“Organization Governance, Network Management and Member Relations, and Advocacy Effectiveness: Say it with Numbers”

Tanya Zaldarriaga

After working on the Capacity Building Frameworks on Network Management and Member Relations and on Local and Sectoral Advocacy Effectiveness last year, the CODE-NGO Commission on Institution and Capacity Building (CICB) met this year at the PhilDHRRA Partnership Center in Quezon City to discuss the assessment tool for these frameworks.

The CICB, a Commission created by the CODE-NGO Board of Trustees to develop policies and oversee the implementation of strategic development, human resource development and organizational development interventions in order to build the capacity of CODE-NGO member networks, has 12 permanent members nominated to the Commission by the member networks themselves. During the meeting last April 3-4, 2014, the members of the CICB reported on the capacity building interventions focusing on organizational governance of their individual networks that was supported by the CODE-NGO Capacity Building Fund and reinforced by the training and mentoring interventions provided by the “Strengthening the Capacity of Philippine CSOs Project” of the Ayala Foundation and supported by USAID. The reports highlighted the accomplishments and underscored the challenges that each of the member networks toiled in in the past 8 months in order to increase their ratings in the areas of Governance and Leadership; Strategic Planning and Management; Program Design, Implementation and Management, Monitoring and Evaluation (PDIMME); Resource Mobilization and Development; Administrative and Personnel Management; and Financial Management. 

In a joint workshop with the CODE-NGO Advocacy Commission, the CICB discussed the indicators and rating system that will be employed network-wide as the capacity assessment tool for the Framework on Local and Sectoral Advocacy Effectiveness. Indicators for this framework include advocacy agenda, representation in the sector, constituency, leadership in the advocacy, enactment or implementation of policies, and sustainability of the accomplishments in advocacy. Both Commissions are set to finalize and test the assessment tool in the next 4 months.  The CICB also discussed the indicators and rating system for the Framework on Network Management and Member Relations.

Before the 2-day meeting was closed, the members of the CICB elected young leaders Bai Anayatin of MINCODE (Mindanao) and Aldwin Empaces of CENVISNET (Central Visayas) as the Chairperson and Vice Chairperson, respectively. Bai and Aldwin are expected to bring in fresh perspectives into the capacity building plans and programs of the coalition as the officers of the Commission in the next two years.

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Tanya is the Program Officer for Membership of CODE-NGO.