Oh snap, baby!!!

It's 11:15am on Saturday morning here and the first conversation I had today was with one of my friends (Emma) who ranted her exasperation for 15 minutes on this topic before I got a word in!!

She now has a second friend who - with a fist full of dollars - has taken off from Europe to do "good things" in Africa .... in isolation from other almost identical programs (that partnered up, could achieve so much more just with the savings on two lots of admin. costs alone) and with no real measurable plan for future assessment of outcomes, cost-efficiency or community satisfaction/participation. (to name but a few desirable markers)

"Evangelical, Personal Mission-driven madness" was Miss Em's spin (actually it had extra words but I think Ned has a G rating so I've left them out .... plus she was very cross & uncharacteristically un-generous & harsh in assessment!!!)

Once the "debriefing" bit FINALLY finished (!) we actually managed to have a great conversation that covered so many interconnecting variables.

Maybe it's because of the way we both work (different fields but both with tight reportage/accountability & quality outcome frameworks here in Australia) and maybe it's because we've had similar experiences working away from home - consciously choosing to employ these frameworks when we didn't HAVE TO ... not sure ... but we both kept coming back to the increasingly pressing need for independent & transparent assessment and monitoring of NPO/NGO practices. (the HOW part of the What and When)

Mark - the video is great and it's a message that needs to be pushed ... let the voting begin!!