Unit of competency details

Descriptor 

This unit of competency describes the skills and knowledge required to develop a strategic program design, based on the analysis of needs and resources data previously undertaken, and taking into account gender, human rights, environmental and other humanitarian and development issues

Application 

This unit may be applied in a range of development and humanitarian assistance work contexts and should reflect the concepts and principles of aid effectiveness and community development (i.e. ownership, alignment, harmonisation, managing for results and mutual accountability) as embodied in the Paris Declaration and Accra Agenda for Action (AAA)

The program design is documented in an operational plan

These skills and knowledge are to be applied within the scope of the person's role and authority

Employability skills 

This unit contains employability skills

Elements define the essential outcomes of a unit of competency.

The Performance Criteria specify the level of performance required to demonstrate achievement of the Element. Terms in italics are elaborated in the Range Statement.

ELEMENT 

PERFORMANCE CRITERIA 

1. Identify strategic priorities in a development and/or humanitarian assistance context

1.1 Work collaboratively with local and/or international partners to identify priorities which maximise long term development and self reliance of target communities and groups

1.2 Ensure identified priorities maximise cross project efficiencies and build on existing strengths and capacities of stakeholders and local infrastructure

1.3 Ensure identified priorities take into account external influences  likely to impact future projects

1.4 Ensure identified priorities reflect and take into consideration application of the concepts and principles of aid effectiveness and community development 

1.4 Clarify potential sources of funding that may be available to address identified priorities

2. Work collaboratively to design a development and/or humanitarian assistance program

2.1 Consult with partners working in the sector to identify the range and coverage of separate projects planned or operating concurrently in the geographical area and sector

2.2 Identify, capture and maximise efficiency gains  from integrating projects

2.3 Identify and document cross sectoral issues  in partnership with other organisations and target community or group

2.4 Ensure program design incorporates measures to effectively address cross sectoral issues

2.5 Ensure documentation clearly communicates to personnel the implications of cross sectoral issues

2.6 Ensure program design adheres to organisation policies, procedures and document in line with any accepted formats and proformas

2.7 Ensure program design includes criteria for evaluation of impact and effectiveness and processes for monitoring implementation as a basis for evaluation

3. Prepare operational plan

3.1 Prepare operational plan  which reflects needs identified during consultation and information gathering stage and conforms to organisation standards

3.2 Submit draft design for review to appropriate personnel, partnering organisations and representatives of the target community or group

3.3 Evaluate feedback and appropriately incorporate into operational plan

3.4 Identify performance indicators  in project plan as well as methodology for data collection

4. Monitor implementation of program

4.1 Collect program information  as outlined in project plan about program activities, outcomes achieved, expenditure and issues arising

4.2 Interview key stakeholders  using culture and gender sensitive interview techniques  and arrangements

4.3 Seek feedback regarding program activities, program outcomes and impact on the community, personnel behaviour and performance and recommendations for changes or for future programs

4.4 Identify and appropriately investigate unforeseen aspects of program activities

4.5 Actively consider cross sectoral issues in monitoring the project, taking into consideration field constraints 

5. Evaluate impact of program

5.1 Analyse data and feedback and use as the basis for evaluating the impact of the program and how effectively it is addressing the established criteria

5.2 Identify extent to which program has achieved identified outcomes

5.3 Compare findings from the data and feedback against the established criteria to determine the impact of the program

5.4 Identify and document alternative and unplanned program outcomes and impacts

5.5 Compare program expenditure against budgets and available ongoing funding

5.6 Identify appropriate adjustments  to the program

5.7 Prepare relevant documentation to report on the program, including recommendations for changes to address performance variations 

5.8 Report on the program evaluation to relevant stakeholders

REQUIRED SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE 

This describes the essential skills and knowledge and their level required for this unit.

Essential knowledge :

The candidate must be able to demonstrate essential knowledge required to effectively do the task outlined in elements and performance criteria of this unit, manage the task and manage contingencies in the context of the identified work role

This includes:

• Agency guidelines, such as:

• Australian Agency for International Aid (AusAID) guidelines, including Development for All (Disability) Strategy and Child Protection Policy
• U.S. Agency for International Development Field Operational Guide (USAID FOG)
• United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) guidelines, especially on specific projects for vulnerable groups
• other relevant agency guidelines

• Analytical tools and techniques appropriate to local context and data being analysed
• Basic logframe
• Broad knowledge of humanitarian and development assistance theoretical thinking and topical issues
• Capacity and vulnerability framework (People Oriented Planning)
• Data collection techniques
• Donor priorities, organisation structures and key staff, funding guidelines and reporting requirements
• General project cycle
• Local Capacities for Peace (LCP)/Do No Harm framework
• Organisation internal politics and informal power or influence relationships
• Organisation policies and procedures relating to issues such as:

• donor relations
• data collection
• assessment techniques
• confidentiality

• Organisation software relevant to programming sector
• Organisation structure, including formal lines of reporting and responsibility
• Organisation support systems and personnel
• Participatory Learning and Action (PLA)
• Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA)
• Personal security
• Rapid assessment tools (e.g. 10 seed technique)
• Social, cultural and political context of the specific field environment
• The Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Relief (The Sphere standards)

Essential skills :

It is critical that the candidate demonstrate the ability to:

• Comply with relevant organisation and donor policies and requirements
• Effectively communicate with and obtain relevant feedback and design recommendations from relevant personnel and partner organisations and target communities or groups
• Effectively communicate with key stakeholders, donors and obtain relevant feedback and recommendations for the program
• Effectively monitor and evaluate program activities and outputs, interventions, budget, staffing needs, performance and impact against goals and performance indicators, and make appropriate recommendations for modifications, future programs or planning
• Effectively prepare and produce monitoring and evaluation reports that include summary of monitoring and evaluation methodology, feedback and data summaries, key findings and recommended modifications to the program plan
• Work collaboratively to identify and agree strategic priorities, design a program and prepare an operational plan that takes into account and addresses relevant cross sectoral issues and external influences

In addition, the candidate must be able to effectively do the task outlined in elements and performance criteria of this unit, manage the task and manage contingencies in the context of the identified work role

These include the ability to:

• Apply skills in:

• accessing a variety of records and information sources
• accurately planning and organising work activities
• adapting to different environments and responding effectively to challenges
• administration and routine office procedures
• building rapport with others, including donors, local officials and community members
• communicating effectively with a range of different audiences
• efficiently managing self responsibilities and timelines for completion of work
• identifying problems and appropriate response procedures
• initiating new ideas or work methodologies
• making rapid and accurate situational assessments, while under stress
• managing resources
• networking
• participating in a team environment to design and plan program
• program and project design, planning and report writing
• setting priorities and undertaking new tasks quickly
• thinking, problem solving and conceptual techniques
• using analytical tools and techniques
• using appropriate communication and interpersonal techniques with colleagues and others and participating in a team environment to complete tasks
• using investigative skills, including analysis and deduction

continued  ...

Essential skills  (cont ):

• using language, literacy and numeracy skills such as those required to:

• collect, analyse and organise data
• communicate in spoken and written form with a range of audiences
• adjust spoken and written language to suit audience
• prepare or customise materials

• using communications equipment, including telephone, radio, satellite phone, fax and email
• using computing equipment and common software programs
• working with people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, with awareness and understanding of cultural differences and ability to express that awareness and understanding clearly and concisely

EVIDENCE GUIDE 

The evidence guide provides advice on assessment and must be read in conjunction with the Performance Criteria, Required Skills and Knowledge, the Range Statement and the Assessment Guidelines for this Training Package.

Critical aspects for assessment and evidence required to demonstrate this unit of competency :

• The individual being assessed must provide evidence of specified essential knowledge as well as skills
• The application of competency is to be assessed in the workplace or realistically simulated workplace
• Assessment is to occur under standard and authorised work practices, safety requirements and environmental constraints
• Consistency of performance should be demonstrated over the required range of situations relevant to the workplace
• The circumstantial or unsolicited testimony of project participants, governments or other non-government organisations regarding ethical behaviour should be considered as significant evidence in relation to this unit
• Certain aspects of program monitoring and evaluation present a greater level of difficulty, including actively considering cross sectoral issues, evaluating the impact of the project, identifying non-reported interventions and identifying staffing needs
• The type and scale of evaluation may vary considerably and it may be necessary to undertake several evaluations before gaining sufficient competency to achieve this unit
• Assessment must confirm a reasonable inference that competency is able not only to be satisfied under the particular circumstance, but is able to be transferred to other circumstances

Access and equity considerations :

• All workers in development and humanitarian assistance should be aware of access, equity and human rights issues in their own area of work
• All workers should develop their ability to work in a culturally diverse environment
• In particular workers should be aware of cultural, historical and current issues facing the people and culture in which they are working
• Assessors and trainers must take into account relevant access and equity issues relating to the culture in which they are working

Context of and specific resources for assessment :

• This unit may be assessed independently, however holistic assessment practice with other related units of competency is encouraged
• Assessment of essential underpinning knowledge, other than confirmatory questions, will usually be conducted in an off-site context
• Resources required for assessment include access to:

• workplace location or simulated workplace
• specifications and work instructions
• policy manuals and procedure manuals (international and local, including donor manuals)
• relevant documents (such as assessment notes and conclusions) and standards documents
• relevant equipment (such as office equipment and communications equipment)
• managers, co-workers and local staff

Method of assessment :

• Assessment needs to take into consideration the practical difficulties associated with attempting on-job assessment in the humanitarian assistance environment
• Assessment methods must be by direct observation of tasks and include questioning on underpinning knowledge
• Assessment may be applied under project related conditions (real or simulated) and require evidence of process
• Assessment should be supported by supplementary evidence from a wide range of sources, preferably including evidence from one or more field situations

RANGE STATEMENT 

The Range Statement relates to the unit of competency as a whole. It allows for different work environments and situations that may affect performance. Add any essential operating conditions that may be present with training and assessment depending on the work situation, needs of the candidate, accessibility of the item, and local industry and regional contexts.

External influences may include :

• Trends in funding opportunities, both within the organisation and from other sources
• Domestic political forces within the country
• Non-domestic political forces
• Government and non-government agencies and organisations including humanitarian agencies, World Bank and UNHCR

Concepts and principles of aid effectiveness and community development include :

• Ownership, including:

• using delivery processes that support partner countries to exercise effective leadership over their development policies and strategies
• coordinating development actions
• involving communities and local government in decision making, implementation, monitoring and evaluation
• encouraging community's and local government's contribution to problem solving

• Alignment, involving maintaining a comprehensive understanding of partner countries' national development strategies, institutions and procedures to guide program delivery
• Harmonisation:

• actively seeking to collaborate with other Official Development Assistance (ODA) partners to create added value and greater development effectiveness

• Managing for results, including continuous improvement of systems to:

• manage for development results
• support evidence-based decision making

• Mutual accountability, involving demonstration of:

• full transparency and accountability for the use of development resources in program delivery

Efficiency gains may include :

• Use of personnel across a number of projects or programs
• Cost savings through sharing office support for projects

Cross sectoral issues may include :

• Child protection
• Peace building
• Relief to development transition
• Sustainability of program / project (i.e. relating to whether the program activities are able to continue once project funding has ceased)
• Human rights:

• as set out in the United Nations' Charter of Human Rights
• target groups within a field situation maintain these rights and therefore are treated as 'rights bearers' rather than as beneficiaries

• Gender issues which encompass but are not limited to the socially defined sex roles, attitudes and values to which communities and societies ascribe as appropriate for one sex or the other:

• gender does not describe the biological sexual characteristics by which females and males are identified
• it is ensured that both sexes are included in data gathering using appropriate PRA exercises and 'shielding'
• as per Oxfam Gender Training Manual which provides further guidance on gender issues

• Potential political, social and cultural impacts of project
• Environmental issues such as adhering to the minimum standards set out in the Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Disaster Response (Sphere standards)

continued  ...

Cross sectoral issues may include  (contd ):

• International standards and conventions on environmental issues include:

• Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Environmental Checklist
• Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS) Environmental Markers
• AMS Generic Field Codes
• World Bank Environmental Assessment Sourcebook
• Convention on Biological Diversity (Rio de Janeiro, 1992)
• United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (New York, 1992)
• International Convention to Combat Desertification (1994)
• Basel Convention on the Control of Trans-boundary
• Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal (Basel, 1989)
• Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) (Washington, 1973)
• Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer (Vienna, 1985)
• Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer (Montreal, 1987)
• Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat (Ramsar, 1971)

Operational plan includes :

• Goals and objectives
• Outputs
• Indicators
• Resource requirements
• Timelines

Performance indicators will depend on the nature of the program and may include :

• Achievement of goals in areas such as:

• health statistics (such as mortality rates and weight for age ratios)
• food distribution
• commodity distribution
• infrastructure establishment
• micro economic development

• Improved outcomes for the community in specified areas of community living
• Enhanced community capacity to address identified issues
• Achievement of identified goals within a specified timeframe

Program information may include :

• Internal or external information, such as

• monthly project reports
• financial reports
• project activity schedules
• project logbooks
• receipts and invoices
• data from related projects
• international agency reports (World Bank, UNHCR and data from government agencies
• data from other organisations

Key stakeholders may include :

• Program staff
• Host governments
• Donor agencies
• Program participants
• Other organisations

Culture and gender sensitive interview techniques may include :

• Separating genders
• Separating age cohorts
• 'Shielding' the group from overt influence

Field constraints may include :

• Local political environment
• Technological infrastructure
• Environmental conditions
• Road and transport networks
• Ethnic or religious tensions
• Criminal activity
• Cultural factors

Appropriate adjustments may refer to changes to the program to better address issues and achieve outcomes and may include :

• Changes to design of certain elements of the program
• Additional or different resources to be applied
• Training or development of personnel involved

Performance variations may include :

• Program activities that have not been planned but could occur or are occurring and are not being reported by local personnel