Networks here & there…. networks everywhere!

A few more years and NGO’s working on individual development projects might have become obsolete. Just take a quick look in any NGO’s strategic plan and you will notice that ‘Networks’ and ‘Strategic Alliances’ and ‘Linking and Learning’ are presented as today’s development answers.  Although it would be interesting to scrutinize this assumption, also I have come to accept that networks are an appropriate way to tackle societal issues in a rapidly changing world. Currently I am supporting the NGO where I work in setting up a network on land rights and in our most recent round of discussion I asked my Junior Expert colleagues around the globe for some tips & tricks.

Considering that most of us in the discussion deals in one way or another with networks, confirmed it is in fact a current development fashion. But as one of us rightly pointed out  ’In general I think the word 'network' in the context of development projects is a container concept that is easily used and often not understood…. there is a limitless amount of varieties in the range of formal - informal, size, type of members, goals’. Even in our small group the diversity in the forms and objectives of the networks we deal with was large, varying from group of 'community journalists' to a global network of actors dedicated to the Christian mission of ‘doing good’.  But despite differences from our discussion it is possible to pinpoint several factors that any kind of network requires for effective and sustainable functioning. Now please let me present, in the name of ‘sharing and learning’, my impressions of the virtual discussions I had with my colleague 'development advisors'. 

Core elements & conditions to start a network

First remarkable thing in the discussion was that the main question itself created counter questions. As some of us suggested it is better ‘not to talk about setting up a network’ as networks should ideally evolve naturally when several people feel the urge to link up and cooperate around an issue. It is therefore preferable to take existing relations as a starting point and to expand slowly to other stakeholders and different levels. But what if these relations do not yet exists while you see the added value of exchange and cooperation? In such situation people could be brought together through events and joint actions to examine the potential to evolve as a network. When doing so the facilitator plays a key role to link and ’to create opportunities for a joint discovery path’ before getting people on board. This implies that she or he must study the people, their institutions, their interests and power relations, to plan and prepare the joint events carefully and to give follow up to the outcomes of these events. Once people are on board it is time to define focused objectives, to discuss different contributions and to align expectations. At this initial stage it is crucial that the facilitator ensures there is time and space to answer questions like; what kind of network do we want to become; formal or informal? To what extent do we want to cooperate? Do we consider for instance exchange of knowledge as sufficient or should we take a step further by joining forces in research, lobby and advocacy? If so, which topics and through which activities? What institutional rules and regulations are needed for proper functioning? How do we fund network activities and what financial mechanisms? While coordinating the dialogue on these questions, the facilitator should ensure progress and prevent that members end up in endless discussions. Especially the importance of starting to undertake actions, both at the initial phase as afterwards, can not be overstated because ‘for every network’s sustainability it is crucial to combine learning with action to have continuous results and the added value….People are only willing to invest time and resources if they see visible results.

  

It has been concluded many times before, hence it is not surprising that also in our experience proper coordination and leadership proves to be indispensable. Everyone will be interested, but nothing happens if no one takes the lead. Leadership could be either in the form of an institutionalized secretary, a project unit, steering committee, working group or simply an assigned person….. to take initiative, coordinate and to connect to existing larger initiatives and potential funds.

Above all, we all clearly agreed that at the core of any successful network lie passion, chemistry and openness . In general what I notice here is that a network (and any kind of cooperation) really functions around personal relationships, instead of institutional common interest. Beyond the curtain of organizations and institutional interests lie the people, who can make it or break it. In a way you could say that the passion people share to fight for a common cause is the heart, and cordial relations the heartbeat of a network. Without a heart and heartbeat your network will not sustain life.


Author:  Leyla Ozay,  e-mail.  l.ozay@hotmail.com 

Junior Experts Latin America meet in Honduras, 13 - 16 April, 2009

Sharing on the beach
From April 14th until 16th, five ICCO junior advisors come together in Honduras to exchange experiences about their work in Latin America. All of us are working with different partner organizations of ICCO in Honduras, Guatemala, Peru and Bolivia. It is the first time such exchange is being organized.

The objectives of the meeting are to learn, share and exchange so we can improve our work and ICCO’s Young Professional program in the future. Two of us have just started their work at their organization, two are almost at the end of their contract and one is just in the middle of it: a good moment to reflect and learn.

The different views from the ‘fresh’ beginners and the ‘more experienced ones’ on the shared issues were complementing and helping to challenge each other. This gave us some interesting results we will use when we get back to our organizations.

The first day just came to an end. Taking a step back from work helped to look at it from a distance. Being together here, all with our western background and sharing our learning processes gave us a special feeling of connection. And, last but not least, being on the beach in a tropical country surely helps to relax and reload our batteries for continuing our work!

Challenge and Success
Today, at the first official day of the meeting we have exchanged successes and challenges in our work and lives in Latin America. It was incredible to see that although we are working for different organizations, on different themes and in different countries, the challenges we face are so very similar.
Cultural issues are often mixed in our work and lives here. Often it is about finding a balance – between the expectations from outside as well as the ones you have created yourself. What do you do when a trustful Latino friend asks you if you can lend him money? What, if your colleagues do not communicate with you and they don’t react on your direct approach? How to keep good connections with ICCO and our families and friends in the Netherlands? And how to improve learning from other (ex) junior advisors? What do you do when your contract finishes and you are sent back to the Netherlands after two years of Southern tranquilidad?
There are a lot of questions, but fortunately many answers, too. Thanks to six actively thinking female heads in the South.

Getting to know the other by getting to know yourself
Today’s afternoon was a positive one. First we started with analyzing some of our success stories. What did you do that made you feel very good (not only about yourself, but more so about the capacity building process you started)? Various cases were shared with some very common ‘success factors’ like: patience, good planning and preparation, creating awareness on the importance of the process you are starting, support from the management and sensitivity to the local hierarchy and culture.
After that, the creative therapist amongst us, showed us some interesting insights, not only on ‘ what is creative therapy’, but also in ourselves and our ways of working. After the necessary creativity, cutting and sticking, we were asked to analyze how we cut, why we cut like that, how we placed the papers, and how this reflects who we are. It may sound silly, but it definitely opened our eyes. These types of creative workshops can be used to generate ‘self reflection’ or to organize team-building activities. Since it does not only reflect who we are, but also how we feel comfortable in a team.

Safety first
An unexpected, not so pleasant incident in Honduras was one of the main reasons for us, junior experts, to have this meeting in Roatan. All six of us have had our own experiences in safety issues. It’s interesting to see how we all adopt to the situation. Although sometimes still wondering and finding us in difficult circumstances, safety is always an issue and being in unsafe situation sometimes seems to be part of our daily life.
Exchanging our experiences helps us to reflect on what already seems normal to you and makes us wonder whether our situation really is that normal and what to do in extreme circumstances. Hearing stories of others makes us realize we are not the only ones finding ourselves in weird situations, where our safety and that of colleagues, friends, and acquaintances are at stake. When media cannot be trusted, and gossip is everywhere how can you make sure you are well informed about what’s going on? How can you define whether a situation is truly dangerous? And how can your attitude towards others influence their behavior towards you?
Through Skype we were able to talk directly to Sicko Pijpker to discuss our doubts and keep informed on ICCOs policy on safety matters. Although ICCO uses several tools to prepare juniors for their experience abroad, things can still be improved by including a gender aspect in safety issues and more information on local forms of violence and dangers. The decentralization of ICCO offers possibilities on keeping advisors abroad even better informed about the safety situation in the local area.
The local offices established in the south come with several changes, including for the people sent abroad. Whereas the regional safety program is still not clearly defined, the changes already show possibilities to improve the work and impact of the junior expert program. Advisors find themselves in a complicated situation with loyalty issues to both ICCO and their partner organization. Will PROCODE also be an opportunity for them to define (new) roles in their relationship with ICCO and their counterpart? Or would an external coach be the outcome? Or both?
Sharing our experiences makes us stronger. It enforces our feeling that we are not alone, but all in a quite similar situation. Face to face meetings like these enable us to share our stories, them being good or bad. It bonds us and renews our energy for taking our work one step further. But walking this path, we know whatever happens, always: safety first.

We should be proud of ourselves!
Yesterday was the last day of the three day junior expert meeting. And what a day it was! We worked all day and continued working late into the night. This time the activities were less centered on the sharing of experiences and more on formulating recommendations for ICCO.A big part of the day was spent on talking about the factors that support and limit a positive impact of the junior expert in the capacity building process. We formulated factors on the personal, organizational and environmental level (the organizations context). Especially the list of personal characteristics that support capacity building processes became quite long: flexibility, patience, knowing your limits, motivation, empathy, open attitude, ability to adapt, positivity, creativity, etc. We were amazed by the number of characteristics a junior expert should (in theory) possess. Of course some of these character traits you will learn along the way. We concluded that being a junior expert is not always easy and that we should be proud of ourselves.As the central theme of this meeting was learning, we also talked about the different learning instruments that ICCO provides for the junior experts. There are quite many; not all of them equally well known by us. We evaluated them all and formulated recommendations for ICCO afterwards. Of course the face-to-face meeting was one of the learning instruments that we evaluated. Our opinion of this meeting was unanimously positive. It is an excellent way to get to know other junior experts, exchange experiences, learn from others, and help ICCO to improve its junior expert program. For me, having just started with my work, the meeting was extremely valuable. Just hearing that others have experienced the same issues already makes a difference. And of course it was also just fun!

Anouk van Hoof - Junior Advisor Community Tourism, Peru
Ester Prins - Junior Advisor Sistematisation, Communication and Advocacy, Bolivia
Dirkje Jansen - Junior Advisor Documentation, Learning and Communication, Honduras
Marleen Willemsen, Junior Advisor Quality Management and Marketing, Guatemala
Johanna Pohlmann, Junior Advisor Creative Therapy, Honduras

How to create ownership for the capacity development process of a network?

Capacity development of a network has its own dynamics. How to involve the member organizations of the network and ensure that they own the capacity development process of the network?

The network may be seen by the members almost as a 'donor agency', providing training and financial resources. Whereas you would like them to feel part and parcel of the network.

One intervention might be to present the outcomes, conclusions and ideas of the capacity assessment back to the network and its member organizations. However, if member organizations do not feel ownership of the network, and don't feel responsible it is hard to engage them in such a process. Another intervention may therefore be to make them more aware of their membership within the network and communicate about the existing activities.

Another intervention could be to discuss the guiding principles with the network members. Why are we a network and how do we act within the network? This might stimulate more ownership of the issues and ways of working.

Strengthening of the individual members could be an entry point too. A network's strength is determined by the strength of its members. This can be done by formalizing a partnership contract on capacity development of the members. Visualization workshops could be followed by capacity building interventions with the individual member organizations.

In networks it is a challenge to find the balance between objectives from the network (by its secretariat) and the needs of the member organizations. It is important to look at the role, needs and expectations from the member organizations towards the network.