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PVC-ASHA E-News Bulletin
June 2005 - Volume 2, Number 2
Office of Private Voluntary Cooperation-American Schools and Hospitals Abroad
U.S. Agency for International Development
Dear Colleagues,
Welcome to the latest issue of the PVC-ASHA E-News Bulletin, an information service from USAID's Office of Private Voluntary Cooperation (PVC)-American Schools and Hospitals Abroad (ASHA). The Bulletin is disseminated periodically as PVC-ASHA announcements, publications, events, requests for applications/proposals and web postings occur. Our goal is to provide timely access to PVC-ASHA program information and resources on organizational development.
In this issue we are including news and information about our ongoing activities and programs including our Annual Program Statement for Research, upcoming Ocean Freight Reimbursement Request for Applications, ASHA program updates, PVO Training Program, an update on activities related to PVC-ASHA's Cooperative Development Program, as well as new PVO registrations. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the many ASHA grantees who attended the ASHA Annual Workshop held this past May. Following you will find a brief Workshop overview. For more in-depth information about our programs, please visit our website.
We hope you find this service useful and encourage you to share PVC-ASHA news with colleagues.
Best regards,
Judith Gilmore
Director, PVC-ASHA
HEADLINES
- Announcements
- Annual Program Statement for Research
- Ocean Freight Reimbursement Program - Upcoming Request for Applications
- ASHA Grant Process Update
- 2005 ASHA Workshop
- PVO Training Program
- Cooperative Development Program Update
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Resources/Publications
- New USAID Resources in Organizational Development
- A selection of items on Organizational Development recently added to the PVC-ASHA Knowledge Inventory
1. ANNOUNCEMENTS
Annual Program Statement for Research
PVC is currently accepting proposals from US PVOs and other non-profit organizations for NGO-related research projects through an Annual Program Statement (APS) for research. The APS can be found on www.fedgrants.gov and at the link provided below. Responses to questions and any modifications to the APS will be posted both on the PVC-ASHA and fedgrants.gov websites. Several proposal submissions were received on our first deadline date - May 31. Upcoming proposal submission deadline dates are July 31 and September 30, 2005 with awards being made within a month of proposal submission. For questions and information on this APS, please contact Anne Sattgast, POC, M/OAA/DCHA, Tel: 202-712-0338, Fax: 202-216-3132, email: asattgast@usaid.gov.
FY 2005 Annual Program Statement (PDF 37KB)
Evaluation Criteria for FY 2005 Annual Program Statement Research (PDF 44KB)
Ocean Freight Reimbursement Program - Upcoming Request For Application
The Ocean Freight Reimbursement (OFR) Request for Application (RFA) is being redrafted. During the reviews for OFR FY2004/2005 we received many suggestions from the reviewers, and we are working to incorporate as many of these as possible in the new RFA. Once the draft is complete, it will be sent to current and past OFR grantees for comment. The PVOs will then have 2-4 weeks to respond with relevant input. This feedback will be considered when creating the final FY2006/2007 RFA to be released this fall. There will also be an OFR "bidders workshop" in the fall, after the final version of the RFA is posted, when prospective applicants can meet with PVC-ASHA to discuss the RFA and review its criteria. The date and venue for the workshop will be sent to all registered PVOs, including current OFR recipients, before the final version of the RFA is posted.
We are also preparing to commit second year funds to the FY2004/2005 OFR grantees and expect to have these committed by August of this year.
For more information on the OFR Program see www.usaid.gov USAID Keyword: OFR or contact Dana Alzouma at (301) 424-6888.
American Schools and Hospitals Abroad (ASHA) Grant Review Process Update
FY 2005 grant award recipients under the ASHA program were announced in May and final grant agreements are currently in negotiation. Demand for ASHA funding continues to increase over previous years. Seventy six (76) applications were received for FY 2005 funding compared to fifty seven in FY 2004. Applications were received from 70 United States Organizations (USOs), sponsoring a total of 76 Overseas Institutions (OSIs). Of the 70 USOs, 25 were new applicants. Of the 76 applications, 20 were for institutions in Africa; 17 in Asia; 16 in the Near East; 14 in Latin America and 9 in Eurasia. Approximately 45% of the funding requests for FY 2005 ASHA funding were for construction and 45% for commodities. Program support and professional services comprised the remaining 20%.
Please note that, applications for FY2006 ASHA funding must be submitted by June 30, 2005. To determine if you are eligible for an ASHA grant, please complete the questionnaire at: http://www.usaid.gov/our_work/cross-cutting_programs/asha/applreg.html
For more information, please contact George Like at 202-712-1766 or glike@usaid.gov or Carmelita Maness at (202) 712-1117 or cmaness@usaid.gov.
2005 ASHA Annual Workshop
Over 100 ASHA grantees attended the Annual ASHA Workshop sponsored by PVC-ASHA which was held May 23-25 at the Holiday Inn Select Old Town in Alexandria, Virginia. The high turnout at this year's workshop reflects the continuing trend of an overall increase in ASHA grants.
This year's three-day workshop provided ASHA grantees with a USAID overview along with useful information regarding specifics of ASHA grant implementation. Day one of the workshop focused on the needs of newer ASHA grantees. Following welcome remarks by PVC-ASHA Office Director Judith Gilmore and ASHA Division Chief George Like, a session entitled USAID #101 provided details about USAID's structure, strategic planning practices, budget and obligation processes, award methods and reporting requirements. Participants also heard from the ASHA team in a series of sessions covering ASHA procedures and practices related to grant award, implementation reporting requirements and close-out activities.
The second and third days of the Workshop provided in-depth information in breakout sessions addressing financial reporting requirements and grant implementation. An interactive session focusing on performance management plans (PMP) was also conducted in which revised performance indicators for individual grant PMPs were presented for discussion and feedback.
Participants also learned about additional USAID funding opportunities from USAID's Office of Faith-Based Initiatives. Division Chief George Like presented an overview of ASHA's strategy and updated participants on efforts to revise and streamline the ASHA grant application. Participants were invited to submit additional feedback following the workshop. If you would like a copy of the draft revised ASHA application or to provide feedback, please contact George Like at glike@usaid.gov.
The final afternoon of the workshop provided an opportunity for grantees to meet with ASHA program staff to answer specific questions. Overall, participants found the workshop to be useful in helping to better understand grant requirements and updates, as well as meet with fellow grantees and ASHA staff. In an effort to be responsive to grantee needs, ASHA is reviewing participant feedback to further enhance next year's workshop. For more information about the workshop, please contact Carmelita Maness at (202) 712-1117 or cmaness@usaid.gov.
PVC-ASHA PVO Training Program Update
In the February 2005 issue of the E-News Bulletin, PVC-ASHA announced its launch of a new training program for PVOs. Your response to this announcement has been encouraging, and we sincerely appreciate your enthusiasm. Because your collaboration enables us to better serve you, your feedback from the PVO Conference held in January 2005 as well as that received during the ASHA Workshop held in May 2005 has been useful in providing us with additional ideas for topical areas of interest.
PVC-ASHA is moving forward in responding to your training needs. We recently added to our staff Outreach and Training Specialist, Patricia Bekele. Along with PVO Registrar, Mary Newton, Patricia will serve as a point of contact for submission of comments, suggestions and requests for the training program. To develop a training program that responds to your requests, we've been busily consolidating your input to date and will continue to seek your feedback during the month of July. While final content areas will be based on your feedback, we anticipate offering "USAID 101" to help those new to the processes of USAID and the US government more generally. We also intend to support your mentoring initiatives that we have seen blossom during recently held events.
We also plan to provide information on PVO-related training that extend beyond the scope of our program on our website and in future E-News bulletins. If your organization provides training for non-profits, or wishes to become involved as a mentor, and you would like to be featured in a future E-News bulletin, please contact Mary Newton at mnewton@usaid.gov or (202) 712-4747 or Patricia Bekele at patricia.bekele@triumph-tech.com or (202) 737-2793. Your ideas and suggestions for training are always welcome!
Cooperative Development Program News
PVC-ASHA's Cooperative Development Organization (CDO) Program supports cooperative development overseas implemented by U.S. cooperative development organizations (CDOs). This competitive grant program responds to the needs of local cooperatives and other group-based businesses by utilizing the expertise and resources of long-established U.S. cooperative organizations, their members, and volunteers. The program focuses on developing, implementing and extending workable solutions to key problems.
Highlights of recent CDO Program developments include:
- HealthPartners, a Minnesota-based health cooperative, has received a Child Survival grant to expand work in Uganda initiated under a Cooperative Development Program mentoring arrangement with Land O'Lakes. The grant will enable HealthPartners to extend health cooperative membership as well as service links to clinics and hospitals.
- In the fall of 2003, with CDP support, the Overseas Cooperative Development Council sent a Mission to Sudan to explore ways in which cooperatives might introduce a mutual self-help dimension into the reconstruction effort. Subsequently Land O'Lakes, National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) and Cooperative Housing Foundation (CHF) have entered into project agreements with the Sudan Mission.
- The Americas Association of Cooperative/Mutual Insurance Societies (AAC/MIS) hosted a forum entitled Achieving Progressive Organizational Change: Creating a Culture of Excellence in Service on June 9, 2005 for 80 international development practitioners. The event resulted from AAC/MIS participation in PVC-ASHA's Cooperative Development Program. The program explored the relationship between culture, values and development, highlighting an AAC/MIS program that successfully promoted significant change in four Central American/Caribbean insurance cooperatives. The Program for a Culture of Excellence in Service, conducted in the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, focused on individual, value-based change to drive organizational transformation. The keynote speaker, Lawrence Harrison, former USAID Mission Director and current Senior Research Fellow and Adjunct Professor at the Fletcher School at Tufts University, has written extensively on the subject of cultural values and human progress including Culture Matters - How Values Shape Human Progress, Underdevelopment is a State of Mind, and Who Prospers?. Participants represented a wide variety of PVOs, NGOs, cooperative development organizations, and international development consulting firms working around the globe with organizational development and change issues. A final report summarizing the event will be available to the public at http://www.aacmis.org. For further information or details, please contact info@aacmis.org
- WOCCU Remittances Exceed US Bilateral Assistance to Four Central American Countries: In 2001, the World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU) introduced a remittance program that links credit unions in the United States with an increasing number of credit unions in Latin America and the Caribbean. At present, seventy-six credit unions distribute remittances through 234 points of service in rural and urban areas in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. From August 2001 to March 2005, these credit unions distributed 1,272,130 remittance transactions amounting to $550 million through the International Remittance Network (IR net) of WOCCU. The $550 million distributed exceeds the total US assistance program (all accounts) of $490.6 million to the four countries during Fiscal Years 2003 through 2005. Preparatory to their participation in IR net, these credit unions received technical assistance from WOCCU so that they could attain the standards of safety and soundness and the level of technological sophistication to be able to receive and distribute remittances. The level of USAID investment in WOCCU technical assistance to credit unions in these four countries from 1987 to 2004 was $15.4 million. The PVC office investment of $750,000 to launch remittance distribution in Nicaragua (10/03-10/04) through the Cooperative Development Program has resulted in the distribution of 14,229 remittances amounting to $2.6 million through March 2005 - a 350% return on investment in just the first eighteen months of remittance distribution!
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2. RESOURCES/ PUBLICATIONS
New PVO Registrations
The following organizations were registered by PVC-ASHA since February 24, 2005. For more information about these or any registered PVOs with USAID, please use the PVO Registry Online:
U.S.-based PVOs
- Admiral Jeremiah Denton Foundation
- American Lung Association
- Board of World Mission of the Moravian Church
- Children of Armenia Fund, Inc.
- Children of Promise International
- Children's Cup
- Children's Nutrition Program of Haiti, Inc.
- Christian Freedom International, Inc.
- Coprodeli USA
- ECHO, Inc.
- Equip, Inc.
- Friends of WFP, Inc.
- Gleaning for the World
- Gospel for Asia, Inc.
- Hope Alliance, The
- Hope's Promise Orphan Ministries
- International Association for Human Values
- Kids Alive International
- New Life Corporation of America
- SDTC-The Center for Discovery, Inc
- Seton Institute Mombasa Relief Initiative
- Sri Lanka Association of Greater Washington, Inc
- Strategic World Impact
- World Orphans
International PVOs
- Australians Caring for Refugees
- Stichting Center for Democracy and Reconciliation in South East Europe
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3. ONLINE RESOURCES IN ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
In this section we present a sample of interesting USAID documents in the area of organizational development recently added to our PVC-ASHA Knowledge Inventory which offers a searchable web-enabled repository of USAID's 30+ years of experience in organizational development, containing summaries of lessons learned from documents produced and funded by USAID as well as other donors and organizations. You can find the full document summaries on the Knowledge Inventory, or click on the links to download the full files.
NGO Networks: Building Capacity in a Changing World, USAID Study, 11/2004, Liebler, Claudia, English, PN-ADB-767
Organizational Development Category(s): Community Outreach, Enabling Environment, Knowledge Management, Leadership, Networks, Organizational Learning, Policy Advocacy, Resource Generation, Strategic Planning
http://www.dec.org/pdf_docs/PNADB767.pdf
This purpose of this study is to provide information and raise questions regarding networks and the role they play in promoting organizational development changes in their member organizations. This report recommends activities that can be undertaken to promote organizational change, describes characteristics of networks that build capacity, and highlights donor practices that can strengthen the ability of networks to promote this change.
NGO Accreditation and Certification: The Way Forward? -- An Evaluation of the Development Community's Experience, USAID Study, 10/2004, Shea, Catherine, English, PN-ADB-766
Organizational Development Category(s): Capacity Assessment, Monitoring & Evaluation
http://www.dec.org/pdf_docs/PNADB766.pdf
This report summarizes the major findings of research into NGO accreditation and certification programs conducted by the International Center for Not-for-Profit Law (ICNL). Research included a study of 7 organizations that have developed and implemented certification programs, identifying commonalities and differences in the programs. The study also identifies 5 models of certification-type mechanisms with their benefits and challenges. Included in the report are additional lessons learned through the process of implementing accreditation and certification programs.
Follow-up Evaluation: Three Latin American Cohorts in the Virtual Leadership Development Program, USAID Study, 10/2004, English, PN-ADA-974,
Organizational Development Category(s): Knowledge Management, Leadership, Monitoring & Evaluation, Organizational Learning
http://www.dec.org/pdf_docs/PNADA974.pdf
The Virtual Leadership Development Program is a 12 week learning program providing leadership training for teams. This report evaluates 3 Latin American training cohorts, 35 teams from public sector, nongovernmental, and private organizations, in order to assess medium-term outcomes of the program related to workgroup climate, teams' progress, and the implementation of organizational action plans. The report highlights the main factors affecting the ability of teams to address organizational challenges and reasons why teams struggled to address organizational challenges and implement action plans.
The Kien Kes Health and Education Network: How One Faith-based Organization Mobilizes Community Compassion with Few Resources, USAID Study, 01/2004, English, PN-ADB-363
Organizational Development Category(s): Community Outreach, Networks
http://www.dec.org/pdf_docs/PNADB363.pdf
This document describes a network operating out of Buddhist temples in Cambodia that uses volunteers and community mobilization to provide care and support to people with HIV/AIDS and training to the community. It has institutionalized its interventions and helped replicate them in nearby temples. The Network also works with a multisectoral advisory committee to institutionalize care for people with HIV/AIDS. With services being administered by volunteers and monks rather than professionals, the Network uses a community-based rather than institution-based approach.
Agroforestry-based Enterprise Development as a Biodiversity Conservation Intervention in Mexico and Ghana, USAID Evaluation, 03/2004, English, PD-ABZ-650
Organizational Development Category(s): Community Outreach, Financial Management, Financial Sustainability, Human Resources, Monitoring & Evaluation, Organizational Learning, Program Implementation, Resource Generation, Strategic Planning, Technical Sustainability
http://www.dec.org/order_form.cfm (Note: Not yet available online -- paper copy must be ordered)
This report evaluates a program of Conservation International targeting biodiversity corridors for economic development opportunities that reach a large number of stakeholders, based on activities that provide habitat for local flora and fauna. In Mexico, the program included six cooperatives that produced shade-grown coffee and partnered with organizations in a nature reserve in developing agricultural practices. In Ghana, the program worked with government ministries and a university to develop a set of working practices and training materials for cocoa production. Organizational development lessons related to the management of these programs and focus on areas of project design, adaptive management, financial sustainability, monitoring, and data management.
USAID's Experience with Multisectoral Partnership and Strategic Alliances: an Analysis of Best Practices and Lessons Learned, USAID Study, 10/2004, English, PN-ACN-271
Organizational Development Category(s): Capacity Assessment, Monitoring & Evaluation, Partnerships, Strategic Planning
http://www.dec.org/pdf_docs/PNACN271.pdf
This document systematically reviews USAID's documented experiences from 1990 to present in multisectoral partnerships and strategic alliances, with emphasis on best practices and lessons learned. The overall lesson was that most, if not all, collaborating agencies benefit more from combining their efforts and resources than from acting alone. The report examines public and private partnerships, describes a best practice partnering model, and gives the characteristics of effective partnership. In addition, it highlights additional best practices in planning, relationship building, monitoring and organizational learning, and leveraging resources.
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