I. Introduction

A. Executive Summary

1. Background

In July 2002 an NGO-sponsored assessment mission relating to the application of Sphere in Afghanistan was conducted. The team’s findings showed that the humanitarian response was impressive in scale, but still largely uncoordinated and staffed by a number of national and international personnel who were not fully aware of best practices and current international norms in humanitarian response. Given the tremendous workload borne by humanitarian agencies and organizations in Afghanistan, it was determined essential to provide an additive Sphere support service that specifically related to current programming. The support service did not want to unduly disrupt ongoing operations, but provide consistent and recurrent assistance as required.

A proposal was developed by the Assessment Mission team and was adopted by Agency Coordination Body for Afghan Relief (ACBAR). The one-year project was funded by the American Red Cross and was called the Sphere Extension Service for Afghanistan (SESA). A SESA advisory group composed of the ACBAR Executive Director; representatives from the core group of NGOs (non-government organizations) supporting the initiative and a representative from the American Red Cross were responsible for monitoring progress and providing policy and strategic guidance for the project.

2. SESA Project—2003

A three-member SESA project team was established and is based within the ACBAR Kabul Office. The team reports to ACBAR’s Executive Coordinator for daily operational, logistical and security-related matters. The SESA Team is responsible for conducting trainings, discussing applications of Sphere and meeting with NGOs and government departments in order to disseminate and explain the Sphere concept, the Humanitarian Charter, standards and indicators. The team consists of two trainers and an administrative assistant.

A Sphere Master Trainer was engaged as a consultant to provide support and technical assistance during the course of the project. On the initial visit, the Master Trainer provided intensive instruction on Sphere guidance and training techniques.

SESA’s first year of activities was fraught with challenges. Recruitment and turnover of staff, the time-consuming process of translations and review and delays in procurement of necessary supplies hindered progress. Despite these challenges, the SESA Team translated the Sphere Handbook and supporting materials into Dari and procured Sphere Handbooks in Pashto and English. They provided 37 Sphere Orientation Meetings, co-facilitated three Sphere Workshops, conducted 10 one-day Sphere Workshops, three Sphere Clinics and distributed 328 Sphere Handbooks by request outside of training events. Additionally, the SESA Team took part in an international Sphere Training of Trainers (ToT) workshop in Europe where they met other Sphere trainers and shared lessons learned and discussed future activities.

After 12 months SESA’s progress was reviewed and it was determined that another 12 months were required. The restricted activities of the first year meant that no additional funds were required for the project extension.

3. SESA Project—2004 (up to 5 November)

The year began with the task of replacing the second Sphere Trainer for the third time. It took two months to replace the individual. In 2004 the SESA Team conducted 13 Sphere workshops; two of which were four days in length and 11 two-day workshops. Another eight Sphere Orientation Meetings were provided. Although 20 Sphere Clinics were planned for 2004, only one was conducted.

The Sphere Master Trainer returned to adapt the training materials to the 2004 version of the handbook and co-facilitated a Sphere workshop. As a separately funded project, the SESA Team took on the translation and printing of the 2004 edition of the Sphere Handbook.

4. Remaining Activities

The SESA Project Manager will attend a meeting conducted by the Sphere Project Office in Geneva. The purpose of the meeting is to share information and learn from national Sphere training initiatives around the world. The SESA project manager developed a poster display and a presentation to share at the meeting.

The SESA Team will tentatively hold two-three additional Sphere Workshops as requested in December. Out of the 2,250 books already printed and procured, 540 Sphere Handbooks remain to be distributed during the project’s final month. The team is soon expecting to receive 700 copies of the 2004 version of the Sphere Handbook in Dari to distribute to humanitarian organizations across Afghanistan.

The SESA Team has proposed to extend the project for an additional six months and is waiting to receive a response from the donor.

B. Evaluation

From 5-26 November 2004, an independent consultant was engaged to perform the evaluation of the project.

The purpose of this evaluation is to:

· Recommend, as appropriate, improvements in the objectives, the strategies and/or implementation processes.

· Provide objective reporting on the efficiency of the use of resources, both financial and human.

· Assess the relevance, accomplishments and constraints of the SESA Team.

The Evaluation Report is structured in a way that first introduces SESA’s strategies and processes. Each process is followed by a conclusion and recommendation. The next section evaluates the relevance of the SESA Team and their accomplishments and constraints to date. Finally, a general analysis of the project is made as the final conclusion. It should be noted here, however, that the project still has remaining activities to conduct, and therefore this document should not be considered as a final evaluation report.

C. Methodologies

The evaluation required a variety of methodologies to gain meaningful information relevant to the project.

1. Review of Documents

Collection and review of project documentation was undertaken and concentrated mainly from those available in the SESA office. A good amount of the documentation was in English since the donor required it, but some was in Dari. The project manager answered any questions where necessary.

· Original project documents—The original project proposal, project plans and budget were reviewed to compare what was proposed to what actually happened.

· Reports to American Red Cross—Quarterly reports that have been submitted to the American Red Cross were reviewed for background information and status.

· Workshop Evaluation Reports and Forms—The SESA Team created an individual report after each workshop describing the workshop activities and a summary of the evaluation forms from the activities. Both the reports and the original completed evaluation forms were reviewed.

· Budget and Finance—Again, original budget plans were compared to what was spent and any changes that happened during the course of the project. A review of financial processes and documentation was also reviewed.

2. Questionnaire

Questionnaires were designed to elicit background information about SESA project participants and their opinions about their experiences with the project. An e-mail form of the questionnaire was sent to 44 participants of the project and 10 were completed and returned. The questionnaire was also used to design the structure of the semi-structured interviews and focus groups. A separate questionnaire was developed for interviewing the SESA Team, the executive coordinator of ACBAR and an Advisory Group member. Questionnaires can be found in Annex A of this document.

3. Focus Groups

Three Focus groups were held and consisted of a gathering of five to eight SESA Activity participants to have in-depth discussions on their experience with the project. The Afghan Red Crescent Society (ARCS), the Ministry of Defense-Disaster Response Department and the Ministry of Interior-Disaster Response Department were selected for the Focus Groups. These represented two and four-day agency specific workshops. The original questionnaire gave structure to the focus group, but responses were used to form more specific questions. A translator assisted through the process and the evaluator took notes.

4. Semi-Structured Interviews

Twelve semi-structured interviews of individual key informants played an important role in the evaluation process. Interviews were held over a period of 10 days. Information gathered in initial interviews contributed towards the development of questions for later interviews. Interviews were conducted with SESA Team members and selected participants from: NGOs, INGOs, Government departments and UN agencies.

Comments on the Evaluation

The evaluation exercise was originally scheduled for October 2004, but it was delayed due to the security situation caused by elections.

The overall goal of this evaluation was to determine whether a Sphere Extension Service project was beneficial for the humanitarian community in Afghanistan and ultimately those who would benefit from Sphere standards being met. Afghan people are currently suffering from a long-term drought, but most respondents did not perceive that there was currently a disaster in Afghanistan; therefore it is difficult to assess what impact the SESA project would have in disaster response. The evaluation explores if and how a Sphere Extension Service is applicable in a perceived “non-disaster” setting.

The evaluation was somewhat limited in scope since the evaluator remained in Kabul where approximately half of the SESA Team activities were conducted. It was hoped that travel to the provinces would be possible, but the project did not have enough funding to allow an independent translator to accompany the evaluator. Security issues also prevented travel to many of the provinces.

Out of 116 SESA participants the evaluator attempted to contact, 42 were reached. The lack of response was mainly due to:

· The number of participants who had left their job since the training;

· The fact that part of the evaluation took place during the month of Ramadan and the Eid holiday;

· The challenging communication systems in Afghanistan.

As pointed out in the original needs assessment and project proposal, there are a growing number of humanitarian agencies and programs in Afghanistan and therefore an increasing demand for national staff. The pace of growth has meant that many inexperienced national staff are recruited and trained on the job.

High competition for Afghan staff has created a significant turnover rate within the humanitarian agencies. This was reflected in the respondent group for the evaluation. Over 80% of respondents had been in their current position for three years or less. Nearly 70% had three years or less experience in the humanitarian field.

SESA Evaluation Participants

II. Strategies and Processes

This section of the evaluation explores the strategies and processes used during project implementation. Each section is followed by a recommendation and conclusion including comments on the use of human and financial resources.

A. Translation/Printing and Dissemination of Sphere Materials

1. Sphere Handbook Translation/Printing (English to Dari)

The SESA Team and Sphere Master Trainer created a detailed description of what was needed in terms of translation of the handbook and printing services. Also, one page of the Sphere handbook was included with a request to translate for review. Four details were distributed to translation/printing companies around Kabul and three proposals were returned.

The criteria used for choosing the translation/printing organization was: 1) Understanding of book and project; 2) Time to perform the work; 3) Cost. The least expensive service was chosen.

The SESA Team asked the USAID (United States Agency for International Development) for some reviewers. One reviewer reviewed the three translations from the proposals, but the SESA Team was not confident that he spent much time on it. They chose a different translator than was recommended.

A review team was created to review the entire Sphere Handbook. USAID provided one reviewer for the technical chapter on health and one for the nutrition chapter. The SESA Team was not offering compensation to reviewers, but asking for volunteers from the humanitarian sector. Because of lack of interest from outside groups and lack of activity within the project, the SESA Team acted as reviewers. All activities to this point took one month to complete.

It turned out that the organization chosen to translate the handbook was unable to print the handbook. Therefore another price comparison was done and another printer chosen.

As sections of the handbook were translated, it was turned over to a typist who would enter the information on a computer. Sections were reviewed by the review team and returned either to the translator or typist as appropriate for corrections. The process for translating and reviewing the handbook took 2.5 months.

The book was then taken to the printer for design and layout of the book. Design had to stop for approximately two weeks while the two trainers went to Europe for a ToT workshop. The SESA Team worked closely with the printers to check details and quality of the handbook and final production took another 1.5 months. The entire translation and printing process took 6 months.

Since the two SESA trainers did not have many training activities for the first several months of the project, they used their time to translate training materials from English into Dari.

2. Procurement of Sphere Handbooks in Pashto

Mercy Corps—Pakistan had already taken on a similar initiative to translate the Sphere Handbook into Pashto. The SESA Team coordinated with Mercy Corps to purchase 1,000 Pashto Sphere Handbooks.

3. Procurement of Sphere Handbooks in English

200 English Sphere Handbooks were ordered from India and distributed, as needed for trainings and official requests. When the 2004 edition of the Sphere Handbook was available, 50 were acquired and they are now being distributed.

4. Distribution of Sphere Handbooks

Handbooks were disseminated in several ways: through workshops, the Sphere Clinic Exercises, and Sphere Orientation Meetings. The Project Office also accepted written requests for handbooks and distributed them as appropriate. The SESA Team offered 2000 edition Sphere Handbooks in English, Dari and Pashto. The SESA Team ordered 50 2004 Sphere Handbooks in English and are printing 700 of the Dari-translated books when they become available in 2004.

Conclusion and Recommendation

The translation into Dari and printing process for the Sphere Handbook and training materials took six months rather than the two months allocated on the project plan. All project activities in Dari were on-hold until the materials became available in August 2003. This was a significant underestimation of time and particularly detrimental to a twelve-month project. In the evaluator’s experience of translation of the handbook in two other Countries, six months is an average amount of time for the overall process. Unforeseen challenges are inevitable during translation, review and printing and must be accounted for in a project plan.

SESA’s two trainers and two volunteers from a donor organization undertook the review process for the Sphere Handbook. It was difficult to identify volunteer reviewers and the project manager was not confident that the USAID reviewers had taken appropriate care with the materials. In the future, compensation may be used to provide incentive and encourage a more professional review.

Future Sphere Extension Service projects might be divided into two distinct phases: Phase 1-Translation and Printing and Phase 2-Training and Dissemination. The two phases may require different staff competencies and be treated more independently.

B. SESA Team Support and Capacity Building

1. SESA Advisory Group

The SESA Advisory Committee was put into place at the time of the proposal. Representatives from Adventist Development and Relief Agency, American Red Cross, CARE, Catholic Relief Services, Christian Aid, International Rescue Committee, Mercy Corps, Oxfam, Save the Children Fund UK; and World Vision made up the group. The role of this group was to assist the SESA Team in becoming established by offering advice and guidance, participating in staff interviews and other project set up activities as required. The Group’s ongoing role was to review quarterly reports and provide advice as needed.

The project manager met with some of the Advisory Group members individually in the first months of the project, but a meeting of all group members never took place. There was no leader of the Advisory Group, no scheduled communication and after about six months there was so much turnover and lack of contact among the Advisory Group members, that they were unable to provide assistance as planned. The original project proposal suggested a six-month review of the Advisory Group’s activities, but at that point the group had dissipated to such a point that no review took place.

The SESA Team did not initiate reforming the group from that point although advice and guidance was needed occasionally. One Advisory Group member, who joined the group after its initial inception, is still in contact with the project manager and does support where possible.

2. Outside Consultants (Sphere Master Trainers)

In the first visit: 14 days (Jim Good)

· Made project plans and established office.

· Provided one-to-one training on how to conduct workshops, Sphere content and context and facilitation skills.

· Helped conduct job interviews for SESA Team members.

· Met with advisory group members and introduced the project.

· Briefed the SESA trainer on the project proposal and pointed out individuals who could help with various aspects of the project.

In the second visit: 6 days (Brian Walker)

· Co-facilitated the first workshop provided by SESA Team after returning from the Sphere TOT in Europe. The SESA trainers found it particularly helpful to practice skills they learned at the TOT in their own setting.

· Unfortunately, the workshop was provided in English and only had six participants, which made it less similar to a regular workshop.

· Despite this support, the SESA Team still lacked confidence in dealing with an audience that may have more experience than themselves.

On the third visit: 6 days (Jim Good)

· Adaptation of training for 2004 edition of the Sphere handbook.

· This visit was necessary because a new version of the Sphere handbook came out. Otherwise, the visit would not have been necessary.

3. Sphere ToT Workshop

The two trainers attended the eight-day Sphere ToT workshop in Ferney Voltaire, France hosted by the Sphere Project Office. The workshop provides information on Sphere concepts and content and facilitation skills. Participants have the opportunity to practice making presentations to other participants and share ideas and questions with Sphere experts.

4. Other Support

ACBAR offered office facilities, transportation, financial management services and communications systems.

In late 2003, the 2004 edition of the Sphere Handbook was made available. The SESA Team sought outside funding for translation of the new edition of the Sphere Handbook into Dari. They were granted $10,000 from three organizations in order to complete the task.

Concern Universal: $5,000

Oxfam: $3,000

Norwegian Church Aid: $2,000

Participating organizations helped on individual trainings by distributing invitations and providing training facilities rent-free.

Conclusion and Recommendation

SESA Team capacity building and support made this project possible. The Advisory Group was a good idea in theory, but was vastly underutilized once the project was established. The lack of a leadership in the group, a high turnover of its members and a loose communication structure resulted in the group dissipating by month 6 of the first year. In the future advisory group members might be sought from Sphere supporting agencies at a headquarters level. Ideally Advisory Group members would be local to the Sphere Extension Service, but activities followed by headquarters and replacement members identified in the case of turnover. A more formal structure to the advisory group including a group leader, an objective statement and regularly scheduled communications and meetings would ensure the continued effectiveness of the group.

Two of the SESA trainers felt the project’s biggest accomplishment was directly linked to their personal development as humanitarian providers in their country. The Sphere Master Trainer gave the one-on-one coaching and guidance needed to build the capacity of the local team. A total of 30 days of consultancy over a two-year period were used out of the 48 days allocated for one year. The SESA Team indicated that the third visit by the consultant would not have been necessary if there was not a new version of the Sphere handbook out. Therefore, fewer consultancy days (approx 25) coupled with the international TOT workshop provided by the Sphere Project office is sufficient to build the capacity of a Sphere Extension Service project team.

C. Sphere Orientation Meetings

1. Targeting

Sphere Orientation meetings were widely used to introduce the SESA Team and market their services. The Team used the Afghan Red Crescent Society and other coordination bodies to determine the initial target group for Sphere Orientation Meetings. Additionally disaster-prone provinces were selected and provincial governors approached as the initial point of contact.

From there, senior level managers from the target organizations were contacted either by phone or simply by showing up to a target organization/government department’s office. For workshops in the provinces, the SESA Team would target disaster-prone areas and provide the orientation meeting to the provincial governor to gain access to the area.

2. Content

During a 30-minute meeting with a target organization, the SESA Team would describe their purpose and activities including workshops, dissemination of materials and Sphere Clinics. Also covered were Sphere concepts including the rights-based approach, the Code of Conduct and general layout of the Sphere Handbook. One or two Sphere Handbooks were donated in the language of choice.

3. Follow-Up

The meetings were followed up with an invitation to a Sphere workshop in that organization/government department’s area.

Conclusion and Recommendation

The Sphere Orientation meetings were an ideal and economical way to introduce the SESA project and the Sphere Project to humanitarian practitioners and appropriate government departments. In Kabul the cost of an orientation meeting was minimal. In all but one case, the provincial governor invited the SESA Team to conduct a Sphere workshop in his province.

Having said this, the SESA Team could have made more use of ACBAR as a coordination body to introduce the project to the wider humanitarian community since a number of sectoral coordination meetings and security meetings take place on the premises weekly.

D. Sphere Workshops

1. Targeting

The process for Kabul-based and provincial workshops was slightly different mainly due to lack of communications technology in the provinces. In Kabul the ARCS, active NGOs and government departments were selected for Sphere Orientation Meetings and then followed by an invitation to a workshop.

A workshop invitation introduced the SESA project, the time and place of the workshop and was distributed by hand between three days and one month prior to the event. In Kabul invitations went earlier, but the team found that participants needed to be reminded around 10 days in advance. In the provinces invitations closer to the workshop dates were necessary as all arrangements needed to be done by the SESA Team on the ground. The invitation requested one person from each organization to attend.

2. Training Logistics

For provincial workshops, the SESA Team would travel to the province 1-10 days in advance. The roads were often in disrepair and presented security issues so the team often used domestic flights. Flights were irregular so most times it made sense to stay in the province until the workshop. On some workshops, the second trainer would go in advance and the project manager would follow closer to the workshop date.

For each workshop participant files (handouts) were copied, training supplies and materials gathered, Sphere Books packed and registration forms and evaluations created. Handouts and supplies were carried to the workshop by the trainers.

The workshop invitation did not require a response so the SESA Team always prepared for the maximum number to come. On the first morning of the workshop a registration form was completed and kept for records. The registration form format was not consistent throughout the project and did not include contact information at the beginning. One-day workshops ran from 8:00-5:00 and two-day workshops lasted from 8:30-4:00 each day. A group photo was taken at each workshop and a copy was distributed to each participant after the workshop.

The two facilitators traveled to the workshop and the project assistant stayed back in the office to receive calls and visitors.

3. Content and Techniques

The workshops during the first year were mostly one day in length and provided an overview of the Sphere Project, the rights-based approach, the Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in disaster response. The second year, two and four day workshops included the original content plus films, a simulation exercise and some disaster preparedness information. Unless there was a particular request, the training content and agenda were not modified from workshop-to-workshop.

A variety of techniques were used to get points across. Short lectures were followed by quick exercises to re-enforce points and allow participants to practice using the handbook to solve a problem. The simulation exercise in the two and four-day workshops, gave a more complex disaster scenario to consider. Participants were divided into groups based on one or two technical chapters and one group took on the role of coordination. The groups were expected to coordinate with each other and come up with a solution to meet the needs of disaster victims on a particular plot of land using available resources. Each group presented their plans at the end and the facilitator provided feedback.

At the end of the workshop, participants received a certificate of attendance if they attended 50% or more of the workshop. Participants completed an evaluation form with a series of rated questions and some open-ended questions.

4. Follow-Up

Upon returning to the office the registration forms, evaluation forms and original workshop invitations were added to the file. If necessary, registration forms and evaluation comments were translated from Dari to English. A report was written containing information on the workshop content, the participants and evaluation results. The project manager reported on workshop numbers and evaluation report quarterly to the donor.

Conclusion and Recommendation

After translation of materials, the Sphere Workshops were the core element of the SESA project. Having a national training team meant that the appropriate cultural and national protocols were followed when approaching new organizations and government departments. The provincial workshops were more costly than those in Kabul, but this was allocated for the in original project budget. The additional time spent on-site in the provinces was an appropriate strategy for several reasons:

· Communication structures were minimal in the provinces.

· Travel to and from provinces by flight was irregular and unpredictable.

· Face-to-face introductions and meetings were culturally appropriate.

Workshop record keeping was well managed and post workshop reports gave a clear picture of who attended, the content covered, methodologies used and evaluation responses. The use of registration forms could have been improved and used more consistently through the project so follow-up activities with participants would be easier.

The Sphere trainers used an appropriate variety of techniques to reach different styles of learners. Lectures accompanied by a PowerPoint presentation were followed by interactive exercises. However, participants’ evaluations consistently pointed out that more time was needed to adequately cover the points, whether the workshop was one, two or four days in length. Many suggested more time for questions and answers. The amount of content to cover during a specified time should be reviewed keeping in mind how new the Sphere concepts, content and processes are to participants. Distribution of the Handbook in advance may also give participants a chance to review the book before the workshop and come prepared.

Workshop content did not appear to change based on the audiences’ needs. In fact it was not known who would be in the audience until the day of the workshop since no response to the workshop invitation was required. If workshops are to be increased in length a more formal invitation and training needs assessment should be developed. The original project budget did not contain a line for breaks or lunch which would have been helpful to the project. Money was saved by seeking rent-free training rooms and re-allocated as necessary.

Interviews and questionnaires revealed a need for refresher courses after an initial training (18% of respondents). Since the concept was so new to many of the participants, they felt that having the opportunity to re-gather and share experiences would be beneficial. Refresher courses would also be beneficial because of high turnover. Another important theme emerged through the evaluation process: community and community-based-organization outreach in the provinces. Many (23%) felt that individuals, communities and their organizations were largely unaware of their own rights in terms of humanitarian assistance. If they knew this information, they could communicate their needs better.

E. Sphere Clinic Exercise

1. Targeting

The Sphere Clinic Exercise was advertised at introductory meetings and workshops but did not receive much take-up. Two national and two international NGOs were targeted because they were known to conduct emergency projects.

2. Content

In a 30-minute meeting, the SESA Team met with the organization, reviewed their project documents and discussed any norms or standards used for project implementation. If there were gaps between the current program services and Sphere standards, the SESA Team would provide recommendations on how to meet the standards. A Sphere handbook in the language of preference of the organization was donated. The SESA Team gave an introduction of the handbook as a tool for advocacy and practical advice.

The original proposal mentioned visiting field sites to observe for Sphere standards, but this was never done.

All preparations and meeting time took one hour.

3. Follow-Up

Upon returning to the office, a report on the Sphere Clinic Exercise was done. The report focused more on questions asked than what the responses to the questions were.

Conclusion and Recommendation

The Sphere Clinic Exercise aspect of this project was widely under-accomplished. Approximately 40 were planned and four were conducted. A number of constraints contributed to the situation:

· Most humanitarian practitioners did not feel there was a disaster happening in Afghanistan in which to apply Sphere standards. The majority of programming was focused on development or rehabilitation.

· The SESA Team did not feel comfortable offering advice to humanitarian practitioners who may have had more technical expertise or years of experience.

· Even if the SESA Team could identify how the organization could “close the gap” between current services offered and Sphere standards, there was no guarantee that the organization or their donor would act on the information.

· The SESA Team perceived that the exercise was not useful if the organization was meeting Sphere standards.

The Sphere Clinic exercise could be more useful in disaster contexts. However, the project team must feel confident in representing Sphere standards, answering questions from experienced humanitarian practitioners and making suggestions based on their knowledge. In a disaster context, the SESA Team would require further coaching to build their capacity to conduct this exercise successfully.

Those interviewed were given a description of the Sphere Clinic exercise and asked if they thought it would be useful. Most said the feedback would be a useful tool for them to approach donors for more support if standards were not being met.

III. SESA Team

A. Relevance

The SESA Team is to be congratulated for an impressive rendering of a challenging project. Despite many challenges, the team prevailed and has been responsible for distribution of more than 1,700 Sphere Handbooks, 45 Orientation Meetings, 26 Workshops and four Sphere Clinics. The coaching and training to prepare for this role was intensive. Two of the four trainers have said they felt their own development and the amount they have learned was a major accomplishment for the project. In addition to learning about Sphere, they have learned interactive training techniques and how to handle questions from experienced audiences.

The team has built a positive and ongoing relationship with the gamut of humanitarian actors in Afghanistan including, local and international NGOs, UN agencies, government departments and the ARCS. Two newly formed disaster response units within the government have looked to the SESA Team for orientation to their new roles through the Sphere Workshop. The SESA Team have participated in and coordinated with many international humanitarian projects.

Afghanistan was a particularly challenging environment for Sphere training since most agencies did not perceive there was a disaster in which to apply Sphere standards. The SESA Team addressed this issue by focusing on the overall Sphere concepts introduced in the Humanitarian Charter such as the rights-based approach.

The team has also demonstrated ingenuity and initiative in determining a strategy for reaching out to disaster-prone provinces that are remote and have little communication technology. In order to organize workshops, they traveled to the province, met the provincial governor, identified target organizations, distributed invitations and conducted workshops all in one trip.

Having a national training team is an important strategy for a Sphere Extension Service. The Afghan team has implemented a successful project based on the positive relationships they developed from the project’s inception. They have made a significant impact on the humanitarian community.

B. Accomplishments

1. Handbook and Training Materials

The translation of the Sphere Handbook and training materials into Dari was an integral part of the project’s success and a significant accomplishment. The translation was particularly important for Afghanistan since many Afghan humanitarian practitioners do not speak foreign languages.

The SESA Team demonstrated determination and commitment to the project by taking on the role of reviewers and translators for the handbook and supporting materials. It was originally planned that translation and review would be monitored, but not actually done by the SESA Team.

By taking on this extra task, the project was able to save a large percentage of the budget which was applied to the project extension.

The table below shows the number of books distributed and what is remaining.

Book Type	Organization Type
Book Type	NGOs	INGOs	GOV.	UN	Other	Total Distrib.	Books Left
Sphere Handbook v. 2000 Dari	390	160	269	49	60	928	72
Sphere Handbook v. 2000 Pashto	195	75	223	35	37	565	435
Sphere Handbook v. 2000 English*	3*	8*	4*	2*	18*	182	18
Sphere Handbook v. 2004 English	10	7	8	5	5	35	15
Total						1,710	540

*Many Sphere Handbooks v. 2000 in English were distributed during the course of workshops, but they were not tracked as the others. The numbers above indicate those distributed by official request only. A total of 182 were distributed by official request and at workshops.

By the completion of the project it is expected that a total 2, 250 Sphere Handbooks will be distributed to Afghanistan’s Humanitarian community. Many of those interviewed said that they look to the Sphere Handbook as an orientation to their jobs.

Another 700 Sphere Handbooks v. 2004 will be distributed as part of a separately funded project.

33% of those asked, said they would use the Sphere Handbook in proposal writing. Another 33% would use the Handbook for needs assessments. 25% indicated they would use the Handbook for Disaster Preparedness activities and coordination with other organizations/government departments. Other examples of how to use Sphere were: use for orientation to job and setting up camps.

By providing such a wide distribution of Handbooks in several languages, the SESA Team has empowered their participants in the Afghan humanitarian community to plan and design according to a common standard.

2. Sphere Orientation Meetings

The SESA Team built their success on the Sphere Orientation Meeting. This face-to-face introduction to the project team and Sphere in a local language paved the way for a successful relationship with new organizations and participation on the Sphere Project Workshops.

Organization

Total

ARCS

NGOs

INGOs

GOV.

3. Sphere Workshops

After the translation and dissemination of Handbooks, SESA’s most important accomplishment was the training of 508 humanitarian practitioners in Sphere concepts, processes and standards and indicators.

The variety of organizations reached was also an accomplishment. The SESA Team built many positive relationships through orientation meetings and benefited by a large take-up at workshops. In the first year, national NGOs made up the 42% of participants as the majority group. In 2004, government departments were the majority of participants at 67% of the total.

Three agency-specific workshops were provided and 23 interagency.

Date	Location	Participants		Organization					Total
Date	Location	Male	Female	ARCS	NGOs	INGOs	GOV.	UN	Total
2003
08-09 Mar	Kabul	15	0	0	10	4	1	0	15
10-11 Mar	Kabul	13	3	0	15	1	0	0	16
12 Mar	Kabul	19	4	0	13	10	0	0	23
21 Jul	Kabul	8	3	0	4	5	2	0	11
28 Aug	Badakhshan	12	4	0	3	8	1	4	16
22 Sep	Bamyan	15	0	0	4	6	1	4	15
25 Sep	Kabul City	21	3	0	10	10	3	1	24
12 Oct	Kunduz	21	3	1	9	2	9	3	24
14 Oct	Takhar/Talqan	15	0	1	5	5	4	0	15
11 Nov	Balkh/Mazar	14	2	0	0	13	3	0	16
12 Nov	Balkh/Mazar	8	1	0	8	0	0	1	9
19 Nov	Jalalabad	14	1	0	0	13	2	0	15
09 Dec	Herat	39	4	1	21	12	4	5	43
2003 Total		214	28	3	102	89	30	18	242
2004
03-04 Jan	Kabul	21	6	16	5	3	1	2	27
29-30 Mar	Jalalabad	13	3	1	7	3	3	2	16
12-13 Apr	Kandahar	20	1	0	7	12	2	0	21
05-06 May	Kabul	6	0	0	0	6	0	0	6
25-26 May	Kabul MoD	20	0	0	0	0	20	0	20
20-21 Jun	Parwan	18	1	2	4	4	9	0	19
06-07 Jul	Baghlan	29	1	0	6	3	20	1	30
20-21 Jul	Gardiz	16	0	0	2	6	8	0	16
09-12 Sep	Kabul MoD	23	0	0	0	0	23	0	23
22-25 Aug	Kabul MoI	27	0	0	0	0	27	0	27
30-31 Aug	Ghazni	15	1	0	7	4	4	1	16
11-12 Oct	Samangan	13	2	0	5	0	10	0	15
02-03 Nov	Jawzjan	20	10	0	6	2	21	1	30
2004 Total		241	25	19	42	49	148	8	266
Grand Total		455	53	22	151	132	178	25	508

4. Sphere Clinic Exercises

Four Sphere Clinic Exercises were conducted over the two-year project. Two were provided at NGOs and two at international NGOs. No visits were made to the field to observe for Sphere standards. In most of the cases, the organization was meeting the standard or going above it.

Organization

Total

ARCS

NGOs

INGOs

GOV.

C. Constraints

1. Recruitment and Turnover

The task of finding experienced, educated, qualified and multi-lingual staff is an extreme challenge in Afghanistan. Because of years of war, civil unrest and drought, the population has suffered from a lack of education, job experience and professional skills. This has meant that the recruitment of staff has taken months which had an extremely detrimental effect on a one-year project.

Once a staff member is recruited, keeping them in place is the next challenge. With a constant need for educated and experienced Afghan national staff from humanitarian agencies, job competition is high. The UN and some international NGOs tend to offer higher salaries making it difficult to keep staff in their positions. The SESA Team experienced a high amount of turnover for a small operation. The initial trainer was the only constant employee from the project’s inception. The second Trainer was replaced twice. An administrative assistant was replaced once. Months passed between an employee leaving and a new one being recruited.

2. Logistics of Provincial Trainings

With sparse and unpredictable communications systems, provincial trainings were challenging to organize in advance. The SESA Team evaluated which provinces were most likely to experience disasters based on research and simply showed up without communicating that they were coming. Travel to the provinces was also challenging. Roads were often in disrepair and many presented a significant security risk from bandits and local disputes. Travel by flight was the best option, but even these were regularly cancelled or postponed due to weather. Therefore, once in the province, the SESA Team often introduced the project, set up the workshop, distributed invitations and conducted the training all in one trip. It was not possible to prepare workshop materials in the provinces so all necessary supplies were brought from the office in Kabul.

3. Security

Security in Afghanistan is a consistent and real threat even to a training project. It was not possible to publicly advertise workshops since they could be targeted. Only one workshop was cancelled due to security, but the team was conscientious of the risk and took necessary steps. Security also had an impact on means of travel to the provinces. Flights were more expensive, but travel by road presented the threat of bandits and violence.

4. Length of Workshops

In every workshop, participants commented that more time was needed to cover the points. The comment was made whether the workshop lasted one, two or four days. Sphere concepts and processes were largely new to Afghans. More time was needed to answer questions and clarify points.

In the provinces, participants were not used to attending workshop-style trainings so it was difficult for them to concentrate fully for one or two days. It may have been helpful to offer shorter sessions over more days covering the same amount of information.

6. Gender Issues

Just over 10% of workshop participants were women. When a woman is invited to a workshop, she normally has to get permission from her husband. If there is a mixed group of participants or male trainers, she may be refused by her husband on that basis. Women humanitarian practitioners face many challenges in conducting their work. The women interviewed for this evaluation mentioned that it would be helpful to have female trainers who conducted training for female audiences only. If a woman needs to travel to the field, she will often have to be accompanied by a male relative.

If a woman is given permission to attend a workshop, the trainers must be sensitive to her situation. She may feel more self-conscious about asking questions or adding comments in a largely male audience. The SESA trainers were sensitive to women participants’ needs and did their best to create a comfortable learning environment for them.

7. Afghan Context

The context of Afghanistan has not changed significantly since the inception of the project except for a move from emergency projects to more rehabilitation and development projects. This shift presented fewer opportunities for SESA activity participants to practice using the Handbook in a disaster context.

· The SESA Team did not let the context of development projects hinder their progress in Orientation Meetings and Sphere Workshops. They emphasized that Sphere concepts introduced in the Humanitarian Charter are ongoing and that the approaches described are always applicable. Participants practiced applying Minimum Standards and Indicators in disaster scenarios during the Workshops and were provided information on disaster preparedness.

· As mentioned in the original proposal, many Afghans do not meet Sphere standards in “normal life.” This kind of issue has been an ongoing challenge for the Sphere Project. In order to evaluate the appropriate use of Sphere in the Afghan context, more research and analysis would be required. Below are some of the possible outcomes:

· If the day-to-day indicator levels of service are not being met and people are generally healthy, then the Sphere indicators need to be specifically revised for Afghanistan. However, through the interviews in this evaluation, none of the participants met understood that indicators could or should be adapted to a local context.

· If people are actually generally living on or about the Standards, then programming on a humanitarian basis should end.

· If the Sphere indicator levels are not being met and people are sick, unhealthy, or in general decline, then it is a disaster and the indicator levels should be lobbied for.

· The sheer number of NGOs (approx. 2,300) in Afghanistan is an impressive number, but most are small and lack the funding to meet Sphere standards even in development projects. Also as the humanitarian workforce grows, more and more inexperienced practitioners are recruited. This does present a good opportunity for trainings, but a longer more in-depth explanation of concepts and more question and answer time needs to be devoted to a less experienced audience.

Original Project Objectives	Objective Accompl?	Comments on Relevancy
1. Develop a clear work plan with achievable and measurable project objectives and reporting system by month one.	Yes	· Devising a project plan was important for this project since the objectives laid out in the proposal were not specific quantitatively or qualitatively. · Having the flexibility in the proposal meant that details could be planned and negotiated after the project team was recruited. The project team was able to contribute their local knowledge and humanitarian experience during this important stage.
2. Meet individually with NGOs, INGOs and Government departments to offer orientation briefings on the Sphere process, Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards.	Yes	· These became the Sphere Orientation meetings. It is an efficient and convincing strategy for building relationships with target groups and introducing the project. · The team started with the major NGOs and then targeted disaster-prone provinces. In the future Coordination bodies and the local Red Cross/Red Crescent society may be utilized as initial points of contact.
3. Design and conduct various training sessions: Ø Agency-specific Ø Interagency Ø 1 TOT	Partially	· Offering a variety of agendas for interagency and agency specific was utilized, but agendas were not customized for the audience. · No ToT was held. The SESA Team felt that it was not viable if they provided a ToT when there was no structure or funding to support future trainings for the participants of the ToT. · However, two of the Focus Groups agreed that a ToT would be an appropriate method for taking Sphere training to their branches in the provinces (ARCS and Ministry of Interior).

Original Project Objectives	Objective Accompl?	Comments on Relevancy
4. Demonstrate to sector specialists how to analyze information in relation to Sphere indicators and, where applicable, discuss how far programs can go towards “closing the gap” between current conditions and Sphere standards.	Yes	· This was accomplished, but only four clinics were conducted out of 40 planned. · For future projects, ensure that there are emergency projects in which to recommend and apply standards.
5. Promote joint agency assessments and monitoring systems based on Sphere guidance	Partially	· Coordination was emphasized in trainings, but no formal suggestions or systems developed. No tracking of joint assessments or monitoring systems post workshop was done · The objective is relevant, but more active participation in coordination activities is required.
6. Monitor the process of translating the Sphere handbook and related training materials into Dari or Pashto language.	Yes	· The translation of materials was key to the project’s success. · The trainers not only took on the job of monitoring, but also participated in the translations and review of materials. This was not ideal, but it did save on resources.
7. Introduce the Humanitarian Charter and RC/NGO Code of Conduct into coordination bodies in order to promote a common humanitarian perspective based on these principles and on notions of equity in service provision, participation and concepts of gender integration	Yes	· ACBAR has already taken on a project to develop their own Code of Conduct based on the Red Cross/Red Crescent Code and the Afghan context. · More emphasis on training ACBAR staff could have improved the impact of this objective. · The objective is appropriate and should be coordinated with other Code of Conduct activities.
8. Provide practical guidance of how Sphere can be incorporated into concerned agencies’ current planned programming	Partially	· Done informally through workshops. · Done through four Sphere Clinic Exercises, but concerned agencies were mostly working on rehabilitation and development.
9. Document and distribute practical case studies and lessons learned regarding the application of Sphere guidance in Afghanistan	No	· Not done, but could be useful to humanitarian practitioners. · Again, there were not many emergency projects on which to develop case studies.
10. Distribute Sphere-related resources, including Sphere handbooks, training materials etc.	Yes	· Materials were distributed during all activities and by special request from individual organizations. · Translated materials were integral to the project’s success.

B. SESA Team Support and Capacity Building

A. Are the objectives of the SESA Team relevant for Afghanistan today?

C. Which aspects of the Service were most effective in improving use of Sphere in Afghanistan?

Questions for Participants in SESA activities

Questions for Individual SESA Team Members

Your Role on the SESA Project