Phase 2

Administrative Unit

Responsible Institution: Centro de Educación y Tecnología (CET)

The general administration of the CBDC Programme during the first phase was the responsibility of the Global Coordination Unit (GCU), which was also responsible for the coordination of activities at all levels. Such a concentration of roles in the hands of one unit did not bring about the conflict of interests initially feared, but it did provoke an excessive load of tasks, which in turn was an important factor in the oscillating delivery of administrative and technical support and services.

Partners have agreed to decentralize coordination activities during the second phase. CET will now be responsible only of the administrative aspects of the general coordination of the Programme, as the technical coordination will be responsibility of the Programme Coordinating Committee, the partners acting as focal points for the transversal lines of action, and the Regional Coordination Units.

The administrative tasks under the Administrative Unit will include contractual agreements, financial and narrative reporting to the donors, communication with the donors on administrative issues, support for RCUs and national projects to facilitate administrative management. A software specially tailored to CBDC needs will be provided to each partner as a supportive tool for the planning, monitoring, financial management and reporting of activities at every level.

The Administrative Unit will also provide support and services to all components of the CBDC Programme. Therefore, financial reports will not only be compiled, but also commented and suggestions for improvement of administration will be made when appropriate. Cross-cutting analysis will be made of all the collected information, and reports will shared with partners and donors through the communications system.

From the very beginning, CBDC partners agreed upon the usefulness and convenience of developing different sorts of indicators on aspects such as performance, impact, gender balance and sensitivity, etc. The need to respect different demands due to different working conditions did not preclude the interest of partners for sharing some common indicators which would allow for comparative analysis and provide stronger lessons. Indicators to be shared could relate to technical, political, methodological and administrative aspects, and using them was another way of taking advantage of being a programme involving a wide range of organizations and working conditions. However, no common indicators were developed, mainly because each partner designed and planned their work independently from all other partners, and institutional experiences on indicators were quite varied

Due to the previous concern, plus the fact that managerial skills among CBDC partners are very varied, it was agreed that all partners would adopt and use a common administrative software, specifically adapted to CBDC needs. This software is a planning and monitoring tool which will allow CBDC partners to improve the planning, monitoring and reporting of all CBDC activities, and facilitate the development, application and monitoring of common indicators. The software will be ready for use by the CBDC partners by September 1, 2000. The Administrative Unit will support its adoption by every partner, provide the technical support required for a good utilization, and assist in solving any problems related to its use. The software will be a basic tool during the planning and coordination process that will take place during the first six months of implementation.

Finally, the improvement of communications will also be a task for the Administrative Unit. Therefore, the AU will be responsible for the permanent feeding and monitoring of the electronic communications system set up by the International Technical Programme during the first phase.

General objectives
  1. To facilitate the adequate and coordinated functioning of all CBDC Projects and components.
  2. To provide administrative support and assessment services to the CBDC partners
Specific objective 1

To implement, test and monitor a more decentralised, long-distance administrative system within the CBDC Programme

Outputs
  • An ad-hoc administrative system with specific responsibilities among RCUs, national projects and A.U. has been successfully implemented
  • A critical analisys of the experience with a set of recommendations has been produced once a year .
  • An annual evaluation of the administrative performance of the different components of the CBDC Programme by partners and donors rates at least 80% of the CBDC components as well administered.
Specific objective 2

To develop and to implement an administrative system for "development institutions" linking financial, technical and methodological information produced by all CBDC partners.

Outputs

  • All partners have been trained in the use of the new administrative tools by 90 days after starting implementation
  • System of common indicators has been put in place
  • National staffs of all projects have used the ad-hoc software linking technical and financial information in their reports.
  • A yearly report of the outputs has been published suggesting some outcomes and their costs or investments needs
Specific objective 3

To support the regular communication among partners

Outputs

  • A CBDC electronic communication system has been permanently in place
  • An analysis of communication flows within the CBDC Programme has been submitted to the PCC every six months for their evaluation and correction
Specific objective 4

To support the regular communication between partners and donors, as well as the timely production of CBDC reports

Outputs

  • Technical and administrative information has been timely submitted to donors .
  • At least 80 % of the projects have fulfilled all their reporting requirements on time
  • Report with critical analysis of administrative system sent to donors as recommendations for their own policies
  • The publication of at least one technical and financial report per project per year has been supported by the A.U. as a way to support the improvement of reporting skills among partners
Specific objective 5

To support evaluation processes within the Programme

Outputs

The new adminstration and monitoring system that has been implemented allows participatory evaluations of technical, administrative and institutional aspects of the Programme.

Specific objective 6

To implement and/or cooperate with the implementation of PCC decisions related with administrative aspects.

Outputs

  • Local, regional and global administrative analysis have been produced and discussed at PCC meetings once a year.
  • Decisions related with administrative issues of the projects or the Programme as a whole have been supported using the administrative and electronic communication system.
Years 2000-2001 Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun
Training staff  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  
Test running of administrative software  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  
Training of other partners in monitoring system  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  
Support to implementation of monitoring and communication system  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  
Monitoring and administrative support  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  
Reports and recommendations to PCC and General Coordinator  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  
Reports and recommendations to all partners  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  
Reports to donors  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  
Annual analytical document