FY15
Annual Country Operational Plan
(ACOP)
Guidance Note
1
Introduction
Like all organizations, Africare works in a world of
scarce resources. These resources must be used as
efficiently as possible by both headquarters and all
of our country offices. To help country offices most
effectively allocate their resources to high priority
areas that will help both the country office and
organization as a whole achieve their goals,
Africare’s IP and BD teams have created this guide
[and associated template] to developing an Annual
Country Operating Plan (ACOP).
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Overview
• Annual Country Operational Plans (ACOPs) are to be designed
around five focus areas of activity for each country office:
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Business Development
Implementation
Financial Management
Compliance
Human Resources Management
• Within each focus area, the ACOP approach will be to:
– Conduct an analysis to identify priority areas for intervention
– Use this analysis to develop goals for the year
– Develop a detailed plan for meeting those goals
• The final step of the ACOP is to prioritize across focus areas which
are the most high-risk areas that need the most immediate
attention
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General Guidance
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SWOT Analysis
• Each section of the ACOP will be based on a
Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities and Threats
(SWOT) analysis for each focus area.
• The most important thing to remember when
conducting the SWOT analysis is:
– Strengths and Weaknesses should address what you
are capable of controlling, considering both internal
and external issues;
– Opportunities and Threats should address issues
outside of your control, again both internal and
external, that you need to take into consideration
when setting goals;
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Goal Setting
• Using the SWOT analysis, the second step of
developing an ACOP is to set goals for your
country office across each of the five focus
areas.
• These goals should flow clearly and obviously
from the results of the SWOT analysis.
• Each country office should not set more than
2-3 goals in each area.
• Goals should be SMART: Specific, Measurable,
Attainable, Relevant and Time-Based
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SMART Goals
• Specific: Goals should include detailed targets, not
generalizations about where the country office is
heading;
• Measurable: As much as possible, goals should be set
which can be measured with quantitative data;
• Attainable: Goals should be achievable within the
fiscal year;
• Relevant: Country office goals should link clearly to the
results of the SWOT analysis and organization-wide
targets;
• Time-Based: Each goal should have a corresponding
timeframe for completion;
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Developing a Plan
• Once the SWOT analysis and goal setting are
complete, a plan must be developed to
achieve the goals.
• Plans should be specific to assigned roles and
responsibilities within each country office to
achieve objectives, and include realistic
timelines for each step.
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Focus Area Specific Guidance
We offer guidance for each focus area, including
suggested/sample questions for reflection. It is
expected that country offices will go beyond the
sample questions provided to conduct a more
thorough analysis
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Business Development Intro
• Organization-wide BD goals for the year are:
– $60M in new business
– Average effective overhead rate for new awards of
15%
– Improve win rate to 40%
• To achieve these goals, each country office’s BD
efforts will be evaluated according to the
following metrics:
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FY15 BD Target Achievement;
Size of pipeline (as a percentage of target);
Average overhead rate for new wins;
Win rate;
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Business Development SWOT Analysis
(Sample Questions to Consider)
• Strengths: In what sectors and sub-sectors do we offer the
strongest value proposition? Do you have staff in country
who are good proposal writers?
• Weaknesses: In what sectors and sub-sectors do we
regularly struggle to meet donor expectations and project
targets? Do we have a bad reputation in country with
certain funders?
• Opportunities: Which donors, sectors, and geographic
locales are receiving the most funds? What is the strategic
positioning of your largest partners/competitors?
• Threats: How competitive are we relative to other iNGOs in
the focus sectors and geographic locales of the largest
donors? How conducive is the government climate to
continued funding from donors?
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Country Office BD Goals
• Based on your SWOT analysis, what are
realistic BD goals for your country office for
FY14 across each of the following areas?
– BD Target (broken down by sector and donor)
– Pipeline Size
– Win Rate
– (Average OH rate is non-negotiable goal of 15%)
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BD Target Setting Resources
• In order to help you better plan your BD activities for
FY15, HQ recommends utilizing the following resources
to see what our key donors are forecasting in your
country:
– http://www.usaid.gov/work-usaid/get-grant-orcontract/business-forecast
– https://www.devex.com/projects
– http://www.gatesfoundation.org/How-We-Work/GeneralInformation/Grant-Opportunities
– http://www.fundsforngos.org/category/latest-funds-forngos/
– https://www.ungm.org/
– https://www.gov.uk/browse/citizenship/internationaldevelopment
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Country Office BD Plan
• To achieve the BD goals you’ve set, develop a
plan with detailed activities to plot a course of
action:
– What are our focus sectors?
– What is our value proposition in each focus sector
or sub-sector?
– Which donors will we target?
– Provide one idea or activity for each of the goals
listed above that the country office will take to
meet that goal.
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Implementation Intro
• Organization-wide implementation goals for the year are:
– 80% of projects rated “on-track” based on analysis of indicator
achievement relative to budget expenditure and time elapsed
– 80% of projects maintain “on-track” status with respect to the
stakeholder analysis (as reported in 3PRs)
– 80% of projects maintain “low risk” status with respect to the
subjective risk analysis (as reported in 3PRs)
– 100% of project reports (narrative and financial) submitted on time
• To achieve these goals, each country office’s implementation efforts
will be evaluated according to the following metrics:
– % of projects rated “on-track” based on analysis of activities vs. budget
vs. time;
– % of stakeholder management rated “on-track” in 3PR;
– % of projects rated “low risk” in 3PR risk rating;
– % of project reports submitted on-time;
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Implementation SWOT Analysis
(Sample Questions to Consider)
• Strengths: In which sectors and sub-sectors do you
regularly meet or exceed indicator targets and donor
expectations? Do you have strong chiefs of party who
require little to no supervision?
• Weaknesses: Which commonalities exist across projects
that regularly fail to meet targets? Do you have a weak
finance or admin team incapable of supporting project
needs?
• Opportunities: Which regions of the country provide the
most support to project implementation, increasing the
probability of achieving successful outcomes? Are staffing
changes occurring in key donors that we can leverage?
• Threats: Is the political environment in the regions we
operate supportive of successful project implementation?
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Country Office Implementation Goals
• Based on the above SWOT analysis, what are
realistic implementation goals for your country
office for FY15 across each of the following areas:
– % of projects on track comparing target achievement
vs. time vs. budget
– % of projects with “on-track” stakeholder
management
– % of projects with “low risk” risk rating
– (On-time reporting is non-negotiable goal of 100%)
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Country Office Implementation Plan
• To achieve the implementation goals you’ve
set, develop a plan with detailed activities to
plot a course of action:
– What are your weakest projects in need of the
most attention?
– What is your plan, project-by-project, for
addressing your portfolio’s biggest weaknesses?
– How will you engage donors and message the
identification and implementation of these
corrective activities?
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Financial Management Intro
• Organization-wide financial management goals for the year are:
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Timely and accurate utilization of Quickbooks for book-keeping
Post batches accurately by the 15th of each and every month
Eliminate internal borrowing
Clean bank reconciliations for each bank account every month
• To achieve these goals, each country office’s finance and
compliance efforts will be evaluated according to the following
metrics:
– 100% use of Quickbooks for posting batches;
– % of months with hardcopy and electronic batches posted on time;
– $-value of internal borrowing (note – no internal borrowing without
HQ prior approval is allowed – the goal here is the reduction of
previous internal borrowing allowances);
– % of reconciliations that fully reconcile each month (i.e. there should
be no unexplained difference between book balances and cash
balances);
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Financial Management SWOT Analysis
(Sample Questions to Consider)
• Strengths: From which part of your financial
management program does your country office derive
the most value (i.e. effective processes, strong staff,
etc.)?
• Weaknesses: Which areas of financial management in
your office generate the most concern among partners,
HQ, and country office staff?
• Opportunities: What resources are available to
improve your financial management systems and
capacity?
• Threats: Which donors create the greatest financial
management challenges due to slow disbursements
and what can be done to mitigate against this?
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Country Office Financial Management Goals
• Based on the above SWOT analysis, what are
realistic financial management goals for your
country office for FY15 across each of the
following areas:
– Utilization of QB for bookkeeping;
– On-time submission of batches;
– $-value of internal borrowing between projects;
– 100% of bank accounts reconciled every month
(non-negotiable target);
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Country Office Financial Management Plan
• To achieve the financial management goals
you’ve set, develop a plan with detailed
activities to plot a course of action:
– What are your highest risk financial management
areas?
– What resources will you use to address these
areas?
– Which staff members will be responsible for
designing, consulting, and implementing the
changes?
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Compliance Intro
• Organization-wide compliance goals for the
year are:
– 100% of audit findings are being considered or
addressed in some way;
– 50% of audit findings are completely resolved;
• To achieve these goals, each country office’s
compliance efforts will be evaluated according
to the following metrics:
– % of audit findings addressed;
– % of audit findings resolved;
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Compliance SWOT Analysis
(Sample Questions to Consider)
• Strengths: Which areas of compliance typically
generate the least audit findings in your office
(consider equipment management and inventory,
procurement, financial controls and separation of
duties, HR compliance, petty cash management,
vehicle and fuel management, etc.)
• Weaknesses: Which areas of compliance are managed
by staff who have unclear job descriptions or are trying
to manage too much?
• Opportunities: What resources are available to
improve your compliance systems and capacity?
• Threats: What external pressures create incentives to
not properly implement compliance procedures?
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Country Office Compliance Goals
• Based on the above SWOT analysis, what are
realistic compliance goals for your country
office for FY15 across each of the following
areas:
– % of audit findings addressed or considered;
– % of audit findings completely resolved;
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Country Office Compliance Plan
• To achieve the financial management goals
you’ve set, develop a plan with detailed
activities to plot a course of action:
– What are your highest risk non-compliance areas?
– What resources will you use to address these
areas?
– Which staff members will be responsible for
designing, consulting, and implementing changes
to compliance processes?
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Human Resources Intro
• Note: This section does not pertain to HR compliance,
which is covered in the previous section, but rather to the
motivation and engagement of our staff members.
• Organization-wide human resources goals for the year are:
– Improve the morale and engagement of our staff
– Build positive, healthy work environments where all staff can
thrive
• To achieve these goals, each country office’s HR efforts will
be evaluated according to the following metrics:
– Number of “unwanted” staff departures;
– Frequency of regular formal and informal performance review
meetings for all in country staff;
– % of new staff having received a proper orientation program;
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HR SWOT Analysis
(Sample Questions to Consider)
• Strengths: What do staff currently report as
being a reason they are committed and
motivated to work for Africare?
• Weaknesses: Which existing factors do staff
say demotivate them & lead to poor
performance & low retention?
• Threats: Are there any staff-retention related
challenges outside the control of the country
office that need to be considered?
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Country Office HR Goals
• Based on the above SWOT analysis, what are
realistic HR goals for your country office for
FY15 across each of the following areas:
– Number of unwanted staff departures;
– Frequency of regular formal and informal
performance reviews conducted for ALL staff;
– % of new staff having received a proper
orientation;
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Country Office HR Plan
• To achieve the HR goals you’ve set, develop a
plan with detailed activities to plot a course of
action:
– What other motivating factors can you add to create
& maintain a positive working environment & staff
success?
– What positive employment & staff retention practices
do in-country competing organizations use and how
can Africare adopt them?
– Does the country office use regular staff satisfaction
surveys to accurately track staff motivation issues?
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Overall Prioritization Guidance
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Overall Prioritization
• The previous exercises analyzing country
office operations by area ultimately creates
priorities within each area to focus on.
• However, to effectively manage a countryoffice operation, priorities also need to be
clarified across areas of operation to guide
decision making and resource allocation
• To guide this priority setting decision, a risk
analysis needs to be completed
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Country Office Holistic Risk Analysis
• How would the country office rate the different operational
areas (BD, implementation, financial management,
compliance, and HR) in terms of representing the greatest risk
to running the country office successfully (all 5 areas must be
ranked)?
• What evidence is the country office using to support this
ranking?
• Are the challenges associated with the highest risk areas
within our control (i.e. would be considered weaknesses in a
SWOT analysis, not threats)?
• For the highest prioritized operational areas supported by
evidence and within our control, identify how the CD will help
staff focus resources on this particular operational area while
continuing to carry out their daily operations and achieve
goals in other areas.
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