Sharing rules for good management
Once the project is selected, a training session is organized to show the leaders how L’Initiative operates, administratively and financially. The goal: to share rules of good management and allow leaders to best anticipate the mandatory intermediate and final audits.
Sessions are tailored to the partner’s needs and familiarity with management issues. They take place in the field whenever possible, as was done in Southeast Asia in 2017, where L’Initiative’s team spent four days with the administrative and financial officers of the projects funded in the region. This training program is proving particularly useful for those who receive this kind of funding for the first time.
Listening to those on the ground
Once activities are launched, L’Initiative remains at the project leaders’ disposal during project implementation. It answers questions throughout the process of budget preparations, semi-annual financial report submissions, audits to anticipate, or the drafting of contract addenda. Beneficiaries enjoy everyday support, which has been strengthened thanks to a growing administrative and financial team since 2016. At the same time, if project leaders need specific assistance—to develop procedure manuals, for instance—targeted guidance can be provided by external experts.
“When it comes to administrative and financial monitoring, our role is not to restrict project leaders or to impose a particular way of operating. We are partners working together toward a common objective. Our actions are carried out in the spirit of advice and support.”
Soade Lattrach, Administrative and Financial Officer of L’Initiative
Reinforced monitoring, and evaluation, and capitalization systems
L’Initiative also provides support in monitoring and evaluation. Starting from the negotiation stage, it guides leaders in the creation of a relevant logical framework. Then, a steering and monitoring tool allows them to control their indicators on a continuous basis. In 2021, a platform shared with Expertise France’s Health Department will be launched: it will allow further improvement of project steering and their contributions to key indicators defined in L’Initiative’s strategy.
Furthermore, several evaluation stages occur during the life of the project. They are designed to bring some perspective and recommend adjustments before the project’s closure. In addition, since 2015, L’Initiative has been carrying out cross-cutting evaluations; these result in recommendations from several projects relating to the same issues. Capitalization projects were also launched in 2018, particularly for adolescents’ access to sexual and reproductive services. Another approach to fuel collective reflection and to improve our practices.
Long-term support for our partners
In 2019, L’Initiative led a technical assistance mission for the Congolese Youths Against AIDS Association Network (RACOJ) to establish an institutional analysis and a corresponding reinforcement plan. The network then partnered with Médecins du Monde to implement a project funded by L’Initiative in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
This support helped strengthen RACOJ, which became a project leader itself. Today, it is the recipient of a grant from L’Initiative to improve access for Kinshasan adolescents to sexual and reproductive health services that are gender sensitive and integrate human rights issues. The support continued in 2021 via technical assistance aimed at consolidating RACOJ’s financial management and monitoring and evaluation capabilities.
