SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY has been a priority for Southern Hemisphere in the past year & as a result we have employed a Project Management learner as well as two interns from Norway and the United States of America. They have been given the exposure to and experience in the development world so that we may help them to acquire the necessary skills for their own career advancement.
Another aspect of Social Responsibility is the voluntary services that our directors and senior consultants offer as part of their contribution to society and to organisations. Daniel Nina, our director who works in our Puerto Rican offices, has participated in the Puerto Rican National Elections as an election observer for Puerto Rican prisoners, ensuring and promoting a fair and free election. Nana Davies, our new Senior Consultant has also offered her voluntary services to the Trauma Centre for survivors of Violence and torture. She facilitated a strategic planning workshop for the time period of November 2004 to December 2005.
Southern Hemisphere has also participated in the Third African Evaluation Association Conference, which took place in Cape Town from the 1 to 4 December. Southern Hemisphere along with other organisations had their materials on display, which gave us all a great chance to show our expertise, services and contributions to the evaluation community. People from all over the world attended this conference to discuss issues around how monitoring and evaluation contributes to African democracy, good governance and development.
Our Puerto Rican office has been working on two new initiatives:
1. "South to South" (an alternative film festival). SHC is working on launching the first alternative film festival of African films in Puerto Rico. It is due in January 2005.
2. SHC is also working towards launching its own web page for the interest of the non-for profit sector of Puerto Rico. This is due in 2005.
Alongside all of these activities, SHC has also been involved in various projects …
FACILITATION:
1. Sport and Recreation Ministry in Puerto Rico - SHC has been implementing the national strategy for the Puerto Rico Government ministry of Sport and Recreation on conflict management at public (sport and recreation) facilities nationally. This has been a very thorough and comprehensive project. SHC is now in the process of conducting the evaluation of the pilot project and making final recommendations
PROJECT MONITORING & EVALUATION:
1. DELTA – Impact study and organisational assessment. DELTA (Development Education Leadership Teams in Action) is an NGO that provides training courses to disadvantaged women from underprivileged areas, with the objective of building the capacity in these women to be able to plan, initiate and support community development projects, and take an active part in community decision-making structures.
Nana Davies, our Senior Consultant, together with Entabeni Consulting has been commissioned to evaluate the impact of DELTA’s training over the last three years. In order to assess the impact previous trainees have made, in-depth interviews were conducted within organizations or communities that previous trainees are now employed by or involved in. The consultants are currently writing up a report based on their research and analysis.
In addition to this, an organizational assessment including the analysis of areas such as governance, management practice, human resources, finance, service delivery and sustainability was undertaken.
The information that is extracted from this consultancy will then be used to improve DELTA’s functioning and programming.
2. The POLICY Project (USAID and the Department of Health)- Southern Hemisphere is evaluating the POLICY Project training on HIV and AIDS that was attended by traditional leaders from the rural areas of South Africa. The training has three main objectives 1) to increase their knowledge about HIV and AIDS 2) to emphasise their important advocacy role and 3) to network traditional leaders with service providers from Government and NGO’s in their areas. The evaluation is focusing on the effectiveness and impact of the training on the traditional leaders and their communities.
3. Conference, Workshops and Cultural Initiatives Fund (CWCI) -Dena was contracted by an Italian Company, ARS Progetti, to conduct a final evaluation of the CWCI 2 (Conference, Workshops and Cultural Initiatives Fund). Dena worked together with lead consultant, Paola Franciosi. CWCI 2 was introduced in the Multi-annual Indicative Programme (MIP) 2000 – 2002 as a horizontal instrument meant to facilitate EPRD implementation and to increase the visibility of the EU contribution to development in SA. The project gave grants to South African organisations for workshops, conferences and cultural initiatives. The evaluation considered the relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, and impact of the Project, and provided an in-depth critique of the project log-frame. CWCI 3 will be starting next year.
4. CAPE - South African National Biodiversity Institute
Dena conducted a successful two-day workshop for projects associated to CAPE, an initiative of the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI). The project staff evaluated their log-frames in order to ensure that they were still on track to achieve their objectives and they identified gaps in their indicators and means of verification.
TRAINING
1. Human Resources Ministry in Puerto Rico - SHC was hired to provide training to the National Office of Human Resources of the Puerto Rican government. The first phase of the project recently ended, by which 27 employees of the head office of the ministry were trained in mediation, for which they will acquire a license to practice mediation in Puerto Rico. The training capacity of SHC was highly praised by this ministry and the contract has been extended for an additional six-month to offer the same training in early 2005.
After a long and productive year, SHC is looking forward to a wonderful holiday and a whole lot of new opportunities and growth in the New Year! We, the staff, would like to wish all of our clients and partners in social development a HAPPY FESTIVE SEASON!!!
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