengthening the technical capacity of the state especially in the area of child protection, a Technical Working group was inaugurated on 4th November 2013, this was achieved with collaboration and support from Capacity Plus. A Database of members of the TWG has been established and this will enhance effective mobilization of members for the meeting. TWG will meet on a quarterly basis to deliberate on OVC issues as it affects their sectors.

SO 2: Civil society organizations collaborate with communities to manage integrated and comprehensive OVC programs

Activities/Achievements:

During the period under review SMILE conducted series of activities towards identification and selection of suitable CSO partners for sub-granting. These activities included; state level bidders conferences, CSO concept reviews and CSO pre-award assessments.

Bidders Conference:

Following the issue of the SMILE RFA, one bidder’s conferences were organized in November 2013 in the 5 SMILE program states; Benue, Nasarawa, FCT, Kogi & FCT.

The objectives of the conferences were to:

Provide a platform to provide orientation to CSOs on the SMILE program in terms of goals, geographical location and targets.
Share the eligibility criteria and selection process with CSOs
Facilitate interface between the SMWASD and potential CSO partners in the initial stages of implementing the SMILE program.

To create awareness on paradigm shift from PEPFAR I to PEPFAR II

Edo: The bidders’ conferences for Edo state held on the 11th of November 2013 in Benin and had in attendance 60 persons representing 42 CSOs

Nasarawa: Twenty-two CSOs in Nasarawa state participated in the bidders conference which held on the 11^th of November 2013. The conference was very participatory and the participants found it very useful.

Kogi: The bidders’ conference held on the 15^th of November 2013 and had in attendance representatives from 34 CSOs

Benue: The bidders’ conference held on the 15^th of November 2013 and had in attendance representatives from 63 CSOs

FCT: The bidders’ conference held on the 18^th of November 2013 and had in attendance representatives from 34 CSOs

CSO Concept Note Review Meeting: In response to the SMILE RFA, a total of 125 CSOs across the five states submitted concept notes to SMILE. Following the submissions, a concept review meeting was held from the 2nd to 5th December 2013. SMILE constituted a technical review committee consisting of SMILE staff, one director from each of the five SMWASD and representatives from the FMWASD. In addition a UNICEF representative also observed the initial stages of the review process. SMILE developed a standard concept review scoring tool to ensure objectivity and consistency in the process. Each concept paper was independently reviewed by a panel of three experts whose individual scores were aggregated to come up with a final score. Following this process a total of 43 CSOs were shortlisted for the pre-award assessments.

CSO Pre-award Assessments: Pre-award assessments for shortlisted CSOs were conducted from the 9th to 11th December 2013. The purpose of the pre-award assessments was to verify certain information provided by the CSOs in their concept papers. Conduct onsite check of policy documents, financial systems and records of past performance. Following the pre-award assessments a total of 24 CSOs were selected for selected pending due diligence integrity checks.

Achievements

Active engagement of officials of the SMWASD in all the 5 SMILE program states in the CSO selection process
Successful selection of 24 CSOs in the first round of the sub-granting; the breakdown of the number of selected CSOs is as follows; Benue 9, Nasarawa 4, Edo 4, Kogi 5, FCT 2.
Completion of the baseline OCAT and development of capacity building plans for 5 states

Problems and Opportunities

The commencement of the sub-granting phase of SMILE was delayed following the feedback of the technical review team reviewed the CSO proposal which revealed that the proposals required addition work to align the individual program objectives and strategies to the overall SMILE objectives. Consequently, the SMILE team has been providing guidance to the CSOs in this direction in order to speed up this phase and then proceed to the sub-granting stage.

CRS is still in the process of engaging a grants manager for the SMILE program, this delay posed some challenges especially in planning for the sub-granting phase of the SMILE program. In the interim, the program has relied on the expertise of other CRS staff with expertise in grants management. It is expected that the position of the grants manager will be filled in the first quarter of 2014.

Success Stories

SMILE wishes to put on record the active participation of officials of the SMWASD across the five states in all of the project start-up activities. Senior officials in each of the states participated in the state rapid assessment exercise which also provided an opportunity for them to contribute to the identification of vulnerability issues, prioritization of service areas and selection of LGAs for program implementation. Furthermore they served as members of the committee that reviewed the CSO concept notes and played an actively in the final selection of the CSOs. These series of engagements provided an opportunity for SMILE to further strengthen the coordination role of the SMWASD in the respective states for OVC service delivery thus enhancing ownership.