Leadership and governance sets the tone for improving social service systems and for establishing an enabling environment for strengthening child protection systems. National governments create an enabling environment by enacting legislation and policies and setting frameworks to ensure that they are implemented, monitored, and funded. Strengthening governance and leadership of social service systems is critical to improving child protection. Starting at the highest levels, leaders must be committed to accountable, effective, inclusive, governance structures to create a well-functioning, sustainable social service system.
Government Ministries typically responsible for orphans and vulnerable children’s programs (e.g., Social Welfare Ministries) often face a lack of financial and human resources that constrain efforts to coordinate with other Ministries, civil society organizations (CSOs) and communities that serve children at national, district and local levels. A functioning social service system is dependent on effective coordination of a number of government ministries such as social welfare, health, education, justice and finance, as well as collaboration with district and local governments, civil society organizations, police, and communities. Efforts to strengthen the social service system must strengthen coordination between government ministries and among government ministries, civil society organizations (CSOs) and communities. Effective, engaged leaders, at all levels, are essential in developing and overseeing policies, laws, strategies, and budgets that champion orphans and vulnerable children’s most critical needs. Countries in which governments have prioritized child protection and have committed to mobilizing and allocating crucial financial and human resources have seen improved child protection outcomes. (1)
Investing in efforts to build strong leadership and governance
Researchers, policy-makers and implementers use various terms and overlapping definitions of leadership and governance. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families (ACF) defines governance as: “the interagency entity and operating structure authorized to make decisions and set strategic direction for activities, tasks, and functions associated with building, implementing, and sustaining systems of care and providing oversight for their implementation.” (2) International, multi-donor agencies at a 2011 roundtable on strengthening governance identified several key elements of governance: participation, legitimacy, accountability, inclusiveness, transparency, effectiveness, and authority. (3)
A recent paper on child protection and good governance suggests that three key components of governance: establishing rule of law; effective, equitable, responsive service delivery; and public administration and civil society accountability are vital to effective child protection. (4) The authors argue that strengthening governance in child protection is essential and must be included in any 2015 post MDG framework, along with a specific child protection goal: Ensure all children live a life free from all forms of violence, exploitation, abuse and neglect, and thrive in a safe family environment. (5)
Given multiple principles, elements and indicators, how do programs measure and bolster governance and leadership to support effective, sustainable, social service systems that meet vulnerable children’s needs?
Measuring changes in governance and leadership
While challenging to measure, strengthening governance and leadership is central to improving systems and services for the most vulnerable children and families. Improved service delivery outcomes require measuring governance, including monitoring government leaders’ accountability and tracking service providers’ ability to deliver effective, quality interventions.
In 2012, the USAID-funded Leadership, Management and Governance (LMG) Project surveyed 25 key participants about how best to measure health sector governance. (6) These participants, all of whom lead or manage health sector programs in low- and middle-income countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America, suggested three ways to assess the effectiveness of governance: 1) measure the processes of effective governance; 2) measure outcomes; and 3) measure long-term impact.
Survey participants identified three key measurement principles: accountability, transparency and participation. The group emphasized the need for developing indicators to track these three key principles and the results achieved in each area. Their recommendations include:
- Developing accountability indicators around board member strategies and contributions;
- Assessing the existence and operational effectiveness of structures and systems for accountability, finances, monitoring and evaluation, and tracking the progress of program implementation;
- Developing indicators around transparency, information sharing, information exchange among system levels and communities served, and use in planning and decision-making; and
- Developing participation indicators to assess inclusion of the most vulnerable groups, such as people living with HIV/AIDS, or disabilities, women, [and vulnerable children and youth].
While these examples illustrate indicators to measure good governance practices within health systems, they may also be applied to the increasing demand for appropriate indicators to measure governance and leadership within social service and protection systems.
Strengthening leadership and governance among different levels of the social service system:
Family and Community
The most successful community leaders bring together community members around specific goals including child protection, education, health, welfare, and economic security. (7) Effective local leaders spearhead program implementation and monitor the government’s response to the most vulnerable children and families. Though national governments are ultimately responsible for a country’s AIDS response, their success in meeting the needs of vulnerable children depends on full participation of empowered community leaders who help drive the implementation of strategies, monitor social services received, and pressure governments to meet their commitments to the most vulnerable.
Key activities to strengthen leadership and governance:
- Include families in governance bodies and in the design, development and implementation of strategies that meet children’s most critical care needs. (8)
- Empower local community leaders to initiate, guide and monitor local program implementation and to hold governments accountable for their commitments to children.
- Support community vision and mission statements and community goals, while respectfully challenging belief and value systems that endorse harmful cultural practices. (9)
- Ensure that leadership includes a broad range of people, representing different community groups, including women, youth and people living with HIV/AIDS.
- Strengthen lines of communication and sharing of feedback among family- and community-, civil society- and government leaders.
Civil Society
Responsive, well-run, civil society organizations need skilled leaders, including strong boards of directors. A strong board of directors is a key part of a good governance system. Boards of directors help civil society organizations to develop solid organizational structures and to define and achieve their missions, visions, and strategies. (10)
Key activities to strengthen leadership and governance:
- Facilitate local NGOs to: 1) establish a board of directors with strong technical and organizational qualifications, 2) Involve community members served by the organization, including children and youth, to help develop clear vision and mission statements that respond to communities’ most critical needs, 3) collaboratively develop well-functioning organizational structures and policies and clear, strategic plans.
- Strengthen local institutions and systems, through in-country technical assistance and through “South-South” (e.g., neighboring developing country) cooperation.” (11)
- Assist in drafting and/or reviewing technical and operational policies, program guidance, and practice standards, including quality standards for orphans and vulnerable children’s programs. (12)
- Strengthen local NGO capacity to advocate for children’s rights, monitor programs and services, and hold governments accountable to commitments made to children.
- Assist with child protection mapping exercises to better understand protection concerns and the capacity of different organizations to address them.
- Strengthen lines of communication and feedback channels among civil society organizations to increase coordination, effectiveness and efficiency.
Government
National government social welfare ministries play the key role in responding to vulnerable children and families affected by HIV and AIDS. OVC programs should focus on strengthening government systems of social welfare ministries while engaging all child-serving government agencies in an integrated, multi-sectoral response.
Key activities to strengthen leadership and governance:
- Reinforce the ministry of social welfare’s managerial and technical abilities to coordinate, lead, monitor, and sustain their national response to orphans and vulnerable children.
- Strengthen the social welfare ministry’s ability to lobby for increased resource allocation and to effectively manage increased resources.
- Aid the social welfare ministry in collaborative development of national strategies that identify the most effective interventions for children affected by HIV and AIDS and their families with the highest return on investment.
- Support the social welfare ministry’s ability to lead joint assessments and analysis of results.
- Assist the social welfare ministry in collaborative partner planning to identify capacity gaps and develop short-term technical support and long-term capacity development plans. (13)
- Strengthen lines of transparent communication and feedback processes between the social welfare ministry and the workforce serving at other levels of the social service system.