Civil Society Facility and Media Programme 2018-2019 Call for proposals: EuropeAid/162473/DH/ACT/Multi Webinar no. 3: Preparing effective Concept Note May 3, 2019 This publication was produced with the financial support of the European Union. Its contents are the sole responsibility of the GDSI Limited and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union

Webinar Programme Preparing effective Concept Note Result Area 3: Communication and Visibility Webinar Programme Preparing effective Concept Note Introduction to Objective Oriented Project Planning /LFA approach Walk through (step-by-step) of stages (Preparation, Analysis, LF), with focus on stage 1 and 2 (no LF is needed for the CN preparation): Stakeholder Analysis, Problem Tree/Objective Tree, Partnership issues Q & A

Preparing effective Concept Note

Logical Framework Approach A participatory method for developing a plan A way of presenting the results of the planning exercise – Logical Framework Matrix A tool for monitoring and evaluation The LFA is a way of describing a project in a logical way so that it is: • Well designed. • Described objectively. • Can be evaluated. • Clearly structured

CN and the LogFrame The LogFrame is NOT a requirement of the Concept Note submission; Only requested at the Full Application stage (Annex C) HOWEVER Extremely useful for potential applicants to have undertaken the basic analysis underpinning the development of the LogFrame (stakeholder analysis, problem and objective definition etc.).

Steps in LogFrame approach Stakeholder analysis Problem analysis Objective analysis Decision on the scope for the project Develop intervention logic Analysing risks and assumptions Defining progress indicators Developing a budget and schedule activities

Step 1: Stakeholder analysis - Why? Know about stakeholder interests in relation to subject of intervention; Know about (potential) conflicts; Assess implementation risks; Identify possibilities/opportunities for co-operation; Decide on (level of) participation; Design planning process

Who are stakeholders? Definition 1: persons, groups or institutions with interests in a planning or change process. Definition 2: all actors whose interests will be negatively or positively affected by a possible intervention.

Type of stakeholders in the application Partners (Lead-applicant, co-applicant, affiliated entities, associates etc.) Target groups – are the groups/entities who will be directly positively affected by the project at the project Outcome level GfA 2.1.

Steps in stakeholder analysis HOLDERS INFLUENCE IMPORTANCE Identify stakeholders; Assess how important is the stakeholder in relation to the project idea; Assess how influential is Place each stakeholders on the importance/influence scale. Decide how to include the stakeholders in the planning and implementation process.

Assessing importance of a stakeholder Importance indicates the extent to which stakeholders’ needs and interests will be influenced by means of the planning and subsequent implementation of the project. This can be either positively or negatively. Which problems, affecting which stakeholders, does the project seek to address or alleviate? For which stakeholders does the project place a priority on meeting their needs, interests and expectations? Which stakeholder interests converge most closely with policy and project objectives? Which stakeholder interests diverge significantly from policy and project objectives?

Assessing influence of a stakeholder Influence is the power which stakeholders have over the planning and implementation process (decisions to be made, its implementation that affects the project). What is the nature of that organisation/entity? What is their relation to other stakeholders (f. e. local government having control over budgets etc.)? What is the extent of informal influence this organisation/entity has (f. e. personal connections to ruling politicians)?

Importance-Influence HIGH A. High importance, low influence B. High importance, high influence INFLUENCE C. Low importance, low influence D. Low importance, high influence LOW HIGH

Importance-Influence HIGH IMPORTANCE A. special initiatives needed to protect stakeholder interests B. good working relationship must be created INFLUENCE C. Limited/no involvement low priority D. Source of risk, need for careful monitoring and management LOW HIGH

Level of participation 3 Collaboration (decision-making) 2 Consultation 1 Receiving/giving information

Step 1: Stakeholder analysis (recap) Analysis of the context including Analysis of the stakeholders Identifying the key stakeholders Determining the stakeholder interests Determining stakeholder roles, power and capacity Formulating a stakeholder participation strategy

Step 2: Problem analysis Problem analysis identifies the negative aspects of an existing situation and establishes the cause and effect relationships (the link) between the identified problems; Once complete, the problem tree represents a summary picture of the existing negative situation.

Step 2: Problem analysis Steps in developing the problem tree Identify key problems faced by target groups and beneficiaries; Analyse an existing situation by identifying cause-effect relationships between problems; Visualise problems and cause-effect relationships or hierarchy of problems in a diagram (‘problem tree’).

Formulating problems (“causes”) Real existing problems; Explain jargon and abbreviations; No broad terminology – e.g. “infrastructure”; Beware of the interpretation (“government is lazy”); Beware of absence of solution (there is no money, lack of population…); Respect opinion of others How is this useful? Problems are defined and understandable by all partners; The link between cause and effect between the problems; This is the base for the analysis of objectives and later it will be helpful in deciding where to concentrate the project intervention.

Problem tree - example

Step 3: Objectives analysis Purpose: To identify the ‘desired situation’ that will be achieved when all problems are solved; To get an overview of potential solutions for the current problematic situation. How: Building an objective tree, based on the problem tree ; By rephrasing each negative situation into a positive one, that is desirable and realistically achievable.

Problem to Objective formulation

Objective tree - example

Step 4: Analysis of strategy (scoping) Purpose: To identify possible alternative strategies that can contribute to the achievement of the higher level objectives; To agree on priority strategies based on an assessment of the relevance, the feasibility and the sustainability of each of them. How: Identify clusters/group of objectives; Chose the frame of project intervention.

Key criteria for strategy selection could include: CONCEPT NOTE ELEMENTS Analysis of strategy Key criteria for strategy selection could include: Expected contribution to key policy objectives, such as poverty reduction or economic integration; Benefits to target groups – including women and men, young and old, etc.; Complementarity with other ongoing or planned programmes or projects.

Criteria for scoping Urgency of the problem(s) Capacity of the organisation/partner to implement Available expertise Eligibility of the area of action Program objectives (measures) Amount of money available

Intervention Logic Future Path Overall objective(s) (Impact) Importance of the project for the society Why beneficiaries need the project/Use of products / services by target group beneficiaries Specific objective (Outcomes) Path What will be delivered by the project (products/ services) Outputs Means – resources needed in order to carry out activities What the project & stakeholders (will) do Activities Means

This publication was produced with the financial support of the European Union. Its contents are the sole responsibility of the GDSI Limited and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union