Values
1. Humanity. The department orients on the commitments of Core Humanitarian Standard in its performance taking interests of a beneficiary into decision-making process.
2. Transparency. The department operates with proved evidences and verified data only providing decision making persons with timely and accurate information for taking proper decisions.
3. Impartiality. The department sets working priorities and plans based on outcome-oriented needs, results, performance and capacities of programs regardless of characteristics of involved personalities or their administrative power.
4. Independence. No pressure from external actors or internal persons that may conflict to values of the department or neglect Code of Conduct of Caritas Ukraine is acceptable for decision-making process in the department.
Principles
1. Integration into program and project cycles. Staff of the department perform as integrated members of project and program teams working on project/program objectives and purposes led by relevant managers.
2. Outcome-oriented and operational-purposed approach. Any initiative or solution to be elaborated and incorporated by the department should be aligned with target outcomes and make a value for operational usage.
3. Team-based approach. Department is managed in a liberal-democratic paradigm based on strong team-based work allowing workers to do self-realization and generate needed solutions to be approved at the upper management level.
4. Localization. Department is focused on strengthening localization approach by supporting in development of operational capacity at the field level and program capacity at the national level.
5. Institutionalization. Department strengthens its institutional role and commitments against the stakeholders of projects/programs of Caritas Ukraine enabling proper participation of staff members based on their competence, communication and information flows, validation of regulation documents.
Goals
1. To support project and program teams with development of their approaches at strategic, program and operational levels align with best practices and standards.
2. To provide assurance of program quality standards in the project and program cycles ensuring the interests of the main stakeholders – beneficiaries, donors, senior management, program and project teams, support units, field organizations, UN clusters, CI platforms – in a harmonized manner.
ICT (Information and communication technologies)
Institutional role:
- Incorporation culture and mechanisms of Transparency and Evidence-based decision making
- Synchronization of decisions at the institutional, programmatic and operational levels
- Digitalization and automation of operations related to data collection, analyses, processing, result preparation and validation
- Incorporation digital mechanisms for accessing the participatory decision-making processes for relevant stakeholders
- Synchronization of ICT platforms for performance of horizontal structures preventing the bureaucratic threats
- Synchronization of information flows in digital solutions of Caritas Ukraine and network, UA Government, UN platforms, Donors for better coordination and participation.
- Strengthening the Cyber security in organization
Role in programs:
- Develop and maintenance Grant management system
- Data consolidation based on program strategies and technical standards
- Standardization of units for inputs, outputs, targets, groups, staff functions etc. for proper programming of assistance
Operational role in projects:
- Increasing the efficiency of workers operating with beneficiaries
- Tracking the effectiveness and performance when assistance is delivered
- Deduplication and verification tools
- Operations with beneficiary’s data for proper targeting and complementary approach
Achievements:
- Each social worker or specialist who works with beneficiaries has its own digital room where they can check data on beneficiary’s previous registrations and obtained assistance.
- Separate digital room for project auditors.
- Digital rooms for managers where they can track the performance of projects and programs.
- Digital rooms for TOP managers where they can see organization-wide consolidated data and progress.
- Module for local staff for taking registration personal data from government data base DIA.
- Own hosting of Kobo Tool Box at the Caritas server
- Development of a separate digital platform for operations with communities or groups with many people.
- Development of a separate module for Accountability mechanism and operating with beneficiaries’ appeals and complaints
- Synchronization of Kobo with Google tools, DIA, Grant Tracker.
- Data visualization with Looker Studio
Planned measures:
- Digitalization processes related to Concept preparation and validation, Project Proposal and Annexes preparation and approval, Project starting measures, Project Implementation activities, Project Closure tools in one Grant Management System.
- Digital portal for CCCM registration and accommodation management
- Knowledge management digital Library
- Joint data base for beneficiaries
- Electronic Signature App for the beneficiaries
- Digital room for a beneficiary where they can see accessible assistance and can do needed communications.
MEAL (Monitoring Evaluation Accountability and Learning)
Institutional role
- Incorporation culture and mechanisms of Learning, improvement of programmatic and operational approaches and Evidence-based decision making
- Provision of accountability towards stakeholders
- Elaboration of organizational-based governance on MEAL
- Standardization and harmonization of MEAL systems of Caritas Ukraine and stakeholders
Role in programs
- Provision of regular program-based monitoring of the context in different regions of Ukraine
- Development of M&E standards for each program incorporating the best and relevant international solutions
- Supporting program teams with needed qualitative and quantitative data, problem analyses, recommendations for optimal programming of the assistance
- Performing team-based management approach in programs
Operational role in projects
- Accompany the whole project cycle with MEAL mechanisms and needed evidences based on needs assessments, monitoring the indicators, evaluation findings, lessons learned findings
- Tracking and influencing the effectiveness of project interventions towards the beneficiaries
- Supporting Feedback mechanisms and evidence-based decisions and response to beneficiaries and stakeholders
Achievements
- Operationalization of team-based approach in programs of Caritas Ukraine
- 38 current projects are using MEAL system
- 28 current projects have localized MEAL system in field teams
- Participation in regular country-wide context monitoring with Cash Working Group and Protection cluster
- Created automatic tools for analyses and visualization of PDM and Evaluation results
- Provided 19 Lessons Learned sessions for project/program teams.
- Developed a system of mentoring and professionalization of the field MEAL specialists from Caritas Ukraine MEAL team.
- MEAL guidance, SoPs, tools elaborated and incorporated in the network organizations of Caritas Ukraine.
Planned measures
- Extension MEAL standards to all projects of Caritas Ukraine and network
- Designing specific MEAL methodologies for each program of Caritas Ukraine
- Continue professionalization of MEAL staff with Project Cycle Management study, hard skills on facilitation the off-line training/learning events
- Strengthening the program cycle management with systematic solutions for regular collection of evidences, timely and effective learning and professionalization of project/program teams including after-action review, incorporation of qualitative data into strategic planning, resource mobilization and conceptualization of programs.
Beneficiaries’ data collection and protection
Institutional role
- Incorporation culture and mechanisms of Data Protection of beneficiaries
- Elaboration, operationalization and maintenance the governance on beneficiaries’ data collection and protection
- Elaboration of solutions for registration of beneficiaries in different context and restrictions in access
- Synchronization of Data Protection requirements with Government legislation, EU GDPR and partners’ governance.
Role in programs
- Elaboration standards for data collection and verification tools for different program components and context circumstances to equip programs/projects with options on proper targeting and access to beneficiaries
- Provision of awareness-raising sessions on proper usage the standards in different program components
Operational role in projects
- Design registration surveys, testing and train the staff to collect data
- Managing access to data in each project and implementing partner
- Tracking usage of data collection and processing equipment in implementing organizations
- Provision of training for enumerators with further mentoring and improvement of registration processes.
Achievements
- Up to 65 national projects were connected to Data Protection system and Data Collection system with Kobo Toolbox
- Currently, 25 national projects are under implementation align with requirements on Data Protection
- Currently, 512 registration surveys are used for collection of data of beneficiaries.
Planned measures
- Revision of Data Protection Policy
- Extension of Data Protection and Data Collection tools to all the projects and activities
- Integration of Access Monitoring platform with Caritas Ukraine Portal
AAP (Accountability to Affected Population)
Institutional role
- Incorporation culture and mechanism of Accountability of decision-making persons to affected people making beneficiaries as stakeholders which interest should considered.
- Elaboration, incorporation and maintenance governance on AAP
- Integration AAP mechanisms with Safequarding and Protection systems
- Harmonization of Caritas Ukraine AAP regulations and practices with commitments required by the stakeholders.
Role in programs
- Support in development and adaptation of programmatic approaches based on feedback received from the beneficiaries tailoring the programmatic solutions to the real context.
- Provision training events and awareness raising sessions on AAP to program/project teams
- Elaboration of AAP methodologies and SoPs
- Tracking the deviations from programmatic standards based on beneficiaries’ feedback
Operational role in projects
- Maintenance operations for feedback complaint and response mechanisms using such channels as hot line, feedback boxes, social nets, web-site, feedback e-mail, open questions during monitoring and evaluation.
- Provision of hot line operators with information about project and programmatic requirements which is required for explanations to the beneficiaries
- Ensure interaction of field teams with beneficiaries in their day-to-day work making operational planning accountable to the beneficiaries’ expectations.
Achievements
- Currently, 19 projects are submitted to AAP system
- Since the beginning of 2024, there were proceeded 89887 appeals of beneficiaries (88679 requests for information, 608 programmatic complaints, 593 thanks, 12 sensitive complaints)
- Total number of field staff involved into feedback collection and procession is 95 (26 national hot line operators, 46 local hotlines operators, 23 receptionist and desk administrators
- Successful localization of AAP systems in 2 field Caritas organizations
- Elaboration system of reporting on AAP by project, field organization, sectors of assistance, types of beneficiaries’ appeals and response status.
Planned measures
- Extension of AAP system to all projects and programs of Caritas Ukraine
- Elaboration and incorporation of AAP policy
- Elaboration and incorporation of recommendation on protection of hot line operators from slandering and conflict-making beneficiaries.
- Appointment of persons responsible for AAP in each partner field organization
- Elaboration of personal digital rooms with AAP notifications for each decision making person in the network.
- Incorporation of new CRM system for collection and processing of all feedback information
- Regular supervisions and psychological support for hot line operators
- Regular professional training sessions for hot line operators
Coordination with humanitarian, recovery and developmental including UN clusters
Institutional role
- Incorporation of culture and mechanisms of coordinated assistance, partnerships with other humanitarian, recovery and developmental actors including local and national organizations, international NGOs and UN entities.
- Provision of coordinated response according to the humanitarian obligations on coordination of assistance
Elaboration of organizational-based governance on coordination and partnership
- Elaboration of organizational-based governance on localization of assistance in Caritas Ukraine as a network
- Synchronization of data sharing and reporting requirements with UN clusters and partners
Role in programs
- Provision of regular program-based coordination with the UN cluster system and partners
- Development of coordination standards for each program incorporating the best and relevant international solutions
- Supporting program teams with recommendations for optimal coordination and presence in the UN cluster system
- Supporting programs with information exchange on researches and assessments
- Supporting mapping of services
- Elaboration of governance on program coordination and implementation of standards
Operational role in projects
- Accompany the whole project cycle with information on coordination with partners and UN cluster system
- Supporting registration of projects and delivering information exchange on projects outputs (5W reporting)
- Provision of project staff with information UN cluster coordination entities required for the project coordination
- Ensure interaction of field teams with local and regional UN cluster coordination entities in their day-to-day work making operational planning adjusted to the response in the region.
Achievements
- Elaboration of the Caritas Ukraine Manual for program coordination
- Implementation of the Guidance on information exchange about researches and assessments
- Establishment of the program coordination checklist
- Elaboration of the SOP on project registration and 5W information exchange on the projects
- Conducted 70 Caritas Ukraine coordination working group meetings
Planned measures
- Launch of the mapping of services in Service Advisor
- Elaboration of the Main principles of localization in Caritas Ukraine network
- Launch of the coordination standards adjustment and appropriation system