DIPDNotat: Template TOR for Appraisals

Notat
Til: / DIPD Board
Sag: / Template TOR for Appraisal of Party-to-Party Cooperation
Fra: / DIDP Senior Adviser
Dato: / January 2013 (updatedOctober 2014)

Background:

The “From Strategy to Results”note suggests that a Template TOR be developed to facilitate and assist the appraisal process of new partnerships and cooperation projects[1].

These TOR’s synthesize the main points and pieces of advice which the DIPD Secretariat has been providing throughout to the political parties prior to the planning of the appraisal visits to the country/partner in question. It thus puts on paper what has already been thepractice.

The appraisal phase actually starts already when the political parties consider which country and party to cooperate with, and for some political parties a quite substantial consultation and preparatory work has been performed before the appraisal application is actually presented. DIPD is also involved in this process and has given on-going advice on choice of country, choice of partner, pre-appraisal activities such as consultations within our institutional network.

The template TOR is developed in accordance with and building on the Guidelines for DIPD Project Applications as approved by the Board.

Purpose:

Assess the feasibility and sustainability of a given proposed partnership;

Provide input to the overall planning of the project cooperation, including the outline of the project document;

Build or further develop good partnership relations.

Scope:

The first and second objective is achieved through a systematic assessment along the main dimensions included in DIPD’s project application format: Thus the scope is to assess:

Partner profile and context (mission and history, position in political landscape, strengths and weaknesses, overall organizational and financial situation, etc);

Background and context (political context and democratic situation, party system and regulation, relevance of proposed activities, etc);

Goals and activities (expected results, target groups, methodology, risk factors, etc):

Budget (with explanatory notes on each budget line);

Organization and management (tasks, responsibilities, administrative and financial set–up, monitoring, etc.).

Assessment of the feasibility and relevance:

It is suggested that the party employs the very same assessment criteria which the DIPD Board uses in considering the various project proposals, based on the DIPD strategy and the overall principles:

Clear goals relating to DIPD Strategy and Results Matrix

Focus on capacitydevelopment

Intendeddemocratisationoutcome

Interaction with other Danish efforts

Links to other DIPD efforts or thematic focus areas

Local anchoring, ownership and coordination

Expertise and experience to be shared from the Danish Party –match with local needs?

Sustainability

Project (application)quality

Relevance

Past experiene of the partnership and project achievements

Building partnerships:

The third objective is achieved through

Sharing of information regarding both parties - and the Danish politicalparty also sharing information about DIPD;

Seeking mutuality and transparency – for the Danish political party to indicate their areas of competence and expertise and to share DIPD guidelines and the template cooperation agreement with the partner so that the formal requirements are known;

Provide a debriefing report from the appraisal to the partner and make the project application a joint process. Ensure that the (Party-to-Party) Cooperation Agreement is well understood and realistic timeframes agreed;

Showing respect and encourage equal ownership;

Taking departure in the needs and reform agendas identified by the partner – but developing the project in dialogue.

In case where there has been a project cooperation before, the appraisal must review the past performance and the quality of the partnership.

Methodology:

The appraisal will use several methodologies including

Desk review of existing documentation about the country, party system and the partner. In regard to the latter it is relevant to look at party manifestos, annual reports, reports to other international partners, as well as search the national news and international databases;

Consultations with the various national stakeholders – related NGOs, Electoral Commission, multi-party platform if existing;

Consultation with international stakeholders including the Danish Embassy, Danish NGOs involved in Democracy Promotion, multilateral Agencies and consultations with DIPD Network of like-mindedorganisations (IDEA; NDI; etc.);

Workshops or focus group discussions to assess the needs and priorities of the partner and to generate a common understanding and agreement on possible avenues of joint cooperation.

Analysis and data collection:

Appraisal teams have with good results used the DIPD application format as a template for data collection and analysis. Thus the “empty” application format is used to firstly

identify for each dimension what source of information will be used;

identify the key questions still needing to be addressed.

An example is shown below:

B.1
History and mission
Brief description of the history and mandate of the organisation or party /
  • Desk review of documents from partner
  • Interview with party leader
  • Interview with party MP
  • Other

B.4
Position in political landscape
Characterise the position of the partner and how it is likely to develop /
  • Consult political scientist regarding party landscape
  • Interview with party leader on position
  • Interview with multi-party platform on current position
  • Desk review and news clippings
  • Consultations with Danish Embassy, NDI/IDEA,etc

Using the application format as a template helps deliver a systematic and orderly assessment and data-collection process and eases the drafting of the application. Reference is made to the DIPD tool box for party specific tools in a number of areas and to CISU for project tools.

It is recommended to keep DIPDs new strategy in mind and use the DIPD results matrix as a working tool to establish the baseline/point of departure and the intended changes.

Team Composition:

As mentioned in earlier DIPD Board communications, the team should bes composed in a manner that will ensure a good appraisal process and outcome, and that the team comprises.

political party expertise;

development/democracyexpertise and

planningexpertise

In several cases, it can be relevant to involve local or international consultants or political party peers in the appraisal phase. With regard to the “team composition” on the part of the partner it is advisable to ensure dialogue and involvement both with

the leadership of the partner;

the operational units that will be engaged in the cooperation (the policy or gender unit)

the administrative and financial units.

Possibly a consultation with elected MPs of the party or local councilors can also be relevant.

Timing:

There is not a fixed timed to be recommended, but the overall meeting program and schedule needs to flexible and not too tight to allow for alterations, transport between meetings, etc. A thumb rule is that 7-9 days allows for a first round of introductory meetings, followed by workshops and consultations with other stakeholders, follow-up and more specific meetings with operational units and finally debriefing and next steps.

Outputs of the appraisal mission:

Debriefing note – main findings and observations and next steps – basically outlining the result of the appraisal and whether or not a partnership is feasible.

Appraisal Report to DIPD according to established format ( if financed by DIPD) in any case the debriefing note will be appreciated

Project Application to DIPD – if deemed relevant and appropriate

Moreover, it is a good idea to send a word of appreciation to all stakeholders consulted.

Side 1

[1]This note is to be seen together with a number of other key documents including the “Tips tilforundersøgelsen; værktøjskassen; notat om projektforberedelsen; Synthesis of lessons learned; Note on Quality Assurance; Note on Partnership visits and in particular the overall DIPD guidelines.