Bond Effectiveness Programme

In the past decade, accountability, transparency, quality and effectiveness have become key discussion points in international aid and development, but the central themes are simple: "do we achieve the changes that we claim, and can we prove it?" The claims are not small: reduced poverty, protection of rights, saving lives and much more.

The Bond membership have expressed:

the challenges faced by many to access the means to become more effective quickly
recognition that there are increasing incentives and risks associated with effectiveness
a wish to influence the growing number of debates on effectiveness

The Bond secretariat respects that many members are concerned about having a regulatory mechanism ‘forced' upon them by donors or the state, especially as it may not be wholly appropriate for their circumstances. The secretariat has started a dedicated three year programme to address the key concerns of the membership, on effectiveness.

Why Bond?

As a network of 370 UK NGOs, Bond is uniquely placed to lead on setting an agenda that will develop policies, tools and approaches. The Effectiveness Programme will focus specifically on:

the development of an NGO Effectiveness Framework
advocating for more commitment amongst NGOs to becoming effective
influencing policy makers working on effectiveness

Our vision is that a significant number of NGOs will develop comprehensive effectiveness agendas, employ existing tools and facilities to improve their work, and show marked improvement in the quality and effectiveness of their work.

Background to the programme

In October 2009, Bond started a three year NGO effectiveness programme that builds on the work of the inception phase. A summary of the programme can be found above and the full proposal to the left of this paragraph. From 2009 to 2012, the Effectiveness Programme will work closely with Bond membership organisations support the development of ways to prove and improve their contribution to social development.