Efficient and effective The chair is committed to the group, well regarded and has a long history with the CCMG. Support the chair’s role in focusing the group on matters within scope by developing clear terms of reference. CCMG/DPO Coalition Clear expectations of members Members have a commitment to and passion for disability issues and lived experience of disability. Agendas and meeting minutes are prepared and circulated with material for review in advance of the meetings. The extent to which members can invest time and resource in preparing for meetings varies. Set expectations about preparation for meetings and hold members accountable has the potential to increase meeting productivity. Resource members for meeting preparation time is likely to assist. CCMG/DPO Coalition Adequate funding CCMG members are paid meeting fees and travel costs are covered. The budget includes travel costs for meetings. Fund preparation time and consider whether compensation is adequate, as the preparation time required may vary between members. Manage the individual members’ travel requirements effectively through the fundholder. CCMG/DPO Coalition Accountable and transparent Some members routinely report on the CCMG to their DPOs, who consider they are well informed. Direct communication to wider stakeholder groups through participation in meetings provides responsive communication. Set expectations for members’ responsibilities around consulting and reporting back to their organisations to ensure DPO leaderships and memberships are engaged with the monitoring. Agree processes for direct communication to wider stakeholder groups to ensure transparency and reflection of consensus views. CCMG/DPO Coalition
Monitoring management Effective and independent fundholding ODI took over the role of fundholder and provides administrative support, for the CCMG. No suitable alternative was identified. Independence of the fundholder from government is viewed by stakeholders as part of the independence of the monitoring as a whole. ODI does not want to be the fundholder and would prefer to administer the fund to the fundholder designated by the CCMG. There are options available to move the fundholder role to another organisation with the required capacity (a new entity, an NGO or another type of organisation). The organisation must have adequate infrastructure to manage the financial aspects of monitoring management. Effective project management team, administration and logistics The outgoing national coordinator and project leader have documented the different components of their role, carrying institutional knowledge forward. The current project manager has established some of the needed processes. Empower the monitoring team to make all operational decisions and report them to the CCMG. Continue to on the project management foundation that has been established and increase the focus of the CCMG on governance issues, drawing on the expertise of the monitoring team. CCMG/DPO Coalition Monitoring approach Develop a monitoring framework The UNCRPD and the DRPI method provide sources of guidance for the structure of the monitoring framework. There is room to further modify the DRPI method to increase the value of the monitoring. These modifications should be adopted or rejected by the monitoring governance who could draw on expert input to support their decision making. CCMG/DPO Coalition in consultation with IMM partners, ODI and the wider sector
Effectiveness of a monitoring committee will depend on the standing of its chair and how well it dialogues with members of the committee. Everyone has their own barrows to push. (former UNCRPD chair) The role has been particularly challenging to date because are no clear terms of reference. Stakeholder and CCMG members spoke highly of the current chair’s commitment to the monitoring. The chair also has had an important role contributing to the IMM through participation in meetings and other communications. Communication through participation has most often been provided through the chair, who has also chaired some IMM meetings. Some other CCMG members have also participated, but to a much lesser degree. The CCMG Chair has played a very active part of the IMM. She has been to every meeting since she started. She critically read documents. Comes to the internal working group as well. Comes to all meetings and played a part. (Stakeholder) Clear expectations of members Strengths Members have a commitment to and passion for disability issues and lived experience of disability. Agendas and meeting minutes are prepared and circulated with material for review in advance of the meetings. The extent to which members can invest time and resource in preparing for meetings varies. Opportunities for development Setting clear expectations about preparation for meetings and holding members accountable has the potential to increase meeting productivity. Resourcing members for meeting preparation time is likely to assist. Materials are circulated with meeting agendas at least two weeks in advance to allow members time to review them and prepare to discuss them. However, there is variation in the time members invest in preparation. When members have not prepared, meeting time is used for summarising material instead of consensus building and decision making, hindering the group’s effectiveness and efficiency. Once at meetings, members are expected to represent their DPOs’ perspectives, as distinct from their personal perspectives. The group benefits from the depth of knowledge and experience of the members, but discussions must be strictly limited to the group’s scope. The chair has a role in enforcing these limitations but the members should self-manage as much as possible.