Study intervention

The study intervention for the treatment and comparison groups is shown in

Table 12 below.

Table 12: The Study Intervention for Treatment and Comparison Groups

Study Intervention

Comparison group intervention

1. Organizational capacity assessment using the MODE tool

2. Comprehensive written feedback with actionable steps on what NGOs need to do to improve

3. Capacity development plan template sent to NGOs to help them plan the steps to take to improve their capacity

Treatment group intervention

1. Organizational capacity assessment using the MODE tool

2. Comprehensive written feedback with actionable steps on what NGOs need to do to improve

3. Capacity development plan template sent to NGOs to help them plan the steps to take to improve their capacity

4. Access to online capacity building resources that contain actionable steps on what the NGOs need to do in order to improve, tool kits, manuals, templates etc., in addition to copies of these materials on a flash drive.

The capacity of all the NGOs was assessed at baseline using MODE tool (see

Appendix 5). After the baseline assessment, both arms of NGOs (treatment and

comparison arms) received written feedback sent to them by email. The feedback

outlined their scores in the different domains of the assessment, their areas of

weakness, and the actionable steps they could take to improve their capacity. In

addition, the treatment arm was given access to online capacity building resources of

the Boston University Center for Global Health and Development (BU CGHD) (sites-

staging.bu.edu/mode/). Due to the fact that some of these organizations do not have

regular access to the internet, the online capacity building website was copied on flash

drives and sent to all the NGOs in the treatment group. The content of the different

components of the interventions are explained in detail below.

 Comprehensive written feedback to the organizations

of the domains and sub-domains. In addition, it included the scoring sheet for the

assessment showing the performance of the organizations in each of the indicators in

which they were assessed. Figure 7 below is a portion of the scoring sheet sent to one of

the NGOs, showing the NGO’s performance in each of the indicators assessed in the

financial management and budgeting domain (see 4.9.3 for an explanation of the MODE

scores).

In addition to the feedback on their performance, all the treatment and

comparison NGOs also received recommendations on actionable steps they need to

take to improve. We gave the NGOs a standardized set of recommendations that is

tailored to the indicators on which they demonstrated a weakness. Table 13 below

shows an example of action steps recommended for strategic planning, and logistics

management.

Table 13: Example of Recommendations to NGOs for Capacity Building

Domain Recommendation Strategic

planning

Strategic framework

 Conduct a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) (or similar) analysis

Strategic plan development  Develop a strategic plan

 Ensure the strategic plan references the mission  Ensure the strategic plan sets specific goals  Ensure each goal has specific objectives

 Ensure every objective is time bound and includes milestones to monitor progress

 Involve staff in developing future strategic plans

 Consult external stakeholders to develop future strategic plans and document this consultation

Use of strategic plan

 Conduct an annual review of the strategic plan  Ensure staff are aware of the strategic plan

 Include the strategies in an external document (brochure, presentation, film, website)

Logistics Management

Storage

 Take appropriate measures to protect the storage space from theft  Ensure storage space is clean and dry

 Label all items in the storage space

 Store all items with an expiry date first in first out (FIFO)  Regularly monitor and maintain the cold chain

Distribution

 Develop written guidelines for issuing items from storage

Inventory management

 Develop a written inventory for fixed assets and consumables (if applicable)

 Revise the inventory so it identifies items by name and by quantity  Revise the inventory so it records the expiry date for items  Revise the inventory so it records receipt of items

 Revise the inventory so it records date of distribution of items  Develop an asset management and disposal policy

 Set minimum and maximum thresholds for restocking of supplies so the organization knows when to place new orders and does not order more than the storage capacity available

 Use bin cards to monitor stock levels

 Update all bin cards to reflect current stock levels

 Manage procurement so there are no stock outs and supplies are available when needed

 Capacity development plan template

Furthermore, all the treatment and comparison NGOs received a capacity

development plan template to help them plan the steps they would need to take to

improve. The plan template included columns for present capacity in each sub-domain,

the gaps identified, actionable points or activities to be carried out, persons responsible,

resources needed and timeline. We filled in the priority level and current capacity score

columns of the template (from the results of the capacity assessment) before sending

67 Figure 8: Portion of the Capacity Development Plan Template Sent To NGOs

JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JULY AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC

1 Statement of mission and values 2 Use of mission statement 3 Staff awareness of mission

1 Transparency in Leadership 2 Governance

3 Succession planning

TIME LINE CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT PLAN

Name of CSO:

DOMAIN AND SUB-DOMAIN ASSESSED PRIORITY LEVEL (HIGH/LOW)

GAPS IDENTIFIED ACTIONABLE POINTS/ ACTIVITIES PERSON RESPONSIBLE RESOURCES NEEDED CURRENT CAPACITY SCORE

MISSION AND VALUES

 Online capacity building resources - Treatment group only

The organizations in the treatment group, in addition to the feedback, also had

access to the Boston University Center for Global Health and Development capacity

building website. The website is unique in its tailoring of the capacity building materials

in line with the MODE assessment tool; likewise, the materials are arranged based on

the domains and sub-domains in the MODE assessment tool. The website provides

actionable steps, templates and toolkits for the organizations to improve their capacity.

So while the report might tell the organizations to do a SWOT (strength, weakness,

opportunity and threats) analysis, the website provides information and toolkits on how

to do a SWOT analysis.