The Role of NGOs in Major Development Initiatives
For more information, contact Nasserie Carew
Near East Foundation’s Qudorat Project Plays by the Rules
By Andrea Couture, Vice President for Development/Communications, Near East Foundation
Favoritism. Nepotism. Pay-offs. Cut-backs. Rigorous transparency in NEF’s (the Near East Foundation’s) hugely successful Qudorat “capabilities” project countered all the usual corruption challenges while enhancing community-based organizations and their income generation. Over 47 charities, cooperatives, women’s groups, sports and youth clubs in six governorates in Jordan received more than $2,000,000 in training and technical assistance through a process conducted on a completely level playing field.
A transparent and competitive process from the start, over 300 community-based organizations participated in an overwhelming response to the request for proposals. The proposals came in written and digitally, by hand and via email. NEF’s Jordan staff revolutionized sorting by entering all applications in a web-based system at www.qudoratnef.org. In a first for Jordan, everything in the Qudorat process was treated as public information: all applications, assessments and ratings. Just a few months later, more than 7,800 visitors (an average of 260 per day) had visited the website. Of those, 18 percent were outside Jordan, indicative of growing international interest in the project.
One hundred eighty-two organizations met all project criteria and were then assessed on paper by the NEF team. All received resources and recommendations for self-improvement. Seventy-five were chosen for field assessments, after which the contenders were narrowed down to 30 finalists. To communicate the project’s commitment to fairness, NEF staff spent many additional hours visiting and on the telephone with unsuccessful participants, explaining the process and reviewing applications.
Training began the very day finalists were announced. Each finalist received a “Participant NGO Tool Kit” with basic information on the program and related initiatives, outlines on institutional needs assessment and participatory strategic planning, and preparation guides for upcoming staff and consultant field visits and interviews. Thirty trainers, working with more than 200 participants from the finalist organizations, conducted an intensive series of workshops at more than 40 locations.
After receiving hundreds of hours of mentoring and coaching in creating a business plan, finalists competed for 20 grants for income-generating activities for their long-term sustainability and service provision, proactive job creation, and local economic stimulation. Qudorat project specialists studied and rated the business plans. The plans were then exhibited at the Amman Municipality City Hall – an event that attracted extensive media coverage and even a visit from the prime minister. Jordanian private sector leaders objectively assessed each business plan after interviewing representatives from the organizations and rating the proposals based on 16 criteria.
“What I like about this exhibition is not only the fine business ideas, but also Qudorat’s total and tangible transparency. It’s the best competition I ever saw in Jordan,” summed up Omar Rafie, Director at the Jordanian Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation.
