CONCERN UNIVERSAL

IMPACT REPORT

2012

Bangladesh: A flood resilient water pump installed at a primary school through Concern Universal’s Disaster Risk Reduction programme.

For people, for good. 2

SUMMARY

In 2011-12 our work improved the lives of over two million people across 10 countries. We directed £15.3 million to support the poorest and most vulnerable people in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

Significant achievements have been made in all five of our strategic areas: food security and sustainable livelihoods; health; respect for rights; skills; reducing vulnerability, (p.5-8). A comparative analysis of our achievements from 2008-12 shows that we are reaching out to more people than ever before, and that our cost efficiency has remained constant over this time. At the same time, we have reduced out carbon output by 24% per £1 spent.

However, this report does not only focus on the activities we have carried out over the past year, but rather the impact our activities have had. Full details of our activities can be found in our Trustees’ Annual Report.

We have significantly increased our engagement in national and international level advocacy, education and lobbying since this became a core strategic objective in 2009. (p.9-12) Our advocacy is leading to improved accountability and governance, to improved basic services and more resilient communities in our programme countries and to better informed, more engaged young people in the UK. The report outlines successes on the advocacy processes we are leading and the outcomes of our work. For example, in Mozambique we are improving government planning, giving people a greater say in budgetary allocations. In line with our core work to improve basic needs our advocacy work around improving basic services has had significant successes over the last year. In Kenya, for example, our work has led to changes in local government HIV policy that has led to the government prescribing food to people depending on their CD4 count. Our resilience and climate change adaptation programmes are focusing more on advocacy and achieving results. For example, we worked

this year with the Centre for Environmental Policy and Advocacy to develop a policy framework for climate change in Malawi. Developing the framework is an effective starting point for influencing budgetary allocations. And in the UK our education programme, that reached 25,000 people in 2011-12, is influencing attitudes and encouraging people to take action to reduce global poverty and inequality.

A review of external evaluations completed on our projects this year in Nigeria, Malawi, Guinea, Mozambique and The Gambia highlights significant achievements in three areas: conservation; community development and access to rights. (p.18-19). The evaluations picked up key challenges in literacy, logframe design, income generation and communication that we are feeding back into our programmes.

Our Country Impact Assessments in Kenya, Ghana and Colombia have given us substantial evidence of the impact of our work there, (p.21-22). We are committed to completing three such assessments each year. We are also pleased to report on our first ever country Impact Report from Malawi, which includes some excellent insights into our impact on health outcomes and economic development in Malawi.

This is the fourth impact report that Concern Universal has produced and every year we learn and improve on how and what we report on. This year we have outlined our key impact statements (p.2), where Country Directors articulate the most important impacts they have witnessed in their programme over the past year, for the first time. We have also included a section on results trends where we look back at our most significant achievements over the past four years and see how we are doing year on year (p12-13).

The report concludes with specific actions we are going to take to improve our impact next year including: enhancing M and E; more research; strengthen partnerships; and an impact review.

For people, for good. 3

COUNTRY IMPACT STATEMENTS

Farmers have increased their monthly income by 10,000 Niara (£40) in Nigeria

through promotion of

palm oil processing, fish

farming and cassava grinding

Women have

participated

more on

consultative

councils in

Niassa,

Mozambique

Food & Livelihoods

Improved Skills

Less vulnerability

Greater Respect for

Rights

Better Health

Pastoralists in Garissa, Kenya

are more resilient to coping with drought, which is reducing

their reliance on aid

Communities in Bangladesh

have reduced their flood risk by

using flood resistant water point platforms

96.6% of households we worked

with in Kasumbu,

Malawi saw

an improvement

in food security

Women in the Upper

West region of Ghana

now have a better food

supply throughout

the year

Families in Jamalpur

Bangladesh have increased their

monthly income by 240%

Farmers have increased production,

vegetable consumption, and

income in The Gambia

Less child trafficking in Cross River State, Nigeria

Community organizations in Guinea now investing

in & playing more active role in local communities

13,825 people in João Pessoa, Brazil now

have improved education, sanitation and housing services due to rights-based work

People from across political parties in Ghana

have joined to advocate for more women in politics

João Pessoa and Sapé communities in Brazil now

dialogue directly with duty bearers & influence municipal budgets

Leaders now represent their communities at decision-making levels João Pessoa, Brazil

Communities have

increased capacity

for evidence-based

engagement in

provincial

government planning

& monitoring

processes

Mozambique

Increased access

to services for

persons with

disability in

Cuamba Moz.

Gender mainstreaming in The Gambia has led to local

government authorities agreeing to a quota system for women representation in local council governing bodies

3 classrooms & 2 maternity

wards built in Niassa,

Mozambique due to advocacy

training of local councils who

channelled their requests to

higher tiers of governance

Women’s access to healthcare has improved in Upper West Region of Ghana

Water well construction, protection of natural water sources and treatment of water points have improved access to clean water in Guinea

Communities and schools in Wajir and Kajaido in Kenya have

increased access to clean water

Cases of water-borne diseases have reduced in Majune district, Mozambique

Kasumbu, Malawi has

better access to clean water and improved sanitation

Reduced maternal & child mortality in Bangladesh

Better access to clean water means fewer water-borne diseases in The Gambia

Increase in hospital deliveries in Majune district, Kenya

HIV care has improved in rural districts in Malawi

Work with farmers in Bangladesh has

improved food intake from 2 to 3 meals a day

63 community managed health clinics in Bangladesh -

improvements in maternal and child health outcomes (e.g. immunization, diarrhea, malaria)

Cross River and Ebonyi have improved access to water in Nigeria

Better sanitation is reducing the spread of cholera in Guinea

502 shelter and schools in Bangladesh

now have adequate WASH facilities

Nine Gambian

organizations trained on capacity development, which led to marked

improvements in their governance,

management and financial and fundraising

capacity

Women in Guinea

have increased their incomes, taken a

leading role in market gardens and have greater control

of resources

Women from a marketing cooperative

in the Gambia

have set up a successful tie

and dye business

41,395 people in

Bangladesh

are no longer experiencing

hungry months

For people, for good. 4

INTRODUCTION This report puts forward compelling evidence of long-term, sustainable changes that our work has brought about in the period 2011-2012. We look beyond the activities carried out to show what has changed about people’s lives and the local organisations with which we work. To fully understand our impact, we have compiled information from our staff, our partners and donors, community actors, and from independent assessors – we call these our three voices, Concern Universal; Beneficiary; External. Most importantly we have asked the people that we work with to give us their feedback on what has changed as a result of our involvement. Where possible, we have put our beneficiary’s voices first and presented their views of our work. Many of the sources of information collected for this report have emerged from participatory, community-based activities and this report relies heavily on the views expressed in these exercises. Concern Universal voices: This section outlines the challenges we specifically address as Concern Universal and shows how we have engaged with them over the past year, (p.4-8). We outline the scale and scope of our advocacy (‘inspiring and influencing’) work, both at country level and globally and how this is impacting on people’s lives, (p.9-12). This section also presents an analysis of our impact over the last four years by comparing data from our previous impact and annual reports. (p.12-14)

Beneficiary voices: The second section of the report takes a closer look at our impact from an analysis of our impact assessments and the first Malawi impact report. This report highlights the outcomes and learning from three assessments that we conducted in 2011-12 in Ghana, Kenya and Colombia. Assessing our impact gives us a chance to delve more deeply into what has been successful and from what

we need to learn. Each of these assessments has raised valuable lessons that have been incorporated back into programme planning and design across Concern Universal. (p.21-24) External voices: In the third and final section, we present the results of own research and our external evaluations review for 2011-12, (p.18-20). We assess the potential of our research to influence development globally. (p.25-28) In conclusion we develop ideas on how to go about improving our impact in the future, including more field-based research and enhancing our monitoring frameworks. Our organisational objectives of enabling community-led development and amplifying the voices of people living in poverty are underpinned by our organisational Theory of Change. Our Theory of Change outlines a pathway to change and demonstrates that to reduce poverty we must support change at three key levels: the individual, the community and within wider society. Concern Universal believes that in order to have a sustainable impact on poverty work must be done at all three levels. Our impact report will demonstrate our impact at these different levels.

For people, for good. 5

What are the challenges we are trying to address? Concern Universal helps communities around the world find practical, long term solutions to poverty. Our mission is to work in partnership to challenge poverty and inequality. We support practical actions that enable people to improve their lives and shape their own futures. Our country programmes are structured around two overarching strategic objectives. The first is to enable community-led development by working together with people living in poverty, to enable them to improve the quality of their lives. We do this through practical work with individuals, communities and partners in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Our second strategic objective, developed in close partnership with local organisations in our country programmes, amplifies the voices of people living in poverty, enabling them to advocate for a fairer and more

environmentally sustainable world. Together, we aim to secure changes to policy and practice to help overcome barriers to development. Our programmatic approach is underpinned by our organisational Theory of Change. Our Theory of Change explains what we believe are

the conditions needed to achieve change and to reach our mission of reducing poverty. There are many reasons why people are living in poverty. The ‘External Environmental Factors’ column demonstrates some of these issues. Many people are born into these conditions and lack the money, skills or ability to lift themselves out of poverty. This list shows the most common causes and consequences of living in poverty and was compiled as part of the Concern Universal 2009-14 Organisational Strategy. Concern Universal works hand-in-hand with local communities, supporting people to work together to make improvements to benefit the whole community. Solutions may be developed that call for immediate and direct action by communities with support from Concern Universal. At other times, support will be given so that people feel empowered to call upon those in authority to make the changes that people need to improve their lives.

Our Theory of Change shows that Concern Universal programmes support change on three levels: Individual, Community and Society. Concern Universal feels that in order to have a sustainable impact on poverty, all of these different levels need to be addressed. At an

For people, for good. 6

Individual level we support people to gain the skills they need to change their lives (e.g. farmer training) and to influence others. At a Community level, we help strengthen and develop local organisations, such as farmer co-operatives and WASH committees, and forge partnerships between communities, local businesses, other charities and government. At a Society level we work to influence government and institutions so that they give a greater focus to reducing poverty. Although the Theory of Change diagram may give the impression that these changes are sequential, starting with the individual and working up to the institutional, we recognise that reality is more complex than that. We do not expect each project to work from one level to the other, or even necessarily to cover all three areas. However, we recognise that to have a sustainable impact on poverty, all three levels will need to be addressed, either by ourselves or by other organisations. The five ‘key change’ boxes on the right-hand side of the diagram show the improvements needed to reduce poverty and inequality. These are: changes in levels of food security, changes in well-being, changes in levels of respect for rights, changes in skills, and changes in household resilience to unplanned events and disaster shocks.

How do we address these challenges? Concern Universal has a holistic appreciation of community development, believing that communities face a number of interconnected issues that may result in high levels of vulnerability and poverty. In order to make sense of the complex issues facing communities and to tackle and reduce poverty in our country programmes, we focus on activities linked to the five changes detailed in the Theory of Change. We aim to work with the poorest and most vulnerable populations in the countries in which we work. In 2011-12 Concern Universal worked with over 150 local and

international partners in 20 countries - (10 countries directly, and 10 others through local partnerships), information on which can be found under the country pages of our website.

For people, for good. 7

Box 1: Conservation Agriculture: Magret Pofera’s story Magret Pofera is a subsistence farmer in Kasumbu District, Malawi. Magret’s land has been slowly degrading over the last few years and, as a result of worsening soil erosion on her arable land, crop yields have been decreasing. The consequences for her and her family have been severe. “My family was running out of food every year. We lacked cash and my children weren‟t going to school because most of our time was spent labouring in other people‟s fields in order to earn money for food - life was very tough.’ Concern Universal works with farmers like Magret to try to improve their productivity. After participating in a training programme, Magret began to put conservation agriculture techniques into practice. After just one growing season, her family’s yield of maize increased from 9 bags of maize and 1.5 bags of beans to 21 bags of maize and 2 bags of beans. In her words, this has increased their income, allowed her children to return to school and enabled her family to feel food secure.

CONCERN UNIVERSAL VOICES

What have we achieved this year? In 2011-12, 2,149,974 people across ten countries have improved their lives as a result of our work. Our annual expenditure was £15.3 million. At the same time we continued to keep our overhead costs low, with 94 pence of every pound spent on work in our country programmes. Our progress was reflected by the work we did in all five key programme areas. Food Security Having access to enough food for a healthy life is something most of us take for granted. However, millions of people around the world are food insecure, they are denied this basic human right. In 2012, we continued to improve food security in the countries in which we work, largely by promoting small-scale agriculture – right through the supply chain from production through to retail. As a result of our work in 2012, 40,164 people improved their crop and livestock yields and 85,205 people are no longer experiencing ‘hungry months’. We improved livelihoods by enabling 26,221 people to establish micro-businesses and we planted 326,235 trees to support local conservation, which will indirectly contribute to food security (see Box 1).

Guinea: An improved harvest of onions being prepared for market

Health Over two million people in developing countries die every year from diseases associated with a lack of safe drinking water, inadequate sanitation and poor hygiene 1 . Meanwhile, 34 million people live with HIV2 . We have been addressing these critical health issues by developing projects to improve people’s access to safe water, basic sanitation and good hygiene. We have also conducted HIV prevention awareness training and supported HIV positive people by increasing their access to treatment, care, support and income-generating activities. In 2012 we provided

1 WHO/UNICEF/WSSCC Assessment, 2000

2 UNAIDS/WHO, 2011

For people, for good. 8

870,325 people with access to improved sanitation and hygiene, and 845,034 people with access to safe water. We also reached 791,858 people through our HIV awareness work, and enabled 151,251 people with HIV to live positively.

Mozambique: Children being weighed by a village health worker

Rights Although people are entitled to life, liberty and security as laid out in the universal declaration of human rights,3 in many of the countries we work, people’s most basic rights aren’t always met. People who have a right to access essential services such as water and sanitation are left without these services. We empower people to understand their rights so they know how to claim them from duty bearers. In doing so, we focus on marginalised groups, such as women and children, whose rights are more likely to be neglected. In 2012 we engaged in over 500 community advocacy events involving 194,696 people to promote access to basic rights. As a result 47,033 women and 81,498 children now feel more empowered and their rights are respected. Moreover, 520,552 community members are now able to demand their basic rights from duty bearers and 72 service provision agreements were signed by duty bearers in 2012, for instance in Paraiba (in Northeast Brazil) where negotiations with the

3 UN, 1948

local government led to improvements in waste collection and public transport.

The Gambia: Children attend school supported by Concern Universal

Skills Many of the people in our programme countries don’t have access to basic education, so we run programmes to improve literacy, teach new skills, such as conservation agriculture, and improve people’s opportunities of finding employment. This empowers people, enables them to realise their potential and has a knock-on effect in boosting economic development at the community level. We also provide non-formal education for children who aren’t able to go to school. In 2012 our projects improved the skills of 24,814 people. As a result of our 2012 programmes, 883 people are now literate, 7,674 community members now have stronger capacity and 11,899 others have been equipped with new skills. In the same year, over 8,000 children participated in educational, literacy, artistic, sport, cultural and personal development activities. Improving people’s skills has bolstered communities as a whole (see Box 2).

For people, for good. 9

The Gambia: Women from a tie and dye project supported by Concern Universal

Vulnerability In the last 20 years, 200 million people on average have been affected by disasters each year 4 . These disasters threaten lives, economies and undermine long-term development efforts. Many of the countries we work in are vulnerable to such climatic catastrophes. Consequently we have stepped up our humanitarian response, in addition to

4 Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015.

developing long-term strategies to address the challenges brought about by climate change. Our combined preventative and emergency relief response benefitted 439,047 people in 2012. Through a mixture of risk reduction training, emergency relief and re-construction/rehabilitation support, we enabled 196,288 people to reduce their vulnerability to disaster risks, while enabling a further 146,479 people to rebuild their lives post-disaster

Malawi: Tree nursery supported by Concern Universal

Inspiring and Influencing Complimenting our work on-the-ground, improving the lives of poor and vulnerable people, many of our country programmes are also key advocates for change. Our programmes involve in policy analysis, lobbying, research and facilitation, all of which can change attitudes and policies, which in turn can improve the lives of vulnerable people. Our advocacy in 2011-12 focused on three areas: Accountability and Governance (local and national); Basic Services; and Resilience (climate change adaptation programming). Accountability and Governance (local and national) In many of the countries where we work, sophisticated constitutions and comprehensive local laws are in place. These laws often lay out the rights and responsibilities of both citizens and government. The issue is often not that the laws upholding citizens’ rights are not in place

Box 2: Local enterprise: tie and dye, The Gambia In Djjediel Village we have worked with a women’s marketing cooperative and selected participants to attend a tie and dye income generating training programme. Two of the participants, Ismaila Tamba and Isatou Badjje, learned new tie and dye skills such as design and finishing techniques. They have since been able to establish a tie and dye business in their village with positive results. It has not only increased their income, but also drawn interest and business from both within and outside the village, which has extended employment opportunities in Djjediel.

For people, for good. 10

but that the national or local laws are not being monitored or implemented properly. There are often both legitimate (technical know-how; resourcing) and non-legitimate (e.g. corruption) reasons for this. Working with community organisations, local civil society and government, our teams are working to strengthen local governance. In the Upper West region of Ghana we have been working with local organisation ProNet, community members and local and district level government to raise awareness of women’s rights. Working alongside the electoral commission our work has ensured more women have used their right to vote, and women have been voted in to the District Assembly. In communities where we have worked there is now a greater acceptance of women’s rights to be involved in local decision-making, both formal and informal. As a result of this empowerment, one women’s group lobbied the local government office to improve local infrastructure. Their efforts have resulted in a new bridge for the community.

In The Gambia, we have carried out research to determine the perception of women’s empowerment in area council structures. Our work was shared at the highest levels of government and the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry responsible for local government has said the report will help in future policy direction. Sustainable livelihoods work in Guinea also includes support to community groups to understand local legislation and structures and how to lobby for change. Community groups that we have worked with are now undertaking advocacy in their communities and have been able to influence local authorities. One community group lobbied local government for a weekly market in their village. The government agreed to support the market and this has increased income generating opportunities for people from the village.

In Mozambique we are one of the pioneers of social accountability action with local government and one of the only organisations working to improve local government planning in Niassa province, (NE Mozambique, an area the size of England). Concern Universal is ensuring the public feed in constructively to local government planning in Niassa province, and are lobbying to make sure that public hearings are part of planning processes. Last year, Concern Universal supported the Forum of CSOs operating in Niassa Province (FONAGNI) to prepare and take part in the 2011 Provincial Development Observatory in Niassa province. For the first time FONAGNI was able to propose items for the agenda and gather government reports and activity plans in advance of the meeting. Based on these documents FONAGNI, with technical assistance from Concern Universal, mobilized CSOs in all districts of the province to make an exhaustive survey of the achievements of the government and the problems faced by the communities they represent. This work resulted in high-quality engagement of civil society in the Observatory meeting. We have also strengthened the capacity of local communities in target districts (Sanga, Majune and Lichinga) in Niassa province to participate more actively in the local government decentralization process and to hold their elected and appointed public officials accountable to transparent and effective governance. Work to improve child rights in Nigeria has also focused on improving the implementation, and localisation, of legislation put in place to protect the rights of children and eradicate child trafficking. Working with three local organisations, we have ensured the ‘domestication’ of international and national child rights’ regulations in communities in Cross River State. This is the first time that such laws have been put into local dialects. Community leaders, working with local government, the police and law enforcement agencies, have established clear penalties for breaking legal

For people, for good. 11

codes and established clear guidelines against child trafficking. Basic services The right to access basic services, like water and sanitation, is enshrined in the constitution of the majority of countries where we work. As well as working alongside government, or in some cases as a government sub-contractor, we are working to lobby governments to increase investment in basic services and improve services for vulnerable populations. In Mozambique we have worked with the national WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene) group to advocate for a greater role for sanitation in the 2013 Niassa local government plan. This will mean that more resources go to improving sanitation across the province. In Malawi we have worked with DFID and UNICEF to draft their guidelines for a new £20m water and sanitation fund. The programme will be based on models of rural water service provision developed by Concern Universal. In Kenya our work supporting nutrition and HIV education days and facilitating nutrition surveys in rural areas has led to the government setting up surveillance centres for acute malnutrition in Majune (Kathonzweni district). As Concern Universal and local partners had recommended, the government has begun to prescribe food to people depending on their CD4 count (HIV is able to attach to the CD4 molecules and people who are HIV positive will often have a lower CD4 count over time). In 2010, 90% of malaria deaths occurred in Africa and almost 600,000 African children died. Most of these children were under five years of age.5 Malaria is one of the main causes of child death in Africa. Our new model for distribution of mosquito nets in rural Malawi, developed with support from the Against Malaria Foundation, is having an impact on reducing malaria morbidity and mortality, and has also influenced how the

5

http://www.who.int/features/factfiles/malaria/en/index.html

Global Fund (for HIV, TB and Malaria) distribute bed nets. The new distribution model is very simple - instead of providing one or two nets per household our distribution has ensured a blanket distribution of one net per sleeping place. Having seen Concern Universal take this model to scale, AMF is now asking other partners to start using this model because it is more effective in reducing the incidence of malaria infection.

Nigeria: A newly installed water pump

Resilience (climate change adaptation programming) Under the umbrella of climate change adaptation programming, our work has focused on agriculture, sustainable energy and climate analysis. With our local partner CEPA, the Centre for Environmental Policy and Advocacy (www.cepa.org.mw/), we have developed a policy framework for Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk Reduction in Malawi. The framework reviews the key policies and legislation currently in place in Malawi and summarises strengths and weaknesses of each sectoral policy. The review has found that most policy statements are very general and do not provide for specific strategies or measures on climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction. Not surprisingly, one of the major challenges for effective implementation of existing policies and compliance to legislation linked to DRR is the lack of efficient and appropriate budget allocations. As a result climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction measures have not found their way

For people, for good. 12

into the national budgetary framework and they rely heavily on external assistance mostly implemented by civil society. The review also found that there is also limited understanding of what disaster risk reduction entails and its linkage with climate change adaptation. The review has made a number of recommendations for change, including raising public awareness on climate change adaptation, and further monitoring of the implementation of the key climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction related policies and strategies, the National Disaster Risk Management policy, and the proposed National Climate Change Policy. In 2011-12 we negotiated our largest contract to date with DFID, an £8.6 million programme grant to improve disaster resilience in Malawi (the DISCOVER programme). Our resilience programming framework has influenced UNDP, who recently launched a new resilience strategy based on the DISCOVER strategy. The DISCOVER programme is currently funded through a multi-donor trust fund with contributions from the UK, Norway and Ireland. As a result of our successful work, other donors, such as the European Commission, are now thinking of putting money into the programme. Our close working relationship with a representative from the DFID UK humanitarian (CHASE) team based in Malawi earlier this year has also influenced DFID’s Resilience Strategy across other programmes. Our research in Malawi into Conservation Agriculture (CA), and the constraints inhibiting take up of the new farming techniques have influenced government agricultural policy and is leading to a scale-up of new CA techniques. Our work on clean cook-stoves in Malawi, and our commitment to the Global Alliance on Clean Cookstoves, is also influencing practice in the sustainable energy sector. Awareness Raising and Global Education In addition to country-programme level

advocacy, we also engage in initiatives in the UK to influence and inspire others to take action against poverty. In 2011-12 our international visitors from The Gambia, Brazil and Malawi spoke to over 25,000 schoolchildren. We hosted student-led debates on climate change at The Telegraph Hay Festival in Wales (www.hayfestival.com) to enable local young people to amplify public engagement in and understanding of the issues. We hosted a reception at the House of Lords, which was attended by influential business and political leaders, in an effort to call for greater social, environmental and economic responsibility among businesses. Our schools programme has been very positively received by teachers and students: "The animation „Start at the Roots‟ produced for Concern Universal is one of the best and clearest animations on this topic I have ever used. Clearly produced and brilliantly spoken, it sets out the issue with clarity and sensitivity. All students I have used it with, from Year 8 (13 year olds) to Year 11 (16 year olds), have been gripped by the unfolding story and the issue that it so powerfully portrays.” Joe Emmett, Head of Humanities at Aylestone Business and Enterprise College in Hereford. “You brought the issues alive in a way I just couldn‟t.” Anne-Marie Cooper, teacher at Mordiford Primary School. The target for the coming year will be to improve online access to our schools resources so that they can continue to be used by teachers and students beyond the life of the project.

Results Trends A recent comparative analysis of our Country Programme Monitoring (CPM) data, from 2008 to 2012, highlighted that our impact has largely improved over this period across all sectors.

For people, for good. 13

General Each year we are reaching out to more people in the countries where we work. Although our expenditure has steadily increased over the years, this has been matched by an increase in the total number of beneficiaries assisted from 1,510,102 in 2009 to 2,131,378 in 2012 - as shown in the graph below:

As such our cost efficiency (expenditure spent per beneficiary) has not fluctuated greatly – averaging £6.27 per beneficiary over the last four years. In addition our annual carbon footprint dropped from 1365.6 tonnes of carbon in 2009 to 1192 tonnes in 2012 – an excellent achievement (see details below on Carbon Footprint). Food Security The number of people we are enabling to become food secure every year has increased dramatically. As the graph below shows, in 2008 we improved food security for 79,657 beneficiaries, while in 2012 we assisted 186,205 people with this in one year. Similarly, the number of people no longer experiencing hungry months increased from 25,594 in 2008 to 85,541 in 2012.

The number of beneficiaries who we have assisted with microfinance loans – which provide people with the initial capital to kick-start their livelihoods and become self-sufficient and food secure – has also almost doubled in four years from 38,879 in 2009 to 69,199 in 2012, as illustrated in the graph below.

For people, for good. 14

Health The number of water points we provided or rehabilitated each year has more than doubled from 972 (2008-09) to 2,103 (2011-12), as shown in the graph below.

In the same period there was an increase in the number of people with access to safe water. 418,884 beneficiaries were provided with access to safe water in 2008-09, while in 2011-12 another 845,034 received the same access.

There has been a dramatic increase in the number of people receiving HIV care and support from us each year. In 2009 we provided HIV care and support to 950 people, while in 2012 we assisted 3073 in the same capacity, as shown in the graph below.

Rights The number of rights service provision agreements that have been signed each year as a result of our rights-based work has ranged from 38 to 75, as shown in the graph over the page.

This variation has corresponded to natural peaks and troughs in programme cycles i.e. service provision agreements aren’t necessarily tallied as they are signed. However, it is critical to ensure that the number of rights provision agreements signed each year continues to fall within this range, as signing such agreements helps to guarantee the sustainability of our rights-based work. Skills

For people, for good. 15

As our work in sustainable livelihoods, health and climate vulnerability has increased, we have been doing less work to improve literacy. In 2008 we worked with 5,368 people on literacy programmes. By 2012 this number had reduced to 1,402, as illustrated by the graph below.

There are two reasons why literacy numbers are falling. Firstly, a number of large projects implemented recently focused on building mechanical, managerial and technical skills instead of literacy; 310,019 people received training support in 2010-11, a huge achievement. Secondly, since education has never been one of our key thematic areas, literacy initiatives have often been incorporated within other programmes and are often not the principal activity. We believe that future programmes should focus on improving people’s literacy where necessary, as it is crucial to ensure the sustainability of all our work. Over the past four years the numbers of people we equipped with new skills steadily rose, but fell in the last year, as shown by the graph below.

Our skills-based work accounts for the smallest proportion of our overall expenditure – 3% in 2012 – so falling numbers may have also been brought about by restrictions in the availability of funds. Regardless, we believe it is important to focus more on improving people’s skills as part of all our future programmes. Vulnerability In the past four years we have focused on improving our emergency response and humanitarian work, in addition to our long-term development work – particularly in Malawi and Bangladesh. This has led to an increase in both the recipients of emergency relief and reconstruction/rehabilitation support, as shown by the graph below. (Note: fluctuations on beneficiaries of emergency programmes are inevitable as relief and support are provided in response to the number of emergencies within a given time frame.)

For people, for good. 16

Our carbon footprint Concern Universal’s overall Carbon Footprint for 2011/12 was 1192 tonnes of CO2 equivalent. This was 16% lower than the previous year. This is the first time that our total footprint has reduced in absolute terms since we started measuring it in 2008. When related to activity levels, our carbon emissions fell by 24% per pound spent. This continues the trend of improvements in Concern Universal’s carbon efficiency year on year.

These reductions have resulted from our UK office and some of the country offices actively addressing their environmental impact. Actions taken included switching to a ‘greener’ electricity supply, distributing publications such as supporter newsletters more by e-mail than hard copy, and raising staff awareness of environmental issues.

As well as positive actions by staff teams to reduce our environmental impact, a number of our projects are directly leading to reductions in carbon emissions. Our sustainable energy work in Malawi has been accredited with the Gold Standard for four years and started to receive a significant income from carbon credits in 2011, as a result of being able to prove ‘additionality’ to global carbon emission reduction. This funding covers some of the costs of the project and will directly contribute to community development outcomes. We also developed an introductory guide to carbon financing this year and this was shared across Concern Universal, so that all of our country programmes can consider the opportunities this may bring.

For people, for good. 17

BENEFICIARY VOICES What are we learning and how can we improve? Focus area: Country Impact Assessments In 2011-12 we conducted project-based impact assessments in Ghana (April 2011), Colombia (December 2011), and Kenya (February 2012). Each of these assessments gave us substantial evidence of the impact of our work and at the same time developed clear recommendations for us to use in future project design. Kenya In Kenya we undertook an impact study of water and sanitation projects carried out in Kyuso District between 2002 and 2004. The study was conducted in 12 of the 50 villages where Concern Universal had worked and involved direct observation as well as household surveys, focus group discussions and a review of secondary data. The assessment found that the project had had a significant impact on the lives of villagers in these communities. The number of functioning water facilities had increased dramatically with 63 hand-dug wells now being used, while the average distance that people had to walk to fetch water had been reduced from 12km to 2km. Furthermore, the use of latrines had nearly trebled, while the use of water had increased by 160%. With improved health, and less time being spent fetching water, the number of children regularly going to school had also increased. The assessment recommended that in future, subsurface dams should be constructed upstream to reduce the salinity of water in the wells. Further campaigns on health and sanitation are also needed to improve knowledge of hand washing with soap and the health benefits of using latrines. The programme has taken on board these comments and will incorporate them into future project design.

Kenya: One of the water points assessed in the recent impact assessment

Ghana In April 2011 Concern Universal Ghana and local partner Nature Conservation Research Centre (NCRC) conducted a field-based impact study of an environmental conservation and livelihoods programme (Rural Environmental Empowerment Project – REEP) in the Brong Ahafo region of western Ghana. The assessment found that the fire management element of the project had been successful and continued to impact the area. Fire volunteers were still active, despite limited support from the government. This meant that villagers had developed greater confidence in their ability to expand their plantations and protect them from fire. Production of cocoa, cashew, exotic mango, palm nut and teak had continued to increase since the end of the project. The project team was able to learn from other, less sustainable activities, such as the women’s livelihoods work. For example, some women who had attempted to implement new agriculture initiatives (mushroom growing/ grasscutter breeding) weren’t able to sustain these practices. We learnt that more marketing support is needed for this type of project, and that greater involvement of agricultural extension workers from the government could improve sustainability.

For people, for good. 18

Ghana: Villagers proudly display new tree seedlings

Colombia Last financial year we also completed an assessment of the impact of our work with internally displaced people in Ibagué, Colombia. To assess the impact of the programme, the evaluators conducted over 300 interviews in the districts of Dos de Junio and Los Alamos. They observed physical changes to the environment and collected personal ‘stories of change’ from individuals. They asked all participants to assess honestly the changes the programme had brought to their lives, including asking them to select what they thought was the most valuable impact of Concern Universal’s work. It was clear that the lives of the IDPs had changed dramatically over the life of the programme – people had moved from living in makeshift cardboard shelters to proper housing and had gained access to health and education services. However, the impact assessment showed that the most valuable change for nearly a quarter of the participants was the increased organisational capacity they feel they have gained from the programme, giving them the self-confidence to interact with local government and continue to claim their rights in the long term. Working together has also allowed the peace and security of these areas to improve, allowing new local businesses to flourish.

Colombia: A march for the rights of children with special needs, Ibague

Focus on the Malawi impact report In 2011, Concern Universal Malawi completed their first annual Impact Report. The report detailed the most significant outputs, outcomes and impacts from the Malawi programme in 2011. During 2011, Concern Universal Malawi developed new Strategic Objectives and a corresponding Monitoring and Evaluation Framework. From 2012 the programme is planning to monitor and report against all the indicators set out in their new framework. This was not possible for the 2011 report, because of historic gaps in data collection and analysis, and so the programme has attempted to report as comprehensively and transparently with the data available to them. The Concern Universal Malawi impact report has been made public and is now available on our website. A summary of some of the main findings are outlined below. The Malawi programme has three main objectives: firstly increasing the quality and coverage of community-focused service provision; secondly enhancing community resilience to climate change and increasing agricultural production; and thirdly stimulating local economic development and pro-poor economic growth. Under objective one, Concern Universal has been working in Dedza and Ntcheu to improve access to clean water and improved sanitation. Over the past five years we have supported 196,000 people in four TAs in Dedza and

For people, for good. 19

Ntcheu, raising the target communities’ safe water coverage from 42% to 95%. 34% of households now have access to hand washing facilities; and the proportion of people with access to improved latrines has risen from 4% to 61%. During this time diarrhoea prevalence also fell by 83%, from 3297 cases (2005) to 575 cases (2011) (see Graph 1).

Graph 1: Common Diarrhoea Prevalence as

measured in 12 Health Centres in Dedza (Chauma & Kaphuka) and Ntcheu (Champiti & lower

Makwangala)

Our work distributing mosquito nets in Phalombe, Ntcheu and Dedza districts has had an impact on malaria morbidity and mortality, which has fallen by 36% in Phalombe district, based on annual figures from 2010 to 2011. Although malaria in Malawi is seasonal –peaking in January each year – an overall reduction in monthly cases was noted from October 2009 to December 2011 (see Graph 2) in our project areas.

Graph 2: Monthly reported malaria cases in

Phalombe district

Our HIV work in Dedza and Ntcheu (32,000 households) has contributed to positive behaviour changes. In December 2011 we found that there had been a 40% increase in people aged 15-49 being tested for HIV; a 40% increase in people aged 15-49 using a condom the last time they had sex with a non-regular partner; a 66% reduction in households with chronically ill people; and a 60% increase in the population expressing accepting attitudes towards people with HIV. Under objective two (resilience/agriculture) impacts are measured most clearly through improvements in food security. A 2011 external evaluation for a project in Kasumbu found that in the target area 99% of farmers had diversified their crop production and were able to cultivate twice a year compared to 69% at baseline; 71% of farmers were able to grow two or more high value crops; 94% of respondents had access to food compared with 52% at baseline; and 90% of households reported being food secure during the hunger months, compared to 16% at baseline. There have also been significant achievements within our sustainable energy programme, which will be outlined in more detail next year. Within the area of local economic development and pro-poor growth (objective three) there have been clear impacts on job creation, outgrowers’ yields, income and access to capital. Within one agricultural project in

For people, for good. 20

Kasumbu average incomes have more than doubled in two years from 41,210 Kwacha in 2009 to 111,000 Kwacha in 2011. In 2011, CUMO Microfinance Limited (a microfinance institution owned by Concern Universal) facilitated savings of over MK 752,000,000 (£2,900,000) and loans services over MK 77,000,000 (£300,000) to 58,738 rural people (80% women), across 13 districts where there are no formal financial services. Concern Universal is supporting local economic development through the Sugar Capacity Building Project. This project, carried out in partnership with Outgrower Schemes and Growers’ Trusts and Associations, Illovo, Agricane, MIS Specialists and Fairtrade Experts, is improving the agricultural and management capacity of sugar outgrowers on smallholder farms in 35 villages in Kasinthula and Dwangwa districts. Due to be completed in December 2012, two annual household-income surveys in Dwangwa and Kasinthula conducted in 2010 (baseline) and 2011 reported that 1) 91% of surveyed farmers derive their income from sugarcane sales compared with a baseline figure of 80%; 2) the mean annual income of the respondents increased by 100% from MK 300,520 at baseline to MK 600,560; 3) Nkhotakota farmers reported a higher mean income (MK 641,840) than those in Chikhwawa (MK 513,340); 4) 83% of the respondents were engaged in soil and water conservation practices compared to 74% at baseline; and 5) 52% of farmers were satisfied with the management services provided to them compared to 48% at baseline.

Malawi: Women display fuel-efficient stoves that they have made and will sell

Partner and beneficiary feedback In 2011-12 we supported the work of 143 civil society organisations in Africa, Asia and Latin America. This is a much greater number than ever before and is the result of a new initiative working with 77 organisations through the ‘Capacity Strengthening on Community Managed Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation in South Asia and China’ project. In 2010 Concern Universal distributed a web-based survey to gather feedback from our southern partners. We received positive feedback from 23 of our partners. Building on the success of our online survey we are continuing to assess our partnership model through in-country partnership reviews and surveys. In 2011-12 partner reviews were conducted in Ghana, Mozambique, and Guinea. In 2012-13 there are plans to conduct reviews in Nigeria, Malawi, Mozambique, The Gambia and Kenya. In 2011-12 a partner review meeting was held with one of our key partners in Ghana, ProNet, in Wa. ProNet was very positive about its partnership with Concern Universal, saying that working with Concern Universal is more transparent and less bureaucratic than working with other international organisations. ProNet feels there is a high degree of respect on both sides of the relationship and highly values this constructive relationship. ProNet did feel that Concern Universal could improve the way it communicates with partners and said that partners would benefit from communication between partners, which Concern Universal could facilitate. In 2011-12 we conducted a partner review with our partners in Guinea. A key part of this exercise included developing a Strengths – Weaknesses/Opportunities – Threats (SWOT)

For people, for good. 21

analysis. We found that our partners in Guinea value our in-depth knowledge of the Forest region and Upper Guinea. Because our office is based in Dabola we have been able to establish a strong local presence. Our partners have said that the support we give to building up their skill set (project proposal design/development; project technical monitoring and evaluation; institutional capacity building) is extremely valuable for their growth. Our partners also told us that low levels of support has meant that their project personnel have only low levels of remuneration and this is an issue that we will look at in further detail in 2012-13. Our partners would also appreciate higher levels of monitoring and evaluation support during implementation of projects. Concern Universal Mozambique has received funding from the Mecanismo de Apoio à Sociedade Civil - MASC (Civil Society Support Mechanism, funded by DFID and Irish AID) to implement local governance monitoring work in partnership with national CSOs. MASC recently produced a document outlining the key lessons learnt by international organisations supporting civil society in Mozambique. The document was based on the successful experience of Concern Universal Mozambique. The paper highlights some ‘best practices’ introduced by Concern Universal Mozambique with their work to support civil society, such as joint planning, open partnership days, promotion of internal democratic dialogue, regular technical support visits, and joint exchange visits. In line with Concern Universal’s existing practice, the report outlined the need for more regular (day to day) support to local partners, ensuring less of a bureaucratic relationship based on contracts and funding to one based on mutual respect and capacity strengthening. The study has shown that partnership can be a difficult process and one that has to be worked at. There is a need for mutual respect, with leaders from both organisations involved with the planning and monitoring of the relationship.

Our Mozambique programme will continue to be an active supporter to MASC in 2012. Further details of our partners in Mozambique can be found on our website and on the Concern Universal Mozambique website: http://www.concern-universal.org.mz/ Feedback from partners in Kenya has shown that our local partners feel ‘part of the Concern Universal family’. They have told us that compared to other partners Concern Universal is more flexible and open. As part of the strategic planning process Concern Universal Malawi commissioned CADECO (Capacity Development Consultants) to conduct a stakeholder survey in March - April 2011. The groups of stakeholders consulted included representatives of government (line ministries and district councils), peer organisations, donors and communities in Lilongwe, Dedza, Ntcheu, Balaka, Phalombe, Mulanje and Blantyre districts. The report generated a lot of positive feedback, one of the key statements from a government official being: ‘If there were five organisations like Concern Universal, Malawi would be transformed’. Concern Universal was seen to provide both technical and monetary support. So strong has this support been in agriculture that new varieties of potatoes and beans introduced by Concern Universal are named after the organisation. Concern Universal’s relationships with local organisations and communities are seen as collegial and empowering. One respondent said: ‘they listen to us and they give us responsibilities, they follow up on the activities, they work with us not for us, they keep their promises - this encourages ownership of the projects and the resources given. They build capacities of CBOs and their committees. They link us to other organisations and to the district council – we can meet the DC.’ The stakeholder review will be repeated in 2013. At the same time the Malawi team is working on a report outlining how Concern Universal Malawi works with partners entitled

For people, for good. 22

‘CU and Malawi and partnership, working models‟. More details of our current partners in Malawi can be found on our website.

Mozambique: Teresa Sibia collecting material for latrine construction, Matutuine

EXTERNAL VOICES External Evaluations Review In 2011-12, external evaluations were carried out on eight of our projects by independent consultants (see Annex 1 for details). Further details of results of the project evaluations can be found in Annex 1. An overview of the key aims, methodology, achievements, challenges and learning are described below.

Overview of External Evaluations and

Methodology The eight projects evaluated in 2011-12 covered work in all five areas of our strategic objective one, across seven countries. Evaluations were carried out to assess work in sustainable livelihoods, water and sanitation, access to rights, climate change adaptation, and CSO capacity strengthening. The evaluations were completed using multiple research methods including: qualitative and quantitative surveys, project staff monitoring, Participatory Rural Appraisals, organisational self-assessments, and random sampling.

Key Achievements The external evaluations reported noticeable improvements across all our programme areas. Significant impacts were noted in three key areas: conservation, community development and access to rights. According to evidence collected for the evaluation of our ‘Integrated Forest Management Initiative’ in Nigeria the project has led to significant improvements in the awareness of conservation amongst target populations. Work to highlight the importance of mangroves has had a lasting impact on conservation behaviour and the project has helped empower communities to become involved in the participatory and environmentally sustainable development and management of their mangrove forests. In Malawi, our work to strengthen community resilience to climate change and disasters (Msamala Sustainable Energy Project) has resulted in the installation of fire belts; 10 communities being sensitized and trained on how to handle bush fires; 10 woodlots being established; and 7 vegetable gardens being set up and equipped with an improved water supply. In Guinea, our ‘Promoting the Economic Empowerment of Small-Scale Agricultural Producers’ (PRESS) project led to an 84% increase in onion production and a 28% increase in income earned for smallholder farmers. Our work to improve access to safe water in Mozambique (WASH-CSF, Mozambique) resulted in a reduction of the average journey people had to take to fetch water from one hour to 15 minutes. It also had a knock-on benefit in increasing attendance of girls at school from 20% to 35%. The evaluation from The Gambia (DRR, The Gambia) showed that our work had brought new lighting through solar power to 10 schools and established 29 Village Natural Resources Management Committees responsible for protecting local biodiversity. Evaluations from The Gambia, Malawi and Guinea all reported an

For people, for good. 23

increased use of fuel-efficient stoves – another exciting development.

Malawi: Fuel-efficient stoves just out of the kiln, Dedza

Our capacity and skill-development project (AID, Brazil and Colombia) increased the institutional capacity of three partner organisations; improved communities abilities to negotiate with local authorities; and promoted dialogue between key stakeholders in Brazil and Colombia.

Key Challenges and Learning The external evaluations identified a number of significant challenges of implementing community projects in what can often be remote locations on the fringes of the wider economy, areas that have little access to external support services. Some of the challenges picked up by the evaluators are of important note to future project design across all our sectors of work: Skills – cover the basics: The PRESS (Guinea) project evaluation found since only 23.8% of the group management committees were literate, that the capacity of beneficiaries to participate in training activities could be improved by focusing, in the first instance, on building their literacy skills. This is an important point and was also raised in another evaluation that recently took place in Ghana (Women of the Upper West). Given our success in basic education and literacy programmes, especially with women’s groups, we will definitely highlight

this as an issue to consider in new project design where permitted by funders.

Assumptions, contingencies and the unknown – keep the logframe live: Almost all the project evaluations picked up on unplanned events that led to implementation challenges. The PRESS project (Guinea) evaluation reported that poultry and small livestock couldn’t be vaccinated effectively because of outbreaks of livestock disease in some project areas. The MSEP project (Malawi) evaluation reported a limitation on which trees could be planted in certain districts of Balaka because it is a drought-prone region. The Mangrove project found that its targets on mangrove forest degradation reversal were over-optimistic given that a new tourist park in Calabar was putting increasing pressure on mangroves. Within the WASH-CSF project (Mozambique) financial contributions for maintenance and operations were insufficient as demand far outstripped expectations. The DRR project (The Gambia) evaluation identified the need for a warehouse to provide supplies in times of disaster, and that more reservoirs and solar pumping devices were needed to improve people’s access to water. Many of our projects are based on logframes written months before project implementation begins. Although our donors often assess projects on the basis of project logframes we should not feel that these can’t be updated and amended. Ongoing dialogue with donors on our project logframes is essential to the implementation of a successful project. Income Generation – explore the options: The development of micro-enterprises, and the development of seed capital and accessible micro-finance, can lead to local economic development and sustainable job creation. However, an essential part of project design in this area is consultation on the different options available. Some projects have restricted themselves to a number of previously tried and tested income-generating ideas that were not appropriate in new areas. Selection of ideas must be accompanied by business plans and market analysis. Local entrepreneurs and

For people, for good. 24

community representatives may welcome outside business ideas but they will also be the people best placed to know what businesses have worked and not worked in their communities. This issue came out in the Mangrove project (Nigeria) evaluation where the evaluator recommended more participatory community involvement regarding the identification of interventions relating to livelihood development and mangrove regeneration. Communication – never assume that people know: Community representatives, local partners, government officials and project staff may well all have different expectations for a project and may well all have a different interpretation of what success looks like. In the MSEP project (Malawi) the evaluator picked up that communities viewed Concern Universal as a relief organisation and this led to a high expectation of handouts, contrary to the project design. Within our Mozambique WASH programme the evaluator picked up that there were differences in ‘understanding of transparency and accountability’ between villagers and provincial level stakeholders. Concern Universal has a key role to play as a networker, convenor and facilitator. It is essential that if we are going to play this role then we train staff to have the communication and mediation skills to bring stakeholders together. As well as encouraging feedback from external evaluations we have also received very positive feedback from some of our major donor partners, including The Waterloo Foundation and the Big Lottery Fund. From The Waterloo Foundation: ‘the Concern Universal Kenya WASH Impact Report… provided a very detailed and persuasive case about the long-term impacts of access to water (as well as hygiene and sanitation) as a catalyst to development in this relatively remote area. It is the strongest report that I have seen in this regard...’ (Simon Pickard)

And the Big Lottery Fund: ‘I am impressed with the impact reports that I have been able to read through, especially Colombia. They contain a good mix of photos, quotes, qualitative data and use an appropriate (methodology) for your organisation’ (Peter Bailey)

FOCUS ON RESEARCH A key part of increasing our potential impact is to invest in and support practical research. Conducting our own research and partnering with academic institutions that are able to help us turn research in to practical use has become increasingly important for Concern Universal. We now have over 20 live partnerships with academic institutions across Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America. In 2011-12 the majority of our research contributed to learning around sustainable livelihoods (agriculture) and governance (social accountability).

Sustainable livelihoods research Working with students from the University of The Gambia we have contributed to studies that will improve the productivity of micro-gardens, a key potential source of income, and dietary improvement, for poor rural women and their families. Micro-gardening uses a soilless vegetable growing technique introduced by FAO from South America and which is adapted to areas where land is scarce. The technology uses two types of substrates - one, a solid substrate consisting of a mixture of groundnut shells (60%), rice husks (20%) and gravel (20%), and two, the liquid substrate consisting of water (hydroponic). In the first study conducted by the University of The Gambia, on how to simplify the solid substrate for better access by poor communities, there is statistical evidence that groundnut shells alone (100%) are as effective as a standard mixture. As a result of this research we have abandoned the more complicated and potentially costly mixed solid substrate and have adopted the simpler

For people, for good. 25

substrate more accessible for communities for all our crops. The second piece of research conducted by the university looked into the possibilities of using locally available manures to substitute the use of imported chemical fertilizers. This research has compared different organic matters to the soluble solutions for availability, cost reduction and improved quality purposes. The research found that vegetable crops respond well to some local manures such as poultry drops and have the potential to increase yields. Research is still ongoing to confirm the preliminary results obtained, maximise yields and improve the organic quality of vegetables. The research is expected to have an impact on the dissemination of the technology through significant cost reduction, contributing to food security and income generation in urban and peri-urban areas.

Gambia: Micro-gardens provide new opportunities for improving productivity in peri-urban areas

In 2011 a study was jointly commissioned by Concern Universal and the Ministry of Agriculture & Food Security (MoAFS) to assess the appropriateness and viability of conservation agriculture (CA) as a technological approach to increasing the agricultural production of smallholder vulnerable households in Malawi. The aim of the study was to inform policy and practice and stimulate

discussions and critical thinking amongst government, donors and development practitioners. The study found that there is evidence, from this study and others, from local experimental, non-replicated trials and demonstrations, and farmer responses that conservation agriculture has brought about improvements in yields in small-holder systems. However, the study also found that more work needs to be done to improve the understanding as to what exactly Conservation Agriculture involves and our programme is working hard to improve this understanding. As well as the research that has been conducted in The Gambia and Malawi we have also conducted work on sustainable, low-cost animal feeds (Nigeria), palm oil (Nigeria), and access to water for farmers living in semi-arid areas in the Northeast of Brazil.

Governance and social accountability Concern Universal Mozambique helped to establish the National Good Governance Group (GIG) in Mozambique and is now collaborating with other members of the group, such as CARE International and ActionAid, to undertake research into budget and aid transparency in Mozambique. GIG members meet every two months in Maputo to share findings and to decide on how to disseminate information through government, donors and civil society actors. The recent research on budget transparency (in decentralized tiers of government) shows that there is a lack of involvement and access to information from Mozambican civil society organisations in the design, implementation and monitoring of government plans and the local budgets, making the planning process and budgeting at local level non-transparent and non-participatory. The research has also found that civil society participation in planning and budgeting cycles is sporadic and mainly occurs through provincial and district government open meetings, where

For people, for good. 26

they are asked to submit their plans and budgets to enable the government to align them with their plans. There may be some participation in planning, but budgeting remains top down. Concern Universal Mozambique has also developed a link with the Institute of Development Studies in Brighton for technical support to social accountability work.

CONCLUSIONS

And how we are working to improve our impact. Concern Universal has a lot to be proud of. Using impact data collected from staff and partners, communities and independent evaluators, this report outlines the significant impacts our work has had over the past year. Ample evidence exists of our impact under all five of our strategic areas (food; health; rights; skills; and climate). Of particular note were the impacts in conservation, community development and access to rights that were highlighted in external evaluations completed on our projects this year in Nigeria, Malawi, Guinea, Mozambique and The Gambia. This report shows that we are getting better at understanding and documenting the impacts of our national and international advocacy, education and lobbying activities. As well as the significant increase in the level of these activities since this became a core strategic objective in 2009, we now understand more about how our advocacy processes are influencing others and leading to change. This year saw a major step forward in the design and completion of impact assessments. Successful project Impact Assessments were completed in Kenya, Ghana and Colombia that have given us substantial evidence of the impact of our work. These assessments were all carried out in-house, using a mix of qualitative

and quantitative data, and have led directly to programme learning. Our Malawi programme has also begun to develop its own impact report, the highlights of which have been included in this report. In last year’s impact report we highlighted four key areas where we needed to improve: strengthening our local partnerships; improving our monitoring and evaluation systems; doing more research to understand issues like project sustainability and equity; and getting better at market and micro-enterprise analysis. We have made significant steps in improving our systems over the past year that have contributed to improvements in these areas.

Country Programme Monitoring – new

format Concern Universal has been using the Country Programme Monitoring (CPM) tool since 2006 to monitor progress against inputs, outputs and outcomes across all our strategic objective areas. A review in 2011 showed strong support for the organisational monitoring system and in particular the CPM tool. In 2012 we have redesigned the CPM (CPM10) to create a more robust system that we can use both internally and externally to monitor our organisational achievements.

Theory of Change To help us understand how change happens we have developed an organisational Theory of Change and are encouraging country programmes to consider change processes in their strategic planning. Our organisational Theory of Change sets out how we understand the causes of poverty and how we believe we can most effectively bring about positive changes to people’s lives. Our definition of the ‘drivers of change’ informs our organisational Theory of Change and will feed into our country and organisational level strategies. The Theory of Change is now used as a template when designing new projects and impact assessments. The Theory of Change will also be a key resource document for our new strategic plan.

For people, for good. 27

Monitoring and evaluation – development of

new framework In 2011-12 we began a review of our country level monitoring and evaluation frameworks and how these fit into our organisational systems. We have now gathered information from all of our country programmes and have developed a draft monitoring framework. We will be reviewing this draft framework in 2012-13. All of our country programmes have robust project monitoring systems in place and the work to develop an organisational monitoring system will complement this work and add value to what we already have in place.

Impact Assessments – new framework Assessing impact means understanding changes in people’s lives, not solely assessing what we have achieved through our project activities. Impact data gives us an understanding of the wider positive/negative, intended/unintended changes that have taken place in the communities we work in. Concern Universal has developed an Impact Assessment framework this year to help country programmes design and carry out assessments.

Partner surveys – country led Partner surveys are an important tool in monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of our partnerships with local NGOs. In line with agreement at our 2011 global strategy meeting (PAC5) Country Programmes are now designing and leading their own in-country partnership reviews. In 2012 we also redesigned our website to include more information on our in-country partnerships. For example, details of our partners in Ghana can be found on our website. Research – increasing our profile Within our ten country programmes and from our UK office, Concern Universal now has links with 27 academic and research institutions. We have forged links with institutions in Latin America (Brazil), Africa (Ghana, Malawi, and Nigeria), and Europe (Salzburg, Liverpool, Dublin, Glasgow, Coventry and London). The

main research themes include water and sanitation (engineering), climate change adaptation, women’s development, carbon finance, sustainable energy, health, GIS systems, and animal feeds. Market and value chain analysis Having identified market analysis as a gap in some of our livelihoods work in 2011, we have taken efforts to enhance our staff capacity in this area. In 2012 we completed the recruitment for new Country Directors in The Gambia and Guinea, both with wide reaching value chain analysis expertise. Earlier this year colleagues from The Gambia, Malawi and Ghana participated in the ‘Making the Connection – value chains for transforming smallholder agriculture’ conference in Ethiopia to improve understanding of innovative value chain programming. Our commitment to improve our impact in 2012 By publishing an organisational impact report we have a commitment to be transparent and accountable about the impact we are making. To continue to improve our impact, and improve the quality of the evidence demonstrating our impact, we will commit to the following Impact principles in 2012:

Continue to focus on improving impact, monitoring and evaluation systems (at project, country and organisational levels);

Encourage countries to do more research that has a direct impact on programme learning;

Strengthen our local partnerships and improve on our feedback mechanisms from both partners and communities;

For people, for good. 28

Conduct an impact review, which includes gathering information from our donors and partners and can be used as a way to benchmark ourselves against others in the sector;

Explore opportunities for strategic level partnerships such as the one between

Concern Universal and The Waterloo Foundation. The relationship that is emerging from our strategic partnership with TWF is much more multifaceted than a direct project funding relationship and is showing significant benefits for our programme learning and impact.

Annex 1: List of Externally Evaluated Projects 2011-12

Name of Project Country Sector Local partners involved

Fortalecimento das Organizações de Sociedade Civil na Província de Niassa (Capacity Building of CSOs, Niassa)

Mozambique Local capacity strengthening (Skills)

UCA Community organisations

Promoting the Economic Empowerment of Small-Scale Agricultural Producers (PRESS)

Guinea Agricultural livelihoods (Food)

Ballal Guinée

Disaster Risk Reduction The Gambia Reducing vulnerability (Climate)

WASDA, AVISU

Msamala Sustainable Energy Project (MSEP)

Malawi Reducing vulnerability (Climate)

WESM

Community Participation Against Child Trafficking (C-PACT) Project

Nigeria Child rights (Rights)

Women’s Right & Protection Alternative (WRAPA), Gheda Goodness Initiative (GGI) Neighbourhood Initiative for Women’s Advancement (NIWA)

Integrated Mangrove Forest Management Initiative (IMFORM)

Nigeria Sustainable livelihoods and conservation (Food)

NGO Coalition on Environment (NGOCE) Green Concern for Development (GREENCODE)

Irish Aid Water and Sanitation programme for Malawi, Kenya and Mozambique (Mozambique evaluation)

Mozambique Water and sanitation (Health)

Christian Council of Mozambique

Ação Integrada de Desenvolvimento (Integrated Action for Development)

Brazil/Colombia Access to rights (Rights)

Pastoral Social (Colombia) Casa Pequeno Davi (Brazil) Associação Comunitária Nova Vida (Brazil)