Voice at 5 Learning Document

JOURNEYING TOWARDS STRONGER VOICES

VOICE@5 LEARNING DOCUMENT (2016 - 2020)

Table of Contents

Agency GLOFORD

Global Forum for Development Human Immunodeficiency Virus The University of Hong Kong

HIV HKU IMK

Impact Measurement and Knowledge unit (Oxfam Novib)

Indigenous People Linking and Learning

L&L

LBQ women

Lesbian, Bisexual and Queer women

Journeying towards Stronger voices Voice as a grant facility Realising our dream: The voice Theory of change

LCDPFI LFTW LGBTI LGBTIQ

The Leonard Cheshire Disability Philippines Foundation, Inc.

Light for the World

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and lntersex people Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, lntersex and Queer/Questioning people

LIMIC LNOB

Low-and middle-income countries

Leave No One Behind” “MDF “ Management for Development Foundation MFA Ministry of Foreign Affairs MPPM

Voice’s Linking and learning journey: Meandering and gently growing

Mindanao Peoples’ Peace Movement, Philippines

MTR NGO

Mid-Term Review

Non-Governmental Organisation NOW Us! Voice abbreviation of Nothing About Us Without Us! And the name of the Voice Awards NSP National Society of Parliamentarians PH The Philippines PPFDI Women’s Political Participation for Inclusive Development PWD People with Disabilities

List of Abbreviations

ANGOC Asian NGO Coalition for Agrarian Reform and Rural Development BBL Bangsamoro Basic Law (Philippines) CAN Cambodian Ageing Network CBO: Community Based Organisation CFK Carolina for Kibera CfP Call for Proposals CHIAs Community Health and Inclusion Association (Laos) CoP Community of Practice COSE Coalition of Services of the Elderly CSOs Civil Society Organisations DFID Department for International Development (United Kingdom) DSO/MO Department for Civil Society at Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Netherlands) EU European Union FAD Women, Action and Development (Niger) GIZ German International Cooperation

SDGs

Sustainable Development Goals

SOGIE

Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Expression

United Nations

UNDP United Nations Development Programme UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation UP University of the Philippines USAID United States Agency for International Development VAT Value Added Tax VSLA Village Savings and Loan Association WHO World Health Organisation

JOURNEYING Towards

FROM COPING TO THRIVING! This story chronicles the evolution of the Indonesian Mental Health Association based in Jakarta in view of the World Mental Health Day (October 10, 2019). People with a psychosocial disability, affected by their mental health condition, continue to fight for their rights and needs. They deserve and want to thrive and not just cope. The Indonesian Mental Health Association (IMHA), a previous Voice empowerment grantee in Indonesia, focused on unlocking the abilities and potential of women with psychosocial disabilities, breaking barriers while doing it. The rightsholders were taught how to document their own stories through video. They made videos all on their own -from script creation, and scene preparation, to editing. The participants found the method of relaying messages through video fun and exciting. As an organisation, they have adopted this as an approach. Expanding their advocacy work, IMHA worked together with Human Rights Watch and select government institutions on a new report entitled “Living in Chains: Shackling

An invitation to journey with us

of People with Psychosocial Disabilities Worldwide”. This report looks at how people with mental health conditions are treated in their own homes or in social care institutions, influenced by stigma and lack of appropriate and rights-based services.

This concerns us all

The message of the women to us is:

I am Alassane Traore, I am a genderqueer, non-binary person from Mali who fights for universal rights for all but especially the LGBTI community in Mali. My conviction and commitment stem mainly from the experiences in my own life. For the first twenty years of my life, I was the victim of a lot of violence against me which raised a lot of questions and unfortunately no responses. It was only after twenty years that I found some answers about my own gender identity and expression and how this was related to the harassment while I was only trying to be myself. These difficulties emboldened my conviction to fight for the rights of all[...].

“People with psychosocial disability have the same rights as other people. There should be no discrimination at all according to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). We have the same needs and rights as you. Proper health care is just one aspect, but like you, we also have the right to work, education, and housing. Indonesia has ratified the CRPD back in 2011, and the government must go by this and fulfil our rights as with others.”

These are two among many Voices of Change that Voice has encountered. At the same time, they tell a common story of the lived experience of discrimination and marginalisation, violence and being deprived of opportunities and rights.

For Alassane, a genderqueer, non-binary person from Mali, the journey has been one of gender discrimination and violence, leading to a growing awareness of injustice. Alassane translated this into activist engagement and calls to action. For the group of courageous persons with psychosocial disability supported by and united in IMHA, a similar organisational path was travelled. One of self-discovery, finding and coming to voice, researching to know more, seeking alliances and collaboration with others, all leading to an even stronger drive to fight for their own rights. And also, to fight for the rights of people with psychosocial disabilities and demand the government’s attention and action. These stories show a journey of self-awareness, resilience and strength needed to overcome these barriers, and the will and curiosity to engage with the unknown. Common quests of rightsholder groups and human rights defenders supported by Voice are for basic human rights, the right to life and identity, the

right to land and resources, the right to social services such as health and education, as well as opportunities needed to pursue their goals. They demonstrate a counter-narrative of what is possible when we find our voice and confidence and contribute together with those around us for a more equal, respectful, and compassionate world. In this document, we bring learnings from the work and conversations with Voice grantee partners and rightsholders, through their stories and adventures, their endurance and, at times, great advances. We reflect on the journey of Voice, a fund for inclusion and innovation, from its inception in 2015 until its fifth anniversary in April 2021. So much has happened and changed since we started out in 2016, within the programme and the world in which we live, not in the least due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Since the launch of the grant facility in September 2016, we have gotten to know and work with more than 1000 organisations and groups, and experienced amazing moments of creative sharing and learning. Jointly we explored how to foster inclusion, how to be innovative in the grant-making and the projects supported, and how to co-create a vibrant linking and learning space where we all learn and grow. The flow of the report describes processes that Voice, as a reliable partner in this journey, has utilised to enable change. It begins with the grants and grant-making exercises that enable the identified rightsholders to commence and continues their journeys of change. The next part of the document describes how the work and experiences of grantee partners contributed to their own empowerment and needed social change. The changes are organic yet still designed, and there is a Theory of Change that is narrated through actual case studies of partners.

The third part describes on-the-ground experiences. Every single day and with every engagement the Voice team learns something from the rightsholders and these learnings and ‘AHA!’ moments are captured in the Linking and Learning Chapter. While its sections can be read as three stand alone focus pieces, it is best to read the document right through. The learning in one area invites us to look at what adjustment is needed in the other areas as well, to course correct and integrate emerging developments or new assumptions.” “The Voice@5 celebration was a moment to acknowledge this exciting journey thus far. With close to 300 connections over 11 countries, we celebrated the Magic of our Voice(s). The document is populated with images and quotes from this and other events.”

In 2016 was just words on paper. “400+ grants,

we are

1000+ partners and 5000+ Linking and Learning activities

innovation 01 CHAPTER 1

VOICE is working with groups in ten focus countries in Asia and Africa 2 through the provision of resources and developing a global Linking and Learning infrastructure. Voice works to accelerate the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 10, which envisions “social, economic, and political inclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion, or economic or another status”. It also works to address SDGs 3, 4, 5 and 8.

voice, A Grant facility exploring inclusion and

“LEAVE no ONE BEHINd”- WHY VOICE EXISTS

The possibilities are endless

The commitment to creating a less unequal world motivated UN members states to take steps toward giving meaning to the phrase “leave no one behind.” The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands (MFA) sought to deliver on this commitment within the Dialogue and Dissent (2016- 2021) policy framework with the creation of “Voice: nothing about us without us”, a fund for Innovation and Inclusion. The fund is aimed at groups most marginalised and discriminated in their society or region. Currently, Voice is part of the newly published policy framework, Poser of Voices, spanning the years 2021-2025.

A considerable number of low-and midlle- income countries (LMIC) have experienced substatial growth and social development during recent years. However, these changes are not leading to fair distribution and access to development resources for all. Worldwide, the gap between the rich and the poor continues to widen. As Oxfam’s 2021 Inequality Report chillingly documents, the world’s 10 richest men have doubled their fortunes during the COVID-19 pandemic, while over 160 million people worldwide are projected to have been pushed into poverty. 1 In 2015, the ambition of reducing systemic inequality received a global clarion call in the form of the adoption of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by the UN General Assembly.

Voice is born out of the dream and effort of a team in the Civil Society division of the MFA (DSO/MO). This division “focuses on the role and importance of civil society organisations in relation to development. It works from the premise that a diverse and pluriform civil society is crucial for achieving sustainable and inclusive development. It is essential for a vibrant and resilient society and a precondition for a well- functioning democracy and rule of law.” 3 The team saw in Voice a possibility to reach different groups and to strengthen the capacity of civil society organisations (both formal, informal and network organisations) and representatives of these groups in the field of lobby and advocacy. Since the most marginalised and discriminated groups are often hard to reach via regular programming, Voice promotes the use of innovative ideas and strategies, conducive to empower these groups and to have their voices heard and respected. In line with this vision, the MFA awarded a public service tender to a consortium of Oxfam Novib and Hivos to implement Voice. After a five-month inception phase, the programme was publicly launched on 5th September 2016 by Lilianne Ploumen, the then

Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation for the Netherlands. During this event Voice launched the first Global Call for Proposals: an Innovate & Learn Grant, designed to help Voice and its potential grantee partners learn from innovation. It was based on the understanding that there exist many new, interesting, and effective methods for supporting the Voice rightsholder groups to participate in their own governance and improving their access to resources and services. And that innovation doesn’t mean creating something new or based on technology but can just be a different use of an existing tool or a different group applying learning from fellow grantee partners. Through this, Voice hoped to capture and stimulate learning of methods to develop an evidence-base for future programming. After the global launch of Voice, the complete operationalisation of the programme in all 10 Voice focus countries- Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Cambodia, Laos, Indonesia and Philippines, followed with national launches of Voice and release of national calls for proposals. Overall, the launches were creative and included some form of art, music and/or debates.

1 Ahmed, Nabil Dabi, Nafkote, Lawson, Max, Lowthers, Megan, Marriott, Anna, MLigehera, Leah, 2022 Inequality Kills: The unparalleled action needed to combat unprecedented inequality in the wake of COVID-19, Oxfam. Available at: https://poIicy-practi ce.oxfam.org/reso LIrces/ineqLIaIity- kiIls-the- LInparaIleled-acti on-needed-to-combat- LInprecedented-ineqLIal-621341/

10 FOCUS COUNTRIES ACROSS THE YEARS

NIGER

Laos

Mali

PHILIPPINES

Nigeria

Cambodia

Kenya

UGANDA

Tanzania

INDONESIA

BUSINESS AS UNUSUAL Voice was designed by the

CREATIVITY Growing pain two: creativity cannot trump accessibility In our quest for creativity Voice must be careful and consider low connectivity settings. We assume that the more established organisations have internet access. We have made special provisions for the smallest informal groups to apply as they are allowed

Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs in response to failed efforts to include the most marginalised and discriminated groups in mainstream development. It means that business as usual cannot apply. For example, what about a (social) enterprise creating employment for the most marginalised and discriminated groups in a pilot project, reducing stigma along the way and joining forces to influence labour laws? Or someone from the LGBTI community organising weekly storytelling sessions in the local library for empowerment, building self-esteem and overcoming stigma. The possibilities are endless.

PEOPLE Growing pain one:

There are (at least) three important building blocks core to the emergence of this innovative grant facility acccording to Marinke van Riet, the founding Programme Manager of Voice in a a blog reflecting on the first year of Voice, following a year of grant making. THREE BUILDING BLOCKS OF

finding the right people Working for Voice requires the technical competencies of a grant-maker. Equally, if not more important is the right attitude when working with the most marginalised and discriminated people.

to submit a handwritten application directly to a Country Team.

In keeping with its overall reflective approach, the Voice team considered the language it uses and how it can be a medium to create relationships that are more equal, trusting, and open. One of the ways in which this was expressed was a change in terminology from targets and beneficiaries to rightsholder groups as part of a larger shift to hope based communications. As Marinke van Riet, states in her blog ‘The language of power, the power of language’ the recognition “ ...indicates the innate and legitimate claim they [rightsholder] can make to demand their roles and rights for an inclusive society.” “Yet, as Ruth Kimani and Sheila Mulli, members of the Voice grant-making team, observe in their blog, unscripted musings in grant-making, the term rightsholders needs to be contextualised. “In the spirit of oneness and contributing to just and fair societies, aren’t we all rightsholders? While each rightsholder’s journey is unique, we are all journeying together and finding ways to enjoy prosperity.”

So, we’re all rightsholders, and we organise or group ourselves when necessary to join forces to solve issues specific to us, voicing our needs and rights. Within the five rightsholder groups, and intersectional ties which Voice has sought to further “unpeel” to align with its own understanding and body of work as a fund. For instance, a young person from an indigenous/ ethnic minority community, ravaged by poverty and with poor access to social and economic amenities could be living with a disability while also identifying as gay or bisexual or intersex. By centring the lived reality of rightsholders in the programme approach, cross-connections among grantee partners representing rightsholder groups, or the surfacing of diversity within a rightsholder group does has not had to be directed by Voice. The rightsholders evolve mechanisms of managing these inter and intra-realities in their own organic way. It is the reality that the grantee partners Voice supports, live, breathe and identify with and foster.

Voice partners: The rightsholder groups Voice serves

“Research and context analysis supported the identification of the main groups to be served by Voice. A determination was based on factors including those who are most affected by poverty or making the least progress towards development outcomes (SDGs), those most affected by social, economic, spatial, and political exclusion, currently ignored or not reached by development actors, and those whose groups and representatives are at risk of repression or violence for speaking out for their rights. Over the course of its first 5 years, Voice’s own understanding and framing of those it seeks to serve has evolved considerably.

“Inkeeping with the agenda to support those community groups that have traditionally faced marginalisation and discrimination in access to development initiatives, the rightsholders groups Voice serves, includepeople with disabilities, women facing exploitation, abuse and/ or violence, indigenous people and ethnic minorities, vulnerable elderly and youth, and LGBTI people. 4 In the different Voice focus countries, these groups are among those who have fewer opportunities, are less valued, and are living the effects of discrimination and marginalisation in their families, surroundings, or society at large.”

4 This is the original abbreviation used in the programme document. However, some grant- ee partners or Voice countries also use LGBTIQ+ people or LBQ (Lesbian Bisexual or Queer) women

Supporting local civil society

If inclusion is a bedrock principle of Voice, supporting rightsholder groups in all the diversity of their formations is its raison d’etre. The Voice theory of change seeks to strengthen the capacity of (informal) groups, organisations, and networks to influence, to find strategic allies among powerholders and duty- bearers, and to promote collaboration within civil society to defend rights in an ever- shifting civic space. The support to informal groups is crucial to deliver on Voice’s mandate of shifting resources to those left furthest behind recognising that formal registration is beyond the reach of many rightsholder groups. Whether or not to support a group to register as a formal organisation, depends on their own dream and organisational trajectory. However, Voice is precluded from entering into a direct grant agreement with unregistered organisations due to MFA mandated financial compliance policies. To find a way around this restriction, Voice has sought to work through fiscal hosting arrangements whereby informal groups are asked to partner with formally registered organisations who can hold and manage the funds on behalf of the unregistered counterparts. While we realise this is an incomplete solution, it remains the only practicable path within Voice’s current Trying to connect with ‘unusual suspects’ among rightsholders groups means that Voice is having to constantly assess the effectiveness of its outreach methods. A reflection done by the Voice teams at the end of the first programme year compares this effort to needing to “access Reaching PEOPLE- where they are

situation. As mentioned above, Voice is currently part of the ‘Power of Voices’ (PoV) grant instrument within the Dutch MFA’s ‘Strengthening Civil Society’ policy framework. Addressing the core component of ‘lobby and advocacy’ of the PoV grant instrument, Voice provides Influencing grants. These aim at strengthening the influencing,lobby and/ or advocacy capacities of organisations and networks in amplifying the voices of marginalised and discriminated groups to influence others that have the potential ‘power’ to improve their situation. Recognising that opportunities of influencing are dynamic and often times unanticipated, Voice also provides Sudden Opportunity grants that target specific contextual changes impacting the rightsholders. The time-bound nature of the grants notwithstanding, it has been important for Voice to be able to contribute to myriad efforts of local civil society organisations seeking to influence at multiple levels from individuals and communities to (sub-) national to international.

Lessons on Inclusion and Innovation Inclusion@soul

with youth or increasing the effect of advocacy for indigenous people’s access to land, or respect for sexual and gender identities in Southeast Asia. Lessons from these interventions shaped the future calls for proposals and the trajectory of Voice. Most of the Voice funded projects as well as the linking and learning processes, therefore, centre on getting the personal story of the rightsholders out. In addition to shaping grant programmes, the process of grant-making also learned important lessons on inclusion. An early one was on language inclusion. While Voice started with the express mandate to work in two languages - English and French, the languages of the Voice focus countries far outnumber those two. In Indonesia for instance, the grants team came to the realisation that having English as the only working language for Voice would prevent particularly informal groups from accessing resources. Thus, the country teams insisted on creating grant applicationsand materials inBahasa Indonesia. This came with the additional cost of language translation for the grants team, but it was necessary to go this extra mile in the spirit of inclusion.

At its start, Voice was described as a grant facility aiming to support the most marginalised and discriminated groups in the focus countries and regions. This initial intent transformed into a bedrock principle, guiding all of Voice’s work and came to be called ‘inclusion’. Voice’s linking and learning activities were key to strengthening the programme’s understanding of inclusion and innovation right from the beginning. The eight grantee partners selected from the first call for proposals were invited to share their approaches and methodologies during the first learning event dubbed I-Cube (Inclusion Innovation lndaba). The experiences shared during this first learning indaba underlined the importance of actions led by those with ‘lived realities’. Personalisation was a recurrent aspect in the approaches and methodologies of the eight selected grantee partner projects. These included innovative approaches around empowerment, self-esteem and personal change like looking in, looking out, the transformational use of user personas and user stories to get to understand the goals, motivations and the needs of rightsholders, playing games

“INTERSECTIONALITY - NOT JUST ANOTHER BUZZ WORD

where rightsholders are, observe them, and then explain how Voice can support their organising. activities with accompaniment aiming to strengthen grantee partners capacity to submit grant applications that meet the Voice eligibility criteria has also been important. Thus, teams conduct information sessions and open clinics on calls for proposals as well as proposal writing workshops to support potential grantee partners. Complementing outreach Voice recognises that no stand-alone activity can be considered as the most successful, since distinct groups have unique characteristics when it comes to being reached.

seemingly uncharted waters”. However, navigation systems were also found through collective brainstorming. Voice teams sought to test out outreach methods ranging from getting airtime in local radio shows and “crashing” weekly female religious group meetings, to starting discussions with beauty salon clients in Mali and utilising mobile chat applications for the LGBTI community like Blued. In countries such as Indonesia and Nigeria, teams reported early success with using snowball outreach and virtual outreach methods. In addition to the medium, Voice teams learned early on about the necessity to connect the content of calls for proposals to the context and realities of rightsholders. In the Philippines and in Kenya, the teams noted early on that it was important to be present Being Flexible to be responsive Internal systems and ways of working have evolved, informed by continuous learning with Voice stakeholders. Working across Africa and Asia and across the systems of consortium partners, we have learned the value of diversifying our approaches and responses. This is critical to ensure that we can engage with Voice rightsholder groups on sensitive issues within the different contexts. Customised approaches in our grant-makings helped us get closer to realising our dream to ‘leave no one behind.’

The idea of supporting groups facing multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination was embedded into the design of Voice as a grant making facility right from inception. Starting from 2017, the application of an intersectional approach was put in practice. In general, the identities that are more visible in the work of grantee partners that Voice has supported, that intersect each other, generating context of discrimination and marginalization are: Indigenous women, youth or elderly with disabilities, women with disabilities, elderly women and women and young people with and LGBTI identity. From this learning, our calls for proposals became intentional on intersectionality;

“Voice considers the most marginalised and discriminated groups as those with multiple grounds for vulnerabilities. Therefore, a strong preference will be given to projects that intend to work with more than one target group to address overlapping or multiple vulnerabilities.” A deeper discussion on Voice’s experience with intersectionality is outlined in chapter Ill, section 3 “Breaking the silos: From vertical to horizontal ‘siloing’. Since its inception, there’s been a tension between the ambitions of Voice, like the effort to ‘Walk the Talk’ and to be as inclusive and accessible as possible, and the human resources available. The teams delivering the Voice programme in the ten Voice countries consist of a programme officer, a finance officer, and a linking, learning & amplifier officer, complemented by a global coordination team. 5 The current structure has been established based on recommendations made in the mid term review that not only encouraged further decentralisation of grant management to the country level. It also highlighted the Back to building block one: people

Take for example the empowerment grants, targeting (informal) groups or organisations to raise awareness, develop transformative leadership, build confidence and skills and work against stigmatisation of marginalised and discriminated groups. We tried out applications and reporting by audio and video. We also launched Calls for Proposals using videos and/ or radio such as in Laos and Nigeria respectively. From September 2018 through March 2019, Dutch consultancy firm MDF -commissioned by the MFA-carried out a Mid-Term Review (MTR) on Voice. Findings assert that Voice has been successful in offering the space and freedom to apply and test many different approaches, even though they have not all been equally

successful. Innovative and inclusive outreach methods for grant making, meant to enhance flexibility in application (i.e., allowing in local language, non-written formats) haven’t been used as much as expected. Write-shops and hands-on support (‘ping-pong process’) are successful methods that Voice uses to make the application process easier and more inclusive. However, we note that these methods are also quite labour-intensive.

5 The global coordination team consists of a programme manager, finance coordinator, linking & learning coordi- nator, two regional roving grants officers, two regional monitoring & evaluation officers, two amplifiers, and a project officer.

Since 2018, Voice has been implementing a unique initiative called the Nothing About Us Without Us! (NOW-Us!) Awards started in collaboration with the Spindle of Partos. The award aims to recognise inspiring inclusive strategies from Africa and Asia, promote diversity and inclusion, and support the self-empowerment of rightsholders groups and communities. They are a celebration and revalidation of the fact that rightsholders know best what inclusion means for their communities and that they hold experiential knowledge which is the basis for human centred innovations. Being creative and adaptive The grant lifecycle, some practical lessons

importance of having necessary human resources for delivering on a programme such as Voice, that seeks to go the extra mile in meeting grantee partners where they are. While there are some differences in the portfolio sizes between the different countries and the multi-country grantee portfolio managed by the coordination team, we have learned that absorbing the administrative burden of grant making and ensuring responsiveness requires not only the right people but also the right number of people.

The awards started under the framework of the Innovate and Learn Grants, meant to test and scale new approaches with a focus on human- centred innovations that are very context specific. For the Extension phase however, it will be complemented with the Empowerment Grants to test out the winning innovative approaches to inclusion. A highlight for the final ten nominees is their participation in a bootcamp, where they learn about the other nominated initiatives and strengthen their proposals in the run-up to the Award selection.

Harnessing the power of partnership

The understanding of what the consortium relationship between Oxfam Novib and Hivos means in practical terms took some time to percolate to the country level. Voice has developed a distinctive identity, giving it a level of independence from Oxfam/Hivos. For instance, the Voice uniform letterhead for contracts and transfers reflect that Voice is managing funding on behalf of MFA. The semi-independence also created space for Voice to challenge certain procedures and ways of working at Oxfam/Hivos and to pilot different value-based practices and decolonising narratives leading to fresh relationships and ongoing learning and growth. While this has a positive side in terms of developing and managing relationship with grantee partners. It can also be a barrier where for instance, legal matters arise in relation to integrity cases. Voice not being a legal entity, these revert to the implementing partner of the consortium. In some cases, this leads to complex situations and tension.

The combined network and reputation of Oxfam and Hivos has clearly helped in reaching those not easily reached. First because both organisations have established contacts with a wide range of local civil society organisations through which many new grantee partners could be identified and attracted. Second, but not less important, being recognised civil society organisations, Oxfam and Hivos are seen as like-minded and therefore regarded with less suspicion when calling marginalised and discriminated groups to come forward with proposals for support. This is particularly important for rightsholder groups like: sex workers, street children, people with disability and LGTBQI, that prefer to keep a low profile. On the other side however, this like-mindedness also brings to the surface the challenge of finding the right balance between being development partner (i.e., working together in partnership) and fund manager (i.e., with clear accountability from one to the other).

“Grant management within Voice encompasses every part of a grant’s lifecycle, from pre-award analysis, grant implementation through to post-award grant closeout. The process is always evolving and includes various lifecycle tasks through its unique award phases.

The biggest learning has been navigating the bureaucracies of both consortium partners, as well as the Oxfam confederation. While the systems within the two institutions- Oxfam Novib and Hivos, provide a strong basis for the accountability and transparency necessary in fund and grant management, they also require immense human resources to adhere to. Additionally, as with other funders, navigating the fine balance between accountability and agility, the organisational systems put to test the capacity of Voice as a grant making facility

to be quick and responsive. Using long-standing experience in fund management, both organisations have developed fund man- agement structures and procedures tailored to their needs. Oxfam Novib being the lead organisation for Voice, it was decidedthat their systems are guiding, where possible and relevant. The challenge has been mainstreaming procedures in Hivos countries implementing Voice- Tanzania, Kenya, Indonesia, and The Philippines.

The key steps in the grant application process:

Contracting

Proposal design including supporting applicants with project proposal writing

Screening of applications

Outreach to disseminate CfP and attract interest in the Voice grant facility from rightsholders group

TOOLS AND RESOURCES Our grants management practices are in most cases communicated effectively to external and internal stakeholders and structured so that opportunities for grantee partners to achieve success are maximised. Voice has developed several tools and resources to help support the programme establish a strong grants management strategy. Below are a list of tools and resources developed and adapted based on gained experiences and insights:

Digitized system

Digitalised systems where Voice has put efforts in shifting applications and reporting requirements to existing digital platforms. Voice is maximising use of Smartsheet in generating various reports and documentation needed from applicants/grantee partners and Voice teams. Initially, Smartsheet was only used in receiving grant applications. Gradually, the Voice team is using this in receiving annual reports and end of project reports from grantee partners.

The Voice Grant Manual and the Process Manual are presently the key instruments we use to facilitate the uniformity of processes, and the consistency of interpretation of programme guidelines and other financial requirements. They are ‘living’ documents that are periodically reviewed to adapt to the changing contexts and to obstacles encountered. To us they represent the required uniformity, but we acknowledge that we can make some efficiency gains. We do this as part of co-creation processes that provide space for internal reflections and learnings. Mainly the monthly virtual team meetings as well as the physical annual meetings, which has lately not been possible due to COVID-19.

The Voice system also uses PowerBI, an online system used for grant portfolio analysis and real-time data visualisation on grant-making performance against certain benchmarks. This tool allows for the monitoring against targets on impact themes, rightsholders groups, grant types, approval statuses, reporting year, and enables countries to develop targeted Calls for Proposals (CfPs) in case a theme or a group is underrepresented.

Voice Grant Manual

Conversation-Based Reporting

In line with these findings and to support rightsholder-led initiatives, we invested more on empowerment grants hence the reason for the surpassed targets. Due to the emphasis of granting rightsholder-led initiatives, it has been difficult in identifying organisations that can do influencing activities at national or regional level that are rightsholder-led. Most interventions are implemented on behalf of the groups. This has led to the lower realisation of the target. On sudden opportunity grant, the lower realised target has been mainly due to fewer applications as well as the time taken to fund the initiatives. Voice has not managed to fully realise the four-week turnaround time. The internal systems are not suited for ‘emergency’ or rapid grant making.

Instead of a written report at the six-month point, Voice has piloted conversation-based reporting. The Mid-Term Review highlighted that Voice would need to simplify and create more knowledge-oriented monitoring processes in a form of a thorough reflection of appropriate information, and learnings from projects. For this, Voice developed and tested a template that aims to replace written 6-monthly reports with loosely structured conversations with grantee partners aiming at trust and relationship-building, capacity strengthening and learning. Each conversation is nonetheless, documented on the side of the Voice by the relevant team- country or coordination.

Following Voice’s Mid-Term Review in 2019, certain changes were incorporated into the grant management system to make it more lean, flexible, and inclusive. This conversation between the two Regional Roving Grant Officers describes some of the measures put in place, including automation of application systems, introduction of conversation- based reporting and exploring area-based grant making.

THEMES

The diagram on the right shows how many grants contributes to each impact theme. The only theme underrepresented is improved access to productive resources and employment. It has proven more difficult to attract project ideas in that area fitting Voice requirements and Calls for Proposals.

IMPROVED ACCESS TO PRODUCTIVE RESOURCES AND EMPLOYMENT SPACE FOR POLITICAL PARTICIPATION FIGURE 7: PERCENTAGE DISTRIBUTION OF GRANT BUDGET BY BY IMPACT THEME ACCESS TO IMPROVED SOCIAL SERVICES

Nuts and bolts of grant making in Voice Over the last five years, Voice focused on operationalising the programme within the consortium partners, Oxfam Novib and Hivos, as well as working closely with the Dutch Embassies in the countries where we work. This resulted in some 400 grantee partners by March 2021.

groups

Who we have funded

The reached through the Voice programme is close to the originally planned reach. With slightly more LGBTI funding and less for Women facing exploitation, abuse, or violence. At the same time, many projects work with cross cutting issues and especially focus on the women in the groups. rightsholder groups

GRANT TYPES

According to the Mid-Term Review, the programme has triggered an eligible demand that went well beyond its funding capabilities from applicants that for more than 90% are new to Oxfam/ Hivos. At the same time, the number of applications varied widely from country to country. This is partly caused by contextual differences (including size, openness to civil society, and level of development) but also by differences in programme performance in terms of, quality of context analysis, outreach efforts, guidance, and application of selection criteria.

INDEGENOUS PEOPLE AT ETHNIC MINORITIES

LGBTI PEOPLE

WOMEN FACING EXPLOITATION, ABUSE AND OR VIOLENCE

PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES

SUDDEN OPPORTUNITY

VULNERABLE YOUTH AND SENIOR CITIZEN

INFLUENCING GRANT EMPOWERMENT GRANT

FIGURE 8: PERCENTAGE DISTRIBUTION OF GRANT BUDGET BY RIGHTSHOLDER GROUP

INNOVATE AND LEARN GRANT

FIGURE 6: PERCENTAGE DISTRIBUTION OF GRANT BUDGET BY GRANT TYPE

As stated before, grants have been the mechanism used by Voice to support rightsholder groups in its working areas. Through country-led context analyses and development of calls for proposals, we have been able to ensure that the grants respond to specificities of rightsholders needs and/ or current political, social, or legal developments. Grants have mostly been awarded to smaller organisations and/or informal networks, whose objective is to formalise their organisations by setting up stronger financial systems or those seeking to connect with wider movements as part of their own growth and outreach strategy. HOW TO MAKE CALLS FOR PROPOSAL WORK

COVID-19 Slows down burn-rate

TYPES OF ORGANIZATION

ACCESS TO IMPROVED SOCIAL SERVICES

The COVID-19 pandemic had a deleterious effect on programme implementation. Voice and itsgrantee partners were forced to grapple with this ‘new normal’. On the one hand, the MFA put a temporary stop on issuance of new call for proposals while on the other many grantee partners struggled to move forward with project implementation. In practical terms, the administrative consequences of this have been acute. Phase 1 comprises 398 contracts with individual grantee partners. Of these 398 contracts, 204 or 51% were amended, leading to an enormous additional administration burden for Voice teams. Of the total contract value of 35 million allocated in the first five years, only 31, 25 million was finally realised. This is in fact an underspent of 10%. This implies that 3, 75 million had to be re- allocated to the Voice Extension phase 2021-2024, with a project starting date in 2021 (or later). Also, in the context of COVID-19 the demand from local organisations for access to unrestricted funding that enables them to respond dynamically to the needs of their communities is becoming acutely visible.

This is unfortunately a demand that Voice has not been able to fulfil, given the limitations by the service contract. Despite the limitations, both the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) and Voice have endeavoured to communicate directly to grantee partners and find ways forward to cope with the different challenges COVID-19 has brought. Voice issued periodic updates in March, April and in May 2020 and will do so as we adapt to the changing global situation. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), Netherlands recognised that these were uncertain times for many, during which it was important to keep our peace and find inventive solutions to solve problems as we take care of each other. They too wrote a letter of solidarity to all Voice grantees partners and colleagues. Below is a message from a grantee partner that we received upon sharing the letter from the ministry :

IMPROVED ACCESS TO PRODUCTIVE RESOURCES AND EMPLOYMENT

SPACE FOR POLITICAL PARTICIPATION

FIGURE 9: PERCENTAGE DISTRIBUTION OF GRANT BUDGET BY TYPE OF ORGANIZATION

While grants are time-bound, they promote transparency and accountability in grant management. Voice acknowledges that the empowerment process allows rightsholders to gain knowledge, enhance self-acceptance and skills to challenge the status quo. Yet, this is a gradual process of growing rightsholders’ capacities as both individuals and as groups. Furthermore, we have learned that the gap between empowerment and the other grant

types is too big, the minimum amounts as well as the reporting requirements. Voice has sought to address the needs of empowerment grantee partners for sustained or longer-term support through creating specific calls for proposal aimed at past grantee partners and designing the Graduation Grant (GR) or Empowerment Accelerator to support existing empowerment grantee partners to continue and sustain the participation of rightsholders.

The call for proposal modality of grantee partner selection is a key feature of Voice. While calls for proposals can stimulate creativity and foster transparency and accountability, they also mean that the relationship between Voice and its partners is time-bound. In seeking to move to trust based and transformative partnerships with grantee partners, the calls for proposals modality is a key challenge. However, this challenge has been addressed to a large extent by the complementary strategy of linking and learning that has provided a platform for Voice and its grantee partners to develop greater understanding of each other and thereby, a greater sense of community. Knowing our limitations

GIVING AND RECEIVING FEEDBACK

has always been there. On the flipside, Voice has also tried to hone its skills on providing feedback to ‘unsuccessful’ applicants. Cultivating honest and open relationships with organisations and groups whose efforts are in line with the vision of Voice yet propose a project that is a misfit to the present call, is a stepping- stone to more successful call outcomes in the future. An interesting example comes from Kenya, where the Voice team supported potential applicants working on gender- based violence and harmful traditional practices to come together at a regional forum. The participating organisations worked in the same geographical area working on the same issues but did not know of each other’s initiatives. By providing abrainstorming space, Voice supported the organisations to think about how to be more strategic in their collective and focused activities and strengthen their future grant applications.

The letter was very encouraging, I used it as a talking point to some donors to show how humane Voice is-/ was shocked that they will go to that extent to really care... When that letter came, me and my team broke down in tears and that gave us the zeal to start working again, knowing that we are not alone and that someone cares”

Irene Ojiugo Patrick-Ogbogu, Executive Director, Disability Rights Advocacy Centre, Nigeria

Part of Voice’s journey to being a responsive grant maker starts with developing the ability to giveandreceive feedback. After completing grant agreements with the original set of 71 grantee partners in 2017, the Voice team reflected on what it heard from applicants about the application process and eligibility criteria. Following this, changes were made to the income restriction criteria to incentivise young, small start-ups and social enterprises to apply as well as changes to application processes for Sudden Opportunity grants. Although Voice has not always done well for time in receiving feedback and implementing changes based on it, the intention to listen

Centring humanity in fraud cases

Integrity issues involving corruption or mismanagement of financial resources are always treated seriously. In the last five years, 15 reports of fraud cases involving a range of organisations, from smaller and younger groups to the more established ones were received and investigated by Voice. From these cases, 10 eventually resulted to termination of contract. These are unfortunate situations that we cannot fully avoid, but in the process of handling them, we learned that they can also provide a safe, respectful space for all parties to learn and grow, especially when there is a clear intention to change. They also continue to challenge us to reflect on our practices, how we can concretely demonstrate rights-based and developmental approaches even in such events, though not always successful. In 2018, Coalition of Services of the Elderly, Inc. (COSE)-an Influencing grantee partner in the Philippines then implementing their 2-year project “Enhancing Access to Social Protection Programme”, published a reflection piece highlighting their experience in handling a fraud case

within their project. It was one of the positive outcomes of the safeguarding mechanisms, as COSE not only focused on the integrity of their organisation, but also the well-being of the individual who committed fraud. Quoting from their reflection, “In dealing with fraud cases, the technical approach can be effective. But if we include compassion and a broad understanding of the circumstances and motivations of the person involved, then it becomes even more facilitating - such approach encouraged him to be more open and expressive of his feelings and emotions about the situation and how and why it happened.”

Figure 11: Campaign against ageism during the International Day of Older Persons

From knowledge to practice

We have also stepped up our due diligence processes and changed our contract regularly to (foremost) tackle the number of irregularity cases. We are working with grantee partners but still are a donor who needs to respond and report to its back donor. Additionally, the understanding and agreement that all Voice-teams use Oxfam Novib Adobe systems for grantee partner management has enormously facilitated the programme monitoring and management. And at the level of programme management and linking and learning, all teams use their own accounting systems but consolidate in one overall

standard financial report.We have another three years to shine on and continue institutionalising what we are learning. We aim to get even more voices heard and people seen; basically, building on the base we have created. Additionally, there shall be opportunities for former grantee partners to further deepen their work which they started. And more avenues for grantee partners to take an active role continue.

According to the MTR findings, the added value of the Voice programme is not derived from its contractual status, nor because of its focus on marginalised and discriminated groups. Instead, the added value of Voice lies in itsdemonstratedability to give practical meaning to the notion “nothing about us, without us” by creating and managing an easily accessible grant funding mechanism. Voice’s added value is its ability to mobilise and work with hundreds of grantee partners that in majority directly represent Voice’s rightsholder groups. This said, it is important to note that the original tender set-up and the programme structure haven’t fully allowed for optimal realisation of this concept (such as for example not being able to contract and work directly with informal groups but having to do so via so- called host organisations).

Voice started out as a grant making facility to revolutionise access of grants to rightsholders who were constantly marginalised and discriminated against. Our grant making approach has not followed the traditional funding processes already embodied within Hivos/Oxfam Novib systems, but this has continued to be a challenge. To manage risks in the grant-making processes, Voice has had to apply several due diligence processes and documentation requests that might be considered as contradictory to our intention to facilitate flexible procedures for grantee partners. Voice is also cognisant of the fact that to be different in our grant making approach, it is important to approach grant making from a place of trust and compassion. As we have tried to navigate this space, we still face the challenge of building trust versus accountability. We have learnt that attitude amongst the grant-making teams is important as we seek to build trust with our grantee partners from the start of the engagement. This has meant that while a grantee partner requests for a grant for specific activities, the teams need to better understand their working context so as not to work from a position of ignorance, and cultivate accountability through relationship building.

Shining on

In the next chapter, we address the Voice Theo- ry of Change, it’s evolution over the lasts years based on the lessons gathered through to the mid-point of implementation, stories of change and project impact stories that spotlight grant- ee partners’ experiences of engaging with the three pathways embedded in the Theory of Change and the successes and challenges of influencing. Diving into the stories allowed us to evaluate how far we have delivered on the promise and moved closer to the realisation of our dream.

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