Major projects & activities
"Capacity is the ability of individuals, organizations or systems to perform appropriate functions effectively, efficiently and sustainably."
MSA DEFINITION
1. Capacity Building Projects
Program capacity building:
In 2006, MSA signed a contract with the Africa region of the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) to support the region's program capacity building initiative. The goal of the three-year initiative, targeted at twelve IPPFAR Member Associations (MAs) in the first instance is to increase access to a range of SRH and Rights information and services that respond to needs among special community groups. The purpose of the initiative is to strengthen the capacity for program development and implementation in identified MAs.
MSA started by strengthening the strategy paper, and designed and facilitated the implementation planning workshop which produced the implementation plan for the first year. We designed the technical terms of reference for baseline assessment of the program capacity building situation in MA's to produce the basis for designing intervention strategies. Also, MSA deployed one staff member to work with the IPPF member associations in Liberia and Nigeria to embark on the program capacity development process.
Capacity for community development action:
The capacity of communities and organisations to take and discharge effective responsibility and action for identifying and meeting their own needs is critical to sustainable human and community development. The challenge is even more profound in conflict and post-conflict areas which have increased needs in coping and life re-planning. Developing the capacity for action underlies the purpose of MSA's UNDP-Ghana-supported capacity building for leadership and community development and resource mobilization project implemented in 2006. The project took MSA's interest in and commitment to capacity building to new heights. The project involved five main activity areas: leadership development, community development action, community-based women and youth organization development, and community resource mobilization. We expect the successful models we develop to be useful to other conflict communities throughout Africa.
Leadership and Community Development Capacity Building
Under the UNDP-funded project wo community-based youth and two women organizations were diagnosed to start-off an OD process for each of the four organizations.The project has a major significance: supporting leadership and organisational capacity building for community development action in conflict areas. It marks an extension of MSA's mandate into capacity building for broad community development, beyond only capacity building for health development.
Public sector capacity building strategic planning:
The orphans and vulnerable children's (OVC) program is big and highly regarded in Uganda. It is the focus of the Government of Uganda USAID-funded CORE Initiative project. The International HIV/AIDs Alliance is a member of the project consortium contributing to building the capacity of the Ministry of Gender, Labor and Social Development (MGLSD) for leading and managing the OVC program. MSA (through a consultancy with the CEO) is part of the IHAA team, contributing technical inputs and support in the strategic planning and execution of the capacity building intervention.
2. Organization Development Projects
In MSA-Nigeria, organization development (OD) activities continue to account for a large proportion of time and effort since 2000. Over 30 organizations (CBOs/NGOs and federal and state agencies) have been assisted. The OD initiatives implemented include organization assessments, board development, financial and accounting systems development, and human resources development. MSA International is proud to have successfully executed the following projects through MSA Nigeria.
a. The Reproductive Health Program Support Services (RHPSS) Project
The Reproductive Health Program Support Services Project (in short, The RH Support Project) is a technical resource for delivering focused project management assistance to support family planning/reproductive health (FP/RH) programs in Nigeria. Since its inception in 2002, the project has been funded by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation.
The RH Support Project contributes to strengthening the management and program effectiveness of SRH organizations and programs in Nigeria. In this regard, the project supports the government of Nigeria's policy to slow the population growth rate, and the ICPD Program of Action by increasing the effectiveness of SRH organizations and programs.
The RH Support Project focuses on three main activities: RH trend monitoring, training and technical assistance, and program collaboration and partnership building. In addition, The RH Support Project offers assistance in program monitoring and evaluation.
b. The Organisation Effectiveness (OE) Project
The RH Organization Effectiveness (OE) project is designed to improve the institutional and organizational effectiveness of organizations engaged in sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) programs, including HIV/AIDS prevention, focusing on those supported by The David and Lucile Packard Foundation in Nigeria.
The project supports the government of Nigeria's reproductive health policy by increasing the effectiveness of organizations in developing, implementing and evaluating SRHR programs. The project provides assistance for developing leaders at all levels, defining governance and management structures in line with strategic goals and objectives, establishing or improving management and financial accounting systems, defining organizational and individual roles and responsibilities at all levels, creating and nurturing work teams, and for developing and applying systems for forward and work planning. By addressing these management development challenges, the OE project aims to enhance the overall capacity of SRHR organizations to achieve organizational effectiveness and sustainable impact.
c. Strategic Advocacy Management (SAM) Project
The Strategic Advocacy Management (SAM) project is designed primarily to support implementation of the national (Nigeria) Family Life and HIV/AIDS Education (FLHE) curriculum by improving the institutional, managerial and technical capacity of the NGOs, government institutions and CBOs engaged in sexuality education programs at the national level and in the six priority states of The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation (MF).
SRHR advocacy activities, with multiple messages and channels addressed to diverse audiences, need to become more strategic and coordinated in order to be more effective in widening and strengthening support for SRH and rights while remaining sensitive to the specific needs of targeted audiences. Addressing these institutional, management and technical capacity development needs is critical for achieving Nigeria's ICPD goals related to sexuality education and SRHR.
The SAM project is designed to address these challenges particularly in relation to implementation of the national FLHE curriculum.
3. Strategic Review & Planning
In recognition of MSA's special capability in NGO strategic planning, we were contacted by IPPF Africa Region to review strategic plans developed by its Anglophone Member Associations. Five strategic plans were involved. In each case, the task was to analyze the strategic plan in terms of its incorporation of the IPPF 5As Framework (Abortion, Adolescents, Advocacy, Access, AIDS) and consistency with generally accepted policy needs in SRH and HIV/AIDs, adapted to suit individual country situations and needs.
4. Leadership Development
We consider leadership and leadership skills development extremely crucial to African development and seize every opportunity to contribute to the effort. Under the UNDP-funded capacity building project in Ghana, a leadership development activity (LDA) was initiated by MSA-Ghana with support from MSA-UK. The LDA involves four inter-related sub-activities. The first two, leadership capacity assessment and leadership skills development workshops, were implemented. The remaining two sub-activities, support of post-training follow-up action and exchange of experience workshop, are yet to be implemented.
5. Governance & Management Systems Development
MSA believes that although important as a critical first step, the mere availability of governance and management guidelines does not guarantee their use, or where used, their effectiveness. Purposeful action must be designed and nurtured to ensure application of and compliance with systems and procedures. MSA secured a governance and management systems development contract from the Accra office of the Population Council to develop the systems and mentor selected NGOs to institute them.
MSA developed a package of basic governance and management systems for NGO organizational and project management. The package covers the role of boards, finance and accounting, personnel, office management, consultancy services, and networking and partnership development. Subsequently, we initiated assistance and support to a number of NGOs in Nigeria to operationalize the package.