Annual Report
2001
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MISSION STATEMENT VBNK's mission is to be a centre of learning for the organisations and individuals working for Cambodia's social development. VBNK seeks to achieve this mission by being a Cambodian institute that generates and shares knowledge and learning for positive social change. High-quality, high-level management services are the core activities by which VBNK serves social development organisations |
Contents
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Change and Transformation |
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Programme Activities |
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Organisation Activities |
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Organisation Development |
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Staff in 2001 |
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VBNK Board of Management in 2001 |
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Consultants in 2001 |
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Change and transformation 2001 gave VBNK a number of opportunities to think about change and transformation. As a result I think that we have started to reach a deeper level of understanding about both our own change processes and the current relationship between change and Cambodia's social development. The first opportunity came with our decision to develop a 'Management of Change' course in response to an identified need in the NGO community. Searching the Internet produces references by the thousand to all manner of change management studies, theories, books etc. but closer examination reveals very little information that is relevant to NGOs generally or specific to needs here in Cambodia. While it may be true that some NGOs need to 'downsize' or 'reengineer' their programmes and activities those terms, and the profit based thinking behind them, are unhelpful in the context of social development. This lack of relevant material highlights the extent to which change is contextual. Consideration of the changes currently taking place in Cambodia remind us yet again of the uniqueness of Cambodia and its situation. Change processes to keep our organisations up-to-date and relevant call for wise and well-informed decision making and the array of issues and options facing us can be bewildering. We needed to create our own framework for considering change management in this context. We are living and working in a rapidly changing world. For countries like Cambodia, new global economics and new technology, to name but two major change factors, are sweeping in without most of the previous developmental steps that many other countries had to help them prepare for today's realities. Yet while reflecting on the way the external world seems to be impinging on Cambodia at an ever-increasing pace it is important to remember that many of Cambodia's major problems, particularly in the living conditions of the poor, remain worryingly the same. Thinking about all the changes can make you giddy, thinking about the long term problems can make you depressed, at times it can be more comfortable just not to think about any of it. Whether we are conscious of it or not, the pressure to adapt, adopt and absorb the 'new' is huge, and it has to be acknowledged that much that is new looks very attractive compared to the 'old'. But what of the old? Is everything to be discarded in order to make way for 'progress'? The challenges in this situation are enormous: how to plan ahead with any degree of certainty, how to find a balanced pace for response, how to incorporate the new without losing what is valuable in the old, and many others. A business that failed to change by keeping itself up-to-date with new developments in its own product line would probably soon find itself out of business as customers went elsewhere. But NGOs do not have the same market pressures to help them keep in touch with new needs, thinking or trends, in general their 'customers', the beneficiaries, do not have the power of market choice to influence decision making within the organisation. Sometimes the current situation looks successful and without any market force indicators it is easy to assume that it will stay successful indefinitely. Additionally change is easily equated with uncertainty and disturbance and given the history of the last three decades it should not be surprising that some Cambodians prefer to stay in the comfort zone of the tried and tested. Yet the background context is that Cambodia has shown the most remarkable ability to adapt and survive through the most tumultuous of times - effective and pragmatic change management on a major scale. At VBNK we were very fortunate in 2001 to be associated with the research project 'Learning for Transformation' conducted by Moira O'Leary and Dr Meas Nee. This study of the effectiveness of development practitioners in bringing change to the communities with whom they work was our second opportunity to consider aspects of change. I was fortunate that many times in the months of the research and report writing Moira and Nee involved me in long conversations about their work. Since the report was published many people have commented on what a 'relief' it has been, finally, to have someone document and articulate all the issues that they have been struggling to make sense of. I found one of the most important points of learning is how complex we all are as individuals and how the powerful influences of our society, education, experience, etc. make it very difficult for us to change. The powerful message from this research is that for anyone to truly change -to transform- the motivation and commitment has to come from within. It is impossible for anyone of us to change others, but what we can do, if we go about it the right way, is to provide the opportunities, options, environment, encouragement and support needed, and perhaps a little disturbance to get the process underway. Understanding this important fact should tell us how very carefully we need to plan our attempted interventions into other people's lives. Well-intentioned change interventions can all too easily become harmful interference without first taking enough time to understand fully the lives and circumstances into which we want to intervene. Another important aspect of change that must be considered is pace. The world is changing very fast and so in many ways is Cambodia. The temptation is to think that we must all leap on the change bandwagon. Everyone is faced with the dilemma of a huge number of influencing factors pushing them towards change, and fast change at that, while all their experience keeps them rooted in the status quo, whatever that might be. For me the overwhelming message from this is the importance of taking time out to think, to reflect, to understand exactly what it is we are dealing with before we rush to make decisions and act. The same issues confront us at VBNK. At the end of last year we were evaluated as being very successful, and many exciting opportunities present themselves to us all the time. The temptation to say yes to interesting work and anything that will contribute money towards our budget is huge. We try to be creative in our work and we know that we need to change to stay relevant and sustainable. But we also need to stay grounded in what we know and do best. We must not move so fast that we leave people behind. We must make sure that moving forwards also includes time for the important work of reflection and learning and building the capacity of the staff. At VBNK we have come to realise that our own learning must keep apace of change if we are to continue to meet the increasingly complex needs of our stakeholders. Finding the right way to respond to the challenge of change was very much on our minds at the end of the 2001 as we reflected on the evaluation results and contemplated a major strategic planning exercise. Like everyone else we will make decisions that we hope are the right ones to keep us on track and sustainable in a fast changing environment. There are no guarantees of certainty, because change is one of the issues where there are no simple answers, but I think we are starting to identify the right questions.
April 2002 |
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PROGRAMME ACTIVITIES
Open Access Training Courses and Programmes
Overall 2001 was a challenging but productive year for the training programme that presented some interesting developments in VBNK's service provision. Appendix 1 at the end of this report shows the training courses and programmes delivered during the year. It represents repeats of existing courses along with the development of three new courses.
2001 saw the completion of three of our popular modular programmes. The second Women's Leadership Programme (WLP), designed to meet the needs of women middle managers was completed successfully in July. Our third Manager's Development Programme (MDP) also finished in July, and our second Proposal Development Programme was completed in June. Feedback from participants and their supervisors suggests that VBNK's modular programmes are beneficial to the long-term staff development issues for many of our customer organisations as they give participants the opportunity to be mentored as they apply their learning to their work situations. Additionally, participants have the ongoing opportunity to develop new knowledge and skills and share experiences with their peers in the social development sector.
During the year VBNK also continued its policy of providing training opportunities in the Provinces with courses conducted in Kampot and Siem Reap.
Perhaps the most significant development in our open access courses this year was the design and implementation of three new courses. Each new course was developed in response to new needs being faced by the social development sector. Specifically, courses were designed to address Management of Change, Fund Raising and the Presentation Skills needs of VBNK customers. It also marked the first time that VBNK trainers played a large role in course development, signifying their own knowledge and skills development, as they are now able to take on such a task.
Numbers
of participants in Open Access courses decreased slightly from last year, but
interestingly there was a higher percentage of female participants (33%) than
in previous years and perhaps more importantly for the first time there were
more participants from CNGOs than from INGOs. This confirms VBNK's commitment
to maintain its open access course programme, in order to continue to provide
training opportunities to participants from CNGOs.
It was therefore a significant achievement that VBNK was able to face all these
challenges while managing to consolidate and increase both the quantity and
the quality of its training programme.
Customised Training
In 2001 for the first time more participants attended customised training courses than Open Access courses at VBNK. This perhaps indicates a shift in the social development community towards training that caters to the specific needs of organisations. The needs of our customised training customers varied considerably. It is a testament of the growth of VBNK, that these wide-ranging needs could be met. A particularly interesting work request included a needs assessment and the organising of a modular training programme for project staff of Veterans International in Preah Vihear. This work was challenging for VBNK as it marked the first time that staff from the Training Unit (TU) and the Organisation Development Unit (ODU) collaborated to deliver training. In addition, the participants comprised people from very diverse educational backgrounds, which also presented a challenge to the trainers.
Delivering 2 courses in Basic Management and 5 modules of our MDP to our two groups from Mines Advisory Group (MAG) contributed to a substantial amount of VBNK's customised work in 2001. This programme has proved to be successful for both VBNK and MAG, as a strong relationship has been formed by both organisations, in particular between the trainers and participants. Furthermore, MAG supervisors have played an active role in mentoring their colleagues, which has benefited the overall learning process. VBNK hopes and intends to form more strategic partnerships of this nature with other organisations in future.
Another interesting development for VBNK was the increase in service provision for the public sector. Highlights included conducting Project Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation (PPME) training for the Ministry of Rural Development (MRD), and an Introduction to Strategic Planning training for three groups at the Ministry of Social Affairs, Labour, Vocational Training and Youth Rehabilitation (MoSALVY) commissioned by UNICEF. At VBNK we are very aware of the need to develop the capacity of all social development sector organisations, including the government agencies that contribute to the growth of Cambodia's social development.
Provincial work contributed to VBNK's customised service delivery in 2001. In addition to our work for VI in Preah Vihear, VBNK also conducted training in Poipet for ZOA Refugee Care Netherlands, and in Kom Pong Cham for Save the Children-Australia (SCA).
The growth of VBNK's customised work in 2001 demonstrated the underlying strengths of the organisation and the range of work in 2001 also suggested that increasingly VBNK is seen as a vital training provider within the social development community.
The Organisation Development Unit (ODU)
Consultancy services delivered during the year are shown in Appendix 2. The ODU has now established itself as a second important programme unit for VBNK. Currently four Cambodian Facilitators and an expatriate Technical Advisor comprise the unit and address a wide range of organisation development issues. The ODU is now in a strong position to respond to the needs for consultancy services of development organisations.
In March 2001, VBNK conducted a two-day conference on NGOs Boards and Governance. This conference was also the official ODU launch activity. Over 80 participants, comprising Directors or Programme Managers of various organisations, attended. Participants discussed and shared their experiences with each other. Follow up workshops were conducted in November 2001 in Phnom Penh, Battambang and Kom Pong Cham.
A number of OD service provisions in the year 2001 included the facilitation of strategic planning for various organisations, including setting organisational vision, mission and goals, organisational management review for American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) and Servants to Asia's Urban Poor (Servants), along with the facilitation of the localisation process for SCALE Integrated Aquaculture Programme (SCALE) and a strategic plan evaluation for MAG.
Impact assessment
Both external and internal assessment processes remain central to VBNK's quality control systems and also provide concrete feedback on the social development sector's training needs, along with the potential organisational challenges that they anticipate in future. As in previous years follow-up exercises were conducted to assess the impact of the organisation's training. This year we managed to speak to 76 former participants and 31 supervisors/mentors - both Cambodian and International NGOs - in Phnom Penh and in the Provinces. This was, by a considerable margin, our largest follow-up exercise yet undertaken.
The purpose was to assess the relevance of VBNK training to the participants' work requirements, their implementation of the learning and the impact of their learning on their work performance. VBNK considers it vital to conduct these assessments after the participants have returned to their workplace rather than simply relying on evaluations done at the end of each course, as only when the participants are back in their real work environments can impact be properly measured.
Results from the interviews show clearly that the participants' overall performance in all relevant subjects improved significantly. Of the 31 supervisors interviewed, 28 noted a 'significant improvement' in the participants' performance and an increase in creativity and confidence, whereas the other 3 noted 'some improvement' in their colleague's abilities to manage. The participant respondents verified these findings, as the vast majority stated that they were now able to take on more responsibilities and to produce better quality work as a result of their training experiences.
In summary
the results demonstrated that VBNK courses continue to meet a wide and increasingly
complex range of needs and that the organisation has its finger firmly on the
pulse of the local social development sector.
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In appreciating the need to formalise and standardise quality assurance procedures and to strive to tie a quality aspect to all work at VBNK, a Quality Working Group (QWG) was established in early 2001. Led initially by the Director and subsequently by the Technical Advisor (TA), the QWG comprises staff from all units. They were tasked to formulate a quality policy for VBNK, to provide indicators of what the definition means in practice, and to devise strategies to implement the tools and techniques that should be used to ensure quality. The QWG is also providing training and support to all staff to implement and integrate quality processes in all our work.
An initial
step in this direction was taken during VBNK's annual retreat, when the Programme
Co-ordinator (PC) presented VBNK's quality statement and gave some input on
how following a quality approach should positively affect our work at VBNK.
More and regular in-house training workshops are planned for the future, to
continue to address this important aspect of VBNK's services.
VBNK
evaluation
In December an external evaluation was conducted. The evaluation team, which consisted of an external consultant, Mr. Michael Prince as the Team Leader, two external staff and two VBNK staff as team members, implemented the process. The main message of the evaluation report was that "VBNK has achieved a lot AND cannot afford to stand still!" The evaluation was conducted using an 'appreciative learning' approach. It was not meant to be simply the team gathering information, but as an intervention that has an impact. Questions and comments from interviews were seen as an opportunity for contributors to reflect and learn from each other.
The findings
indicated that VBNK has a good reputation with its key stakeholders and even
though it needs to bear in mind ways to continue to improve and develop, all
stakeholders spoke very positively about their involvement with the organisation.
While we certainly appreciate this accolade, we strongly believe in our need
to continue to develop and professionalise our services. The evaluation results
will be used as a reference for the 3-year strategic planning exercise that
will be conducted next year.
Networking, representation and public relations
Locally, VBNK always strives to foster strong public relationships through a range of activities. It is the member of CCC, the NGO Forum and CNSN. The Director and the PC attend monthly CCC meetings. The Training Manager attends the NGO Forum meeting regularly and five Trainers participate in various working groups of the NGO Forum. In addition, the Director and three VBNK staff are Board members of Cambodian organisations.
As mentioned
above, the VBNK conference on NGOs Boards and Governance conducted in March
was one of the public relations activities in the year. In the same month, VBNK
participated in the NGO Fair to help to develop its image with the public and
other organisations.
Regionally, The Director was invited to chair the panel on Capacity Building
at the Forum of Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam Conference in Vientiane in June.
During the second half year, a variety of public relations activities were organised. For the first time VBNK produced its own T-shirts and caps for publicity purposes. Additionally, a Khmer version of the new VBNK brochure was published in November. Two special events were the establishment of VBNK FC who won their first hard fought football match against the Agricultural School of Prek Leap, and the sponsorship of a Prey Veng Village boat in the Water Festival who also preformed very well!
In November VBNK had visits from both donors, Mr. Karl Schönberg from EED and Mr. Henk Bakker from ICCO.
VBNK is
keenly aware that it is vital to its own sustainable development to maintain
a diverse but professional image with all current and potential stakeholders.
Gender
Policy and Values and Ethics Policy
Continual integration of VBNK's Gender, Values and Ethics Policies continues to be a crucial aspect to all the work we do. VBNK recognises that, as a leading training provider for the social development community, it needs to continue to address these issues in its programme delivery and its own staff must have a clear understanding of the issues and how they relate to practice. Time and resources were allocated to expedite the process. In particular, an in-house training on Gender, Values and Ethics was conducted by VBNK trainers, who had been involved in the policy group, to give staff new insight and to reflect on the issues so as to better incorporate them into practice.
VBNK is
convinced that the importance of these policies is not from their existence
on paper but the processes in which they are developed and used. Real understanding
and change comes not from reading a document produced by others but from going
through a facilitated process of discussion, exploration and application.
Scholarship
Fund
Once again, we are grateful to Dan Church Aid for providing money for scholarships in 2001. The purpose of the fund is to provide grants to staff of NGOs who do not have budgets for staff development or training and who would not otherwise be able to attend VBNK training. During 2001, 52 scholarships were granted.
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Staffing
The increase in the demand for VBNK services provision led to several new staff joining the organisation in 2001. In January, the PC was recruited to provide necessary co-ordination for the programme units and an Administrative Assistant was hired to provide necessary administrative support to the Director and PC. Four new Trainers joined VBNK in May and an additional trainer with a particular expertise in Training of Trainers (ToT) was recruited in November.
Due to the expansion of the TU and in particular a large increase in the provision of customised services, a TA for the TU was appointed in June as the counterpart to the PC. His role is to provide necessary advice and assistance to the PC and TU, especially in the areas of negotiation, proposals and contract development for customised training and the management of TU as a whole.
Again due to an increased demand for services, the ODU recruited a third facilitator in January and continued increasing work requests led to an additional facilitator being recruited in November.
The Administration and Finance Unit (AFU) also had some changes during the year. In February the Finance Officer resigned from the organisation, and a new Finance Officer was recruited to fill the vacancy. The AFU Manager left the organisation in May and was replaced by an expatriate consultant until a suitable Cambodian candidate for the position could be found. The consultant played a vital role in strengthening and updating many of VBNK's administrative and financial systems. Following the purchase a new vehicle, a Driver was appointed in October in order to support the increased VBNK activities.
In the Documentation and Registration Unit (DRU), one new staff was appointed in May to fill the role of a Documenter/Librarian. At present three Documenters and the Training Administrator provide all necessary support to assist programme delivery. This unit works under the direct supervision of the PC, but VBNK plans to recruit a Unit Manager sometime in 2002 to help the day-to-day management.
The VBNK
organogram as at December 2002, is attached as Appendix 3.
Staff
Development
At VBNK, we appreciate that in order to maintain our position as a leading provider of management services in Cambodia, we must keep our own learning and development at a pace ahead of the change occurring within our working environment. This is no easy task as the needs of our stakeholders continue to increase in complexity and scope. As a result monthly in-house training sessions continued to be an important aspect of VBNK's staff development, especially as all sessions are led by VBNK staff and cover a range of topics specific to our needs.
A particularly important part of VBNK's development is through our continued involvement in creativity workshops conducted by David Glass, a British Theatre Director who also does management consulting and creative work with children in trauma. In 2001 most staff were fortunate to have the opportunity to participate in a one-week workshop on the creativity process in presentations. Our work with David specifically addresses our need to be continuously innovative and creative in everything we do.
Once a month on Saturday mornings VBNK holds a half-day 'Creativity Workshop'. Activities undertaken in the workshops include story telling and role-play, painting, poetry, reading and music. Attendance has been high and all staff who attend the sessions find them useful and an opportunity to develop their creative talents in a fun and enjoyable atmosphere.
VBNK continues to support staff members in a range of study activities. Two VBNK trainers attended training on 'NGO Sustainability' at the Asian Centre in Bangkok. The ODU facilitators were fortunate to participate in a workshop in Vietnam on Facilitating Organisation Development. Additionally, two VBNK trainers also attended the locally run ADI course on analysing development issues at CCC.
Also, in
2001 three staff members continued to study management courses part-time at
University level, one of whom successfully completed the first-ever MBA programme
offered in Cambodia being delivered by a Malaysian University. Six other staff
members began Diploma and Bachelor's level programmes through a variety of local
institutions. VBNK recognises the importance of providing learning opportunities
for its entire staff, as learning provides the prospect for both individual
and organisational development.
It is apparent that investing in staff development has enhanced the quality
of VBNK programmes and engendered a real sense of professional self-confidence
and maturity in the staff, which helps us to be more responsive and professional
to our customers.
The
Board
The Board met for its four scheduled meetings during the year, mostly covering routine matters, although certain tasks took up the majority of their time. In particular localisation was addressed at some length. The question remains for VBNK, as it does for many other NGOs, to what degree does the organisation localise, and what exactly do we mean by localisation? To begin to address this, two Board members took time to meet with VBNK staff to initiate discussions. Specific issues included assessing the advisability of nationalising the Director's position in the medium term future, along with defining the key considerations and pre-requisites for the process of localising the Director's position.
Other important Board issues in 2001 where discussions and preparations for VBNK's next strategic planning phase as well as preparations made for VBNK's external evaluation process.
It was not all work however, as a boat cruise was organised early in the year, so that the Board and new staff members could have the opportunity to acquaint themselves in a social and relaxed environment.
The Board
maintained strong continuity in 2001 with only one member resigning at the end
of his term due to a move to the provinces. VBNK was again fortunate to have
several people willing to stand and the Board therefore had no difficulty in
electing a new member. The other 4 Board members that were up for re-election
agreed to stay on for another term. All VBNK Board members remain very dedicated
to the development of VBNK and our thanks go to the Board for its ongoing and
helpful support in what proved to be another interesting and challenging year.
Donors
The second phase of funding from ICCO, which had started in July 2000 continued during 2001. A new phase of funding from EED began on 1st January 2001. This linked VBNK for the first time to the European Union (EU) as EED had made a successful application to the EU for joint project funding for VBNK. All three of the current core funding agreements will continue until the end of 2002.
Our thanks go especially to EED and ICCO as these two organisations, through their ongoing commitment and support, help to provide a strong foundation for VBNK to develop. VBNK feels that it is very fortunate to have two donors who offer much more than simple funding and who continue to play a crucial role in VBNK's development.
Our thanks also for the continued assistance of our local funding partner Dan Church Aid.
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Name
|
Position
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Comment
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| Jenny Pearson (Ms) | Director |  |
| Leng Chhay | Programme Co-ordinator | Joined
in January |
| Training Unit |
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Name
|
Position
|
Comment
|
| Touch Kim Chhan | Training Team Manager | |
| Say Kunthara (Ms) | Training Team Leader | Left in May |
| Mov Lean (Ms) | Training Team Leader | |
| Heng Seltik (Ms) | Training Team Leader | |
| Koung Rethy | Training Programme Manager | Left in August |
| Srey Vanthorn | Trainer | |
| Tann Chantha (Ms) | Trainer | |
| Khe Sothoeun | Trainer | |
| Sim Noreth (Ms) | Trainer | |
| Chi Sothy | Trainer | |
| Pen Vuthy | Trainer | |
| Kchao Visal | Trainer | |
| Chhoun Bounna | Trainer | Joined in May |
| Phon Pheuy (Ms) | Trainer | Joined in May |
| Mour Meng Hong | Trainer | Joined in May |
| Vanly Virya | Trainer | Joined in May |
| Men Maronel | Trainer | Joined in November |
| Conor Boyle | Technical Advisor | Joined in June |
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Organisation
Development Unit
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|
Name
|
Position
|
Comment
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| Emmanuel "Jojo" Pastores | Technical Advisor | |
| Tourt Chamroen | OD Facilitator | |
| Kong Sedth | OD Facilitator | |
| Srey Saren | OD Facilitator | Joined in January |
| Chhum Syrom (Ms) | OD Facilitator | Joined in November |
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Documentation
and Registration Unit
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|
Name
|
Position
|
Comment
|
| Som Dany (Ms) | Training Administrator | |
| Seua Rothana (Ms) | Senior Documenter | |
| Chum Socheata (Ms) | Documenter | |
| Tem Sokchea | Documenter/Librarian | Joined in May |
| Pel Martin | Administrative Assistant | Joined in January |
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Administration
and Finance Unit
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|
Name
|
Position
|
Comment
|
| Lu Puthy (Ms) | Admin. and Finance Manager | Left in May |
| Heang Opaline | Finance Officer | Left in February |
| Ung Sirivong | Finance Officer | Joined in April |
| Sok Sovannmealy (Ms) | Receptionist | |
| Ou Saorn | Logistics Officer | |
| Thong Kheng (Ms) | Housekeeper | |
| Ieng Sarin (Ms) | Housekeeper | |
| Sok Sarim | Driver | Joined in October |
| Un Sovuthy | Guard | |
| Soum Hon | Guard | |
| Sin San | Guard | |
| Hy Ngin | Guard | |
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VBNK
Board of Management 2001
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|
Name
|
Organisation
|
Position
|
Comment
|
| Josephine Barbour (Ms) | CWS | Chair | |
| Chhim Vandeth | SST | Vice-Chair | |
| Thong Beauphara (Ms) | CDRI | Treasurer | |
| Kep Kannaro | PADEK | Member at Large | |
| Nop Vanthy (Ms) | WVI | Member at Large | |
| Sak Choeun | AQIP | Member at Large | Left in April |
| David Saumweber | CCC ADI Unit | Member at Large | |
| Chann Navy (Ms) | CRWRC | Member at Large | Joined in April |
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Consultants
in 2001
|
| David Glass | Creativity Training |
| John McGeoghan | Distance Learning Feasibility Study |
| Simone Fitzgerald (Ms) | AFU Consultant |
| Michael Prince | External Evaluation Team Leader |
| Hok Chan Phalleap (Ms) | External Evaluation Team |
| Dr. Meas Nee | External Evaluation Team |
| Tamara De Mel (Ms) | Resource Centre/ Data Base Development |
| Naomi Hawkins (Ms) | Fund Raising Course Design |
| Ruth Bottomley (Ms) | English Editor |
| Ian Marshall | Presentation Skills Course Design |
| Rolien Sasse (Ms) | Strategic Planning Facilitator |