A MID-TERM ASSESSMENT OF CAAHT COORDINATION September 2006 September 2006 This paper was produced for review by the United States Agency for International Development. It was prepared by the EnCompassLLC under contract to Creative Associates International, Inc. in the framework of the “The Albanian Initiative: Coordinated Action Against Human Trafficking”. A Mid-Term Assessment of the Coordination Component of the Albanian Initiative: Coordinated Action Against Human Trafficking Program September 2006 USAID Contract No.: 182-C-00-03-00109-00 USAID Mission, Tirana, Albania Special Initiative 4.1 Creative Associates International, Inc. Rr. Nikolla Tupe, Pall. 1 3rd Floor over BKT PO box 2490/1 Tirana, Albania Office phone: +355 4 357 416 / 417 / 418 Office fax: +355 4 257 419 Email: CAAHT@al.caii.com Website: www.CAAHT.com Printed by ALBDESIGN, Rr. “Mine Peza”, Nr. 1/1 Tel. (+355) 04 238 989 Fax. (+355) 04 238 989 Tirana - Albania www.alb-design.net e-mail: info@alb-design.net A MID-TERM ASSESSMENT OF THE COORDINATION COMPONENT OF THE ALBANIAN INITIATIVE: COORDINATED ACTION AGAINST HUMAN TRAFFICKING PROGRAM SEPTEMBER 2006 Commissioned by Creative Associates International, Inc. Conducted by EnCompassLLC 10500 Alloway Drive Potomac, Maryland 20854 USA + 1 301 299-3266 www.encompassworld.com DISCLAIMER The author's views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) or the United States Government. A Mid-term Assessment of CAAHT Coordination September 2006 i A MID-TERM ASSESSMENT OF CAAHT COORDINATION - SEPTEMBER 2006 i TABLE OF CONTENTS ACRONYMS ......................................................................................................... iii EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ...................................................................................... 1 1. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................... 6 1.1 Program Overview ..................................................................................... 6 1.2 Background of the Evaluation .................................................................... 7 1.2.1 Methodology ...................................................................................... 8 1.2.2 Response Rates ................................................................................ 9 1.2.3 Issues to Consider in this Assessment .............................................. 9 2. DEFINING SUCCESSFUL COORDINATION ................................................. 10 3. DIFFERENCES IN STAKEHOLDER PERSPECTIVES .................................. 12 4. FINDINGS ....................................................................................................... 14 4.1 Implementation of Programs and Services through Coordination............ 14 4.2 Improving Coordination of Policies and Procedures ................................ 16 4.3 Learning About the Work of Others.......................................................... 18 4.4 Systems & Procedures Supporting Coordination..................................... 19 4.5 Building Relationships that Support Collaboration ................................... 21 4.6 Evaluating Organizational/institutional Activities ...................................... 22 4.7 When the Local/Central Government Actors Collaborate with Non￾government Stakeholders........................................................................ 22 4.8 When the Local/Central Government Actors Collaborate with other Government Organizations...................................................................... 23 4.9 Most Valued Aspects of Collaboration ..................................................... 24 4.10 Wishes for the Future............................................................................... 25 5. EVALUATION CONCLUSIONS ...................................................................... 26 6. STAKEHOLDER FEEDBACK ON EVALUATION CONCLUSIONS .............. 27 6.1 Small Group Work.................................................................................... 27 7. APPENDICES ................................................................................................. 32 7.1 Appendix A: Evaluation Methodology ...................................................... 32 7.2 Appendix B: Interview Protocol .........................................................................37 7.3 Appendix C: Wishes ...........................................................................................39 7.4 Appendix D: Workshop Evaluation Report.....................................................44 -TEASSESSMENT OF THE CAAHT COORDINATION – SEPTEMBER 2006 ii UNITED STATES AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT A Mid-term Assessment of CAAHT Coordination September 2006 iii A MID-TERM ASSESSMENT OF CAAHT COORDINATION - SEPTEMBER 2006 iii ACRONYMS AND DEFINITIONS AI Appreciative Inquiry ANTTARC Albanian National Training and Technical Assistance Resource Center CAAHT The Albanian Initiative: Coordinated Action Against Human Trafficking GoA Government of Albania IOM International Organization for Migration MOU Memorandum of Understanding NGO/NPO Non-governmental organization / Non-profit organization. The preferred term in Albania is NPO. Prefect The Prefect, nominated by the GoA Council of Ministers, represents the Government at the qark-level. The Prefects functions include: controlling and guaranteeing the legality of administrative acts and decisions adopted by local government unites (municipalities and communes), involving district courts when necessary; coordinating the activities of peripheral arms of Municipalities and Communes; managing civil protection emergencies; and supervising government funds and foreign funds coming from bilateral agreements.1 Qark(qe) Albania is divided in 12 administrative regions known as qark (singular) / qarqe (plural). Qark/qe is also the term for the Regional Council(s) which is the regional representative organism. Its members are drawn from the ranks of the municipal councils and elected with a proportional system.2 QDA Quality Data Assessment RCGs (CAAHT) Regional Cluster Groups TACT Transnational Action Against Child Trafficking, implemented by Terre des hommes, with the support of USAID and other donors. UNICEF United Nations International Children’s Fund USAID United States Agency for International Development 1 Centre for Administrative Innovation in the Euro/Mediterranean Region (C.A.I.MED.), Albania: Administrative Reform, Innovation and Maintenance, pages 6-7. 2 Ibid. pages 8-9. -TEASSESSMENT OF THE CAAHT COORDINATION – SEPTEMBER 2006 iv UNITED STATES AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT A MID-TERM ASSESSMENT OF CAAHT COORDINATION - SEPTEMBER 2006 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Coordinated Action Against Human Trafficking (CAAHT) program of Creative Associates International, Inc., is a three-year USAID anti-trafficking program focused on facilitating coordination and cooperation among local government and civil society stakeholders. CAAHT commissioned an evaluation that incorporated Appreciative Inquiry methods to assess the impact of its coordination strategies on desired project outcomes. Fifty-four interviews were conducted by the CAAHT staff, members of the Albanian National Training and Technical Assistance Resource Center (ANTTARC), and the EnCompass consultant. Overall, findings strongly and clearly conveyed the power of cooperation and coordination to motivate social action, to reach and protect those in need, and to enable synergistic and efficient activities to address trafficking issues in Albania. Analysis of the interview data revealed some common themes about successful coordination across the various stakeholder groups interviewed. These are: • Common vision • Honoring of every organization’s role • A commitment to working collaboratively • Deep valuing of the beneficiaries—there is a strong message that these young people matter! Key elements that contributed to success ran through many of the stories of coordination. They include: • Coordinating actors share the desire to work toward complex solutions. • Those involved offer complementary services. • Transparency, good will and trust exist between coordinating parties. • There is a clear division of labor and actors understand their roles and responsibilities. • Coordinating parties allocate appropriate resources and build capacities when necessary (i.e. conduct trainings, etc.). Evaluation findings support that CAAHT has had tangible and significant impact on its stakeholders through collaboration and coordination. Analysis of data from interviews revealed major ways in which coordination and collaboration have led to success: • Implementing programs and services • Improving coordination of policies and procedures • Helping stakeholders learn about the work of others • Getting local/central government actors to engage in collaboration • Helping stakeholders coordinate with staff in other organizations • Building relationships that support collaboration • Evaluating organizational activities. 2 UNITED STATES AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT Implementing Programs and Services Interviewees related story after story of times when coordinated efforts resulted in better provision of services. Two stories in particular are highlighted which describe times in which coordination resulted in a higher standard of living for people. Challenges regarding implementation included: • Time spent waiting for government agencies to pass directives • Social unwillingness to address/acknowledge trafficking as a problem • Moving from ideas on paper to actual implementation. Improving coordination of policies and procedures The consensus amongst interviewees was that CAAHT helps stakeholders improve the coordination of their policies and procedures via the following key methods: • By implementing a coordination approach and creating a good model for coordination. By emphasizing coordination and encouraging others to participate, CAAHT brings a more collaborative approach to bear. • Through meetings, conferences and the initiation of local groups where actors can convene to establish relationships, exchange ideas and find means/opportunities for coordination. These meetings also serve to increase awareness and to give actors the opportunity to actively participate in anti-trafficking efforts. • Through the ANTTARC capacity building project which many stakeholders credit with improving and further developing their internal systems. • Through the Prime Minister’s Order, to the extent that support for the order came through CAAHT and the Order emerged from listening to people who were in the Regional Cluster Groups (RCGs). • By encouraging stakeholders to sign joint agreements and memoranda of understanding (MOUs) with other actors in the anti-trafficking movement. Learning about the work of others The majority of interviewees (83%) felt that the CAAHT initiative helps them learn about what others are doing through the meetings it facilitates. Meetings, such as the RCGs and the annual conference, offer stakeholders the opportunity to meet with one another and hear about each others activities. Forty-eight percent of the respondents said that the reports and publications that CAAHT produces are another means by which they keep abreast of others’ activities. Such publications include but are not limited to annual conference and grantee reports. Other means by which CAAHT helps stakeholder learn about others’ work include: • the CAAHT web page • trainings • grantee monitoring, site visits, and joint activities, and • the CAAHT database. A MID-TERM ASSESSMENT OF CAAHT COORDINATION - SEPTEMBER 2006 3 Getting local/central government actors to engage in collaboration Interviewees were asked to relay stories about times in which they had worked in a cooperative fashion with local/central government actors. Non-government stakeholders, even in instances where the collaboration had worked well, tended to have some criticism of their government counterparts. There was a perception that government actors were unengaged and that their participation was a hindrance at times. Conversely, government stakeholders, when asked to provide examples of challenges that arose while collaborating with other government agencies had surprisingly few comments of note. Both groups suggested that some training may be in order to improve the government’s capacity to deal with the trafficking issue. Systems & procedures supporting coordination Generally speaking, respondents acknowledged the importance of collaboration. More specifically, interviewees felt that they were supported in their coordination efforts when coordination was part of the organization’s policy or strategy. Cooperation agreements or Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) were considered to be important contributors to coordination. Networking and training programs were two other avenues that interviewees acknowledged as enabling coordination. Building relationships that support collaboration Many means of developing relationships were used by the stakeholders. The two most commonly noted ways of developing relationships involved meetings of some sort, either formal organizational meetings, or informal gatherings for coffee or drinks. Generally, direct contact was regarded as an important element in relationship building, although phone calls and emails were also used as a means of communication. CAAHT has helped to develop relationships by communicating the importance of collaboration and working together toward a common goal (namely the abolishment of human trafficking). In addition, the caché associated with being part of CAAHT also helps grantees open doors that may previously have been closed. Finally, CAAHT is credited with helping to initiate ways/opportunities for grantees and other stakeholders to identify contacts in the region (i.e. meetings, networking, group formation, etc….) Evaluating organizational activities This question sought to reveal whether and to what extent organizations coordinate with other organizations in evaluation of their activities. Forty-seven of the total 54 stakeholders responded to this question. Two of these respondents (4%) said they did not engage in evaluation on either a formal or informal level. Of the 45 stakeholders whose organizations conducted evaluations, 66% either did not specify whether the evaluations were formal or informal or said that they participated in formal evaluations. Twenty-one percent said that they engaged in both formal and informal evaluations, and 11% said that they engaged in only informal evaluations. Ways in which coordination was viewed as being part of the evaluative process included: ANTTARC’s technical assistance in creating questionnaires and developing internal evaluation procedures, and having coordination as an indicator/part of the evaluation. 4 UNITED STATES AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT Most valued aspects of collaboration Seventy-six percent of the interviewees stated that they valued the cooperation and coordination that has resulted from the CAAHT initiative. The readiness and willingness of stakeholders to collaborate is seen as being a key element to success in the fight against trafficking. It was noted that NGOs in Albania that are dependent on donors have traditionally had a competitive mindset which hinders cooperation. CAAHT, by giving money and other resources to stakeholders that engage in coordinated activities, has begun to change NGO practices. An environment in which different groups work together toward a common goal has begun to emerge. Wishes for the future Interviewees were asked to describe ways in which the CAAHT initiative could make coordination more effective by describing what they would wish for in order to create more of the successful experiences they had already achieved. Responses to this question provide insight into respondents’ priority existing or anticipated problems that need to be resolved in order to increase project successes. Stakeholders expressed the following types of wishes (listed in order of frequency): • Investing in capacity building (22) • Increased/better coordination (20) • Improving CAAHT processes (19) • Increased funding (18) • Strengthening government participation (16) • Planning for continuity/sustainability (11) • Coordinating with media (4) Conclusions The CAAHT initiative has had a tangible impact on the Anti-Trafficking actors working in Albania. Due in large part to CAAHT’s activities, NGOs are beginning to move away from a competitive mindset in which coordination was not particularly valued to a more collaborative approach. Not only do meetings, conferences and trainings bring various actors together, but the exchange of information and the networking that are created at such events serve in turn to increase the organizational capacities of the individual players. In terms of challenges associated with coordination, many were relayed. CAAHT has achieved significant successes through its coordination activities, still, there is a great deal of work to be done. There are many difficulties inherent in trying to achieve coordination amongst members of different organizations. In particular, the inclusion of government agencies has been difficult at times for a variety of reasons including the absence of directives, or slowness of their release which are thought to be necessary before local government actors will take any action. There is also the perception that some government agencies do not want to recognize that the problem of human trafficking exists. Nonetheless, if the anti-trafficking movement is to continue after the CAAHT initiative comes to a close, the Albanian government will need to play a key role. To that end, additional A MID-TERM ASSESSMENT OF CAAHT COORDINATION - SEPTEMBER 2006 5 training and involvement of government employees should be pursued and MOUs should continue to be established between NGOs and government agencies. Interviewees seemed to agree that the readiness and willingness of stakeholders to collaborate is a key element to success in the fight against trafficking. The data collected for this evaluation suggests that stakeholders are both ready and willing. 6 UNITED STATES AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT 1. INTRODUCTION This report assesses the impact of coordination as a core strategy of the Coordinated Action Against Human Trafficking (CAAHT) Program on grantees, beneficiaries, and other key stakeholders who have participated in the Albanian Initiative. The report provides an overview of the CAAHT program, a presentation of issues in the methodology, and a detailed description of the qualitative findings regarding ways in which the CAAHT initiative has made a difference in stakeholders’ use of a coordinated approach. Three short case studies in the form of “stakeholder stories” illustrate more fully the powerful impact experienced at the organizational and community levels. Also, aspects of collaboration that stakeholders value most, respondents’ wishes for the future and some evaluation-based conclusions about the impacts of the CAAHT initiative are offered. This report also includes the reflection and feedback on the draft report of data and findings from key CAAHT stakeholders who participated in this assessment process. This feedback was gathered during a CAAHT Workshop for this purpose held on September 13, 2006 in Albania. Many of the participants were interviewed for the evaluation and offer insight into the findings of the study and the utility of the workshop. Appendices include further information on the evaluation methodology, the interview protocol, detailed wishes for the future of those interviewed, and the September 13 workshop evaluation report 1.1 Program Overview The Coordinated Action Against Human Trafficking (CAAHT) program is a three-year-funded USAID anti-trafficking program focused on significantly decreasing the occurrence of trafficking in Albania and providing positive reintegration experiences for those affected by trafficking. CAAHT Coordination Approach A key component of the CAAHT program has been to promote improved coordination of trafficking prevention activities and assistance programs for victims of trafficking between civil society and government, as well as among civil society actors, especially at the level of the qark. The purpose of this coordination approach is two-fold; first to improve the quality and efficiency of prevention programs and direct assistance to victims of trafficking; and second, to enhance the geographic distribution of programs and services more evenly throughout the country. Through its coordination strategy, CAAHT has mobilized the knowledge and resources of Albania's "anti-trafficking community" in order to promote sharing of information and techniques, to clarify roles and responsibilities among government actors and between government and civil society; and to encourage more efficient and effective use of human, financial and institutional resources throughout the country. A philosophy of coordination…. Even more than a mechanism in the CAAHT program, coordination is a philosophy and an approach. - CAAHT A MID-TERM ASSESSMENT OF CAAHT COORDINATION - SEPTEMBER 2006 7 This coordination philosophy is grounded in the belief that Albania has a substantial number of government officials, NGOs staff and community leaders who sincerely want to combat trafficking of the children and women of their country, and help support and reintegrate those who have become its victims. CAAHT has supported these anti-trafficking actors through establishing Regional Cluster Groups, Annual Conferences and technical workshops. CAAHT grants also gave priority to projects that utilized coordination approaches and that built partnerships among NGOs and between NGOs and local government offices. Need for Coordination in Anti-Trafficking Work Trafficking in human beings is a complex phenomenon that is related to multiple fields and interests, such as migration, organized crime, corruption, labor, prostitution, human rights, unequal international economic relationships, gender issues, violence against women, etc. Effective anti-trafficking responses require a combination and coordination of all sectors and stakeholders, especially police, social services, education and labor - both governmental and nongovernmental. Trafficking of human beings has been primarily addressed as a law enforcement concern. It is important that law enforcement actors understand the severity of this crime against the person, and that they are committed to investigating and prosecuting its perpetrators. However, vulnerability to this criminal activity is grounded in the complex factors of economic conditions, family situations, and the dreams and abilities of individuals and their families. A complex, “interdisciplinary” approach is needed that combines the resources, knowledge and expertise of different stakeholders to develop measures to prevent and combat trafficking and to provide services that best fit with the needs of the children, women and their families who are vulnerable to trafficking or who have already suffered its consequences. 1.2 Background of the Evaluation Since its inception in October 2003, CAAHT has made significant progress in moving toward its goals of increasing coverage and building capacity for anti-trafficking work in Albania. These goals were ambitious, given the social and political context in Albania, the low levels of cooperation and trust in the Albanian society, and the complex issues involved in anti￾trafficking work. In August 2006, Creative Associates International, Inc. was awarded a contract modification extending the project to September 2009. As the project moves into this extension phase, the CAAHT program wishes to assess the coordination efforts it has implemented in its first three years of activity. In addition, it wishes to increase its participatory approach to evaluation. As such, the goals of this evaluation are to: • Develop understanding about key issues and concerns related to anti-trafficking work through an appreciative interview process • Capture lessons and successes of the project in real time, and strengthen the project’s learning community and capacity for change • Contribute to the project’s goals through learning, knowledge sharing, and increased accountability • Expand the evaluative capacity in the project and its key stakeholders in Albania 8 UNITED STATES AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT 1.2.1 Methodology The evaluation team chose an appreciative evaluation3 methodology for the evaluation. The methodology is more fully described in section 7.1, Appendix A. The application of Appreciative Inquiry to evaluation focuses the evaluation on the systematic study of success and an entry point for assessing strengths and weaknesses in a project or organization. The evaluation team used appreciative evaluation for the following reasons: • Client and stakeholders were excited about the process of learning from the study of success. • Of particular value was the success of appreciative evaluation processes to clarify desirable outcomes and illuminate the linkages between these outcomes and measurable indicators. • The appreciative approach fit in well with the goal of the project to become a learning system and catalyze learning in Albanian society. • The interviewing component of the appreciative process is particularly suited for building evaluative capacity in the project and its stakeholders. This evaluation is intended to be complimentary to the Performance Management Plan evaluation activities of CAAHT implemented by World Learning. Planning for the evaluation involved a focusing meeting held in spring 2006, the development of a logic model and evaluation plan based on feedback from that meeting that was modified and approved by CAAHT staff, development of an interview guide, training interviewers, and conducting in-depth interviews with 54 project stakeholders. The interview guide is included as section 7.2, Appendix B. Interviews were conducted by ANTTARC and CAAHT staff as well as an EnCompass consultant. This participatory evaluation approach was deemed to be appropriate given the capacity building and learning goals inherent in the project. Interviews were conducted over a two-month period in English and Albanian. Stakeholders included grantees, beneficiaries, and other key Initiative participants. Interviews conducted in Albanian were translated into English for analysis and inclusion in this report. Interviewees were each asked to relate a story of a time when coordination with another organization was used in implementing a program or service. In addition, respondents were asked to make note of any challenges that they encountered during the implementation of the project. Participants were also asked to make explicit their values related to their professional involvement in anti-trafficking, and their wishes for building more success in the coordination strategy of the CAAHT. ATLAS.ti, a professional grade QDA software geared toward qualitative analysis of large bodies of textual data, was used to analyze interview data as well as supporting documentation provided by CAAHT. 3 Preskill & Catsambas, Reframing Evaluation Through Appreciative Inquiry, Sage Publications, 2006. A MID-TERM ASSESSMENT OF CAAHT COORDINATION - SEPTEMBER 2006 9 1.2.2 Response Rates Table 1 below shows the stakeholder groups that participated in this evaluation. Through the in-depth interviews, data was collected from a total of 54 stakeholders including 19 from grantee organizations, 13 government officials, and 22 other key stakeholders. A list of potential interviewees was compiled by CAAHT and those interviewed were individuals who could be reached and who agreed to the interview. Interviews lasted from 30 minutes to one hour. TABLE 1. ASSESSMENT RESPONDENTS FOR CAAHT EVALUATION Sought Responded Response Rate (%) Government officials 22 13 59% CAAHT Grantees 22 19 86% NGOs (not CAAHT grantees) 10 5 50% Intergovernmental organizations 4 3 75% USAID 2 1 50% Friends4 4 2 50% ANTTARC staff5 4 4 100% CAAHT staff6 8 7 88% 1.2.3 Issues to Consider in this Assessment In an effort to identify the impact of the coordination objective in the CAAHT program, it is important to keep two issues in mind. First, it is likely that interviewees contacted for this evaluation had used collaboration and coordination in the past. The question being considered for this assessment is the extent to which participation in CAAHT has influenced stakeholders’ approach to coordination. Because coordination is not new to many of the stakeholders, it was sometimes difficult to attribute coordinated activities entirely to the CAAHT program itself. In an effort to mitigate this complication, participants were asked specifically to think about their involvement in CAAHT while answering the questions. With this caveat in mind, participants were able to identify impacts which they attributed to the program. In addition, the impact of coordination is often seen over time. Projects that need to be coordinated through multiple organizations are often implemented more slowly. Therefore, the impact of coordination for projects in the pipeline is expected to be seen over time. 4 "Friends" refers to government and NGO representatives that have not actively participated in CAAHT activities but are familiar enough with CAAHT work to offer observations about CAAHT coordination efforts. 5 ANTTARC is an NGO that was a CAAHT grantee to provide capacity building support to other CAAHT grantees, rather than direct implementation of prevention or assistance/reintegration programming. Therefore, they are listed separately from the NGO categories of implementing anti￾trafficking NGOs noted previously. 6 The CAAHT driver/logistician was invited to be interviewed, but he asked to be excused. 10 UNITED STATES AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT 2. DEFINING SUCCESSFUL COORDINATION One of the benefits of using an appreciative evaluation methodology is the information it provides on the meaning that respondents attribute to the words we use. The focusing session held in late spring 2006 helped the evaluation team to clarify what CAAHT staff and stakeholders meant by “coordination.” It helped to understand the dimensions of coordination—strength, levels, actors, etc. These dimensions of coordination were then reflected in the interview guide developed by the evaluation team and refined by CAAHT. The data collected, in turn, provide deeper insight into the nature of coordination, the key elements and essential features of successful coordination for CAAHT and its stakeholders. Essential Elements for Successful Coordination In analyzing the data collected, the evaluation team found the following elements in stories of successful coordination: • Coordinating actors share the desire to work toward solutions to complex problems. • Those involved offer complementary services. • Transparency, good will and trust exist between coordinating parties. • There is a clear division of labor and actors understand their roles and responsibilities. • Coordinating parties allocate appropriate resources and build capacities when necessary (e.g., conduct trainings, etc.). Characteristics of Partners Involved in Successful Coordination Actors that successfully coordinate with others to provide more efficient and timely services to victims seem to have the following in common: • They institutionalize coordination at an organizational level by including coordination in their strategies/policies. • Coordination/collaboration is considered in evaluations they conduct. • They actively pursue the development of relationships with others. • They are viewed as being open and display a willingness to exchange/share information. Types of Impact of Successful Coordination In addition to the common traits noted above, the data suggests that successful coordination results in the following types of impact: • Target groups are reached. • Awareness is increased at the community and organizational levels. • Relationships between participating actors are formed and enhanced. • Due to their success, actors exhibit an increased willingness to coordinate with each other and with others for future projects. A MID-TERM ASSESSMENT OF CAAHT COORDINATION - SEPTEMBER 2006 11 • Due to capacity building that results from the collaboration, actors are better positioned to have a positive impact on future collaborative efforts. • A more collaborative mindset, along with the enhanced ties that form between participating actors, leads to increased networking and referral systems. 12 UNITED STATES AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT 3. DIFFERENCES IN STAKEHOLDER PERSPECTIVES A number of stakeholder groups provided feedback regarding ways that coordination has impacted anti-trafficking work in Albania. The various groups involved in this evaluation are presented in Chart 1 below. Chart 1. Distribution of Respondents Government officials, 13 CAAHT Grantees, 19 Intergovernment al organizations, 3 USAID, 1 Friends, 2 ANTTARC staff, 4 CAAHT staff, 7 NGOs (not CAAHT grantees), 5 While there is much consensus amongst the groups regarding the effects of coordination, some differences can also be discerned. Primarily, unique perspectives can be seen in the responses of government officials, grantees/other NGOs, and CAAHT/ANTTARC employees. Government Organizations Government interviewees generally felt that they were open to involvement in coordinated activities. It was noted that some NGOs, due to a desire for independence, are not as cooperative or transparent as they ought to be in their dealings with governmental agencies. Consequently the exchange of information between NGOs and government agencies was considered to be less than ideal. In addition, government interviewees noted that the role of the qark in coordinating anti-trafficking efforts ought to be enhanced and that capacity building in the form of training for government employees ought to be pursued. Grantees/other NGOs Not surprisingly, grantees and representatives of NGOs that are not currently funded by CAAHT echoed the government sentiment that there is a lack of coordination that sometimes exists between the government and non-governmental groups. However, grantees/other NGOs placed the responsibility for this deficiency on the government’s shoulders by indicating that: • Government employees tend to work only on the basis of directives which are handed down from above. • High turnover in government staff results in a loss of time and the necessity to re￾develop previously established relationships. • The government wants control and is less likely to view NGOs as equal partners. A MID-TERM ASSESSMENT OF CAAHT COORDINATION - SEPTEMBER 2006 13 CAAHT/ANTTARC CAAHT and ANTTARC staff acknowledged that there is work that must still be done to encourage the institutionalization of coordination and creating sustainability to fight the phenomenon of human trafficking. These interviewees often pointed to the difficulties inherent in trying to “find a common language” and accommodating the needs of participating stakeholders. One respondent pointed out that the lack of information regarding the actions of non-CAAHT grantees is a limitation that inhibits the development of a complete framework regarding anti-trafficking activities. Through training and project development, CAAHT staff hope to continue building awareness regarding anti-trafficking and the importance of coordination. General findings that reflect the views of the stakeholders as a whole are presented in the following sections of this evaluation. 14 UNITED STATES AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT 4. FINDINGS In the interviews, respondents described significant qualitative impacts that can be categorized into five distinct but interrelated areas: • Improving coordination of policies and procedures • Learning about the work of others • Coordinating with staff in other organizations • Building relationships that support collaboration • Evaluating organizational activities. In addition several stories are presented to convey the impact of CAAHT at: • Times when coordination resulted in better implementation of programs and services • Times when the local/central government collaborated with non-government stakeholders • Times when the local/central government collaborated with other government agencies on a specific project activity. Finally the section on findings will summarize the wishes of stakeholders that participated in these interviews for strengthening coordination on behalf of anti-trafficking results. 4.1 Implementation of Programs and Services through Coordination Interviewees were asked to share stories about their experience in coordination in the CAAHT project. These stories conveyed the power of cooperation and coordination to motivate social action, to reach and protect those in need, and to engage in synergistic and efficient activities. Common themes that emerged from the stories are: • Common vision • Honoring of every organization’s role • A commitment to working collaboratively • Deep valuing of the beneficiaries—there is a strong message that these young people matter! The impact of coordination at the program and service delivery level as seen in the stories can be summarized as follows: • Greater empowerment in anti-trafficking action resulting in an increased number of services • Clearer focus on what needs to be done • Getting results—reaching those in need Two stories are presented below to demonstrate these types of impact. A MID-TERM ASSESSMENT OF CAAHT COORDINATION - SEPTEMBER 2006 15 Story 1: Sharing Information at the Regional Council: Good Practices in Community Action Against Human Trafficking Project The Regional Council is the place we share information – we give information and receive information including identification of youth especially girls with problems in their families that might be potential victims of trafficking….(At) the pedagogical school the teacher of the sociology and education provides information on the local TV on trafficked girls. Together with the Director of the school and the Executive Director of the Community Center we have met with the teacher and have discussed to fully identify the potential victims of trafficking at school. Also, we have discussed about the typical cases: they run away from home and/or demonstrate undesired behavior. Eighteen girls were identified. Due to individualized work with them, they have changed their behavior. This is confirmed by their parents and friends. They passed in school and demonstrate good behavior. - Local Government Interviewee Story 2: Two Girls from Peqin This case was signaled by the anti-trafficking table of Elbasan, which was originally created with the support of the TACT project of Terres des hommes, supported by USAID. There was coordination between the anti-trafficking unit of the police, Terre des Hommes, State Social Service, and Another Vision. Coordination was needed to prevent the trafficking of two girls from Peqin (Prefecture of Elbasan). The case and the way to intervene were thoroughly discussed. Specific responsibilities for each actor were assigned - the girls were detached from the family and the environment where they were living, offering residential services, etc. They were accepted in the shelter where they are still living today. The police were instrumental in relating to their detachment from the family and the environment where they used to live (there was a pressure from others outside the family who were exploiting the girls). Terre des Hommes identified the case through its office in Peqin. State Social Services of Elbasan facilitated their documentation to be accepted in shelter. Coordination is crucial in the area of human trafficking because it is so complex a phenomenon. Different actors, like police and social services and education all contact the person. “Services and even people can fall through the gaps if there is not good coordination.” Without coordination, different messages can be given that produce confusion and work is often too sectoral to be carried out efficiently. - Grantee Interviewee In terms of challenges associated with coordination, many were relayed. CAAHT has coordinated a great deal but it seems that there is still a great deal of work to be done. Effective networking remains a challenge. Some of the key issues identified by interviewees are presented below: • One interviewee pointed out a sentiment that was echoed by others, “We have a lot of papers and national strategy and all that but there is little on the ground knowing about how to apply this in reality...it needs to be translated; people do not know how to carry out what is written.” • Local organizations, NGOs and government organizations, will not take any initiatives without an order or directive from a national office or headquarters. • The role of the Qark in the coordination of anti-trafficking efforts is problematic. One interviewee noted that the Qark has not been involved so far in anti-trafficking actions. Because the Prefect and Qark coordinate the activity of local governments 16 UNITED STATES AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT and the central government, the qark-level has mechanisms for the success of this initiative. The interviewee further noted that the Regional Council (Qark) coordinates the work of local governments and that problems are different in different areas. By way of recommendation, the interviewee suggested that a regional analysis be undertaken in which the Qark cooperates with the Directorate of Police. “The region can provide information on problems, economic development of different areas, and propose what actions should be taken. The Council can coordinate activities with the participation of local governments and NPOs (for example meetings). This enables communication, exchange of information, debate, etc. The Qark can also play an awareness role and cooperate to distribute promotional materials (such as posters, leaflets, etc.). There is confusion about the functioning of the Prefect and local government. The Prefect is the representative of the central government near local government that takes care of the implementation of law.” • The role of NGOs. Non-profit organizations cannot effectively meet the needs of the community because they do not have the infrastructure, remain highly theoretical, and do not provide concrete examples that are also understandable. Therefore, their awareness activities are not effective. Non-profit organizations should specialize and develop their experience. Communication between governmental and non￾governmental organizations has not been at the desired level. Non-profit organizations do not cooperate with the local government: they would like to be independent. Non-profit organizations should find the mechanisms to cooperate with the local government. • Areas in need are not covered. Attention should focus on places of origin. • Social efforts to hide the existence of human trafficking/discussion related to this problem is accepted with difficulty and discussions are painful. There is lack of cultural acceptance at many levels. • Funds to work against human trafficking are insufficient. 4.2 Improving Coordination of Policies and Procedures Interviewees were asked to consider ways in which the CAAHT Initiative helped them to improve coordination of policies and procedures at the organizational level. Forty-eight interviewees addressed this question and the consensus was that CAAHT has helped via the following key methods: • By implementing a coordination approach and creating a good model for coordination. For example, one stakeholder noted CAAHT’s work in Puka, where CAAHT conducted meetings with the local actors even before the project in Puka started. CAAHT met with the Mayor, the Directorate of Education, the police and other organizations to discuss what the contributions of each of these groups might be. By emphasizing coordination and encouraging others to participate, CAAHT brings a more collaborative approach to bear. • Through meetings, conferences and the initiation of local groups where actors can convene to establish relationships, exchange ideas and find means/opportunities for coordination. These meetings also serve to increase awareness and to give actors the opportunity to actively participate in anti-trafficking. Twenty (42%) of the respondents noted this method as having an important effect on improving the coordination of policies and procedures at the organizational level. A MID-TERM ASSESSMENT OF CAAHT COORDINATION - SEPTEMBER 2006 17 • Through the ANTTARC capacity building project which many stakeholders (5) credit with improving and further developing their internal systems. • Through the Prime Minister’s Order, to the extent that the concept of qark-level inter￾governmental and NGO coordination of anti-trafficking, as consolidated in the Order, came through CAAHT and the Order emerged from listening to people who were in the Regional Cluster Groups (RCGs). • By encouraging stakeholders to sign joint agreements and memoranda of understanding (MOUs) with other actors in the anti-trafficking movement. MOUS which were noted include: o MOUs have been signed with different government institutions at the local level. o anti-trafficking police signed a MOU with ICMC working group. o DORCAS Foundation has signed cooperation agreements and MOUs with Manuel Foundation, Tabita Foundation, “Help for Children” Association, Regional Education Directorate, four schools involved in the 9-year education system, and four other schools involved in the vocational education system. o Another Vision has prepared a MOU with the Prefecture, Labor Office, Municipality, Education Directorate, etc. o A MOU was signed by all members of the anti-trafficking table. o Center for Counseling Women and Girls signed agreements with the Community Center and the Education Department. o Gjirokastra Community Center signed MOUs with different actors including the police, Regional Social Services, the Regional Employment Office, Regional Education Department, Vatra and the Municipality’s Social Assistance Office. o There is a Regional Education Strategy joint statement. o IGAP has an agreement with the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs. o “Vatra” Psycho-Social Center’s MOU with the Community Center in Gjirokastra, Murialdo Social Center in Fier, and the Foundation “Rruga me Pisha” in Tirana. In addition to the feedback reported above, eleven stakeholders noted challenges they had encountered in coordinating policies and/or procedures for anti-trafficking. Challenges included the following: How CAAHT has improved the coordination of policies and procedures “Unlike other projects, the novelty that CAAHT brought was the introduction of the cooperation spirit between government institutions and NGOs operating in the area of anti-trafficking. I can say that CAAHT was the project that finalized the efforts that had been initiated in the Minister of State Office in the previous government for the establishment of Regional Anti-Trafficking Committees. Now those institutions and NGOs have signed specific cooperation agreements, as formalized in various memoranda of understanding and draft-agreements.” - NGO Interviewee 18 UNITED STATES AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT • Generating and maintaining cooperation amongst stakeholders is a challenge. (4) • Linking Qarqe, regions and then the government has been a challenge. (2) • It is time to stop focusing on policies and turn toward implementation. (2) • The fact that a special order or directive has not been issued by the respective ministries on fighting human trafficking creates a “dilemma” for anti-trafficking actors. One stakeholder noted that putting such a decree in the disposition would further facilitate support and involvement in the coordination and implementation of the national strategy itself. • It was difficult to accurately identify the “target group” to be provided with educational, socio-economic and employment assistance. • It was difficult to accurately identify which beneficiaries had not been supported previously by other donor organizations and local/central administrative institutions. • Shelters are not currently linked to financing. • One coalition felt it should have been involved as a whole organization rather than through its individual members. • One program felt that if it had been more involved in the CAAHT initiative, it would have increased the number of identified cases and the quality of its services. • Information exchange among actors was not continuous and they did not exchange information about their activities. • Developing trust in remote regions can be a challenge. 4.3 Learning About the Work of Others Forty-eight respondents provided feedback on ways in which the CAAHT initiative helps them learn about what others are doing. Eighty-three percent of these interviewees felt that CAAHT helps through the meetings it facilitates. Meetings, such as the RCGs and the annual conference, offer stakeholders the opportunity to meet with one another and exchange information regarding each others’ activities. Forty-eight percent of the respondents7 said that the reports and publications that CAAHT produces are another means by which they keep abreast of others’ activities. Such publications include but are not limited to annual conference and grantee reports, brochures and other materials published by CAAHT. Chart 2 shows the most frequently noted responses offered by the 47 interviewees who answered this question. 7 %’s refer to the % of interviewees that answered the question under consideration How CAAHT helps stakeholders learn about each other…. “CAAHT has started us in a dance which we all perform together. This has encouraged us to meet both formally and informally as collaborators. It is in such meetings that I have learned about activities that are carried out.” - Education Department Interviewee A MID-TERM ASSESSMENT OF CAAHT COORDINATION - SEPTEMBER 2006 19 Chart 2. Ways CAAHT Helps Stakeholders Learn about Others’ Activities 4 10 13 17 23 Meetings 40 Reports and publications CAAHT web page Trainings Grantee monitoring/site visits/joint activities CAAHT database In terms of the web page which 35% of the respondents felt was a source of information regarding others, one interviewee suggested that the page could be more flexible and could include forms and information from grantees. This respondent felt that using the web page for exchange would help to facilitate coordination. Another interviewee suggested that CAAHT could send out an email when new information is posted on the web site so that stakeholders can keep up with the latest news. Generally, stakeholders used the website to learn about organizations that had received support from CAAHT and that operated in various districts, to determine whether certain organizations worked with specific beneficiary groups, and to get up-to-date information regarding CAAHT’s activities. Trainings, particularly those organized by ANTTARC, were noted as being useful both in terms of capacity building and in terms of creating a forum for information exchange. 4.4 Systems & Procedures Supporting Coordination Interviewees provided feedback on ways in which they are supported to coordinate with staff in other organizations. In particular, stakeholders were asked to consider how coordination is recognized as an important project strategy by their organizations and ways in which sustaining coordination with other organizations could be helped. They were asked to identify specific systems or procedures that support coordination. Forty-eight stakeholders responded to this question. Generally speaking, all of the respondents acknowledged the importance of collaboration. Chart 3 shows the most frequently noted ways in which interviewees felt they were supported in their coordination efforts. CAAHT’s support of coordination with other organizations…. “CAAHT has helped us build and strengthen our capacities by providing support for new organizations operating in the area of fighting human trafficking. It has enabled real transfer of good practices from experienced organizations to the newly-established ones. CAAHT has achieved this by establishing the necessary cooperation networks.” -- Grantee Interviewee 20 UNITED STATES AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT Chart 3. Ways in which Stakeholders are supported in Coordination Activities 4 4 6 15 By having coordination as a part of organizational policy/strategy Through cooperation agreements Through participation in networks Through training programs Other means of support mentioned include: • National anti-trafficking strategies and action plans • RCGs • Exchanging/sharing information with others • The Council of Ministers decision that requires the NGOs to be registered and to inform the municipality about their work • Referrals • The openness of anti-trafficking actors to coordinate with one another Comments regarding factors that may help to sustain coordination included the following: • If donors who focus on anti-trafficking meet and coordinate with each other, so that they know what others are doing (2) • Continuing encouragement and support from the Chief of Party would help to maintain relationships/direct contact with staff from other agencies/organizations and to strengthen cooperation with these actors • The convergence of NGO and government strategies • Having the Regional Council coordinate activities with the participation of local governments and NGOs. • Clearing up the confusion about the function of the Prefect and the role of the local government • If coordination and collaboration is taken seriously, not only established • If counterparts to the collaboration have it as a policy/strategy • Continued support to actual grantees and to potential ones • Having less turnover at the NGOs • Having less resistance to effective cooperation A MID-TERM ASSESSMENT OF CAAHT COORDINATION - SEPTEMBER 2006 21 4.5 Building Relationships that Support Collaboration To assess the depth and closeness of relationships that support collaboration, stakeholders were asked to relay ways in which their organizations developed positive relationships with staff in other organizations and the government. Fifty interviewees responded to this question. Chart 4 shows the most commonly mentioned means by which relationships are developed/maintained. Chart 4. Avenues Used to Develop Relationships with Others 4 10 12 12 12 13 Formal meetings (individual/group) 17 Informal meetings (coffee/drinks) Sharing of information/expertise Joint-activities Phone calls Emails Establishment of networks Two most commonly noted ways of developing relationships involved a meeting of some sort. Generally, direct contact was regarded as being an important element in relationship building. CAAHT has helped to develop these relationships by communicating the importance of collaboration and working together toward a common goal of abolishing human trafficking. In addition, the caché associated with being part of CAAHT also helps grantees open doors that may previously have been closed. Finally, CAAHT is credited with helping to initiate ways/opportunities for grantees and other stakeholders to identify contacts in the region (i.e. meetings, networking, group formation, etc….) In some cases, interviewees mentioned the topics of conversation that are addressed in their interactions with staff from other organizations. The following topics were specifically addressed: • Work coordination • Upcoming activities • Referrals • The status of the trafficking phenomenon • The sustainability of the organizations • Ways to improve the services that each organization provides • Personal/informal conversations How CAAHT has helped stakeholders build relationships… “If you work alone you cannot do much. CAAHT has helped me identify the actors in the regions and also in the social assistance programs. I now have some really good contacts to make regional partners.” - Government Interviewee 22 UNITED STATES AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT 4.6 Evaluating Organizational/institutional Activities Stakeholders were asked whether their organizations/institutions evaluated their activities on either a formal or informal basis. Those whose organizations/institutions engaged in evaluation of some sort were then asked to comment on the extent to which they coordinated with other organizations in the evaluative process. Interviewees whose organizations or institutions did not currently participate in evaluative processes were asked to think about how coordination might be useful and what groups they might coordinate with in an evaluation. Forty-seven stakeholders responded to this question. Two of these respondents (4%) said they did not engage in evaluation on either a formal or informal level. Of the 45 stakeholders whose organizations conducted evaluations, 66% either did not specify whether the evaluations where formal or informal or they said that they participated in formal evaluations. Twenty-three percent said that they engaged in both formal and informal evaluations, and 11% (5) referred to their evaluations as being of an informal nature. Three out of these five stakeholders were representatives of government institutions. For those who specified the timing of such events, evaluations were conducted on monthly, quarterly or annual bases. Evaluation methods used included: • Questionnaires • Interviews • Observations and staff meetings • Post-training evaluations • External evaluations • Self-evaluations • Joint-evaluations Ways in which coordination was viewed as being part of the evaluative process included: ANTTARC’s technical assistance in creating questionnaires and developing internal evaluation procedures and having coordination as an indicator/part of the evaluation. Several interviewees mentioned that they conduct evaluations because they are a part of the CAAHT program. 4.7 When the Local/Central Government Actors Collaborate with Non-government Stakeholders The following story was provided by a grantee interviewee and illustrates an example of a time when the local government collaborated with a non-government stakeholder to fight human trafficking in Albania. A MID-TERM ASSESSMENT OF CAAHT COORDINATION - SEPTEMBER 2006 23 A story from Luf Cooperation with the local government institutions has been for both awareness (information sessions on anti-trafficking at schools and house visits to potential victims) and re-integration (vocational courses on tailoring and computers for women and girls) activities. Our organization has cooperated with different local government institutions including the Municipalities of Puka and Fushe-Arrez, the commune of Luf, the Education Office, directorates of schools, etc. The cooperation with the Education Office and school directorates has focused on the realization of information sessions at schools. They have been useful relating to identification of classes and groups as well as conducting the sessions. With local governments-municipalities and communes-we have cooperated for the identification of potential victims of trafficking and their inclusion in vocational courses and schools as well as organization of round tables. We have also cooperated with the police for the prevention of potential human trafficking. Here is a story from Luf, Puke, to illustrate our cooperation with the local government. Two families in Luf were in conflict with each other. A man from one family had forcefully taken one girl from the other family being at the same time her godfather. The situation was tense. Moreover, being afraid of the godfather, the girl’s family (composed of two brothers living in the same house) was not allowing two other girls of the family to go to school. We cooperated with the commune and village representatives and the school to convince the family to let the girls return to school. The Executive Director of the association, the psychologist, and the social worker met with the Deputy Mayor of the commune and the Elder of the village and discussed this issue. Also they talked to the Director of the school and the teacher of two girls. For three months, more than six visits were conducted as a group to the girls’ family. Finally, they returned to school. Moreover, two other girls of this family have attended the vocational course on tailoring of the association in Puka. - Grantee Interviewee Challenges related by interviewees regarding coordination with local/central governments were many of the same noted in the section under the effect of coordination on project implementation. In particular the passivity of certain government actors and the lack of direction from above where noted by many. The difficulties associated in “finding a common language” and purpose were also noted. 4.8 When the Local/Central Government Actors Collaborate with other Government Organizations Stakeholders from the government were asked to relay examples of times when government agencies coordinated their activities to reach a goal related to anti-trafficking. One story provided by the Director of the Regional Education Department is detailed below. Story of the Commune of Antigone In the Commune of Antigone, five people lived off begging in the street, thus being exposed to risks. “I personally took care of their issue and contacted various people to make them aware of their case. Afterwards, I contacted the Head of the Commune, and together we enrolled those children at school and followed their learning progress.” - Grantee Interviewee 24 UNITED STATES AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT This example illustrates coordination on the parts of various government officials. Other examples, primarily of work that government agencies had done together in various groups, were conveyed. One issue noted by multiple respondents was the lack of awareness government officials sometimes displayed regarding trafficking issues. It was suggested that the government actors be trained in order to build their capacity for dealing with anti￾trafficking problems. 4.9 Most Valued Aspects of Collaboration Interviewees were asked about what they value most in their collaboration with others. Fifty stakeholders responded to the question and the largest number of these (40) indicated that they valued the cooperation and coordination that has resulted from the CAAHT initiative. Regarding the importance of coordination and CAAHT’s role in propelling coordination forward, one interviewee from CAAHT had the following to say: “I have seen what happens in re-integration if there is no coordination, what happens to the victim who gets dropped through the gaps. Re￾integration cannot work well without coordination. If we can see a gap in the field and if we can get the national office in Tirana to issue a directive, then people at the local level will talk to each other, otherwise they will not.” The CAAHT interviewee’s story illustrates the importance of involving all the actors in the anti-trafficking movement. Generally, respondents seemed to agree that the readiness and willingness of stakeholders to collaborate is a key element to success in the fight against trafficking. It was noted that NGOs in Albania that are dependent on donors have traditionally had a competitive mindset that hindered cooperation. CAAHT, by giving money and other resources to stakeholders that engage in coordinated activities, has begun to change NGO practices and an environment in which different groups work together toward a common goal has begun to emerge. Ten stakeholders commented on the value of the efficiencies that have been created as a result of the CAAHT alliance. By encouraging stakeholders to share information, resources and networking, CAAHT has enabled many to work in a more timely and efficient manner. Another valued aspect of collaboration has been the positive and concrete relationships that have formed through the process of coordination. The strength of a given coordination/collaboration seems to be directly related to the strength of the relationships that exist between the collaborating parties themselves. One interviewee pointed out that CAAHT’s impact on collaboration… I value the “sharing of information and ideas, capacity building, the new working spirit (as opposed to being closed), and the use of resources. ANTTARC has been willing to provide information on anything it is asked to; the same can be said about CAAHT. Such positive experiences have made us behave in the same way. So, our association has sent all its community materials and modules to the Prefect’s Office.” - Grantee Interviewee A MID-TERM ASSESSMENT OF CAAHT COORDINATION - SEPTEMBER 2006 25 relationships between collaborators cannot prosper if the parties do not participate in each other’s activities. Finally, it was noted by some that cooperation can lead to capacity building through the sharing of experiences and the participation in joint activities and/or training. 4.10 Wishes for the Future The final question posed to interviewees related to ways in which the CAAHT initiative could make coordination more effective. Responses to this question provide insight into respondents’ priority existing or anticipated problems that need to be resolved in order to increase project successes. The wishes expressed by stakeholders can be loosely grouped in several categories. Respondents wished for: • Capacity building • Increased/better coordination • CAAHT processes • Funding • Government involvement • Continuity/sustainability • Other • The media Chart 5. Means of Enabling More Effective Coordination 4 7 11 16 18 19 20 Capacity building 22 Increased coordination Changing CAAHT processes Funding Government involvement Continuity/Sustainability Other Media Chart 5 above shows the frequency and types of wishes made. A detailed list of the wishes that were made in each category is presented in the section 7.3 Appendix C in this report. 26 UNITED STATES AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT 5. EVALUATION CONCLUSIONS One of the foundations of the CAAHT initiative is the belief that human trafficking can be more easily overcome if the various actors working in the arena come together to cooperate and collaborate with one another. This belief was echoed by the 54 stakeholders interviewed for this evaluation. Based on their feedback, one can see that the CAAHT initiative has had a tangible impact on coordination amongst the anti-trafficking actors working in Albania. Due in large part to CAAHT’s activities, NGOs are beginning to move away from a competitive mindset in which coordination was not particularly valued to a more collaborative approach. Meetings, conferences and trainings are not only means of bringing various actors together, but the exchange of information and the networking that are created at such events serve in turn to increase the organizational capacities of the individual players. More and more, stakeholders are seeing the value in developing both formal and informal relationships with staff from other organizations. In terms of challenges associated with coordination, many were relayed. CAAHT has achieved significant success in its coordination activities, but it seems that there is still a great deal of work to be done. Effective functioning of this informal networking remains a challenge and challenges that were noted by many include the difficulties inherent in trying to coordinate members of different organizations. In particular, the inclusion of government agencies has been difficult at times for a variety of reasons, including the need for directives and the sense that some government agencies do not want to recognize the existence of the problem of human trafficking. Nonetheless, if the anti-trafficking movement is to continue after the CAAHT initiative comes to a close, the Albanian government will need to play a key role. To that end, additional training and involvement of government employees should be pursued and MOUs should continue being established between NGOs and government agencies. Interviewees seemed to agree that the readiness and willingness of stakeholders to collaborate is a key element to success in the fight against trafficking. The data collected for this evaluation seems to suggest that the stakeholders are both ready and willing. With continued perseverance and coordination on the part of CAAHT, its grantees and the local and central governments, there is every reason to believe that great strides can be made toward abolishing human trafficking in Albania. A MID-TERM ASSESSMENT OF CAAHT COORDINATION - SEPTEMBER 2006 27 6. STAKEHOLDER FEEDBACK ON EVALUATION REPORT The Coordinated Action Against Human Trafficking Workshop held on September 13, 2006 was conducted in order to solicit feedback on the draft evaluation report, and to deepen understanding of the role and issues related to coordination in the CAAHT project. The second part of the workshop provided an introduction to Appreciative Inquiry (AI). The Appreciative Inquiry experience was specifically designed to elicit a deeper conversation and understanding about coordination between civil society organizations and the government at the national and local levels. In addition, participants were asked to provide feedback on the usefulness and potential for using AI in anti-trafficking work in Albania. There were thirty-eight workshop participants with representatives of CAAHT, ANTTARC, NGOs, government institutions, and donors. Many of the representatives participated in the evaluation study as interviewers and/or interviewees. Feedback and ideas were shared through small group work and via a workshop evaluation disseminated at the end of the program. 6.1 Small Group Work Participants worked in five small groups to develop ideas regarding: • Expectations • Significant factors from the evaluation impacting CAAHT’s work • Key successes in coordination and wishes for the future The feedback from this workshop is presented on the following pages. Expectations At the outset of the workshop, small groups worked to develop lists of expectations that they had for the event. Collectively, the groups came up with 30 expectations which predominantly centered on assessing the current anti-trafficking situation, looking toward the future, and assimilating an appreciative approach to coordination. 28 UNITED STATES AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT Most significant factors impacting CAAHT’s work After a detailed presentation of the findings of the mid-term assessment report , participants were guided in a discussion and dialogue about the report and data and its significance for CAAHT’s coordination work in Albania in the future. The groups identified 33 factors that are significant in CAAHT’s work. In particular, participants focused on coordination, capacity building, and the appreciative methodology. Expectations Assess the Current Situation and Share Experiences Learn how CAAHT has impacted coordination (4) Look at the AT coordination situation in Albania (3) Share the coordinating experiences (2) Looking to the Future New actors that can be involved in the process of coordination in the future (3) Opinions about coordination in the future (2) Select priorities for the future (2) Key elements for further actions New ways or modes to strengthen coordination in the future Appreciative Approach Assimilate Appreciative Inquiry as a new methodology to be used in coordination (3) Identify the achieved successes up to now (3) Strengthen Coordination and Build Capacities Strengthen cooperation and build capacities (2) Continuation and coordination of actions with local government Build capacities of the newly established Regional Committees Other Understand the expected/desired results of the participants Convey message that information is power but it does not produce results Coordination is more on paper than practice. Local practice helps the Central Government learn a lot A MID-TERM ASSESSMENT OF CAAHT COORDINATION - SEPTEMBER 2006 29 Key Successes and Wishes Participant groups created lists of “key successes” and “wishes” in response to the Appreciative Inquiry protocol seeking insight into when coordination between civil society and government is working well and the factors of success when this is occurring. The lists reflect the key factors of success in coordination between civil society/government and the wishes stakeholders had for creating more of such successes in the future. Successes Twenty-seven successes were noted by small group participants. Chart 6 below shows the most commonly noted successes. Significant Elements Cooperation and Coordination Strengthening cooperation between the organizations that work in the anti-trafficking field (5) Real cooperation between all government actors (2) Raising awareness of, and encouraging the different structures (governmental and non-governmental) about coordination (2) Illustrates need for both vertical and horizontal coordination Encouraging cooperation and formalizing this cooperation with actors Promoting coordination and cooperation and not competitiveness Capacity Building Capacity building of organizations (4) Identifying and building relationships between different actors (trainings, conferences, workshops) (2) ANTTARC’s technical assistance Improving and increasing services to beneficiaries Appreciative Mentality and Methods Introducing new monitoring and evaluation methods/new mentality (4) Report focuses on successes (2) Focus on improving process, not setting up new structures CAAHT’s Role CAAHT success in establishing the Regional Committees (2) CAAHT’s role as intermediary between the National Coordinator’s Office and NGOs Positive role played by CAAHT in improving relationships between the NGOs by putting them in a cooperative position and not in a competitive one justifies the purpose of CAAHT 30 UNITED STATES AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT Chart 6. Most commonly noted successes 2 3 3 3 Awareness/willingness of actors to work together 9 Coordination of actions between actors Exchanging information on actors/transparency CAAHT's focus on coordination, financial resources, and monitoring capacities Identification of achievements/best practices Other successes noted include: • Cooperation Agreements which help the parties to be clear about their role • Building the managerial capacities of NGOs • Existence of infrastructure • Multi-faceted/disciplinary approach – including monitoring and creative approach owned by participants • Putting together people that normally have limited contact to gain mutual understanding • Establishment and functioning of the BKTF network, as a willingness to increase the impact on anti-trafficking • Motivation of the persons (actors) by making public (through media) the contribution of the board members • CAAHT and NCO divided the roles/responsibilities about the orientation workshops Wishes Twenty-five wishes were generated by small group participants. Chart 7 below shows the wishes most commonly expressed. Chart 7. Most common wishes generated by Workshop groups 2 2 2 3 3 4 Continuity and sustainability of the coordinative activities – particularly regional committees More transparency on the part of actors Continued financial support and monitoring by CAAHT More pro-activity on the part of actors Maintain momentum begun in workshops Additional capacity building Other wishes noted include: • Identifying the fields of cooperation and determining the priorities (especially in the framework of the Anti-Trafficking Regional Committees) • The state should undertake concrete responsibilities for the planning, leading, and implementing of the anti-trafficking fight, despite the political changes A MID-TERM ASSESSMENT OF CAAHT COORDINATION - SEPTEMBER 2006 31 • People identify and report more cases of trafficking (awareness) • CAAHT should coordinate with other coordinating initiatives in order to having a joint coordination approach with the government’s coordinating efforts • To strengthen the coordination with other non-grantee actors (especially the local police) • Unification of the procedures with the border police for interviewing victims • Government institutions should make us part of drafting regional policies • Local NGOs should be supported to do prevention/reintegration work in uncovered localities Workshop Evaluation Results of the participant workshop evaluation are presented in section 7.4 Appendix D. 32 UNITED STATES AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT 7. APPENDICES 7.1 Appendix A: Evaluation Methodology This section presents the evaluation approach, framework, and data collection methods that EnCompass LLC employed in this study. Methodology Selecting an Appreciative Evaluation Methodology The evaluation team chose an appreciative evaluation8 methodology for assessing the progress and impact of the coordination and cooperation strategy of CAAHT. Appreciative Inquiry, developed in the mid-1980s at the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University, is now considered to be the vanguard approach to change management in the public, nonprofit and private sectors, evidenced by its recent role at a UN gathering of over 500 global leaders. Appreciative Inquiry is effective in addressing positive change at the individual, as well as the organizational, level. Briefly defined, Appreciative Inquiry is a process that inquires into, identifies, and further develops the best of “what is” in organizations or individuals in order to build toward more effective results in the future. This focus on assets and strengths, as opposed to problems and gaps, gives participants a systematic and participatory methodology for studying success, and building upon it to develop future directions. Instead of focusing on “problems”, the focus is on discovering what is working particularly well. Then, instead of analyzing possible causes and solutions, they envision what it might be like if “the best of what is” occurred more frequently. In evaluation, this “systematic study of success” becomes an entry point for assessing strengths and weaknesses in a project or organization. The success of this approach is dependent on (a) the quality and power of appreciative questions, and (b) the sincerity of the evaluator. Preskill and Catsambas distinguish between “positive” and “appreciative” questions like this: Appreciative questions [as opposed to “positive” questions]… are not simply about asking people what they liked, or how things looked from a positive perspective. Appreciative questions ask respondents to communicate their concept of the nature, worth, quality, and significance of a program or some aspect of the organization. Moreover, they ask respondents to honor the past while expressing gratitude for, and pride in, their achievements. And, appreciative wishes questions invite respondents to share their ideas for how to increase the value of the program. Hence, the role of appreciative questions is not to learn what respondents liked, but rather to focus on the study of successful moments that can be used to grow and improve the program in the future. (Preskill and Catsambas, pp.76-77) 8 Preskill & Catsambas, Reframing Evaluation Through Appreciative Inquiry, Sage Publications, 2006. A MID-TERM ASSESSMENT OF CAAHT COORDINATION - SEPTEMBER 2006 33 The evaluation team used appreciative evaluation for the following reasons: • Client and stakeholders were excited about the process of learning from the study of success. • Of particular value was the success of appreciative evaluation processes to clarify desirable outcomes and illuminate the linkages between these outcomes and measurable indicators. • The appreciative approach fit in well with the goal of the project to engage in action learning and become a learning system and catalyze learning in Albanian society. • The interviewing component of the appreciative process is particularly suited for building evaluative capacity in the project and its stakeholders. This evaluation was intended to be complimentary to the Performance Management Plan evaluation activities of CAAHT implemented by World Learning. Focusing the Evaluation of Coordination and Cooperation at CAAHT One of the most useful and exciting applications of Appreciative Inquiry is in the focusing phase of an evaluation. In the focusing phase, the evaluator collects initial information in order to develop an evaluation plan that will guide the evaluation’s implementation. The evaluation team used an appreciative participatory process for focusing this part of the evaluation that engaged stakeholders in developing the evaluation questions, and also contributing language for the development of the interview guide questions. The intended benefits of this process were to: • Create greater levels of participant understanding and commitment to the evaluation process • Create common understanding about the program’s purpose, strategies, and activities • Increase the likelihood that the evaluation’s findings will be used • Ensure the representation of multiple stakeholder views and interests in the focus and design of the evaluation • Make the evaluation “context and culture-competent” by using appropriate language and phrasing questions in a way that will enable respondents to understand them and provide the most meaningful responses. Planning for the CAAHT evaluation on coordination and cooperation began with a focusing meeting held in Tirana on June 7, 2006. In this one-day session, 30 staff and stakeholder participants engaged in an appreciative inquiry on best experiences of the project. The agenda covered the following topics: 1. Inquiring into exceptional moments of the program focused on cooperation and coordination 2. Exploring foundational values of the program 3. Articulating wishes for making the program more effective through coordination and cooperation 4. Visioning the program’s success a few years into the future 5. Identifying key building blocks toward that future 34 UNITED STATES AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT 6. Identifying important information that would help the program move in its desired direction 7. Articulating the key evaluation questions that would get to this important information 8. Developing a vision of success for the evaluation. The stories, values, wishes, visions, and evaluation questions from this day were translated from Albanian to English and emailed to the evaluation team. Based on this data, the evaluation team developed a program logic model focused on coordination and cooperation, and an evaluation plan. Once these were modified and approved by CAAHT leadership, they were used as the foundation of the next steps in the evaluation. Setting up the Data Collection Based on the evaluation questions, CAAHT and the evaluation team decided on using a team of interviewers from the CAAHT and ANTTARC. ANTTARC is an Albanian training and consulting company that has had a variety of experience with the CAAHT project. ANTTARC, which as a CAAHT grantee assisted other CAAHT grantees in building their capacity for successful grant implementation, also conducted a CAAHT staff retreat and assisted in the facilitation of the CAAHT Launch Conference in May 2004. The ANTTARC staff participation in the interview process was essential to collecting sufficient data in the short time frame. In addition, CAAHT and ANTTARC both agreed that co-operation in learning the AI evaluation approach would continue to build ANTTARC’s capacity to serve the anti-trafficking community in Albania during the next phase of the CAAHT project. The evaluation team developed an interview guide to address common indicators across groups and yet tailored to each specific stakeholder. The interviews provided in-depth data regarding CAAHT’s impact on grantees, beneficiaries and other stakeholders. The interviews were intended to elicit the data, stories and anecdotal evidence presented in this analysis. The interview guide is included as section 7.2, Appendix B. Meanwhile, CAAHT leadership developed the list of people to be interviewed. Once the interview guide was developed, approved and translated, the evaluation team trained the interviewers in a one-day session. All eleven interviewers spent the day on July 18th, 2006 at the CAAHT offices, reviewing and practicing the interview protocol until they were comfortable with conducting one-on-one interviews. The training was conducted by Dr. Sheila Ramsey. The training day covered: • A review of the Appreciative Perspective with an emphasis on reframing deficits into assets. • A discussion about how AI affects learning and development • A review of the questions on the Interview Guide, for translation integrity • A review of Qualitative Interview Skills • A review of the Interview Guide Script • Two “practice” interviews, with debriefing and questions (The data from these interviews contributed to the final evaluation report) • A review of the interview process logistics. A MID-TERM ASSESSMENT OF CAAHT COORDINATION - SEPTEMBER 2006 35 Interviewers left the day with a packet of materials that included the interview questions, the interview protocol, a guide sheet for conducting the interview, a summary sheet on logistics and the complete list of interviewees from which they chose whom to interview. Collecting Data The trained interviewers conducted in-depth interviews with a total of fifty-four stakeholders were interviewed. Stakeholders were chosen for a variety of reasons including their experience in direct program implementation, attendance at the Regional Cluster Group meetings (RCG) and/or Qarqe working groups and/or Annual Conferences, and their wider perspectives on the anti-trafficking situation in Albania. Major stakeholder groups included those from: the national, regional and local Albanian government, NGO-CAAHT grantees, NGO-non CAAHT grantees the Anti-trafficking Police, and USAID. Between July 18, and mid-August, 2006, the six CAAHT staff conducted 17 interviews; the four ANTTARC staff conducted 29 interviews and the EnCompass consultant, Dr. Sheila Ramsey, conducted eight interviews. Each interview was approximately one hour in length. This participatory evaluation approach was deemed to be appropriate given the capacity building and learning goals inherent in the project. In this way, important project implementers were developing their own insights first hand, rather than waiting for the evaluation report. Interviews were conducted over a two-month period in English and Albanian. Stakeholders included grantees, beneficiaries, and other key Initiative participants. Interviews conducted in Albanian were translated into English for analysis and inclusion in this report. Respondents were each asked to: • Relate a story of a time when coordination with another organization was used in implementing a program or service • Make note of any challenges that they encountered during the implementation of the project • Articulate their values related to their professional involvement in anti-trafficking • Share their wishes for building more success in the coordination strategy of the CAAHT. Analyzing Data and Report Preparation All interview data was translated by CAAHT and transmitted to the evaluation team on email. Atlas ti, a professional grade qualitative data analysis software package appropriate for analysis of large bodies of qualitative data, was used to analyze interview data as well as supporting documentation provided by CAAHT. Based on this analysis, the evaluation team submitted a report to CAAHT. Briefing and Using the Evaluation Findings As a follow-up to the evaluation on coordination and cooperation, CAAHT conducted a feedback and reflection session with key stakeholders engaged in anti-trafficking work in Albania. This was held in Tirana on September 13, 2006. 36 UNITED STATES AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT The purpose of the workshop was to present the evaluation findings and seek feedback from the participants engaged in anti-trafficking work in Albania. In this meeting, participants: • Explored the implications of the evaluation findings for their work in anti-trafficking • Generated ideas for strengthening coordination and cooperation between civil society and government organizations in Albania As originally intended, the CAAHT team and other anti-trafficking stakeholders deepened their evaluative capacities, and embraced the process of using evidence to make programmatic decisions—including designing next year’s coordination and cooperation strategies and activities, and developing corresponding budgets. A MID-TERM ASSESSMENT OF CAAHT COORDINATION - SEPTEMBER 2006 37 7.2 Appendix B: Interview Protocol Evaluation Interview Guide for the The Albanian Initiative: Coordinated Action Against Human Trafficking NOTE: “WE KNOW THAT YOU HAVE USED COORDINATION BEFORE THE CAAHT INITIATIVE EXISTED. IN THESE QUESTIONS, WE WANT TO FIND OUT HOW THE CAAHT INITIATIVE HAS MADE A DIFFERENCE IN YOUR USE OF A COORDINATION APPROACH. SO, PLEASE THINK ABOUT YOUR INVOLVEMENT WITH CAAHT AS YOU ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS.” 1. Think back in your involvement in the Initiative for Coordinated Action Against Human Trafficking, and remember a time when you experienced coordination with other organizations in implementing programs and services? Tell me a story about that time. a. Who was involved? b. What happened? c. What was involved in this coordination? d. How did coordination contribute to raising awareness or prevention? e. How did coordination contribute to assistance and reintegration of victims services? f. What challenges have you faced in coordination for implementing programs and services? 2. In what ways has the Initiative for Coordinated Action Against Human Trafficking helped you improve coordination of policies and or procedures at the organizational level? a. How has this coordination on policies and or procedures been important for the success of the fight against human trafficking? b. What challenges have your faced in coordination of policies and or procedures for anti-trafficking c. If available, could you please provide examples of joint statements, policies, MOUs, statements of support for others’ activities, endorsements, etc. 3. What do you value most in your collaboration with others? 4. In what ways has the CAAHT initiative helped you learn about what others’ are doing? (request documents as appropriate) a. Recurrent meetings/gatherings b. Web-based access and information exchange c. Shared reports on progress with each other d. Compiled and communicated information on who does what and each organization’s comparative advantage 5A. FOR NON GOVERNMENT: WE WANT TO EXPLORE what success the CAAHT initiative had in including local/central government representatives in its programs? Tell me a story about a time when you were able to get the local/central government interested that resulted in collaboration in a specific project activity. Could you speak to: a. Your success in including local/central government in planning b. Your success in including the local/central government in awareness raising 38 UNITED STATES AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT a. Your success in including the local/central government in assistance and reintegration of victims b. What steps have you made toward establishing Anti-trafficking Committees at the regional level and at the national level? c. What have you most appreciated in your collaboration with the local/central government? d. What challenges have you faced in coordinating with the local/central government? 5B. FOR GOVERNMENT: WE WANT TO EXPLORE what success the CAAHT initiative had in including local/central government representatives in its programs? Tell me a story about a time when you were able to get OTHER local/central government members to collaborate with you in a specific project activity. Could you speak to: a. Your success in including other local/central government members in planning b. Your success in including other local/central government members in awareness raising c. Your success in including other local/central government members in assistance and reintegration of victims d. What steps have you made toward establishing Anti-trafficking Committees at the regional level and at the national level? e. What challenges have you faced in coordinating with other local/central government members? f. What have you most appreciated in your collaboration with the CAAHT project? 6. To what extent are you supported to coordinate with staff in other organizations? a. What systems or procedures exist to support you to coordinate with other organizations? b. How is coordination recognized as an important project strategy in your organization? c. What could help you to sustain coordination with other organizations? 7. What relationships have you and your organization built that support coordination? a. In what ways have you developed positive relationships with staff in other organizations and the government? b. How frequently do you have a coffee, email or call staff in other organizations or the government? What are common topics of such communications? 8. Does your organization evaluate, formally or informally, its activities? IF YES: To what extent does your organization coordinate with other organizations in evaluation of activities? a. Have the staffs of other organizations been interviewed during evaluation? b. Have you implemented joint evaluations, and if so, please provide details? What did you learn? (request copy of evaluation) c. Has “coordination” been addressed in the evaluation? How? IF NO: If you were going to evaluate your activities, what other groups might you coordinate with in the evaluation? How could coordinated evaluations be useful to you? 9. If you had three wishes to make more effective coordination possible more of the time in the CAAHT initiative, what would they be? INTERVIEWER NAME: DATE: STAKEHOLDER CATEGORY (government: local/central; NGO; Grantee, Other_____) A MID-TERM ASSESSMENT OF CAAHT COORDINATION - SEPTEMBER 2006 39 7.3 Appendix C: Wishes9 Wishes regarding continuity/sustainability • Ensure sustainability and continuity for shelter service providers and other anti￾trafficking actors so that the fight against trafficking may not be interrupted with CAAHT’s ending. (4) • Continue meetings for the exchange of experience among grantees - to continue with the CAAHT family. (2) • Use strong the elements of coordination (not forced or imposed coordination through different mechanisms, like requirements under contracts, but leave them (to) coordinate naturally, and based on the need to ensure long-term sustainability. • Continue the coordination approach with main anti-trafficking stakeholders, especially with NCO and Regional Committees. • Continue the work with the actual grantees. • Continue with the project and the cooperation with ANTTARC. • Focus groups (local trainers) should be maintained in order to be used effectively for raising community’s awareness of trafficking Wishes for funding • It should continue its financial support for the organizations that operate in this area in order to ensure continued coordination and the sustainability of activities. (5) • Financial support to the activities of anti-trafficking NGOs for the implementation of important projects (with large impact). (3) • Financial support is necessary/need for funds to do more work (3) • I wish that, during the next three years (2006-2009) of the CAAHT Program, the chance for funding may be given to governmental organizations besides the NGOs. (2) • Support the National Reception Center in order for this center to have the possibility to provide all the services on anti-trafficking as this is the center that can ensure sustainability. • Raising financial support for the organizations that operate directly with violated, trafficked and at-risk women and girls. • challenge. (4) • Linking Qarqe, regions and then the government has been a challenge. (2) 9 Numbers shown in ( ) indicate the number of interviewees that made wishes similar to the one that is noted. 40 UNITED STATES AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT Wishes Regarding Capacity Building • More capacity building and development of organizational skills for those organizations that work in the area of anti-trafficking. (5) • CAAHT assists Regional Anti-trafficking Committees in increasing their capacities (3) • CAAHT should continue capacity building for NGOs. (2) • CAAHT should be present and continue to coordinate the organizations operating in this area, and it should include in its training government institutions and the police, too, which would improve their capacities and services (2) • Less developed organizations can be assisted to increase their basic capacities, more developed organizations to get closer to European standards-EU certification for example. Also, more developed organizations can help less developed ones • To have more capacity building in other ways not just through RCGs and grants • CAAHT should include coordination as a capacity building program component • Mass training events for teachers in the area of fighting human trafficking • Provision of training and assistance for raising capacities and expertise in the area of treating victims of trafficking • Provide technical assistance for our region in order to enable the establishment of anti-trafficking cooperation networks among university and high school student governments in Gjirokastër, Tepelenë and Përmet • Training should be provided to all the staff and not only to two organization representatives, which means that all the staff should take part in the training programs • Establish opportunities of training in the education system in order to build capacities of its bodies • Continuation of capacity building and case management training activities. • CAAHT may help by cooperating with government and the Ministry of Interior more for increasing the community’s capacities in the area of anti-trafficking and enhancing their perfunctory attitudes Wishes for increased/better coordination • To start coordinating and working directly with the National Reception Center • Coordinate with the other coordinated initiatives. Working to strengthen the existing coordination is the best that CAAHT can do. • Improve coordination between NGOs • Improve coordination between NGOs with local government, media and business • Widening of the coordination at regional level and not only at qark level • The establishment and empowerment of a network with the organizations that operate in this field A MID-TERM ASSESSMENT OF CAAHT COORDINATION - SEPTEMBER 2006 41 • A network of social service centers should be established at national level. • Having a common informative forum or bulletin, or newspaper (even electronic) because this helps concretize the collaboration • To continue the exchange with the other organizations because we can see how they have solved similar problems and how their methods can be adopted in our areas • Institutionalization of the cooperation with other big donors (such as UNICEF, IOM, Save the Children, etc.) that are active in anti-trafficking • Development by all donors of a map showing concretely areas they have been covered, anti-trafficking activities, any overlapping, any uncovered areas, that could be the basis of future coordination • Better coordination (to eliminate overlapping) • Enhance the willingness of local actors to coordinate in a larger way with each other, not just for the project for which they have money from the donor. Help them see the bigger picture of coordination • Help me have allies in the ethnic minority groups - Roma and Egyptian • Coordinate more with other donors • Better coordination in Tirana at headquarters that will filter down into the field to influence local actors to coordinate more • Bring CAAHT and TACT together more; too separate • CAAHT should promote increased exchange and number of joint activities with ANTTARC • CAAHT should continue further its coordination role because it has yielded good results. • Different organizations should be urged to assume the chairing role on rotation for some of the coordinating meetings. Wishes involving government organizations • Greater engagement on the part of the government – issuing directives/providing better support/delineating responsibilities for regional council (5) • Involving the Qarqe - as a coordinator of local government since it is the regional parliament that decides on the regional priorities. The Qarqe administration could have the possibility of following up and monitoring the implementation of the decision of the Regional Council by different institutions (for example the Directorate of Education, the Directorate of Police, etc.). (2) • That the central and local government be trained by CAAHT and that CAAHT helps to engage the government in anti-trafficking activities (2) • RCG be substituted by the anti-trafficking regional Committees that are created (take into account the new reality). • Passing the ‘database’ to the government and relevant actors, in order to further enrich this system with data in the future. This would provide the opportunity to know the anti-trafficking situation and to utilize the data by all the actors. 42 UNITED STATES AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT • An agreement with the Ministry of Education to include at least one hour classes/week on anti-trafficking to be conducted by NPO experts or psychologists maybe at 7-8 grades. Focus: explanation of the phenomenon and prevention. • Institutionalization of the cooperation with the Office of National Coordinator for Anti￾Trafficking. • More openness by the police. I see a more closed work and withdrawal by the police from the cooperation with the Qarqe after the general elections. Maybe the politics interferes. People who deal with these issues (such as the police) should be left to do their job. For example, the Director of the police should meet freely with the Chairman of the Regional Council or the mayor that might be from the opposition (at central level). Especially regarding human trafficking, it is necessary to coordinate and work together • Hope that the government and NGOs will not be locked in a win-lose dynamic; otherwise they will fight over resources • The appointment of a coordinator from the Regional Education Department Wishes regarding CAAHT processes • Dissemination of key decisions or successful experiences of cooperation between different actors, in order to promote same or similar initiatives in the anti-trafficking field and other problematic fields that our society has. (2) • CAAHT to help implementation of all the mechanisms that already exist for anti￾trafficking • Active participation and support for the Regional anti-trafficking Committees • Unification of procedures for shelter service providers • Organizing by CAAHT program of an analysis at the middle of the grants implementation process, in order to monitor better their progress and to identify gaps during implementation • Case management and follow-up (post- shelter support) • The round table should have other representatives of the local government who are from the distant communes in order to bring concrete cases, and school directors should also be invited, because they are very close to the problem • Institutionalization of NPOs’ role in the Regional Committees. Instead of “NPOs can be invited,” NPOs should have their representatives/members. Thus their seriousness in the eyes of other members increases • Send out website updates • That CAAHT be increasingly present in the field and more receptive to stakeholders’ perspectives • Do more GAP analysis to assess current actors, review the parameters for support, and focus support • Shoring (up) holes which still exist in the case by case referral mechanisms • Regarding Grants: o That CAAHT’s approval process be expedited A MID-TERM ASSESSMENT OF CAAHT COORDINATION - SEPTEMBER 2006 43 o Geographical coverage of grants should be fairer-they should be distributed all over Albania and be all-inclusive o CAAHT should include in its grants more organizations that are in need and not only those that have reputation o CAAHT should pay more attention to the identification and selection of the partner organizations. I would suggest it should select organizations operating with those target groups and having a long experience o Inclusion of “smaller” organizations in the CAAHT project. Those organizations may not have the adequate staff and infrastructure, but they have the willingness and the passion to work and a better knowledge of the issues of community concern o The reasons for not being included in CAAHT programs should be accompanied with arguments. Media • Media to be more involved in the activities and be used more for awareness raising. To make public the good experiences and successful projects • Establishing a sustainable nucleus within CAAHT relating to the media. There was a panel for the media in the conference. Such a panel can be further developed into a nucleus including also representatives from other regions (such as Shkodra) • It might be necessary that CAAHT lobbies a group of media people (important and interested journalists) that deal with anti-trafficking issues. Maybe CAAHT should pay more attention to the relations with the media. A consultant on media relations might be helpful • Establishing and maintaining trust between the media and NPOs which would help coordination and collaboration Other Wishes • To include in the 8-year schools topics to increase awareness on anti-trafficking • That the internal trafficking is stopped because we see that this new phenomena has emerged • Representatives of the Albarom (Roma association) should be involved in the anti￾trafficking structures • NPOs that have had concrete results and have the capacity should be transparent relating to the implementation of their projects. A better cooperation with the local government and more communication with the public are necessary • To have a shelter in Puka for the victims of human trafficking • Institutions to be more active: to live with the anti-trafficking-to take over the responsibility and not simply do the minimum legal obligations • Trafficking is a very multi dimensional issue and it is good to focus on it. However, the government and others must keep an eye on the root causes (i.e. social issues) and not get caught in the surface effects. 44 UNITED STATES AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT 7.4 Appendix D: Workshop Evaluation Report This report presents workshop evaluation results for the CAAHT workshop to present and receive feedback on the evaluation report, “A Mid-Term Assessment of the Coordination Component of The Albanian Initiative: CAAHT,” and to conduct an introduction to Appreciative Inquiry. This workshop was held on September 13, 2006. Participants were asked to complete an evaluation regarding their workshop experiences, learnings derived and the potential for implementing Appreciative Inquiry (AI) practices in anti-trafficking work. Of the 38 Workshop attendees, 19 (50%) returned surveys. In particular, respondents were asked to comment on: • The extent to which workshop objectives were attained • Aspects of the AI workshop that were most appreciated • Most useful aspects of the Introduction to AI • Suggestions to enhance the effectiveness of the workshop • Acquired learnings • Learnings that participants would like to further explore • Ideas for how AI could improve anti-trafficking work in Albania • Ways in which CAAHT might help to enable an appreciative approach The following report provides an overview of the responses received. Workshop Objectives The CAAHT Workshop on Assessment of Coordination and Appreciative Inquiry was conducted with the following objectives in mind: • Objective 1 – To hear and respond to a presentation on the assessment of coordination in CAAHT program. • Objective 2 - To learn about and experience the Appreciative Inquiry methodology. Charts 7 and 8 show the distribution of responses that participants provided when asked to rate the extent to which these objectives were met. Feedback regarding the workshop’s objectives was overwhelmingly positive. 100% of the survey respondents felt that objective 1 was either “well” or “very well” achieved. 95% offered the same high ratings for the second objective. Chart 8. Ratings for Objective 1 Chart 9. Ratings for Objective 2 Very Well 84% Well 16% Well 32% Somewhat 5% Very Well 63% A MID-TERM ASSESSMENT OF CAAHT COORDINATION - SEPTEMBER 2006 45 Most Appreciated Aspects of the Introduction to AI 100% of the respondents offered feedback on aspects of the AI introduction which were most appreciated. Chart 10 below shows respondents most appreciated the general introduction to AI methods and applications, the active participation of the participants in the process and the exchange of ideas and best practices. Chart 10. Most appreciated aspects of the AI Introduction 21% 37% 42% Learning about AI methodology Active participation of the participants in the process/working groups Exchanging ideas and best experiences Other aspects of the Workshop noted with appreciation included the following:10 • The case study (2) • Practicality - illustration of theory with examples from the evaluation report (2) • Focusing on success (2) • The creativity expressed during group work Most Useful Aspects of the Workshop 100% of the respondents offered feedback on the most useful aspects of the Workshop. Chart 11 below presents the aspects that were deemed to be most useful. The introduction to AI methodologies was noted with particular frequency. Chart 11. Most useful aspects of the workshop 16% 26% AI methodology and its practical 63% application Draft report/evaluation Building the relationships between different actors Other useful aspects of the Workshop included the following: • Learning about the opinions of the participants regarding the usage of AI • Perfecting the evaluative and planning work 10 The number in ( ) indicates the number of respondents that offered the feedback shown 46 UNITED STATES AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT Ways to Enhance the Effectiveness of the Workshop Thirteen (68%) of the respondents noted ways in which the effectiveness of the workshop could be enhanced. 31% of these respondents felt that the workshop would be more useful if it provided a better understanding of AI and its practical applications. The most frequently cited means of improving the workshop are shown in Chart 12 below. Chart 12. Ways to improve workshop utility11 15% 15% 23% Broader understanding of AI 31% Better understanding AI's practical applications More participation from the local and/or central government Lengthening time period of the Workshop Other suggested means of enhancing the workshop’s utility included: • Making the vision of NGOs parallel to the long-term strategies of the government on trafficking in humans • Having more time for group discussions • Dividing the workshop into two morning sessions Acquired Learnings Fourteen (74%) of the respondents provided feedback on things that they learned during the Workshop. The vast majority (93%) noted that they learned about AI and/or its uses. Forth￾three percent of the respondents to this question felt that they had learned something through the evaluation report findings that were presented during the Workshop. One respondent noted that acquired learnings were derived in part through interactions with other participants. Learnings Which Participants Would Like to Further Explore Nine (47%) of the respondents did not offer feedback on topics that might be further explored. The remaining ten (53%) of the respondents felt that the AI methodology could be explained in greater depth. In particular, respondents wanted to know more about AI’s practical applications and ways in which CAAHT might use the methodology to fight human trafficking. Ways in Which AI Could Improve Anti-Trafficking in Albania Twelve (63%) of the respondents offered thoughts on ways in which AI could improve anti￾trafficking in Albania. Chart 13 below shows that half of the respondents to this question felt that the focus on success and positivity associated with the AI approach could be used to identify best practices, encourage cooperation and build future collaborations. 11 % in the charts reflect % of respondents that answered the question under consideration A MID-TERM ASSESSMENT OF CAAHT COORDINATION - SEPTEMBER 2006 47 Chart 13: Most frequently noted means in which AI could improve anti-trafficking in Albania 33% 50% Using successes and positivity to identify best practices, encourage cooperation and build future collaborations Using the AI methodology in activities conducted by government and non￾government anti-trafficking structures Other ways in which AI could improve anti-trafficking in Albania include: • Introducing AI to other parties in the fight against the trafficking of humans in Albania • Showing a summary of this inquiry on TV to present the concrete anti-trafficking work done up to now • Improvement of, and intervention in, the curricula. Ways in Which CAAHT Might Help to Enable an Appreciative Approach Only seven respondents (37%) offered suggestions for ways in which CAAHT might help to enable an appreciative approach geared at strengthening anti-trafficking work in Albania. The suggestions offered are listed below: • Via trainings (2) • By being open to accept contribution of local actors and following up actions • By assisting in different phases during the application of AI by grantees. • Through building capacities (of the anti-trafficking structures) in this direction • Institutionalizing the usage of AI through expertise and resources • Introducing the methodology to anti-trafficking actors/committees and helping them to understand and incorporate it Workshop Evaluation Conclusions The Coordinated Action Against Human Trafficking Workshop held on September 13, 2006 offered participants the opportunity to hear and provide feedback to a presentation on the assessment of coordination in CAAHT program report and to learn about and experience the Appreciative Inquiry methodology. At the close of the Workshop, half of the participants provided feedback regarding their experiences at the workshop and ways in which AI might fit into established anti-trafficking structures already in existence. Respondents’ high ratings are a testament to the workshop’s ability to deliver on its stated objectives. Respondents were very interested in learning about the AI methodology and examples of coordination which were evidenced in the evaluation report. Many respondents felt that the focus on success and positivity associated with the AI approach could be used to 48 UNITED STATES AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT identify best practices, encourage cooperation and build future collaborations, thereby strengthening the coordination work that is underway. Because of AI’s potential for positively impacting the anti-trafficking movement in Albania, workshop participants expressed the desire to develop a greater understanding of the methodology and its practical applications. It was noted that CAAHT could help to enable an appreciative approach via trainings and other means geared toward institutionalizing the understanding and usage of AI.