Sharing for Social Change Projects in Process Black Coalition for AIDS Prevention Shannon Thomas Ryan

Muungano Muungano is a Swahili term for ‘Working Together’ In 2005, three agencies working in HIV/AIDS (Black CAP, Africans in Partnership Against AIDS, and African Community Health Services) came together to form a strategic alliance Original Objectives of Muungano –Increase capacity for service integration –Increase capacity to develop and provide culturally appropriate resources and services –Increase capacity for joint organizational and program planning

Muungano The largest funder (the Ministry of Health) of the three organizations supported this activity and provided a development grant. The organizational capacity of the three agencies at the time informed the need for closer alignment and integration. One of the partner agencies closed on March 31 st 2008, services were absorbed by Black CAP and APAA.

How Muungano works The agencies involved in the partnership determined a cost sharing ratio in advance. The ratio was determined by the size of the organizations (i.e. staff and budget) A MOU also determined the scope of the partnership Regular meetings between management Each agency is responsible for the management of specific areas of business and/or the management of shared staff Alignment of programs and services and joint team meetings

Levels of Integration Governance, Upper Management and Strategic Direction Limited contact between Boards and no formal links other than through the Executive Directors of each agency – initially held a joint strategic planning retreat Peer support for Executive Directors Programs and Services Limited integration of programs and services, more successful in some areas than others Program partnerships have been funded Volunteer Coordination is integrated Operational/Back Office High levels of integration in relation to the management of IT infrastructure, front desk admin, financial admin (on-site finance administrator and off-site accountant), shared photocopier, lease and occupancy costs, aligned health benefits, HR coordination, security system, donor management software, etc.

Next Steps This phase of Muungano will end in June 2010 Our goal is to determine next steps well in advance of The Boards and Staff of the two organizations have committed to coming together to talk about next steps over the coming year.

The Challenge What could the evaluation of our partnership look like? Especially given that outcomes were not defined in advance. What should we measure to assess the success of Muungano? What are the most effective tools to use as we go through this assessment process?