SYSTEMS CHANGE...
CCD NIGERIA
MEMBERS
CCD Nigeria is a CCD startup network. Following interest from donors to pilot the Common Donor Approach in Nigeria, 10 organisations expressed interest in setting up an in-country network to adopt a more collaborative and non-competitive way of working to enable the best use of organisational resources, seek joint funding for implementation and technical activities, and harmonise ways of working.
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In October, a CCD global staff member deployed for three weeks to help these organisations get started. The focus of this first phase was to identify all interested organisations, build a common understanding, and start prioritising activities. Four additional organisations reached out, and a total of 14 local and international NGOs participated in the initial meeting.
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In December 2019, 13 agencies (nine international and four local NGOs) signed the MoU they devised in October, committing themselves to CCD’s values and principles.
GOVERNANCE
CCD Nigeria created a MoU that “represents the strong intention and commitment of the parties to work together in responding to emergencies in northeast Nigeria, with scale and speed, without compromising quality in meeting the needs of crisis-affected populations through collaborative cash programming”.
Though cash programming is the default work of CCD, other modalities can be adopted by CCD responses to adapt to the context, namely considering the increased regulations imposed to cash programming lately in Nigeria making it more challenging to implement.
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The MoU outlines the three dimensions of the CCD: the implementation of collaborative responses; addressing technical challenges through collaborative initiatives, such as common financial service provider framework agreements, setting up a common beneficiary registration database or harmonising tools and approaches; and establishing a CCD governance.
In February 2020, CCD Nigeria elected a its first steering committee through a competitive voting process where 26 voters from the 13 member NGOs cast votes and were able to view results in real time to ensure a completely transparent process. The committee provides the network with strategic management and overall governance. In line with their MoU, five NGOs were selected, including one local NGO to ensure that their voices and interests are consistently represented. All committee members have equal rights and seats. The inaugural SC is composed of: Grow Strong Foundation (local NGO), CRS, Mercy Corps, Save the Children, and ZOA.
WHERE WE ARE
Since global CCD sent a deployee to Nigeria in October, the national network has brought in a Collaboration Facilitator, signed a MoU, elected a Steering Committee, and thoroughly mapped each organisations' geographical footprint and strengths along the cash value chain to help
them to understand each other better and start identifying geographical areas where joint implementation could be considered, as well as technical areas to focus on.
ACTIVITIES
After the initial deployment ended in October, CCD Nigeria began focusing on finalising their governance and mobilising the donor community to get their support for implementing their workplan.
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Their first Steering Committee meeting was held on 5th March. As the interim Collaboration Facilitator supports the network remotely from Zimbabwe, Mercy Corps was selected to act as the impartial CCD representative to act as CCD’s voice at all external meetings (e.g. with donors, the cash working group, etc.) until a permanent Collaboration Manager has been recruited. CCD Nigeria is working on a plan to fund and host the position in the short term while they explore long-term options.
To compensate for not having a Collaboration Manager on the ground at this time, the Steering Committee began to explore ways in which members can begin to collaborate on activities within their current projects. This will be discussed further during the next committee meeting. The lessons learnt during this initiative will also help CCD Nigeria start preparing proposals for a CCD-led consortium.