UN Certificates

I was a member of the response team during Hurricance Mitch in Honduras and ever since I have been eager to maintain my skills in the are of Emergent Response. Having completed a number of training courses on the themes of emergency and security - situations, awareness, preparedness, response, logistics, etc. I was delighted to be selected for the Irish Aid Rapid Response Corp

(http://www.irishaid.gov.ie/Rapid_Response_Initiative.asp) .

As part of this I completed further advanced training in the United Nations Training School Ireland (UNTSI) based in the miltary camp, Currach Co. Kildare. Following on from this I completed the UN c ertificates in Security Awareness.

(http://www.military.ie/army/org/dftc/milcol/index.htm#untsi) .

Information & Communications Technology (ICT) as an Intervention Strategy for Sustainable Development Projects

I recently completed a piece of research on the role of ICT in development projects/interventions. The purpose of this research exercise is to understand the current thinking in development circles of the role and potential of Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) in development and to identify areas of opportunity that an Irish-based NGO working in International Development can learn from and leverage in order to:

• Identify key actions/opportunities to improve the sustainability of ICT-focused development interventions
• Develop a programmatic approach to allow/ensure Camara delivers ongoing development rather than one-off interventions
• Add value to ICT-based development programmes & projects

The tangible output is a series of questions or propositions that a Development Organisation (an NGO working in the ICT area or using ICT as part of its development intervention) should answer in its identification of needs; design of development intervention strategies; management of development projects & programmes and/or in the monitoring and evaluation of those programmes & projects. As such, this research exercise is a practical knowledge management exercise.

The research technique adopted is based on a literature review of existing research, building upon the experience gained by peers and policy-makers in the development sector.

• International Policy: Research commissioned by International and multilateral organisations – such as the UN and World Bank.

• National Policy: Reviews and assessments of development policies that draw upon or focus on ICTs.

• Donor Experience: Donor research leveraging their own experience or requirements in supporting ICT projects.

• NGO Experience: Strategies; Projects and Research undertaken by NGOs drawing upon their practical experience from projects and partners.

• Beneficiary/ Partner Experience: Direct experience from project participants, including partner organisation, recipients of ICT supports and personnel involved in delivering the projects

I based on the findinsg on the Development Value Chain that I have developed (http://entanddev.blogspot.com/2007/10/development-value-chain.html) in relation to the roles (i.e. questions to be answered) of the Donor, iNGO & Local partners and beneficiary

Ministerial Mentoring Mission

I have been travelling around the country recently having been asked to prepare and facilitate a ministerial delegation who have been learning about the "Celtic Tiger".

The following is an overview of the agenda that I organised/facilitated during the delegates visit to Ireland:

• Irish Foreign Affairs & International Cooperation (including political and civil service responsibilities; multilateral & bilateral relationships; civil society support; etc.)
• Irish Civil & Public Service career management (recruitment; recognition; performance management; resource management; etc.)
• The National Development Plan and the role of procurement and public/private partnerships.
• Irish domestic enterprise and export development
• Irish Foreign Direct Investment strategies
• Irish University sectors role expanding the development & aid agenda both in Ireland and internationally
• Consultancy & training organisations directly involved in Irelands efforts in International Cooperation.
  

I must thank the various participants from the Irish Civil & Public Services, Universities and Business Services organisations who participated in this - meeting with the delegates, giving insightful presentations and answering the various questions that arose.

The Development Value Chain

Having worked with both Donors and with organisation applying for/complying with Donor requirements I have been able to bring together in a single methodology (i.e approach to understanding; assessing; evaluating & actioning) the entire Development process from an NGO management perspective:


This graphic show the simplified explanation (using animination graphics in powerpoint) to show the movement of a grain of Maze from a US Farmer through the chain of events (Value Chain); and associated management responsibilities of each player in this chain until it finally reaches the beneficiary. You can see that there are shared responsibilities across all participants in the process, with each being dependent on the other for the successful completion (and compliance) of the development project:


From the perspective of an NGO, or a Donor looking to partner with an NGO, there are 4 primary links in the Develoment Value Chain:

1. Needs Analysis: Rationale for the development intervention; Mainstreaming requirements; Capacity Building & Sustainability
2. Solution Design: Proposal Design (Logical Framework); Budgeting; Risk Identification; Intervention Strategy; Entry Strategy and Exit Strategy
3. Project Management: Project Implementation; Financial Management; Risk Management; Change Management; Project Governance & Project Closure
4. Monitoring & Evaluation: Progress Monitoring; Financial Control; Knowledge Management & Project Evaluation

The model is IrishAid - drawing on their specific donor priorities and requirements, plus requirements for specific initiatives (in the following exanples Technology in Developmemt and Volunteering).

The combination of each of these phases allows the Development partners to prepare an enhanced Logical Framework that reflects not only the traditional elements of a LogFrame (Needs Analysis & Solution Design) but also the key aspects for ongoing Project Management; Project Monitoring and the final Project Evaluation:

eCommerce Programme

I have been asked to design and deliver a 6-day (over 6-weeks) programme on eCommerce for a County Enterprise Board. From eStrategy, through Planning to practical and technical issues of implementing and managing a website.

While much of the content for this programme I was very familar with it was really interesting to research (on the web) additional and complementary insights on the various aspects of establishing and running an eBusiness. But know I have a single repository of all of the background infoprmation and sources - plus a fully prepared programme including presentation slides, exercises, practical handouts and case studies.

To learn more about this programme, click the link

Logistics & Security in Humanitarian Programmes

I am currently participating in an intensive training programme in Logistics and Security for Humanitarian Programmes. It is faciliated by a member of the BioForce staff. The 4 Logistics aspects are based on the practical application of sound Supply Chain Management principles - the practical examples from the trainer are excellent and really bring the reality of Logistics in the field (both Emergency & Development contexts)

Details of this particular course can be found at: http://dtalk.dsckim.ie/courses/scheduled/?guid=5e7175e7-b081-4993-b2df-fd3f7c8750ec and the full schedule of all DTalk courses is at :http://dtalk.dsckim.ie/courses/scheduled/ - definitely worth a look for anyone interested in improving their development skills & knowledge

Business Training Programmes

Details of these training programmes can be found at my website www.entanddev.com

Strategy Design, Development, Documentation and business planning for implementation. A programme that allows the participant to build their strategic plan during the course of the programme - aligning strategic priorities with business resources - Finance (Money); People (Time) and Tangible resources (Things). Feeding in from the strategy development is the preparation of a business plan to support the full spectrum of potential requirements (from finance raising to staff action planning)

Looking at the marketing process from the management perspective - the elements that can be identified; allocated; actioned and delivered by People (Time resources); Understanding the various marketing tools and how to apply them to optimise available business resources (time; money & things); and translating market research into market action.

Leadership can be seperated into two elements - Leading towards a shared set of objectives. And Managing the business resources (primarily people/time) and how they optimise money & things to achieve these shared objectives.