The Sphere
Pilot Project in the
Democratic
2003-2004
From 29 September to
The evaluation found that the level of
application of Sphere among NGOs in DRC varies greatly. Some NGOs had no
knowledge of the Sphere Project and are interested in finding out more about it
and some NGOs have been applying Sphere in their programming and have conducted
staff training on Sphere. Despite
differences in regards to previous experiences in the Sphere Project, all the
NGOs who have attended the Sphere Project development meetings are in favour of
an initiative geared towards the promotion of the Sphere Project in order to
strengthen humanitarian principals, norms and minimum standards in the DRC.
II.
SITUATION ANALYSIS
The
following points review the current situation in DRC with regards to the Sphere
Project:
·
Disparity relating to the
level of institutionalisation of the Sphere Project among NGOs based in DRC.
There is a need for increased knowledge of the Sphere Project, specifically
knowledge based on practice, taking into consideration the realities of
implementing the sphere standards in DRC.
·
The size of the country and
serious transport and communication related difficulties and the scarcity of
resources (both financial and human) are among the factors that hinder
experience sharing between NGOs.
Some
NGOs are implementing the Sphere standards and indicators. However, this
experience is rarely shared and used by others.
III.
STRATEGY
Pilot
agencies have identified two approaches with a view to improving the
institutionalisation and the implementation of the Sphere Project in DRC:
i) The organization of training
workshops on the Sphere Project for NGO staff based in DRC.
ii)
The organization of program evaluations using the Sphere Project. Inter-agency teams, chaired by a specialist
(consultant) in the Sphere Project and evaluation methods, will carry out he
evaluations in a participatory manner.
i) Training:
An
analysis has shown two main training needs in DRC:
a)
Project offices and managers
need to learn how the Sphere Project can be used throughout all stages of the
project cycle.
b)
The field teams need to
become familiar with the Sphere standards and indicators in order to ensure
their use in emergency response programming.
In
response to these two identified needs, there will be two kinds of training:
a)
5-day training of trainers
(TOT) intended for project managers. The following topics will be covered:
Introduction to the Sphere Project; the use of the Sphere Project in the
project cycle; trainers training; the planning of the next training
modules.
There
will be three training of trainers: One will take place in
|
TOT Venue |
Pilot Agencies that have
requested training. |
|
Kinshasa |
CRS,
IRC, Oxfam |
|
Goma |
Concern,
CARE, Red Cross, Caritas, Oxfam GB, World Vision |
|
Bukavu |
IRC,
Save the Children, CARE, FHI |
b)
1-3 days secondary training:
Each TOT will be followed by at least two secondary trainings. All the
participants of the TOTs will be encouraged to
replicate the training, either through a half-day training with colleagues in
the office, or in a more formal environment in collaboration with other
participating agencies. These training modules will be adapted for the targeted
participants, for example, for project managers or community mobilisers. Proposed locations for secondary training
modules include Bas-Congo,
ii) Evaluation of
programs with the use of Sphere
The
second main of activity of the sphere pilot project will be a participatory
evaluation of humanitarian programs according to the sphere standards and indicators.
This evaluation will provide a practical learning opportunity to know what the
standards and indicators actually are, how to implement them, how to measure
them, and how to use the Sphere Project for program evaluations. A consultant
with both practical and academic expertise will be engaged to guide the
evaluation process.
IV.
DURATION OF THE PROJECT
The
Sphere Pilot Project in DRC will last 12 months, from
V.
THE MANAGEMENT STRUCTURE
There
will be two management structures: one steering committee for the pilot
agencies based in
VI.
BENEFICIARIES
i) The direct
beneficiaries
The
direct beneficiaries of the project are the pilot agencies based in DRC. It has
been estimated that there will be 75 participants in the TOTs
(approximately 45 out of 75 will represent the pilot agencies, the other places
remain open to other humanitarian and UN agencies in DRC); and at least 120
participants in secondary training modules. It has been estimated that there
will be at least 44 participants (22 in the Eastern part of the country and 22
in the western part of the country) for the evaluation exercise. There will be
a total of 239 direct beneficiaries.
ii) The indirect
beneficiaries
The
indirect beneficiaries are:
a)
All the emergency teams of the pilot agencies in DRC, and other humanitarian
agencies who attend the trainings and the sphere exercises during the
implementation of the project.
b)
The beneficiaries of all the humanitarian projects that are managed by the
pilot agencies in DRC.
VII.
OBJECTIVES
Overall objective:
To
improve the quality of emergency programs in DRC.
Specific
objectives:
a.
Humanitarian agencies based in DRC
implement the Sphere standards and norms in their emergency programs.
b.
To contribute towards the
evolution of the Sphere project, and to evaluate the applicability of Sphere in
the context of DRC and chronic conflicts.
VIII. ACIVITIES
1.
Establish an inter-agency
steering committee. This committee will be responsible for: the organization of
trainings; the identification of a competent consultant according to a terms of
reference; the choice of employees who will participate in the evaluation
exercises; and the selection of humanitarian programs to be evaluated in
relation to the implementation of sphere standards.
Each pilot agency can propose one of their emergency
programs, and the committee will select at least one in the west of the country
and one in the east of the country. The selection criteria will include: the
sector of intervention, the stage of the project in the project cycle, and the
accessibility of the proposed project site.
2.
Three Sphere TOTs take place in
3.
The TOT participants will
organize at least 3 secondary trainings. The location of the secondary
trainings will be decided by the pilot agencies. The training topics will be
adapted according to the participants’ needs. There will be a maximum of 20
participants in each of the secondary trainings.
4.
A consultant will come to
DRC for a 5-week period. The purpose of his/her mission will be:
a)
To train the members of the
evaluation team in methods of measuring program results in relation to the
sphere standards.[1]
b)
To evaluate two humanitarian
programs according to the sphere standards and indicators;
c)
To evaluate the usefulness
and the practicability of the sphere standards and the indicators as an
evaluation tool.
d)
To share the results of the
evaluation with the humanitarian agencies based in DRC.
The
evaluation team will produce a report that will be circulated to all the pilot
agencies. The pilot agencies will be invited to a meeting in order to discuss
the report, share experiences, and draw the lessons learned from the
evaluation. The evaluation results will
be circulated to the Sphere Project, the head offices of pilot agencies and
other interested organizations.
5.
A national meeting will be
held during the 9th month of the program with a view to sharing
experiences between the western part of the country and the eastern part of the
country.
The
pilot agencies will meet in order to share experiences on how they have used
Sphere in their programming following the trainings and the evaluation
exercises. Lessons learned will be
posted on the Sphere website.
IX.
MONITORING AND EVALUATION
The
steering committee will be responsible for the follow-up of the activities, the
project timetable and the budget. Each pilot agency will be responsible for
implementing Sphere in their emergency programs. The different experiences of
each NGO will be exchanged and documented during feedback meetings. A Sphere
consultant will visit the east and west of the country two times while the
program is under way in order to facilitate “lessons learned” workshops.
Reports will be circulated to the humanitarian agencies, and will be published
on the Sphere Project’s website.
PROJECT LOGFRAME
|
|
INDICATOR |
MEANS OF VERIFICATION |
|
Overall objective To
improve the quality of emergency programs in DRC. |
|
|
|
Specific Objective 1.
Humanitarian agencies based in DRC implement the sphere standards and norms
in their emergency programs. |
100%
of projects designed while the project is under way refer to Sphere. |
|
|
2. To contribute towards the
evolution of the sphere project, the applicability of the sphere is
evaluated. |
Two
reports on the applicability of Sphere are produced and disseminated. |
|
|
Results 1.1
More agencies have better knowledge of Sphere. |
100% of
the participants in the « lessons learned » workshops pass a test. 80%
of the participants pass the end-of-training tests. |
Report
from the “ lessons learned” workshop. Training
report. |
|
1.2.
The agencies use Sphere in their initial evaluations, their programs and
their monitoring and evaluation. |
50%
increase in the projects which use Sphere. |
Evaluation
sheets by agencies at the beginning and at the end of the program. |
|
2.1
Information on the use of Sphere for emergency programs is shared between
agencies. |
4
exchange meetings will take place |
1
interim report after the first meeting 1
final report after the last meeting |
|
Activities 1.
Put in place an inter-agency steering committee |
At
least five members on each steering committee (one in the east and one in the
west) |
Minutes
of the meeting for the selection of the steering committee. |
|
2.
Conduct TOTs in |
Three
TOTs take place. |
Attendance
list Training
report |
|
3.
Secondary trainings organized by the participants of the TOTs |
At
least 6 secondary training modules take place. |
Attendance
lists Training
reports |
|
4.
Evaluation of two programs (one in the east and one in the west) |
2
evaluation visits (one in the east and one in the west.) |
Evaluation
reports. |
|
5. Workshop on the results of
the evaluations |
2
workshops (one in the east and one in the west) |
Evaluation
report |
|
6.
National meeting for experience sharing between the east and the west. |
1
meeting devoted to the sharing of experience. |
Minutes
of the meeting |
|
7. Lessons
learned workshop every six months. |
4
lessons learned workshops (2 in the East and 2 in the West) |
Report
on the evaluation meeting |
|
8.
Dissemination of both “lessons learned” and the evaluation results of the
applicability of Sphere. |
At
least 12 reports are disseminated to international agencies, to the managers
of the Sphere Project and the sphere website. |
|
[1] For example, the following
indicators:
·
15 litters of water per person and per a day are collected.
·
At each tap, the flow is at least in the order of 7.5 litters per
minute.
·
There is at least one tap for 250 people.
If the above mentioned indicators are to be
measured, people need to consult one another about information-collecting
methods very often. The lack of familiarity with the collecting methods of
technical information hangers the ability for proper follow-up.