InterAction Forum 2010 will feature a variety of informative and challenging workshops. Forum 2010 will bring together over a hundred speakers to feature a range of thought-provoking workshops focused on the most pressing and controversial topics within the international development realm. Information about the specific workshops offered will be displayed here as they are finalized.
Forum 2010 - Workshops
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
1:45pm - 3:15pm
Introduction to AudienceScapes - Must-Use Knowledge Resource for Development Professionals
The project, run by global research nonprofit InterMedia and funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, provides an evidence-based approach to assessing local development needs and crafting communication for development purposes.
Role of Private Foundations in the new PDA ‘movement/revolution’ (CEOs Only)
While the magnitude of financial, humanitarian or disaster-related crises are variables largely outside of anyone’s purview, two constants remain fundamental: the global impact of U.S. private international grantmaking, and InterAction members’ investments in communities worldwide. Together, they are part of a new global aid movement in which roles and leadership are being redefined.
mSurvey – Global Datamapping
A cell phone survey interface approach offers rapid, inexpensive, real-time data collection for all fields allowing direct inputs from beneficiaries.
Caring for NGO Staff After A Disaster
The disaster in Haiti this year has highlighted the tremendous stresses that many NGO staff members endure during and after a disaster, and the effects this has on NGOs as they respond in a crisis. This workshop will examine various aspects of caring for staff after a trauma. How is the InterAction membership helping staff face the challenges of caring for themselves, family and friends and meeting the overwhelming demands of a humanitarian response? As NGOs continue to operate in difficult environments, how does the community take care of its expatriate and national staff during natural disasters, violent conflicts and manmade emergencies? Are there lessons that can be learned from the earthquake in Haiti? Mental health and human resource professionals, as well as donor representatives, will discuss challenges and successes in a wide variety of humanitarian response settings.
Promoting Women’s Political Participation in South Asia: Afghanistan, Nepal, and India
Empowerment, be it economic, social, or political, is key to improving the status of women. Increased active participation in the public sphere and political life complements economic sufficiency and enables women to gain full citizenship. South Asia provides a fertile source of experiences in this area and offers relevant learning that can benefit gender programming in other regions. This workshop seeks to present progress through the lenses of human rights activism, existing collectivism and institutionalization of gender equity, while also generating a discussion of new approaches for these diverse countries within the larger South Asian context. Panelist represent the following organizations: IFES, Afghan Women’s Network (AWN), and NDI Nepal.
Faith Based Distinctives in Foreign Assistance: Exploring unexpected operational and partnering approaches of FBOs
This workshop will explore the roles of Faith-Based Organizations in foreign assistance and provide examples of unique operational and partnering approaches. It should reveal some unexpected findings such as: effective development partnerships of Christian and Islamic agencies; examples of interfaith cooperation enhancing community acceptance in insecure contexts; and faith groups mobilizing caregivers, behavior change, and demand for improved services – all contributing to more effective development outcomes.
Working together to fight poverty and meet the MDGs
With just five years left before the 2015 target date for meeting the Millennium Development Goals, the international development community must step up efforts to help developing countries meet the agreed goals. In the aftermath of the food, oil, and financial crises, countries face numerous challenges, from declining economic growth, to climate change and conflict, which further hinder their efforts toward successfully attaining the MDGs. Join senior managers of the International Development Association (IDA), the World Bank's fund to help the world's poorest countries, to discuss ways civil society organizations and other international development partners can work together in support of the 79 poorest countries in the world.
Managing Two Critical Risk Areas for Overseas Operations: Taxation of American Expatriates and Global Insurance
A panel of experts will treat 2 critical areas of posting staff in Newly Emerging Economies: the Taxation of American Citizens and Insurance Considerations in High-Risk Locations
Representatives of Fisken & Company and Gelman Rosenberg & Freedman CPAs will treat what NGOs should do to limit risk of overseas employee compensation packages.
Representatives of Clements International will treat how appropriate insurance coverage is a key component of the Risk Management process.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
10:00am – 11:40am
Improving organizational efficiency through gender self-assessment: how senior leaders promote gender integration
Join senior leaders from InterAction member organizations who have undertaken gender self-assessments (gender audits). Discover how these leaders supported gender teams to successfully integrate gender throughout organizational operations and programs. Learn tips and best practices for working with Leadership Teams to promote gender integration and to develop strong gender action plans. Last year, a number of leaders in development, including Raj Shah of USAID, said that gender integration is key and will be a priority in future development efforts. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton has spoken out on issues related to gender and violence against women. She said, “it's important that the U.S. be a leader in continuing to promote women's rights and women's equality.” President Obama sought to institute leadership and coordination when he create the Office for Global Women’s Issues. Strengthening organizational capacity for gender integration needs champions and advocates who can lead the charge to take action. These champions are senior leaders who support gender teams, gender specialists, and gender self-assessment processes. Join us to learn from these organizational leaders.
ICCC 2nd Roundtable
In the 2nd ICCC roundtable which is scheduled during the InterAction forum our member CTOs and CIOs exchange ideas on IT policy and governance, discuss administration’s approach to the digital gap and development, connectivity and other issues. This meeting is open only to the InterAction members CTOs, CIOs and the IT directors and above staff.
Private Development Assistance (PDA) and the Millennium Development Goals (CEOs Only)
CEOs will advance the conversation that began at the 2009 Forum, where a seasoned panel agreed on megatrends that have determined the new profile of PDA, citing among others: the confluence of private and public funds; the tension and complementarities between PDA and Official Development Assistance (ODA); the stress on issues of space; and the entrepreneurial approach to social investments favored by “new philanthropy.”
Field Staff Capacity Building Models for National and International NGOs
The workshop will examine two models of building capacity – one in project management and one in leadership development to highlight: Effective practices in field staff development, proven tips on working with capacity building partners, and real-life examples of capacity building work occurring in the field.
Meeting the Challenge of Multiple Accountabilities
NGOs are accountable to various actors: the public, donors, staff, board, partners and the communities they work with, to list some. Yet remaining equally accountable to all of these actors can be a challenge. In this workshop, participants will hear about and discuss new tools to improve/enhance downward accountability to partners and communities, ways in which donors could ensure NGOs are “upwardly” accountable without compromising their ability to be accountable to others, and the experiences and challenges of NGOs in trying to be accountable to their multiple constituencies.
Capitalizing on Convergence: Prospects for Collaboration Among Development, Environment and Human Rights NGOs
The workshop would examine how the interests and approaches of development NGOs, environmental NGOs and human rights NGOs are converging, given their evolution in response to the increasingly complex contexts in which they work and an increasingly systemic understanding of those contexts. Based on this convergence, panelists will discuss promising models of collaboration (e.g. strategic alliances, issue-based coalitions) among these various types of NGOs, and reflect on lessons learned from these experiences. Finally, the panelists will explore how development, environmental and human rights NGOs can more systematically capitalize on this convergence of interests and approaches in a way that enhances the impact of each set of organizations. The audience will be engaged in this exploration to try to elicit some practical ideas for action.
Making Change Processes Accessible to Stakeholders to Support Your Champions, Build Your Constituencies and Scale up Impact
This interactive session explores different approaches to generating significant change - one focusing on policy advocacy and the other on bringing health delivery services to scale. Management Sciences for Health's presentation, based on A Guide for Fostering Change to Scale Up Effective Health Services, presents a pathway that links proven change practices with evidenced-based clinical and programmatic practices to cross barriers of change resistance. In the case of Oxfam, two presentations discuss the challenge of working with diverse actors to articulate a clear theory of change, linked to careful power analysis, to advocacy agendas and evaluate outcomes.
3:45pm – 5:00pm
"Open data for International Development Monitoring and Evaluation
As fraud in the Afghanistan election mounted in the Fall of 2009, the National Democratic Institute built an open source data browser to help see what was happening on the ground. They ended up creating a cutting edge data visualization tool that will be key for the 2010 provincial elections. This is the story of what worked, what didn't, and how open source tools make open data possible.
Conversation with InterAction’s President, Sam Worthington (CEOs Only)
InterAction's Members, large and small, are invited to discuss policy, leadership and trends that are shaping our community and will redefine the manner in which our programs are conducted. During this session where any topic is welcome, InterAction's President & CEO, Sam Worthington will explore solutions to our common concerns, share lessons learned during the last year and examine priorities to guide InterAction's future course.
Different Needs, Equal Opportunities: Integrating Gender into Humanitarian Responses
Panelists will discuss the importance of developing gender-sensitive programming during humanitarian emergencies. Developed in partnership with the Inter-Agency Standing Committee, InterAction will also present a new online course which will allow users to learn how to effectively integrate gender equality into humanitarian programs.
PVO Standards: Leading the way for NGO accountability in a changing world!
InterAction PVO Standards were born over 20 years ago at member demand for greater transparency and accountability of their overseas work. What is the importance and relevance of the Standards today? Why do we need Standards? How do our members comply with the Standards and why?
Budget Appropriations 101: The Theory and Messy Reality
This workshop will explain the federal budget and appropriations cycle as it is supposed to happen ideally, and how it actually happens in reality. Specialized terms will be defined, and key points for advocacy will be identified. Fog will be cleared, clarity and light will reign, with the help of actual past news headlines and stories, and possibly past or current participants in the process.
4:00pm – 6:30pm
Security: Cash Management Policies that Save Lives: "Moving toward a cashless field office"
If organizations can implement technology with the proper cash management policies they may be able to transfer and/or reduce the impact of a serious crime that often leads to loss of life, assets and suspension of programming. By attending this workshop you will learn how eliminate paying national staff in cash; create methods for transferring money to contractors and other services that International banking can provide to protect lives of your field staff. Experts from the international banking community combined with leaders of the international security community will share new methods, new technology, cash management strategies and policies that can save lives.
Foreign Assistance Reform Update: Prospects and Implications
On the eve of the 50th anniversary of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, several government initiatives are underway to modernize and elevate U.S. foreign assistance. This workshop will explore the work of the State Department/USAID Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review (QDDR); the White House’s Presidential Study Directive on U.S. Global Development Policy (PSD); and Congress’ rewrite of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961. Updates will be provided on the latest developments and expected outcomes of these reform processes and their implications for the international development and humanitarian NGO community.
Urban Shelter, Reconstruction and Poverty Alleviation in Haiti: Challenges and Opportunities
The earthquake in Haiti has highlighted the risks that millions of the urban poor live with around the world. This workshop will feature two panels focused on the special needs of the urban poor—one on disaster risk reduction in urban settings, and another focused on
the shelter needs of the urban poor. Before the earthquake, the urban areas of Haiti were impoverished, ill-serviced and over-crowded. The devastation brought about by the earthquake is a consequence in part of these conditions, which greatly complicate the
task of rebuilding. Moreover, the mantra of “build back better” implies that the pre-existing situation has been erased by the earthquake. This workshop will address the risks facing the urban poor and explore the challenges of urban settings for creating disaster risk reduction policy, implementing successful climate change adaptation and programming for disaster risk reduction. In addition, it will address the tensions inherent in a rebuilding strategy that aims to improve lives, livelihoods and living conditions and be responsive to people’s priorities while at the same time operating within the realities of urban Haiti. It will identify the challenges and impediments and
discuss promising approaches and practical strategies to meeting and overcoming them.
5:15pm – 6:30pm
Images of the South in Northern Publications: Ethical Photography and Related Issues Concerning Representation
Images of the poor or people who are suffering, have been used by media and charities to raise awareness and fundraise for many years. This paper gives a brief historical outline of some of the recent debates and issues concerning the use of images by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the United Kingdom (UK) that have been ongoing since the 1950s. The debate about the use/abuse of images and their significance in representation remains pertinent today and this workshop seeks to inform NGOs about recent trends and issues.
Visualizing NGO Impact: Mapping for Partnerships, Coordination and Effectiveness
InterAction and member organizations will share their experiences in using a new, dynamic, mapping platform. Members will discuss the long-term benefits of using the pilot mapping platform in their organizations. Learn how your organization can get involved in this pilot initiative.
Annual Members Meeting (Member CEOs or Proxy Only)
InterAction Member CEOs or formally authorized designees, are invited to join InterAction's annual members meeting. The meeting will introduce members to issues under consideration by the Board of Directors and offer a dialogue with InterAction President & CEO, and members of different Committees of the Board.
The "Whole of Agency" Approach to Preventing Sexual Exploitation and Abuse
This workshop will illustrate how protection of beneficiaries from exploitation and abuse requires a “whole of agency” approach. Speakers will include NGO staff working in areas such as human resources, legal, audit, and program management who will describe how their roles within their agencies are integral to the work of protection of beneficiaries. Interactive exercises will showcase InterAction’s recently launched Step-by-Step Guide to assist NGOs in designing and implementing their own SEA policies.
Promoting Youth Development through Life Skills
Increasingly, educators, employers and policymakers are finding that in order for young people to succeed in today's rapidly changing and globalized world, they need an educational foundation which includes more than just technical skills. Youth critically need life and employability skills as a way to prepare them to be motivated and confident decision-makers, who can overcome adversity and realize their potential. Life skills programs have been shown to help youth do better in school, make healthier decisions, be more prepared for work and engage in civic life.
Friday, June 4, 2010
9:45am – 11:15am
We are All Systems Thinkers Now: Development Leadership in an Interconnected World (CEOs Only)
In the last few decades we have gathered important wisdom about living systems - about interconnectedness, patterns across time and scale, unpredictability, chaos, worldview and more. We build this session on the premise that the development community is already thinking and acting systemically, though not always consciously. Next we bring systems scientists and practitioners into the conversation to articulate core principles and to help us explore how those principles might translate into concrete tools for social change.
This is a highly participatory session whose goal is to energize the relief and development leadership with both intellectual stimulation and concrete ideas for application and action.
Can We Really Apply Development Principles in Practice?
How does transparency look in practice? What are the challenges to participation? As part of the global civil society effort - the Open Forum for CSO Development Effectiveness - InterAction is charged with leading the development of US NGO consensus on principles for CSO development effectiveness. This consultation will take place in April and May, and along with similar consultations worldwide will feed into the 4th High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness, shaping how development effectiveness is understood and the roles and responsibilities of CSOs in the global aid architecture. As part of this effort, this session draws on programs from three different country contexts to look at the intent, the challenges and the reality of implementing in accordance with principles such as people-centered focus and gender equality. Participants will also have an opportunity to compare and discuss these examples and their own work in small groups. Please join us to contribute your voice to this important conversation.
Preventing Corruption In Humanitarian Operations
Humanitarian operations take place in challenging environments, which often suffer from high perceived levels of endemic corruption. The injection of large amounts of aid resources into poor economies, where fragile institutions have been damaged or destroyed, can increase the temptation for abuse of power for private gain by humanitarian stakeholders and expand opportunities for diversion of resources by 'gatekeepers' and embedded corrupt networks.
The Primary Objectives of USAID’s Procurement & Implementation Reform
This will be an opportunity to learn about the process and priorities of Administrator Shah's commitment to procurement and implementation reform. A brief overview will be provided by two members of the Administrator's working group followed by an opportunity for comments and questions.
Current Issues in Civil Military Relations
The NGO community has worked with their US government civilian counterparts and with UN peacekeeping missions for many years, but have only in the past decade found themselves operating in contexts with a significant US military presence. The conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq have focused attention on the need for increased communication, coordination and mutual understanding among the various parts of the US government, both civilian and military, in order to promote a more unified US government response to crisis and conflict situations and to facilitate a better coordinated response with NGOs and UN agencies also operating in the same space.
Clusters: Coordination Out of Chaos? How the Cluster System Has Changed Humanitarian Response
This workshop will offer a presentation and discussion on the recently completed Cluster Evaluation. Cluster lead agencies, UN officials and representatives from the donor community will be invited to share their perspectives on the cluster system, and NGO representatives will discuss the NGO role in the cluster system.
Food Security & Climate Change
The workshop will address the nexus of climate change and food security, covering agriculture in the context of adaptation and mitigation. The workshop will address ongoing and projected impacts of climate change on agricultural productivity, the ways in which communities can and are adapting, how sustainable agriculture and natural resource management can contribute to mitigation of climate change, and the risks for small-holder and poor farmers inherent in agricultural mitigation.
Breaking Down Barriers: Encouraging Greater Learning on Accountability Between the Non-Profit, Corporate and Public Sector
Accountability is an issue which is at the top of the agenda of many organizations involved in international development and humanitarian assistance. Whether public, private or non-profit, a growing number of actors are recognizing the need to demonstrate to whom, for what and how they are accountable. Yet, despite this activity, there is very limited dialogue and sharing between sectors. Long standing tensions between NGOs, companies and public agencies often present barriers to meaningful learining and can stifle innovation. Building on initiatives such as the One World Trust's Global Accountability Report, the International NGO Charter of Accountability and Global Reporting Initiative's NGO Sector Supplement, this workshop aims to explore key principles, common definitions, challenges and opportunities for mutual learning on accountability across sectors.
The Successes and Challenges of Integrating Health in Relief and Development: A Case Study of a School Health and Nutrition Program
In response to the Global Health Initiative (GHI), the NGO community along with other players has been tasked with a larger role in strengthening health systems and integrating health in long term development plans. But what does integration really mean and how do you program for integration? This workshop will look at the broader issue of integration and present a school health and nutrition program that is a set of multi-sector integrated interventions that lead to both positive health and educational results for school-age children. The session will highlight the various health (geo-helminths, malaria) and nutritional (anemia) concerns of school-age children especially in low income countries that keep children from taking full advantage of the learning opportunities that schools can offer. The workshop will highlight these components and share lessons learned from the last decade of implementation and discuss future challenges in working cross-sectorally.
10:30am – 12:30pm
Building a Constituency for Sustainable Social Change using Creative Communication Strategies
Given the increasing global attention being paid to the power of communications, marketing and constituency building, this workshop will be of high interest to many InterAction members. It will help IA member to expand their “outreach” efforts to galvanize a larger constituency for their programs and issues. Highly interactive, this workshop will be both informative (educational) and engaging (entertainment).
NGOs and Private Security: Can they coexist?
In the past 5 years, an increasing number of NGOs have contracted private security companies (PSCs); some studies have shown that the trend is increasing. Traditionally NGOs have challenged the ethical issues of utilizing PSCs and have openly criticized their operations in “humanitarian space”. NGOs have eschewed the partnering with PSCs in the areas they serve, concerned that such partnerships might compromise the relationship between the NGO and the beneficiary. Is it possible that this concern exists solely due to a misunderstanding between the NGO and the PSC?
11:30am – 1:00pm
Inclusive Foreign Assistance: Bringing Marginalized Voices to the Table
This workshop will provide the opportunity to explore how we as humanitarian and development professionals can change the way we work to ensure that people with disabilities are included as a key strategy for reaching the world’s poor and most vulnerable populations. Workshop participants will exchange strategies, tools and resources on making development and humanitarian assistance programs more inclusive of people with disabilities. Specific examples of what works will cover a broad spectrum of sectors including, but not limited to: emergency response, democracy and governance, economic empowerment, education, food security, gender, health, and water and sanitation. Through this workshop participants will also examine key policies and mandates relating to the inclusion of people with disabilities, such as the USAID Disability Policy, the InterAction PVO Standards on Disability, the Millennium Development Goals and the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD).
Mapping the Haiti Earthquake: Open Geospatial Data and Transnational Social Collaboration
The Haiti earthquake of January 2010 was a watershed in public collection, sharing and usage of geospatial data for disaster response. At this critical juncture in humanitarian disaster response it is important that NGOs in particular establish a firm grasp on the current state and future possibilities for public disaster mapping. The goal of this workshop is to familiarize participants with practices and lessons learned in geospatial data collection, sharing and analysis from the recent earthquake response. Likewise, this workshop aims to cultivate creative ideas for new standards and practices in such innovative area as crowdsourced geodata and open GIS for humanitarian response.
NGO Coordination: Lessons Learned from Haiti and Beyond
This intensive workshop will examine various NGO coordination mechanisms currently in use around the globe, from Haiti to Sudan to Pakistan. The workshop will examine lessons learned from coordination of responses to natural disasters and complex emergencies, and discuss ways to better implement the HPP Members Field
Linking Generations; Strengthening Communities: mother-daughter, father-son programs
Achieving universal education attendance is a key Millennium Development Goal and yet, school attendance in many parts of the world remains daunting and out of reach for many. A number of programs are being created to find ways that support parents to send their children to school. This session explores those programs – some which have been in operation for many years focusing exclusively on mothers and daughters and recently expending to include Father-Son components. Other programs such as Winrock International’s “Mother-Daughter” scholarship program in Southern Sudan is still in the pilot stages. The University of Texas staff will present on their “Mother-Daughter” and “Father-Son” programs that offer support activities which promote educational attainment for migrant families. The session will feather other NGO programs that link generations to strengthen communities.
Defining A New Business Model: A Discussion of the "Overhead Squeeze" (CEOs & CFOs Only)
In the December 2009 Annual CEO Retreat, Nazir Ahmad of GivingWorks presented and facilitated a lively discussion on philanthropy's "overhead squeeze". The discussion highlighted the considerable squeeze that many NGOs face and the sometimes unintended consequences of measuring performance through overhead rates, and discussed ways to address this.
The Forum workshop, co-led by Ahmad and InterAction CEO Sam Worthington, will further advance this agenda. It is targeted at InterAction member CEOs, but also welcomes CFOs, Board Members and foundation representatives to discuss how new thinking and collaborative efforts between funders and grantees could help resolve the current impasse. Participants will be invited to provide input and coalesce around a concrete initiative being launched by InterAction that has the promise of freshly redefining and resolving the overhead debate across the funder-grantee divide.
