FUNCTIONING OF THE ORGANISATION
Risk management A risk register for the network is updated regularly and discussed at least once a year with the Supervisory Council. We consider the organisation to be in a good position to deal with these risks, due to its stronger financial position, which means that we can take mitigation measures more quickly when required.
Our network Wetlands International operates as a global network of offices with shared values and purpose, working on a joint strategy to safeguard and restore wetlands worldwide. We have offices in 19 countries and we are active in many more. In 2023, we opened a new project office in Sierra Leone, attached to our West Africa Coastal Office based in Senegal, and closed our office in Russia, where we have now halted all activities due to the war. The Global Office, based in the Netherlands, facilitates work across the network and provides leadership and support in representation, programme development, communications, global advocacy, fundraising, and risk management. It nurtures the work of the network and ensures we are all aligned with decisions taken by the Global Management Team, Global Board, Network Management Team, and Programme Leadership Team. The Global Board, consisting of the Wetlands International CEO and all Heads of Office, is responsible for strategic decisions on positioning, priority setting and institutional issues, which are then adopted by the Global Management Team. The
Global Board delegates operational decision-making to the Network Management Team, which has members drawn from Heads of Office and senior global functions. The Programme Leadership Team leads policy and proposal development and prepares them for decision-making. Governance Wetlands International is a non- profit organisation with charitable status in the Netherlands and in countries where it operates. The organisation has two complementary forms of international governance: an Association of Members (governments and NGOs), and a foundation overseen by a Supervisory Council whose members also constitute the Board of the Association. In cases where Wetlands International offices have an independent legal status, they are governed by their own boards and the organisation’s CEO is an ex-officio member. Strengthening our organisation 2023 was a year of transition for Wetlands International, with a new CEO, a reconfigured Global Management Team, and several new members joining our Supervisory Council. We embarked on a journey in which country offices and our network-wide streams – Coasts and Deltas, Rivers and Lakes, and Peatlands – prepared a Strategic Review and Plan to pinpoint where we are now and what it will take to reach our 2030 goals. Informed by this effort, we will be preparing dedicated office development plans and a joint Network Development
Plan that will strengthen our organisational foundations so that we are well equipped – organisationally, financially, professionally – to scale up. We are and will continue supporting our network of offices to address needs in leadership skills, structure and governance, finance and operations, project and knowledge management and impact monitoring. We will set up a new team focusing on strengthening our monitoring, evaluation and learning, and assisting our network in a systematised approach to holistic landscape restoration. Our recent investments in the “4 Returns” framework guidebook and related tools will help landscape practitioners to work on this together. During 2023 we invested in the network teams to drive joint work on partnerships, philanthropy and general fundraising. Through better coordination as a network, we aim to improve proposal writing, develop critical fundraising assets and materials, launch a mentorship programme, and develop donor stewardship and corporate engagement plans. While this work is still ongoing, we are now in a much better position to work together as a network, to overcome challenges and harness opportunities, enabling us to meet our ambitious goals during this vitally important decade. Annual Leadership Meeting 2023 The Annual Meeting in November 2023, in Malindi, Kenya hosted by our Eastern Africa Office, brought
THE TOP 5 RISKS IN DECEMBER 2023:
Risk area
Risk
Potential Impact
Mitigation measures
Impact of AI on our operations (positive/negative) as a knowledge organisation Insufficient staff capacity and skills to deliver complex, co- funded international projects Political instability (conflict in Ukraine, Mali and Middle East, Europe swinging right affecting climate policy & funding) Tight labour market slowing recruitment and leading to gaps in staffing and stress for current staff – in network offices and Global Office Insufficient quality and late submission of audits from offices (local partners’ finance reports are insufficient)
Can improve efficiency and productivity. AI will change the nature of knowledge functions, such as ours. We cannot oversee those consequences yet
Make inventory of in-house AI use, get external support for use to full potential.
1
Operational
Operational
Inability to absorb and implement new opportunities
Proposal design includes organisational development
2
wherever possible. Close cooperation with Heads of Office on capabilities and development needs. Additional recruitment support in the Global Office and the network. Maintain close contacts with Heads of Office, diplomatic networks and donors. Strengthen cooperation with local communities. Incorporate flexibility in project design. Support offered to address Eastern Africa vacancies (S2S); extra (interim) capacity added to Global Office staff; greater use of external recruitment agencies; improve our marketing of vacancies. Investing in network support functions (senior finance staff), to be covered eventually by regular project budgets; training and capacity building in project implementation (also for partners)
Governance
Programme operations and funding is greatly reduced
3
Operational
Inability to implement current programmes correctly or to start new ones and overwork symptoms among staff
4
Financial
Delays in reports, cashflow and ultimately an impact on reputation
5
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Wetlands International Annual Review 2023
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