ORGANISATIONAL STRATEGY

2014-19

WHO WE ARE Our Vision is a world where justice, dignity and respect prevail for all.

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 Values Human Respect: “We all matter” We challenge inequality and stand up for justice We listen to views with fairness and equality, no matter who you are and

where you‟re from We take time to find common ground We put people‟s aspirations at the centre of everything we do

Community focus: “People lead their own development” We build better societies by bringing people together to achieve their potential We are a decentralised organisation, driven by community needs We work to understand and tackle the root causes of poverty and inequality Our work builds social capital

Integrity: “Principles drive our commitment” We are open, honest, reliable and accountable in all we do We work to the highest professional standards and use resources

responsibly, efficiently and effectively. We learn from the people we work with, are willing to be self-critical, and

continually strive to do better. We recognise that people rely upon our planet‟s natural resources and will

strive to ensure that our work is environmentally sustainable Partnership: “Complementary strengths working together” Partnership is at the heart of our work and we have deep respect for the long-

term relationships and processes involved We recognise that individually we are limited yet together we can achieve

more and achieve better We value the different strengths of our partners and believe that working

together as equals helps us all to be more effective We strive to collaborate effectively to achieve a common purpose

WHY: Our vision

All of our work is guided by our vision of a world where justice, dignity and respect prevail for all. Persistent poverty and inequality denies justice, denies dignity and denies respect. So our work focusses on challenging poverty and inequality. Working with others, we support practical actions that enable people to improve their lives and to have the opportunity to shape their own futures. We recognise that poverty and inequality are not just a factor of income; they are a denial of choices and opportunities, not having enough to eat, being unable to access basic services, a sense of insecurity and a feeling of powerlessness. We believe that in a world of justice, dignity and respect, all people will have the opportunity to earn a decent and sustainable living, all people will have access to clean water and sanitation, and all people will have their rights respected.

HOW: Our approach Our work to challenge poverty and inequality responds to the needs expressed by people at community-level. Our characteristic decentralised approach enables each country programme team to respond effectively to local need. By avoiding an organisational blueprint, our approach allows innovative ideas to emerge from the exchange of ideas between our programme teams, our partners and, most importantly, the people that we seek to benefit. Our responsive, innovative and relationship-based approach builds upon 30 years of experience working with some of the most marginalised people across the world. From our experience we have developed five core strategies and a robust appreciation of the changes that are necessary in a sustainable development process. These five strategies and our theory of change are described below. 1. Holistic, community-led programming We develop cost-effective, community-driven, integrated development programmes that ensure maximum benefit We know that we must take a holistic approach to development. The problems that people face – such as the lack of clean water, poor health, low income and a denial of rights - are interrelated, and our experience shows that the most sustainable interventions are often those that take an integrated approach. Conversely, if progress is made in one area but not the others, communities can struggle to sustain the benefits once the programme intervention has ended. Therefore – and since in many of the places where we work there are few if any other basic service providers - it is essential that we take a holistic view as we respond to need.

We want to put people in the driving seat of their own development. Our work must respond to need, but also work with the capacities and energies of the participants. Our community-led approach enables us to implement cost-effective, sustainable, integrated development programmes that ensure maximum benefit for those we serve. 2. Effective partnerships We believe that significant and sustainable change occurs by harnessing the collective knowledge, skills, resources and motivation of a wide range of actors. Significant and sustainable change will only happen if we can harness the collective knowledge, skills, resources and motivation of a wide range of actors, starting with community-level partnerships. Concern Universal does not see itself as the primary instigator of change but an active catalyst in facilitating and supporting others in the process of social development. So we build relationships with organisations and institutions that share our vision and mission; we create linkages with communities and grass-roots based organisations; we work in partnership with local governments; we partner with and build the capacity of civil society; and we engage with academic and private sector institutions. Through these effective partnerships Concern Universal creates an enabling environment that can challenge and contribute to achieving positive, sustainable and lasting change for people living in poverty. As part of our commitment to effective partnerships, Concern Universal is creating a new Federation with two other like-minded organisations, AFAP and Vita. We believe that this new Federation will enable us to achieve greater influence, improve programme effectiveness across the Federation, and secure new funding opportunities. We will continue to pro-actively explore strategic partnerships and the expansion of the Federation. 3. Raising people’s voice We will ensure that people are empowered to take a stand and have their voices heard – our programming is rights based We believe that people should have the freedom and opportunity to unhindered participation in society and that they have the right to be treated and respected equally. So our work seeks to ensure that the people are able to take a stand and have their voices heard. Our work is underpinned by a rights-based approach, one that identifies and builds upon people‟s capabilities and reduces the impact of social inequality and negative power structures. 4. Holding power holders to account Advocacy - whether in the form of lobbying, media and communications work, campaigning, education, or research - is an important component of our work Our work aims to inspire and influence others to affect change. Our work encourages duty bearers and rights holders to recognise and adhere to basic human rights outlined in national laws and international conventions. Duty bearers and those in power - whether they are governments, institutions or individuals - are obligated to respect, protect and fulfill human rights outlined in law. We believe that advocacy - whether in the form of lobbying, media and communications work, campaigning,

education, or research - is a core component of development work and must take place at all levels across our work. So advocacy, campaigns and policy development is an important part of our work. Our operational programmes, often taking place in rural communities, are strengthened by local and international advocacy work. 5. Targeting the causes of poverty - development ‘systems’ We analyse the causes of poverty by thinking about how we can improve the ‘development systems’ in which our work is taking place Our programmes support direct interventions, but we also analyse the causes of poverty by thinking about how we can improve the „systems’ in which our work is taking place. For example, an initiative that seeks to improve food security through support to farmers will consider the „market systems’ in which the farmers operate – for example the accessibility of affordable credit, the availability of farmer training programmes, the impact of national agricultural policies, and the efficiency of local markets. Our systems-wide perspective enhances the efficacy of our interventions by ensuring that progress made in one area is not undermined by blockages in the system elsewhere. Our ‘Theory of Change’ – how sustainable development happens We believe that we must put people – not technology or other solutions – at the centre of any change process. Our experience shows that sustainable development is achievable if there are changes at three key levels: INDIVIDUAL change

People need to have the knowledge, skills and confidence to change their own lives. We need to support the local leaders and key change agents that are seeking to drive change locally;

COMMUNITY change

Communities need to work together effectively to be able to improve lives. Effective and representative community-based organisations can lead to real change;

INSTITUTIONAL change

For sustainable change to happen institutions need to be more available to and accountable to the poorest and most vulnerable. We will support work that makes government more accountable and ensures that people are linked to institutions and markets to improve their lives.

WHAT: Our Change Objectives Concern Universal will give particular attention to three areas of change that make a real difference to people‟s lives: Resilient Lives; Better Health; and Upholding Rights. We focus on Resilient Lives, and in particular agricultural development, because many of the most vulnerable people in the world depend on subsistence agriculture or their livelihood. Yet the right to food is not being upheld and over a billion people go to bed hungry every night. Our work promotes livelihoods options that are able to cope with the impacts of a changing climate, as well as focusing on growth and the expansion of local markets. We focus on Better Health because without health there can be no development. Good primary healthcare starts with the basics: access to clean water and sanitation, protection from tropical diseases such as malaria and access to skilled health professionals. When people have access to good health care they are more likely to lead productive and fulfilled lives. We focus on Upholding Rights because we understand that the underlying causes of poverty and inequality are often related to unequal power and the lack of accountability of those in positions of power. Our change objectives are as follows. AIM 1: RESILIENT LIVES Goal: To ensure that vulnerable people have more resilient and

sustainable livelihoods and that economic growth is equitable Priority strategies: Increasing market access for smallholder farmers; conservation

and environmental protection; sustainable agricultural development; low carbon technologies; local and sustainable energy production; support to small and medium enterprises (including policy environment and appropriate financing); irrigation; seed sovereignty; land rights; crop diversification; private sector partnerships; emergency relief (where it links to agriculture); disaster risk reduction and management; skills development.

Key outcomes (indicative): # people with improved crop and livestock yields # people that have established or strengthened their businesses # people with new skills that lead to improved livelihoods # hectares irrigated # trees planted

Impacts (assessed through evaluations/ impact assessments):

The people and communities we work with do not experience a „hungry season‟ and have livelihood strategies in place that ensure food at all times of the year to all, including for the most vulnerable.

Smallholder farmers and small enterprise owners are able to strengthen their businesses and adapt to changing marketplaces, making them profitable

People we work with feel that they have an improving quality of life AIM 2: BETTER HEALTH Goal: To improve health by increasing access to basic services like

water, sanitation, primary healthcare and emergency food/ shelter

Priority strategies: Service provision of basic services (with local government and

private contractors); improving government accountability for the provision of basic services; policy development related to health/WASH; emergency relief; community partnership and ownership of primary healthcare

Key outcomes (indicative): # people with access to safe water # water points provided or rehabilitated # people with improved access to healthcare # people supported with emergency relief Impacts (assessed through evaluations/ impact assessments):

People we work with are healthier and able to be more productive (more work days and higher incomes)

People live with dignity, including in the immediate aftermath of emergencies. AIM 3: UPHOLDING RIGHTS Goal: To improve government accountability to vulnerable people and

to increase citizen engagement in decision-making processes, as well as increasing the respect for the rights of all people.

Priority strategies: social protection; gender and disability rights; local governance;

social accountability; citizen engagement; prevention of violence against women.

Key outcomes (indicative): # people/ CSOs in dialogue with local or national government on issues that affect their livelihood (local monitoring) # service provision agreements signed with duty bearers # of local government bodies using social accountability tools Impacts (assessed through evaluations/ impact assessments):

„Active citizens‟ - People able to influence the decisions that affect them, people feel empowered, CSOs have the capacity to uphold rights.

„Accountable government‟ – Provincial and District development plans include and implement appropriate and inclusive developmental activities.

Men and women are satisfied that their voice is heard by formal institutions, for example through improved participation in elections or voter registration

People feel more secure

ENABLING IT ALL TO HAPPEN: Efficient and effective services Our programmatic work is underpinned by vital support services, essential to the operation of Concern Universal. We will strive to have efficient and effective services in all of our Country Programmes and UK Office. Our efforts will focus on improving the effectiveness of our development programmes, increasing our financial stability, strengthening the resilience of our information and communications technology, enhancing the performance of our human resources, and improving our marketing and communications. Together these will ensure that we are able to deliver effective, sustainable programmes that offer high value for money.