Structure and roles of the PROLINNOVA International Support Team (IST)
Revised 6 August 2010 (subject to change)
The International Support Team (IST) is composed of several individuals from various national and
international organisations that are providing support in international programme coordination,
capacity building, networking, website management, documentation, publishing, international
policy dialogue, monitoring and evaluation (M&E) etc, as well as country/region-specific support
to building up and strengthening the country/regional programmes (CPs/RPs).
The IST includes the coordinators of multi-country subprogrammes under the PROLINNOVA
umbrella, such as FAIR (Farmer Access to Innovation Resources), HAPID (HIV/AIDS and
Participatory Innovation Development) and PROFEIS (Promoting Farmer Experimentation and
Innovation in the Sahel), some of which are funded partly from other sources than the core funds
for the PROLINNOVA programme. The coordinators of these subprogrammes are responsible for:
• facilitating and coordinating planning, implementation and evaluation of the subprogrammes;
• advising partners on methodology, content-related matters and reporting requirements; and
• reporting on the subprogramme to the IST, POG and funding organisation(s).
Individual membership in the IST is determined according to tasks that the PROLINNOVA Secretariat
(the NGO managing the PROLINNOVA programme, currently ETC EcoCulture in ETC Foundation)
and the partner organisations holding a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with this NGO have
allocated to their staff members.
At the current time (August 2010), the individuals and their host organisations that make up the IST
and their fields of work within PROLINNOVA are (in alphabetical order):
Table 1: Division of responsibilities within the IST
Name
Ann WatersBayer
Organisation
ETC EcoCulture
Country
Germany
Annie Secretario
Bara Guèye
Brigid Letty
Chesha
Wettasinha
IIRR
IED Afrique
INR
ETC EcoCulture
Philippines
Senegal
South Africa
Netherlands
Emily Monville
Jean-Marie Diop
IIRR
ETC EcoCulture
Philippines
Belgium
Julian Gonsalvez
Laurens van
Veldhuizen
IIRR
ETC EcoCulture
Philippines
Netherlands
Lilibeth Sulit
Mariana
Wongtschowski
IIRR
ETC EcoCulture
Philippines
Spain
Marise Espinelli
Sabina Di Prima
IIRR
CIS-VUA
Philippines
Netherlands
Will Critchley
CIS-VUA
Netherlands
Wim Honkoop
ETC EcoCulture
Netherlands
Fields of work
Backstopping Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria,
PROFEIS & South Africa; climate change; gender & youth;
HAPID; LISF; POG Secretariat; policy dialogue ARD fora;
publications; website content; link to JOLISAA
Website / listserver management
PROFEIS (including backstopping all countries involved)
HAPID
Backstopping Ghana, Nepal & South Africa; cross-visits;
farmer-led documentation; gender & youth; HAPID;
institutional change; M&E; PID training; POG Secretariat;
publications coordination
Coordination IIRR team; website management
Backstopping Niger, PROFEIS & Sudan; cross-visits; PID
training; website content
Backstopping Cambodia; M&E; publications
Backstopping Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Pacific, Tanzania &
Uganda; curriculum development; farmer organisations;
institutional change; LISF; M&E; policy dialogue;
programme management
Publications production and distribution
Backstopping Andes, Cambodia, Mozambique, Nepal &
Sudan; climate change; LISF; M&E; policy dialogue
capacity building; programme management
M&E; training
Backstopping South Africa & Uganda; curriculum
development; IST representative in POG; SCI-SLM1
Backstopping Ethiopia, Kenya, Pacific, Tanzania & Uganda;
publications; SCI-SLM
General support; M&E; website content
Note: Bold italics indicates that the primary coordination / backstopping role lies with this person.
1
Stimulating Community Initiatives in Sustainable Land Management
73237 PROLINNOVA IST structure and roles v8 060810
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For each CP/RP, at least one person from ETC or CIS–VUA has been assigned as first or second
backstopper so that information from each CP is available for regular meetings at the PROLINNOVA
Secretariat. The action list from these meetings is circulated to participants for corrections and then
circulated to all other IST members (in the Netherlands and abroad) who were not at the meeting.
Seen on the basis of organisations, division of responsibilities – beyond country-specific
backstopping – is as follows:
ETC EcoCulture: host of the International Secretariat for the PROLINNOVA programme, holds the
ultimate responsibility for overall programme management including:
• drawing up MoU/contracts with programme partners at international, regional and national level
• drawing up annual workplans and budgets for international activities, in consultation with the
IST members
• compiling and distributing six-monthly and annual reports on the programme
• programme monitoring and evaluation.
The programme manager reports to the POG and the funding organisations.
The Secretariat handles overall coordination of backstopping, climate change and PID, farmer-led
documentation, international policy dialogue and publications. It coordinates the FAIR and supports
the HAPID and PROFEIS subprogrammes. It serves as secretariat to the PROLINNOVA Oversight
Group (POG). It also plays a large role in raising awareness of potential donors in PROLINNOVA
activities and country networks, and coordinates fundraising for multi-country (sub)programmes.
International Institute of Rural Reconstruction (IIRR): coordination of training, ICT, website,
listserver, M&E, and production and distribution of publications.
Centre for International Cooperation, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (CIS–VUA): coordination
of curriculum development, support to publications, and coordination of SCI-SLM (Stimulating
Community Initiatives in Sustainable Land Management), an associate programme working with
some of the same partners plus other, non-PROLINNOVA partners.
Institute of Natural Resources (INR): coordination of the HAPID subprogramme.
Innovations, Environnement, Développement en Afrique (IED Afrique): coordination of
PROFEIS subprogramme.
In addition, PROLINNOVA partners in Kenya, South Africa and the International Secretariat are
collaborating in the EU-funded research and networking project JOLISAA (Joint Learning in
Innovation Systems in Sustainable Agriculture) which runs from February 2010 to July 2012.
This makes use of the PROLINNOVA network and should enrich the learning within this network.
There will be a similarly close relationship with INSARD (Including Smallholders in Agricultural
Research for Development), currently under negotiation with the EU. This will support efforts to
increase the influence of civil society (farmer organisations and NGOs) in decision-making related
to agricultural research and development at national and international level.
ETC
EcoCulture
PROLINNOVA
Secretariat
PROLINNOVA
International
Support Team
(IST)
Figure 1: Relationship of the IST to the PROLINNOVA Secretariat and ETC EcoCulture
73237 PROLINNOVA IST structure and roles v8 060810
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Backstopping
Country/Regional Programme backstopping. Each of the initial nine countries in the
PROLINNOVA programme supported by DGIS (Netherlands Directorate General for International
Cooperation) has a main backstopper and a supporting backstopper from the International Support
Team (IST). The main backstopper has a close relationship with the CP in reflecting, analysing,
planning and advising and in facilitating self-evaluation. S/he should ensure that copies of all major
correspondence related to the CP are sent to the supporting backstopper. The latter can replace
the main backstopper if the need or opportunity arises (e.g. response to urgent messages, specific
technical expertise, overseas travel for another purpose); otherwise s/he would normally not visit
the CP. S/he gives a second opinion on issues related to the CP.
At the current time, the backstopping responsibilities are allocated as follows:
Table 2: Backstopping of DGIS-funded Country Programmes
Country
Cambodia
Ethiopia
Ghana
Nepal
Niger
South Africa
Sudan
Tanzania
Uganda
Main backstopper
Julian Gonsalvez
Ann Waters-Bayer
Laurens van Veldhuizen
Chesha Wettasinha
Jean-Marie Diop
Ann Waters-Bayer
Jean-Marie Diop
Laurens van Veldhuizen
Will Critchley
Supporting backstopper(s)
Mariana Wongtschowski
Will Critchley
Chesha Wettasinha
Mariana Wongtschowski
Bara Guèye / Ann Waters-Bayer
Sabina Di Prima / Chesha Wettasinha
Mariana Wongtschowski
Will Critchley
Laurens van Veldhuizen
The DGIS funds cover face-to-face backstopping activities (one visit per year) in these countries,
but not in the new CPs/RPs. The persons listed in the table below are contact persons within the
IST for the new networks. If new CP/RPs raise funds that include a budget line for backstopping by
IST members, these persons may become the main and supporting backstoppers. It is up to each
new CP/RP to decide whether it wants to backstopping and, if so, to include the costs in its budget.
Table 3: Contact persons for new/emerging CPs/RPs not funded by DGIS
Country
Andes
Burkina Faso
Cameroon
Kenya
Mali
Morocco
Mozambique
Nigeria
Pacific
Philippines
Senegal
Vietnam
Main contact person
Mariana Wongtschowski
Jean-Marie-Diop
Jean-Marie Diop
Laurens van Veldhuizen
Bara Guèye
Jean-Marie Diop
Mariana Wongtschowski
Ann Waters-Bayer
Will Critchley
Emily Monville
Bara Guèye
Laurens van Veldhuizen
Supporting contact person
Bara Guèye
Ann Waters-Bayer
Ann Waters-Bayer
Jean-Marie Diop
Will Critchley
Ann Waters-Bayer
Laurens van Veldhuizen
Laurens van Veldhuizen
Jean-Marie Diop
(IIRR)
Individuals from the existing CPs/RPs have occasionally advised other CPs/RPs (existing or
emerging) on an assignment-by-assignment basis after consultation between the requesting
CP/RP and the PROLINNOVA Secretariat. As much as possible, the network envisages that this
trend will grow and that less backstopping will be done by IST members from international or
northern-based organisations. Thus, the roles of the IST will change over time, although there will
still be a need for close contact of the IST with the CPs for international policy-dialogue purposes.
Purposes of CP/RP backstopping
• To provide (to the CP/RP being backstopped and from it to others, also beyond the PROLINNOVA
programme) information and inspiration about approaches and experiences in promoting local
innovation and Participatory Innovation Development (PID)
• To advise the CP/RP on issues linked to programme planning, implementation and M&E
73237 PROLINNOVA IST structure and roles v8 060810
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•
•
•
•
To facilitate critical analysis and learning within the CP/RP
To support the National Steering Committee (NSC) in giving strategic direction to the CP/RP
To provide technical support to the CP/RP in its implementation
To contribute to capacity building of the CP/RP partners.
Thematic backstopping. In addition to the persons who serve as advisors of specific CPs/ RPs,
there are persons who give advisory support on specific subprogrammes (FAIR, HAPID,
PROFEIS) or themes (farmer-led documentation, gender, policy dialogue etc) or for specific
purposes, such as an international topical workshop. Thus far, most thematic backstoppers have
come from the IST, but a few specialists from the CPs or outside of the PROLINNOVA network have
been called in as advisors for, e.g., farmer-led documentation, HAPID and policy dialogue.
CPs/RPs may direct requests for advisory support for specific activities, such as capacity building,
proposal writing, workshop facilitation, to the PROLINNOVA Secretariat, which will try to find the best
option. The IST has started to draw up a roster of specialists from both within and outside the IST
and CPs/RPs, to help in identifying suitable advisors. These include advisors in documenting local
innovation, facilitating PID, policy dialogue, farmer-led documentation, gender issues, HIV/AIDS
issues, curriculum development, LISFs etc.
It has been agreed within the IST that thematic backstoppers will always keep the CP/RP
backstoppers informed about important correspondence and activities in “their” CPs/RPs.
Guiding principles in backstopping
A backstopper functions as a sounding board for the CP/RP, and provides ideas and an “external”
perspective on issues of concern to it. Backstopping is based on a relationship of trust and
partnership: the backstopper becomes a team-mate in accomplishing the CP objectives. As the
backstopper should be facilitating the worldwide sharing of country-level learning, s/he needs to
play a pro-active role in requesting information from the CP/RP and in offering support to stimulate
practice-based learning in the country and to capture the lessons learnt. Where the backstopper
recognises a learning need, s/he may offer support even if the CP/RP has not requested it.
The guiding characteristics and principles of backstopping in PROLINNOVA are:
• The backstopper is an “insider” as s/he has good insight into the CP/RP and is, at the same
time, an “outsider” bringing different perspectives and information to the CP/RP.
• The CP/RP coordinator keeps the main and supporting backstopper updated on important
developments, i.e. not only should the backstopper be supporting the CP, also the CP should
support the backstopper by providing information needed for policy dialogue, fundraising,
international learning etc.
• A backstopping visit may take place when requested by the coordinator or Secretariat of the
CP/RP for specific purposes, or if an opportunity presents itself for the backstopper to be in the
country/region and meaningful activities can be arranged with the CP/RP for this period.
• The backstopping support is provided within the overall framework set out by the CP/RP.
• The overall management of the CP/RP is the responsibility of the CP/RP coordinator, guided
by the NSC; the backstopper plays an advisory role.
• If requested by the CP/RP, the main backstopper can be replaced in consultation with the
PROLINNOVA Secretariat at ETC EcoCulture
• If additional expertise is needed in order to implement the CP or subprogramme plan better,
the backstopper should encourage the involvement of other persons from within or outside the
country/region, within the budget limitations of the programme.
Main tasks in backstopping
• Contribute to capacity building and skill development in technical and social aspects
• Facilitate critical analysis and joint learning processes
• Contribute to learning through knowledge management and capitalisation of experience
• Provide specific inputs, advice and support to develop new strategies, plans and proposals
• Comment on proposals, reports, documents, publications etc
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• Provide support in developing and applying participatory planning, monitoring and evaluation
formats, tools and processes
• Assist in preparing key in-country or regional events and, if necessary and possible budgetwise, support their facilitation
• Provide support in awareness raising, policy dialogue and mobilising funds for the CP/RP or
subprogramme and encourage it to be pro-active in seeking in-country and external funds
• Link with similar experiences elsewhere, and promote information exchange at international
level (networking between and beyond the CP/RPs and subprogrammes).
In some cases, a backstopper may need to encourage the CP/RP coordinator to install Skype
software, to use information from the PROLINNOVA website and to submit information to the website
or, in general, to coach them in using the Internet.
Modalities of backstopping
• Backstopping is carried out by means of:
- electronic communication, telephone, Skype, video conferencing (to minimise costs, this
“distance-backstopping” is the main modality of support)
- one face-to-face backstopping visit per year to each CP receiving DGIS funds (or more visits,
if opportunities arise); wherever time and funds allow, this should include a field visit
- face-to-face backstopping during international meetings and workshops attended by the
backstopper and one or more CP/RP partners.
• Before a backstopping visit, the backstopper and CP/RP coordinator agree on key tasks,
expected outputs, period and number of days for the visit and the general itinerary, taking into
account the number of paid days available for backstopping per year.
• The CPs are expected to:
- keep “their” backstoppers well informed at all times
- before a backstopper’s visit, provide relevant materials so that the backstopper can prepare
her/himself well
- give the backstopper logistical support in preparing and carrying out country visits.
• If time and funds allow, a more experienced backstopper may accompany a new backstopper
on a CP/RP visit. In any case, a more experienced backstopper should discuss with the new
backstopper by email or Skype about the plans for the backstopping visit.
• Each backstopping visit shall be followed by a back-to-office report, which includes the following
information: country, dates of visit, backstopper’s name, main aims of visit, activities during visit,
progress of CP/RP, follow-up tasks of backstopper and CP, itinerary and key persons met, main
lessons about CP/RP, evaluation and main lessons about how to improve the backstopping.
This report is first shared with the CP/RP coordinator, and feedback is incorporated. It is then
distributed to all IST members and the CP/RP coordinator. It may also be shared with POG
members who request it. At least the section on lessons learnt should be circulated to all CP/RP
coordinators. The coordinators are responsible for sharing the reports with the NSC or the wider
CP/RP members. These reports are valuable for process monitoring.
Evaluation of backstopping
There is a need to balance the intensity of M&E of backstopping (and reporting on this) with the
availability of only 10 days per (“DGIS”) country per year for backstopping. In-country backstopping
takes up at least 7–8 days per year; this leaves only two days for distance backstopping by email,
Skype and phone, plus reporting. The backstopping will be evaluated as follows:
• At the end of each annual backstopping visit, the backstopper will review the process and
results of the visit with the CP coordinator and discuss how the next visit could be improved.
The main conclusions and suggestions will be included in the backstopping report.
• At the end of each year, during the electronic evaluation of the PROLINNOVA programme, the
partners will assess the backstopping support they have received – not only the backstopping
visits to the CP but also the backstopping support provided from a distance. IIRR, as
coordinator of the annual international evaluation, will flag any issues concerning backstopping
to specific countries and draw these to the attention of the programme management. This will,
if necessary, explore the need to reinforce or replace the backstopper.
73237 PROLINNOVA IST structure and roles v8 060810
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Roles of the International Secretariat with respect to backstopping
The PROLINNOVA International Secretariat is responsible for coordinating the activities of the
backstoppers, assuring quality of the backstopping visits and other backstopping activities, and
facilitating the sharing of lessons from the backstopping work within the IST. Specifically, it will:
• at the beginning of each year, remind the backstoppers to contact the CP/RP or
subprogramme coordinators and arrange the timing and purpose of backstopping visits; and
make sure that such arrangements have been made in sufficient time
• comment on the quality of backstopping, if issues around this arise in a specific country
• facilitate learning about backstopping, e.g. by compiling and revising this note; discussion of
lessons from backstopping should be a regular part of IST meetings.
At the international PROLINNOVA meeting in 2011, the IST will facilitate a discussion with the
country-level partners about:
• restructuring backstopping support and possibly acquiring support of other resource persons
• other ways of country-to-country learning and combining forces of PROLINNOVA partners for
policy dialogue, supported by members from the CPs rather than the IST.
Covering the costs of backstopping
The DGIS contract (2007–10) covers 10 days of backstopping per (“DGIS”) CP per year. This
includes the time spent visiting the country; communicating from a distance; commenting on
reports, proposals, papers and other publications sent to the backstopper for this purpose; and
reporting on backstopping visits. The backstoppers actually spend more than 10 days per CP on
this work; the unpaid time is calculated as part of the IST’s “own contribution” to PROLINNOVA.
DGIS covers one flight per CP per year for a backstopping visit. Whenever possible, backstoppers
take the opportunity of other visits in or near the country, e.g. related to other projects or meetings,
to be able to spend a few additional days with CP partners for face-to-face backstopping.
A small number of paid days are available under the DGIS budget for supporting emerging CPs: 15
days/year spread over all emerging CPs. No travel costs are foreseen. This means that the
backstopping must normally be done from a distance (Skype or email). Thus far, the DGIS funding
covers the following activities in supporting emerging CPs/RPs:
• Providing information to interested organisations about the PROLINNOVA programme and
approach and the activities of existing CPs/RPs
• Providing details on contact persons/organisations in the country/region that might be interested
in joining the initiative
• Commenting on proposals for meetings, workshops, funding etc prepared by interested
organisations/groups/networks
• In some cases, serving as resource person or facilitator at in-country meeting to discuss a new
initiative (wherever possible, a Southern partner in an existing CP/RP should assume this task).
Any further backstopping support required by an existing or new CP/RP that is not covered by
DGIS funds must be paid by the CP/RP out of own programme funds or out of funds acquired from
other sources for this purpose. If a CP under the DGIS contract wants more than one backstopping
visit per year, it has to provide the funds to cover the costs (travel, accommodations and time).
When members of existing CPs provide occasional support to emerging CPs or during thematic
workshops, the practice thus far has been that costs for travel, accommodations and meals (on the
basis of real costs, not DSA) are covered, Whether the time costs are covered depends on the
circumstances (whether the person is a freelance consultant or receives a regular salary from an
organisation) and on the level of funding available. The level of any compensation for time is
agreed according to the prevalent rates in the country where the backstopper is residing.
If the requesting CP/RP is using its own resources (from another donor or from one of its member
organisations) to pay for the advisory support, it decides whom it will ask to do the work and how
much to pay. If it requests advisory support to be paid out of funds managed by the PROLINNOVA
Secretariat (e.g. from DGIS, Rockefeller Foundation), decisions about the choice of advisor and
level of support are made jointly by the Secretariat and the CP/RP concerned.
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The current organisations in the IST have budget lines to allow them to function as IST members,
including backstopping of CPs/RPs. The advisory support provided by backstoppers to a
subprogramme, e.g. FAIR, is paid out of the budget of that subprogramme.
If DGIS funds already allocated to different organisations for backstopping (travel and time) is
requested by CPs/RPs to cover costs of backstopping by non-members of the IST or by IST
members from a different organisation than that to which the backstopping budget was allocated,
the PROLINNOVA coordinator negotiates with the organisation concerned to reach a new agreement
within the framework of the MoU with that organisation. If necessary, the CP/RP, the IST
organisations concerned or the Secretariat requests the advice of the POG in these negotiations.
Other sources of funds for the backstopping of existing and new CP/RPs could include:
• The budget line “Support to new countries”, which is meant to pay for costs for inception
workshops but could also cover some travel and time costs for IST or CP/RP members doing
backstopping in this connection
• Countries writing new proposals for funding could include a budget line for backstopping by
people from the IST or another CP/RP
• The budget line for learning visits between countries, also for theme-related activities (e.g.
gender, HAPID), which could be used for backstopping by people from other CPs/RPs, but only
for travel costs, not for time.
List of acronyms
CIS–VUA
CP
DGIS
DSA
FAIR
HAPID
ICT
IED Afrique
IIRR
INR
IST
LISF
M&E
MoU
NGO
NRM
PID
POG
PROFEIS
PROLINNOVA
RP
SCI-SLM
Centre for International Cooperation, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Country Programme
Directorate General for International Cooperation
Daily Subsistence Allowance
Farmer Access to Innovation Resources
HIV/AIDS and Participatory Innovation Development
Information and Communication Technology
Innovations, Environnement, Développement en Afrique
International Institute of Rural Reconstruction
Institute of Natural Resources
International Support Team
Local Innovation Support Fund
Monitoring and Evaluation
Memorandum of Understanding
Non-Governmental Organisation
Natural Resource Management
Participatory Innovation Development
PROLINNOVA Oversight Group
Promoting Farmer Experimentation and Innovation in the Sahel
PROmoting Local INNOVAtion in ecologically-oriented agriculture and NRM
Regional Programme
Stimulating Community Initiatives in Sustainable Land Management
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