Results-focused Project Design and Management » Facilitators

Indonesian RfPDM Rolls On

admin — Wed, 16 May 2012 01:50:02 +0000

The Asian Development Bank kicks-off its Results-focused Project Design and Management (RfPDM) courses for 2012. The RfPDM courses will provide the participants from the respective countries with a better understanding of project’s stakeholders, and will provide them with tools for applying a results focused approach to project design. Eventually, the Executing Agency (EA) staff gets a deeper understanding of the process involved in the preparation of a Design and Monitoring Framework (DMF).

The first in the series of RfPDM courses will be held in Jakarta for Indonesian executing agencies (EAs) from 21-22 May and another one on 23-24 May for ADB staff. The participants are currently undergoing the e-Learning course in preparation for the face-to-face engagement. The e-Learning course will prepare the participants for an interactive and engaging face-to-face sessions which will feature real-life case studies. For more information please contact Siti Hasanah.

Creativity Without Borders

admin — Fri, 11 May 2012 01:05:03 +0000

Let us imagine that we can brainstorm not with a few that we can assemble in a room, but with anybody all over the world. Sure, we can formulate our development problems like we do in a typical brainstorming session and instead of confronting our colleagues, we just share it all over the expanse of the internet. This is no longer impossible. We can do it as “open” or as private as we want. For open systems, the typical social media (Facebook, Twitter or more importantly, LinkedIn) can provide us with as many responses as we like depending on our links. Sure, we will get responses. Will they be creative?

In his book: Imagine: How Creativity Works, Jonah Lehrer explains that neuroscientists are beginning to understand those flashes of creative genius. Numerous studies (such as Mark Beeman’s experiments with his unfortunately named CRAP, or Compound Remote Association Problems), are honing in on inspiration as a function of the right hemisphere of the brain – the less literal half that exceeds at making associations between things that don’t obviously go together.

Enter InnoCentive. InnoCentive is a crowdsourcing site where it could post its thorniest R&D problems for anyone to solve – and reap a monetary reward. InnoCentive was designed to expand Eli Lilly’s brainpower, by tapping into a larger pool of innovators than the company could ever employ.

The reassuring point of Lehrer’s book is that, rather than defiling the sacred mystery of creation, neuroscientific research into the human imagination enables us to dispel the myth of talent as some accident of birth. It will enable us to engineer educational and professional environments that foster the creativity that is every human’s birthright.

Photo Source: http://www.creativityatwork.com/what-is-creativity/

Creativity in Organizations

admin — Wed, 09 May 2012 01:46:54 +0000

In its recent survey, IBM pinpointed creativity as the most important competency in this century. However in most development organizations, leaders control rather than create the right environment, to mix things up, to change the dynamics, to protect the vision, to challenge people to keep learning, according to Neil Perkin of Future Lab. Leaders are not set up to know all the answers, and accept that they cannot know everything that is going on. So whilst it is important to set a general trajectory of where you want to go, it is equally as important to embrace serendipity – to develop a network through sharing, connecting, building, helping others solve problems and allow that network to provide the resources necessary to turn random events into a valuable ones. If you plan everything then you are not open to serendipity or unseen value.

“So while my life may look completely chaotic and disorganized…I feel like I am floating in a rich network of highly charged people and serendipitous events, not a single day going by where I don’t feel like “Yay! I just did something really good!” Although the heavy travel is wearisome and the lack of stability slightly disorienting, I feel like I’m surrounded by loving, smart people and feel happier than I’ve ever been in my life.”

ADB Board Meets

admin — Tue, 01 May 2012 23:48:59 +0000

The 45th Annual Meeting of ADB’s Board of Governors will be held at the Philippine International Convention Center in Manila, Philippines. Meeting will go on from Wednesday through Saturday, 2-5 May 2012.

Annual meetings are statutory occasions for Governors of ADB members to provide guidance on ADB administrative, financial, and operational directions. The meetings provide opportunities for member governments to interact with ADB staff, nongovernment organizations (NGOs), media, and representatives of observer countries, international organizations, academe and the private sector.

The more than 4,000 participants will consist of: finance and economic planning ministers, senior government officials, representatives of the multilateral development bank community, investment bankers, representatives of nongovernment organizations, and members of the media.

If you like to follow the events, the complete programme is available here. In addition to the high equipment in PICC, the Board meet will feature high tech facilitation systems including a special ADB Board iPhone/iPad and Android app, a super Wi-Fi (with Microsoft), and main sessions would be tweeted live and events from the CSO Program would be tweeted live.

PICC at a Glance

Changing a Habit…

admin — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 01:51:41 +0000

The greatest reward that trainers get for their efforts is a change in the habit and behaviour of their participants. Sometimes, it doesn’t matter for how long. The most important is that change in fact occurred.

Here is an infographic about a three step process on how this is done. It is a real challenge! Read more here.

Source: lifehacker.com via Tobin on Pinterest

e-Learning is On

admin — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 01:00:37 +0000

The Design and Monitoring Framework (DMF) e-Learning has been mounted in the site. This is a much shorter version of the original e-Learning modules. It is much more snappy, shorter and presents the key elements of the DMF. It is intended to prepare the participants in attending the face-to-face DMF workshops periodically scheduled by ADB.

The e-Learning consists of four assignments. The first assignment welcomes the participants and introduces the course’s objectives via the Module 0. The second assignment focus on the concept of DMF and its practice as outlined in Modules 1, 2 and 3. The third assignment is the heart of the DMF practice. It contains the basic procedures and steps in preparing the DMF via Modules 4 to 7. Finally, the last module ushers the participants to the DMF’s real world applications.

You can take the course in one up to three sessions. Here’s a testimonial from a DMF course participant from Nepal.

Instructions on how to join the Course may be obtained by e-mailing Lem Villamar.

ADB Recruitment Event

admin — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 22:28:18 +0000

ADB is hosting an exclusive full-day Recruitment Event in Frankfurt on May 14. Top ADB officials will be available to share information and expertise about the work the Bank is doing, career opportunities, and the benefits of a career at the ADB. This will be the first in the series of recruitment outreach events.

Detailed information here.

You can apply for the event here.

Personalities: Lem Villamar

admin — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 10:24:22 +0000

We have always liked to see a page devoted for our facilitators and colleagues. Something light, funny, of interest to others and in their own words. You are all invited to participate and share your experiences and information. You can share your stories on your first baby steps, initial success, funny incidents, journey so far, career prospects, how you crafted a development solution or even your difficulties. You are free to select your own topics and are free to attach photos, albums, new materials and even list of books you recently read. We welcome our first entry, Lem Villamar. In his own words.

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When I took Dr. Andrea Iffland’s offer early in 2006 to work with her on what was then a TA Project Number 6256 – Results-focused Project Design and Management, I didn’t realize that I was jumping to a ship that was going to steer big changes in ADB’s project management practices. Six years thereafter, much have indeed changed on how projects are processed and managed in the Bank. Yes, projects have become more results-oriented and results-focused. Its highly participative nature in crafting new projects likewise percolated among many development facilitators in our Executing Agencies.

Then suddenly, Andrea moved back to the regional department. The challenge to continue and instill this results-oriented discipline among ADB’s staff, stakeholders and future borrowers fell heavily on the shoulders of the team she left in COSO. At that time, that was myself plus half of Peter Robertson.

In the beginning, I thought that training the participants on participatory tools for design and management framework (DMF) is just one of those routine tasks in our office. On some occasions (e.g., five-day courses), I even took the center stage and tackled some less controversial sessions. And confidently implemented them considering that the very experienced mentors like Andrea, Peter and Pet Misa can handle the most stubborn skeptics. Even up to this day, I am always amazed how they would skillfully transform participants (even the critics of participatory planning) with totally different mindsets into converts. The revolutionary fervor they have in delivering sessions can literally change any conservative’s mind. I hope that my mentors’ passion and eloquence eventually rubbed-off on me.

In most cases, however my presence in the courses can literally go unnoticed. Often, I was there to insure that the training teams are fully equipped to undertake their missions. And still when needed, I was there to jump-in if things get unruly.

As 2012 rushed-in, I recall the highlights of the many courses we have done over six years. This spawned hundreds of planners and facilitators in governments and development projects across Asia. While the numbers looked overwhelming, the task ahead is even more startling. The scale of the task at hand remains as huge as it was in 2005. The fight for poverty continues!

Will this mean taking more responsibility? Yes, it is. I am gladly accepting the new level of confidence that the Bank has for me. I used to be seen as a loyal assistant to my mentors. The challenge ahead humbles me. Just two weeks ago, someone told me that whenever she sees me, she’s reminded of the DMF! I guess I should take that as a compliment.

Now, the Bank has a new team. It is equally passionate as my earlier mentors. And so even as my mentors are now busy with other things – fighting poverty from a different angle – I know the task is not only for myself to bear. The hundreds we have trained from Vanuatu to Georgia are likewise with me on this fight.

Of Ducks and Eagles

admin — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 07:04:32 +0000

Once in a while, we come across a nice metaphor for our facilitation work. Mine came one saturday afternoon. Ducks and eagles. Here’s how it goes.

Don’t Send Your Ducks To Eagle School The first rule of management is this: don’t send your ducks to eagle school. Why? Because it won’t work. Good people are found not changed. They can change themselves, but you can’t change them. You want good people, you have to find them. If you want motivated people, you have to find them, not motivate them. I picked up a magazine not long ago in New York that had a full-page ad in it for a hotel chain. The first line of the ad read, “We do not teach our people to be nice.” Now that got my attention. The second line said, “We hire nice people.” I thought, “What a clever shortcut!” Motivation is a mystery. Why are some people motivated and some are not? Why does one salesperson see his first prospect at seven in the morning while the other sees his first prospect at eleven in the morning? Why would one start at seven and the other start at eleven? I don’t know. Call it “mysteries of the mind.” I give lectures to a thousand people at a time. One walks out and says, ‘I’m going to change my life.” Another walks out with a yawn and says, “I’ve heard all this stuff before.” Why is that? The wealthy man says to a thousand people, “I read this book, and it started me on the road to wealth.” Guess how many of the thousand go out and get the book? Answer: very few. Isn’t that incredible? Why wouldn’t everyone go get the book? Mysteries of the mind… To one person, you have to say, “You’d better slow down. You can’t work that many hours, do that many things, go, go, go. You’re going to have a heart attack and die.” And to another person, you have to say, “When are you going to get off the couch?” What is the difference? Why wouldn’t everyone strive to be wealthy and happy? Chalk it up to mysteries of the mind, and don’t waste your time trying to turn ducks into eagles. Hire people who already have the motivation and drive to be eagles and then just let them soar (by Jim Rohn).

Staying on the EDGE! A Woman’s Work is Never Done

admin — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:59:12 +0000

Following the launch of the Evidence and Data for Gender Equality (EDGE) initiative during the fourth High-Level Forum in Busan, South Korea, Shaista Hussain shares her thoughts on improving project design to ensure the collection of gender-disaggregated data.

When Maya Angelou set out to write her classic poem on a woman’s work, she probably did not realize the challenges generations ahead would have to deal with, in capturing the woman’s work in empirical data.

When world leaders gathered in Busan in November 2011 for the fourth High-Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness (HLF-4), it was a chance for them to take stock of how international development dollars are spent, how governments work, and in turn, how development partners contribute to national and global goals. Gender equality was a top priority at HLF-4 with champions of this cause such as US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton leading the way. There was also a sober acknowledgement that despite all efforts to mainstream gender equality across the world, it has not been achieved in any one country. It is widely accepted that no country, economy, society, or community can thrive when half of its population is marginalized. And yet, we lag behind in delivering on gender results, or at times, underreporting on gender issues.

What gets measured, gets noticed, goes an old saying. At the special session on gender at the HLF-4, Secretary Clinton announced the Evidence and Data for Gender Equality (EDGE) initiative. “EDGE is a new initiative to improve the availability and use of statistics that capture gender gaps in economic activity. It capitalizes on the United States’ call to action at the May 2011 OECD ministerial session on gender and development and builds on recommendations of the U.N. International Agency and Expert Group on Gender and Statistics.” Often, Clinton said, loans are given to small business enterprises without assessing how many of these are owned or run by women. Consequently, she said, “women continue to face difficulties in accessing credit”. The EDGE initiative is a welcome investment to improve the capacity of the governments and institutions to collect and analyze data, disaggregated by gender. This information, as obvious as it may sound and in reality often missing in our reporting, will help feed into public policy, providing decision makers with evidence and insights on how their actions (or inactions) are affecting women and girls differently than they do men and boys. It is an effort to emphasize the ‘power’ in ‘empowerment’.

This brings me to the next question: Are we under reporting our work on gender? “Of course not!” you may dismiss my question upfront. After all, with all the gender focus in the development sector, how can our work go underreported? But a careful look at the project’s Design and Monitoring Framework (DMF) leaves much to be desired. Despite all the hue and cry to focus on gender results, development projects often lack to disaggregate data by gender including gender-disaggregated data in the indicators and baseline. We still see indicators that speak of persons without disaggregating the data. We still note opportunities to have indicators that reflect the work we do to contribute to women’s benefits in our projects but they seem to go unnoticed given the rush with which projects are designed. And that is another reminder for us all to focus more on the design aspect. A project is only as strong as the collaborative efforts that are put in by all stakeholders in the design process to ensure smooth phasing in the implementation phase, ensuring that the project delivers intended results. If we want the projects to deliver effectively on the promised results to stakeholders, the project’s DMF serves as a reminder to reflect on what the project must achieve and a platform where data must be disaggregated to reflect on all the contributions which we hope to achieve.

Shaista Hussain, Project Management Specialist