The Accountability of Cambodian NGOs in Climate Change Projects: The impacts on local communities

<p>The accountability of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) is important to development work. Judging the performance of an NGO in providing social services and whether it has fulfilled its responsibilities with a set of standards is increasingly important due to NGOs working more in social development. In Cambodia NGOs have also become actively involved in climate change actions at all levels and have become an important player among other actors to enforce climate policies. While the influential roles of NGOs in climate policy advocacy and negotiation have been recognised, the impact of their involvement in climate change actions at the local level has been less prominent. This poses a question as to how NGO accountability impacts on local communities with the projects that they are carrying out concerning climate change issues. This thesis explored Cambodian NGOs working in partnership on climate change issues and how issues concerning their accountability to local communities can be evaluated. This study involved seventeen NGO representatives from different NGOs who work directly in climate change projects in Cambodia. A qualitative approach was employed using interviews with the participants and this primary data collection was supplemented by documentary evidence from secondary sources. The interviews captured the experience and knowledge of the processes of working in partnership on climate change projects by the research participants. The particpants shared with me some of the benefits and difficulties in working in partnership with other NGOs on climate change issues. From their reflections I was able to discern some key findings. I found that NGO partnership in climate change projects in Cambodia enhances effectiveness and efficiency in project implementation. Partnership strengthens the downward accountability of NGOs in carrying out the projects because inputs and resources are redirected to the ground level of operations and not diverted away from the intended beneficiaries. The partnership movement is grass roots driven, and small local NGOs are able to receive funds and directly benefit local communities. Partnerships enable funding aid to reach the local people through the sub-grant provision scheme. Funding NGOs provide capacity development and technical support throughout the project cycle to their partners so that they can have sufficient capacity to carry out climate change work at the ground level. Partnering NGOs also work with NGO network members in climate change policy advocacy and communication by bringing local voices into the process of policy development. Cambodian NGO partnerships in climate change projects significantly contributes to climate change adaptation actions. I conclude with some recommendations for how this process can be improved.</p>

The Accountability of Cambodian NGOs in Climate Change Projects: The impacts on local communities

<p>The accountability of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) is important to development work. Judging the performance of an NGO in providing social services and whether it has fulfilled its responsibilities with a set of standards is increasingly important due to NGOs working more in social development. In Cambodia NGOs have also become actively involved in climate change actions at all levels and have become an important player among other actors to enforce climate policies. While the influential roles of NGOs in climate policy advocacy and negotiation have been recognised, the impact of their involvement in climate change actions at the local level has been less prominent. This poses a question as to how NGO accountability impacts on local communities with the projects that they are carrying out concerning climate change issues. This thesis explored Cambodian NGOs working in partnership on climate change issues and how issues concerning their accountability to local communities can be evaluated. This study involved seventeen NGO representatives from different NGOs who work directly in climate change projects in Cambodia. A qualitative approach was employed using interviews with the participants and this primary data collection was supplemented by documentary evidence from secondary sources. The interviews captured the experience and knowledge of the processes of working in partnership on climate change projects by the research participants. The particpants shared with me some of the benefits and difficulties in working in partnership with other NGOs on climate change issues. From their reflections I was able to discern some key findings. I found that NGO partnership in climate change projects in Cambodia enhances effectiveness and efficiency in project implementation. Partnership strengthens the downward accountability of NGOs in carrying out the projects because inputs and resources are redirected to the ground level of operations and not diverted away from the intended beneficiaries. The partnership movement is grass roots driven, and small local NGOs are able to receive funds and directly benefit local communities. Partnerships enable funding aid to reach the local people through the sub-grant provision scheme. Funding NGOs provide capacity development and technical support throughout the project cycle to their partners so that they can have sufficient capacity to carry out climate change work at the ground level. Partnering NGOs also work with NGO network members in climate change policy advocacy and communication by bringing local voices into the process of policy development. Cambodian NGO partnerships in climate change projects significantly contributes to climate change adaptation actions. I conclude with some recommendations for how this process can be improved.</p>

Interventions to address food insecurity among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people: A rapid review

Food insecurity disproportionately impacts Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians. This review sought to investigate research and evaluations of programs and interventions implemented to address food insecurity among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. A rapid review was conducted to collate the available research from six databases. The search was conducted in May 2020. Search constructs related to food insecurity, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and Australia. 25 publications were included in this review, 24 reported on an intervention, while nine were evaluations of an intervention. Interventions included behaviour change projects, including projects that sought to change purchasing and cooking behaviours, school-based education programs, and gardening programs. In general, the studies included in this sample were small, and lacked a systematic consideration of the factors that shape the experience of food insecurity among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people specifically. Based on the findings of this review, authors suggest greater consideration to the systematic determinants of food insecurity among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to have lasting and sustainable impact on food insecurity. This review has been registered with the international prospective register of systematic reviews (PROSPERO: CRD42020183709). Novelty bullets • Food insecurity among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people poses significant risk to health and wellbeing. • Small scale food security interventions may not provide ongoing and sustained impact. • Any intervention to promote food security will need to involve Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and be sustained once external parties have left.

Linking complexity factors and project management approaches to performance: an embedded single case study of IT-enabled change projects in Australia

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to provide a holistic view of the link between the identification of complexity contributing factors, the application of project management approaches and their impacts on the performance of Information Technology (IT)-enabled change projects.Design/methodology/approachA qualitative approach of an embedded single-case design comprising three IT-enabled change projects delivered in Australia was used to explore the impact of complexity contributing factors and project management approaches on project performance measures. Semi-structured interviews were used as the main data collection method. Thematic analysis was used as the data analysis approach.FindingsThe results from the thematic analysis highlight that complexity contributing factors are related to two categories of complexity defined in this paper: technical uncertainties and uncertainty in goals and deliverables, both have an impact on the performance of IT-enabled change projects. It also highlights key project management approaches such as the use of an adaptive management approach and good communication as key to managing complexity. It also identifies a misalignment between stakeholder perception of success and the project management success measure for complex IT-enabled projects.Research limitations/implicationsThe research is based on data collected from Australian participants involved in three case studies. Additional data collection and reviews from practitioners in the field of project management could further refine and improve this research.Practical implicationsThe research facilitates the identification of specific complexity contributing factors at the early stage of a project to ensure that the appropriate project management approaches and success measures are used.Originality/valueThe paper contributes to rethinking the pathways towards improving project performance in the IT sector by expanding the identification of project complexity to understanding how complexity and the management approaches impact project performance.

Leadership reflections a year on from the rapid roll-out of virtual clinics due to COVID-19: a commentary

COVID-19 changed the way we delivered care to our patients at our Hospital. Prior to the pandemic, no patient facing video clinics and only a small number of telephone clinics were held. In this paper, we share our experience of rapidly implementing virtual clinics (VCs) due to COVID-19. This commentary is based on focused discussions between hospital leaders and provides a reflective account and commentary on leadership lessons learnt from our experience of deploying VCs. We outline success factors (being able to capitalise on existing strategy, having time and space to establish VCs, using an agreed improvement framework, empowering a diverse and expert implementation team with a flat hierarchy, using efficient decision pathways, communication and staff willingness to change), technical challenges (patient capability and skills to use technology, patient connectivity and platform capacity) and considerations for the future (sustaining new ways of working, platform selection, integration, business continuity and commissioning considerations, barriers regarding capability and communication, effectiveness and clinical outcomes). Finally, we provide an overview of the leadership lessons from this project and identify key areas of focus for delivering successful change projects in future (the vision, allocation of resources, methodology selection and managing the skills gap).