UNICEF Humanitarian Performance Monitoring - Toolkit and Guide 01 June 2011
UNICEF Cluster / Sector Coordination Milestone Monitoring Tool - Questions and Answers Guide on Use
Q&A Guide on Using Tool
Contents of this section
· Why is this important (what the Country Management Team should know)
· What users should know
· What does it take to do it
· PCA Monitoring and Reporting Addendum Templates – tool (NB. Templates are pre-completed with recommended priority high frequency indicators. CO should change as necessary – refer to Indicator Guide)
Why is this important (what the Country Management Team should know)
· UNICEF accountabilities as country Cluster/Sector Lead Agency are an integral part of the CCCs and the Humanitarian Reform agenda.
· The UNICEF Cluster/Sector Coordination Milestone Monitoring Tool is intended for quick use as a Country Office management tool for high frequency monitoring of UNICEF’s progress in meeting its cluster lead agency coordination accountabilities[1].
o It is intended as a ‘minimum’ and provides a snapshot of UNICEF progress recognizing the often limited CO monitoring capacity in the early stage of a response.
o It highlights the gaps that need to be addressed and can identify ‘quick wins’, i.e. ways to strengthen clusters by sharing good practices across clusters and/or locations
· The Humanitarian PM tool is not intended for use by all cluster members and it does not seek to assess the quality of UNICEF cluster coordination.
· Cluster performance monitoring tools that look at the performance of the entire cluster response and quality of coordination which are often implemented with cluster partners, and are more suited to lower frequency, in-depth monitoring, review or evaluation, have been developed[2] and links to these tools can be found on the Humanitarian PM Communities of Practice filtered library[3].
o Cluster performance monitoring tools are better suited for monitoring the Cluster / Sector coordination in longer term chronic emergencies where clusters / sector working groups have been long established.
· The Humanitarian PM tool attempts to distinguish Cluster Lead Agency responsibilities that UNICEF can be expected to achieve alone, and those that require wider agreement and cooperation with cluster / sector group members.
· UNICEF as country Cluster/Sector Lead Agency should be able to report on cluster coverage, but is not solely accountable for cluster/sector performance/coverage.
What users should know
· The tool can be applied in different ways: i.e. a self-assessment by the Cluster Coordinator; a survey approach with one staff member carrying out one-to-one interviews with cluster coordinators (ensuring some standardization in responses); or in a participatory assessment by the cluster itself (suitable when the cluster is more mature).
What does it take to do it
· The key informant interview approach: in Pakistan, one-to-one telephone interviews were carried out taking approximately 30minutes per interview
· Participatory assessment by the cluster may require a neutral, trusted facilitator.
See Communities of Practice Document Library for additional information on UNICEF role as country Cluster/Sector Lead Agency
· Provider of Last Resort - definition
· ToR Generic Terms of Reference for Sector/Cluster Leads at the Country Level Operational Guidance on cluster lead and OCHA Information Management
· Guidance Note on Determining Field-Level leadership of a Gender-Based Violence (GBV) Area of Responsibility (AoR) Working Group in a cluster context
· Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Humanitarian Emergencies
· Cluster Lead Agency joint letter on dual responsibility
· Draft Guidance on Cluster Co-Lead Chair arrangements
· Generic UNICEF Job Description for country Cluster Coordinator
Potential Challenges / Solutions /The cluster is not activated / UNICEF accountabilities are the same for sector working group coordination where the clusters are not activated
The government leads the clusters / UNICEF has a stronger advocacy and supporting role to government to ensure accountabilities of cluster/sector coordination are met
Cluster members / donors are criticising UNICEF for cluster leadership / Assess UNICEF progress in reaching Cluster/sector coordination milestones
Identify what the bottlenecks are and whether they are a sole UNICEF accountability or wider cluster/sector member accountability
* Please share Challenges and Solutions through the Humanitarian PM Community of Practice for inclusion in future drafts of the Humanitarian PM guide. http://intranet.unicef.org/CoP/EMOPSHPM/CommunityContent.nsf
1
UNICEF Humanitarian Performance Monitoring - Toolkit and Guide 01 June 2011
Cluster / Sector Coordination Milestone Monitoring Tool (where UNICEF country cluster/sector – or sub-cluster - lead agency[4])
Milestone / Indicator / MOV / Responsibility / Additional Guidance /Cluster / Sector Coordinator function is filled / Yes – Dedicated person
Yes – Dual role / Interim Duel role[5]
No – Length of time function not filled / Arrival at duty station (Level/ Duration of Assignment) / UNICEF / Guide: "Filled" defined as
· Dedicated person;
· Person with dual role,
· In some situations a dedicated person may not be appropriate or possible for cluster / sector working group coordination.
· A decision on the need for a dedicated person (i.e. without a duel role) is best taken by the UNICEF CO in coordination with RO / HQ
Where UNICEF Co-lead. (Education, GBV)
Have areas of responsibility been defined and agreed / Y (date) / N / TOR / MOU / UNICEF + Save
UNICEF + UNFPA / Country example: Pakistan UNICEF and Save the Children
See CoP Document repository
Partners are convened / List of cluster members on shared Inter-Agency (OCHA) platform / UNICEF
Agreement / ToR for Coordinating Mechanism is established / No – No action by UNICEF / TOR/MOU on shared Inter-Agency (OCHA) platform / UNICEF / TORs should:
· address key functions in the IASC Generic TOR for cluster coordinator http://OCHAonline.un.org/OCHALinkClick.aspx?link=OCHA)&docid=1085357 (ref IASC policy)
· define roles and responsibilities including means of establishing committees or sub-groups to carry out different functions (ref good practice)
· define clear mechanisms for overall coordination across sub-groups (ref good practice)
Partial – Drafting of TOR Cluster Coordinating Mechanism has been proposed/ is under development / Joint Cluster
Yes -- Cluster Coordinating Mechanism is finalized/agreed / Joint Cluster
Cluster Operational Strategy/ Action Plan is established / No – No action by UNICEF / Strategy or MOU on shared Inter-Agency (OCHA) platform / UNICEF / A good strategy should:
· present an analysis of context and corresponding programming priorities(ref good practice)
· be revisited periodically based on analysis of progress/constraints and changes in context(ref IASC generic TOR)
· be reflected in overall country strategy e.g. CHAP (ref IASC generic TOR)
· include a exit or transition strategy for cluster(ref IASC generic TOR)
Partial – Drafting of Cluster Strategy has been proposed/ is under development / UNICEF
Yes -- Cluster Strategy is finalized/agreed / Joint Cluster
Programme standards[6] established and promoted / No – No action by UNICEF / Programme standards documents; partner organization reports on shared Inter-Agency (OCHA) platform / UNICEF / IASC Cluster TOR: “It is important that cluster members are aware of relevant sector policy guidelines and standards as well as relevant government commitments in line with international law”
Cluster programming should also integrate attention to cross-cutting issues: diversity, environment, gender, HIV/AIDS and human rights, Do no harm
Partial – Drafting/development of programme standards has been proposed/ is underway / UNICEF
Yes established – Programme standards are finalized/agreed / National govt or Joint Cluster
Yes promoted – Programme standards are being promoted within member organizations / Joint Cluster
IM capacity established / No – No action taken / TOR, workplan or JD; arrival at duty station (Level/ Duration of Assignment) / UNICEF
Yes -- Accountability for cluster IM established within cluster staff or CLA office and position staffed IM role staffed / UNICEF
Basic IM systems mapping coverage established (3W) / No – no 3W sharing mechanism initiated / Status and date of 3W tool as last updated; circulation or accessibility of tool on shared Inter-Agency (OCHA) platform / UNICEF
Partial – system or templates for sharing 3W circulated or posted on cluster e-platform in last 2 weeks / UNICEF
Yes – information contributed and circulated at agreed frequency / Joint cluster
Performance management systems in place / No – no action taken / UNICEF
Partial stage 1 – process of agreeing monitoring indicators has been initiated[7] / Cluster minutes on shared Inter-Agency (OCHA) platform / UNICEF
Partial stage 2 – monitoring indicators have been agreed AND reporting frequency / Cluster minutes on shared Inter-Agency (OCHA) platform / Joint cluster
Yes – performance monitoring data has been shared by 80% of cluster members at the agreed schedule / Performance monitoring reports or data available on shared Inter-Agency (OCHA) platform / Joint cluster
Action taken to "fill identified gaps" and to address duplication
(yes/partial/no) / No – monitoring data is not available to identify gaps or has not been used to do so
Yes - Actions taken to fill gaps: programme response, advocacy or fundraising / Cluster minutes on shared Inter-Agency (OCHA) platform / Joint cluster
1
[1] Derived from the Inter-Agency ToR for Country/Sector Cluster Lead
[2] Tools developed through individual cluster initiatives and/or UNICEF Regional Office initiatives (e.g. draft CEE-CIS cluster monitoring framework; current work on APSSC cluster monitoring framework)
[3] http://intranet.unicef.org/emops/emopssite.nsf/root/PageCCCpm6
[4] Global Cluster Leads WASH, Nutrition, Education co-lead with Save the Children; Sub-cluster lead Child Protection, GBV co-lead with UNFPA
[5] Specify if a Duel role is interim, i.e. until a dedicated person arrives
[6] It is recognized that while programme standards may have been agreed at the global level, at the national level there is likely to be the need for some adaption to the local context and for UNICEF national partners to agree and formalize their commitment
[7] UNICEF as cluster member can propose agreed UNICEF priority sector indicators as a starting point for discussion on cluster performance indicators