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WASDA Strategic Plan 2016 - 2020
WASDA Strategic Plan 2016 -
2020
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Table of Contents
ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS 2
FORWARD 3
OUR VISION, MISSION, PURPOSE AND CORE VALUES 4
INTRODUCTION 5
SECTION 1: THE CHANGING CONTEXT - SCANNING THE EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT 6
SECTION 2: WASDA’S INTERNAL CAPACITY, OPPORTUNITIES AND THREATS 10
SECTION 3: WASDA’S STRATEGIC DRIVERS AND GOALS 11
SECTION 4: PREREQUISITES FOR SUCCESS: INCREASING CAPACITY AND ACCOUNTABILITY 15
SECTION 5: WASDA’S BALANCE SCORECARD 16
SECTION 7: IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGY FOR STRATEGIC PLAN 2016-2020 18
SECTION 8: ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE FOR THE STRATEGIC PLAN 2016-2020 19
Abbreviations and Acronyms
AED: Academy for Education and Development
AP: Action Plan
BSC: Balanced Scorecard
HoA: Horn of Africa
IGAD: Inter Governmental Authority on Development
NGO: Non-Governmental Organization
PEN: Poverty Eradication Network
UN: United Nations
USAID United States Agency for International Development
WASDA: Wajir South Development Agency
WUA: Water Users Association
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Forward
It is my pleasure to present to you WASDA’s five-year strategic plan for the period 2016-2020. WASDA
has been making a difference, growing its coverage and its reach, and recording significant expansion in
funding. Even as the organization grows, it is time we aim for and achieve greater impact for our
constituents (currently in Kenya and Southern Somalia). We will need to adapt to the changing needs and
complexity of our context, make choices about our program direction, set fundraising priorities, allocate
the use of resources at our disposal and develop long-term plans that will make our work sustainable.
This 2016 – 2020 Strategic Plan aims to establish the overall strategic direction to guide the organization
in this direction. As is our vision, we endeavour to increase our influence, serve our constituents betters
and fulfill our role more suitably. WASDA will continue to facilitate change and diffuse innovations in its
quest to empower the communities to be more resilient, innovative, peaceful and sustainable.
The implementation of this strategic plan will help WASDA improve its impact, however, it must be able
to anticipate changes, respond to them, innovate, evaluate and learn from its experiences whilst modifying
its programs to meet the needs of its constituents.
Realizing this vision means overcoming huge and complex challenges in the humanitarian sector in the
region. As disasters increase, so do the number of people in need. Conflicts; climate change; population
growth, especially increased urbanization, have all exacerbated our needs and challenges. So too have
droughts, flooding, civil war and displacements as these have led to an increase in the number of people
in humanitarian crisis. Further, as Kenya ushers in a new system of governance (devolution), there are
great deal of changes, both political and economic occurring in the non-profit sector in Kenya.
I do recognize that we cannot achieve this enormous goal on our own. I, therefore, call upon the
continued commitment of the Board, management and staffs; the support of our development partners;
collaboration with other civil society organizations; and the interest and engagement of the community we
serve. I would like to thank everyone who were involved in the process for their inputs. We now look to
you, our partners, to support us in implementing it.
Thank you and may Allah bless you.
Captain Omar Farah Husseinali
Chairman, WASDA Board
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Our vision, mission, purpose and core values
Our vision
Empowered communities in the Horn of Africa that are resilient, innovative and peaceful.
Our mission
Mobilize and engage communities and other stakeholders in creating strategic partnerships for sustainable
management of the environment, water resources, livelihoods, education, and public health services in the
Horn of Africa
Our purpose To work alongside government, non-governmental organizations and other relevant stakeholders to
address the developmental challenges facing the Horn of Africa.
Our programmatic core values
Commitment to community service and social responsibility;
Responsive to community needs;
Neutrality, impartiality, (Non alignment) and independence;
Cooperation, coordination and working in partnership to avoid duplication; and
Quality services.
WASDA was established as a non-governmental organization under Kenyan Law in 1995. In its work
supplementing the efforts of government and other stakeholders to address some of the developmental
challenges facing the Horn of Africa, the organization has extended its reach to currently working in
North-eastern Kenya and parts of Southern Somalia.
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Introduction
During the previous planning phase (2010-2015), WASDA has evolved and experienced a number
of positive accomplishments and also experienced some organizational challenges. This plan aims to
capitalize on these successes and strengths, which include diversification of funding sources, a
growth in the project portfolio and geographic coverage, and a cadre of committed staff. By setting
out priorities for WASDA in the next four years, the plan sets out to guide organization’s resources,
programs, and fundraising.
In its 20 years working with pastoral
communities in North-eastern Kenya and
Southern Somalia, WASDA has built a wealth
of experience and knowledge that lays the
foundation for the current strategic plan. It has
developed vision and strategic priorities to
utilize its limited resources to change the lives of
millions of people in the region. In the last 20
years, we have reached over 1.5 million people
with livelihood, food security; water; sanitation
and hygiene; health; education and emergency
humanitarian support.
WASDA understands that even as the demand
for humanitarian action rises, the available
resources continue to shrink. So too are the
political and economic challenges of the region
chains, the expectation of our primary
constituents and their demand for quality
services. This strategic plan 2016 – 2020
provides a clear vision, objectives and actions to
guide our limited resources where they are most
needed and cater for the ever-changing needs of
the community.
In utilizing our comparative advantage as an
indigenous and community driven organization,
we prioritize the most vulnerable and
marginalized people. Therefore, the strategic
interventions outlined in this Strategic Plan
focus on the growth of the organization’s
portfolio, diversification of funding sources and
developing and strengthening WASDA as an
institution to serve the communities better. As
such, the Plan focuses the organization’s
activities on growing our programmatic focus
while strengthening our institutional base. The
Plan prioritizes food security and livelihoods;
health and education; disaster management and
humanitarian response; advocacy, women and
youth; and water, sanitation and hygiene for the
communities in the Horn of Africa (HoA).
Additionally, as WASDA’s institutional capacity
strengthens, priorities will be focusing and
strengthening our programs, raising our
organizational profile and partnerships, growing
and diversifying our funding base, and
strengthening our capacity to deliver on our
programs.
This Strategic Plan marks the beginning of the
fourth phase of the evolution of WASDA.
WASDA’s Board of Directors and staff have
collectively developed the Plan with input of
stakeholders. A variety of stakeholders including
the Board of Directors, WASDA staff, local
leaders and partner organizations were all
consulted. Three strategic planning sessions
were conducted in October and December 2016.
In addition, a detailed contextual analysis of the
social, political and governance issues in the
region was conducted. The Board of Directors
will review the progress of the plan annually.
The Plan is organized as follows. Section 1 is a
detailed analysis of the context and provides
background and programmatic considerations.
Section 2 articulates the organization’s
competitive advantages, opportunities and
threats. Section 3 describes the priorities and
program strategy. Section 4 outlines how we
will work to deliver this strategy through
enabling factors. Section 5 discusses program
management and support and budget approach.
The plan concludes by providing a strategic
action plan that summarizes the major focus of
activities by goal for each year of the strategic
plan.
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Section 1: The changing context - Scanning the external environment
WASDA works in Northeastern Kenya and Southern Somalia with organizational competences in
programming in food security and livelihoods, WASH, natural resource management. We
intervene directly on the ground, work closely with partners, and engaged fully in planning and
policy issues around humanitarian work in the Horn of Africa.
Poverty and food insecurity in the
Horn of Africa
Droughts and conflicts have exacerbated the
problem of poverty and food insecurity in the
Horn of Africa (HoA). Here, it is estimated that
between 40 - 70% of the population is
undernourished, primarily due to ongoing
political instability in the region and climate
change. Even in Kenya where there is peace,
stability and the ability to invest, Northern
Kenyan regions remain poor. Today, it is
estimated that more than 50 percent of the
people in the region survive on less than US$1
per person per day.1 The region is disaster-prone
and its population is recurrently hit by drought,
flood or conflicts. Climate change, growing
populations, and declining per capita agricultural
capacity are expected to further threaten food
security.
1 UNICEF. 1999. The state of the world's children, 1999. New York.)
WASDA has however been making a difference
by increasing drought resilience in the region
through measures such as the construction of the
underground water tank for the Garakilo
community in Wajir North, shown in the
photograph adjacent.
The majority (over 80%) of the world’s food
insecure people live in countries prone to
hazards, characterized by ecosystem
degradation, such as the Horn of Africa.
Regional food insecurity is further amplified by
poverty endemic to the region. Overall
marginalization due to the lack of infrastructure,
weak governance, insecurity, frequent droughts
and limited livelihood options keep major parts
of the Horn of Africa in a cycle of poverty and
vulnerability. For instance, structural under-
development and chronic poverty put 5.5 million
people living in Northern Kenya, mainly
livestock farmers, in a vulnerable position.
Somalia is in a protracted crisis with very low
coverage of social services, mainly due to the
absence of, or, low capacity of government
structures.
Recipient cashing in much needed food voucher
provided by the USAID and brokered by
WASDA.
Photo courtesy of WASDA
Underground water tank constructed under the
auspices of WASDA in the Garakilo community in
north Wajir.
Photo courtesy of WASDA
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As at December 2016, approximately 6.2 million
people were estimated to be in need of
humanitarian aid in Somalia. There is a
widening gap between the need and capacity of
governments, NGOs and the international
community to meet these growing demands. The
Board of Directors and staff of WASDA are
however working assiduously to plug this gap.
WASDA is committed to addressing food
insecurity and poverty and recognizes its
impacts on vulnerable children and women. The
link between households’ lack of access to
opportunities and capacities, food insecurity and
poverty are clear. By addressing the
interconnected root causes, poverty and food
insecurity can be ended. To address the problem,
WASDA is focusing on building households’
capacities to deal with unexpected disasters by
ensuring that all parts of society are able to cope
with emergencies. Additionally, we will
significantly increase our life saving assistance
to communities in Kenya and Somalia, scale-up
our social protection programs and influence
others to do likewise. Furthermore, a coherent
approach is required to sustainably address the
root causes of crises, including political
diplomacy for prevention and conflict
resolution, and integrating humanitarian
development into peace-building efforts.
The expanding and complexity of needs
in the region
There has been an increase in the frequency of
disasters in the region due to the occurrences of
natural and man-made hazards. Urbanization,
population growth, ecosystem destruction, and
protracted disasters are amplifying the
challenges faced by communities in the region.
For instance, rapid urbanization is steadily
increasing the number of urban poor, as
increased conflicts and insecurity displace
growing numbers of people to urban areas such
as Mogadishu and Kismayo. In Northern Kenya,
the population is increasing and urbanization
poses new challenges, especially in natural
resource management and food security. As
urbanization expands and population increases,
extreme poverty is also increasingly, especially
in the major settlements in the region. The
competition for access to and control of limited
resources has dramatically increased and is
putting pressure on the livelihoods of the poor.
The lack of access and poor quality education
and health services remain critical in these new
settlements and have had particularly serious
consequences for children and females.
WASDA’s Board of Directors and staff attending an
emergency meeting called at Wajir to discuss the
growing humanitarian need in Somalia following the
2016 drought.
Photo courtesy of WASDA
Children receiving essential household hygiene kits
at a settlement in Wajir North
Photo courtesy of WASDA
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The scale of poverty and level of in-migration
into the settlements have overwhelmed the
existing services, leaving the poorest households
without access to safety nets
Climatic variation associated with climate
change is having a significant consequence on
food security, as climate events such as drought
become more severe and frequently impact
negatively on livestock productivity, the key
livelihood in Northern Kenya and Somalia.
Climate change is impacting on smallholders
even harder, as they are more exposed to
climate-related disasters that increase hunger by
destroying land, livestock, crops, food supplies
and restrict people’s access to markets. While
this seriously curtails the resilience of
households, climate change also increases health
threats, posing further risks to nutrition status.
Therefore, strengthening the resilience of
vulnerable households and communities will be
crucial to counter the effects of these stressors.
As noted in the State of Food Insecurity in the
World report, 20152 the typology of crises has
evolved to catastrophic, acute and highly visible
to longer term and protracted situations. This is
typical of disasters in Somalia, as few acute
short-term crises resulting from conflicts;
2 FAO, IFAD and WFP. 2015. The State of Food Insecurity in the World, page 38. Rome.
droughts and flooding continue to occur.
Therefore, while some population may need
emergency response, there is need to strengthen
the resilience of affected populations in
protracted crises by also applying a development
lens in its humanitarian response, and by
aligning its recovery and development
interventions accordingly.
From our experience working in Northeastern
Kenya and Somalia, we know that the people
most affected by poverty live in rural and peri-
urban areas. We also understand that the context
in each region we work and each situation
within these regions will involve a complex mix
of factors. Hence, while context-sensitive
responses will require different actions,
generally there will be the need to improve
access to basic services, increase support and
build people’s capacities to protect themselves
from the negative impacts of these changes.
WASDA will therefore prioritize its resources to
assist women and youths. Our integrated
approach to humanitarian disasters incorporates
developmental principles and risk reduction
within emergency responses and address
underlying vulnerabilities, as well as chronic
needs. Working in collaboration with our
partners, we will use a wide range of tools to
analyze the context and employ the appropriate
intervention strategies to institute change.
Prevailing challenges and the changing
contexts in delivery of humanitarian
action
Increased targeting of humanitarian actors in the
region by malign actors has significantly
increased the risks of working in the region,
reduced access to services and increased the
operational costs of delivering humanitarian
assistance.
Two policy and legislatives changes have had
implications on the context of humanitarian
action in Kenya: the enactment of the Public
Benefit Organizations (PBO) Act and the
devolved governance structure (county
governments). Some of the County
Governments have levied annual fees on NGOs
operating in their counties. The enactment of the
PBO Act was aimed at improving legal and
enabling environment for NGOs. It gave NGO
Veterinary personnel assigned to WASDA
inoculating livestock against diseases.
Photo courtesy of WASDA
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Board, the regulator, more power to offer
regulatory oversight and protect the public and
NGOs engaged in charitable work.
Subsequently, a number of organizations had
their accounts frozen, some even registered on
basis that the NGOs had failed either to register,
make tax returns or were engaging in illegal
activities. However, NGOs have continued to
complain of harassment and intimidation. A
plan to cap to the foreign funding of NGOs was
rejected by the parliament in 2013.
While additional resources have been allocated
to the counties’ governments, the demand for
services from NGOs has increased, as county
governments pressurize NGOs by asking them
to align their interventions with the county
plans. It is therefore necessary to develop
engagement mechanisms with the county
institutions. Further, it is crucial to advocate for
better and just utilization of these resources. The
focus of WASDA’s advocacy will be linked to
its strategic priorities, particularly in the access
to infrastructure and services. WASDA will
work with partners to influence policies and
decision makers within national and county
governments. To do this, we will be raising their
awareness of issues and supporting them to
influence their constituents. We will also support
our partners and build their capacities to
advocate for change within their contexts.
In Somalia, the establishment of the new federal
states: Jubaland, South West, Hirshabelle and
Galmudug are having implications for
programming in these regions. The new Federal
States have also asked NGOs to register,
although they were already registered with the
Government of Somalia. Additionally, they have
also levied new registration fees and annual
renewal charges. Limited access to a large part
of Southern Somalia remains an ongoing
problem.
Women engaged in livestock fodder production
and harvesting as part of WASDA’s sustainable
food program
Photo courtesy of WASDA Solar PV installation at Abakore used to pump
water at a borehole, as part of WASDA’s low-
carbon energy scheme. Photo courtesy of
WASDA
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Section 2: WASDA’s internal capacity, opportunities and threats
STRENGTHS
WASDA’s key strength lies in its demonstrated ability to deliver life-changing development work in the
Horn of Africa. During our twenty years of existence, WASDA has grown from a local organisation to a
regional NGO, building our brand along the way. WASDA is well known and respected by our partners
and donors, as demonstrated by the number of donors growing from one to fifteen in the past fifteen
years. The organisation has also built up committed human resources pools and strong institutional
infrastructures in both Somalia and Kenya. Over the past fifteen years, WASDA has upgraded its policies
and systems for program growth, resulting in the strengthening of our systems and institutions. The
rewards have been great, with WASDA’s growing the funding from KES 6 million to KES 300 million
over this period.
WEAKNESSES
Despite its inherent strengths, WASDA also has a number of weaknesses. Although year-on-year the
organisation has received increased funding for our programs, the developmental challenges facing the
Horn of Africa have outpaced access to finance. Consequent to this, limited financial capital remains a
major constraint to WASDA. Another major constraint is rising administrative costs. This has limited the
organisation’s capacity to extend its reach into areas in dire need of humanitarian and developmental
work, notably Ethiopia, Somaliland and parts of Djibouti.
OPPORTUNITIES
Notwithstanding our weaknesses, WASDA has several opportunities it may capitalise upon. One of the
main opportunities is the possibility of extending our reach to Ethiopia, Somaliland and Djibouti. As these
areas reap the benefits of continued peace and stability, WASDA recognises the opportunity to position
itself as a major developmental facilitator, charting the road to a more stable, sustainable and progressive
future for these regions. With our expertise in building strong institutions, we regard ourselves as having
the capacity to be a key enabler and developmental partner with the county governments of Kenya and
neighbouring Federal States. This presents the opportunity to grow our product and service offerings.
THREATS
WASDA’s main threats are protracted instability in regions such as Southern Somalia and dwindling
funding from traditional donor partners. Recently, these threats have been exacerbated by global geo-
political uncertainty, since this may impact international aid. WASDA also faces the threats of
unexpected natural disasters primarily due to climate change; sustainability challenges and levies imposed
by county governments.
WASDA was established as a non-governmental organization under Kenyan Law in 1995. In its work that supplements the efforts of government and other stakeholders in addressing the developmental challenges in the Horn of Africa, WASDA is currently working in North-eastern Kenya and parts of Southern Somalia. The following is a brief summary of the internal and external factors highlighted by the board and staff that are likely to influence the outcome of this Strategic Plan. They represent a small portion of the conditions identified as being favourable and unfavourable to the objectives of the Plan being met.
Section 3: WASDA’s strategic drivers and goals
An analysis of WASDA’s previous experience in North-eastern Kenya and Southern Somalia over the last 15 years highlights the valuable experience
and themes related to food and nutrition security, adaptation to climate change, WASH, health and education, natural resource management, and
emergency response. Therefore, WASDA’s priorities are set out in 3 goals that will guide the organization over the period of the strategic plan. Our
approach will shift to a more enabling and facilitating role, supporting innovation and providing technical support. This is aimed at availing the acute
needs of disaster-affected populations, and strengthening the capacities of our constituents to use the existing resources to find solutions to better their
lives.
WASDA’s strategic framework 2016 – 2020
Our vision: Empowered communities in the Horn of Africa that are resilient, innovative and peaceful.
Our mission: Mobilize and engage communities and other stakeholders in creating strategic partnerships for sustainable management of the environment, water
resources, livelihoods, education, and public health services in the Horn of Africa
Strategic priorities To address multi-dimensional aspects of food and nutrition insecurity, and adaptation to climate change
To support communities in accessing resources and services - public health and education, and water and natural resource management
To strengthen local capacities and partnerships to enable our communities’ participation in development and decision making
To increase WASDA capacity and strengthen accountability to enable the achievement of goals 1 – 3
How WASDA plans to advance the strategic areas
Food and nutrition insecurity, and linking with
adaptation to climate change
Access to resources and services - public health,
education, and water and natural resource management
Local capacities and partnerships for participation in
development and decision making
Increase WASDA’s work in reducing the risk
of disasters and build resilience of
communities;
Build the local communities’ capacities in
emergency preparedness, risk reduction and
response,
Address the acute food and nutrition needs of
disaster affected populations;
Building internal competency and capacities
as well as exploring better solutions through
deeper contextual analysis and innovation.
Direct delivery of critical healthcare and
educational inputs, services and resources during
emergencies;
Supporting longer term improvements in healthcare
and education systems;
Leveraging technology and private sector in
delivery proven techniques and technologies;
Influencing public policies and practices that
enhance climate change adaptation, and facilitating
key interventions such as the scaling up context-
relevant disaster risk reduction measures
Organizing and building local capacities, especially
of local institutions and organizations in exercising
their rights and to address issues affecting them;
Enhancing the access to information and promoting
social accountability to enable the constituents to
benefit from local resources and enhance public
participation and accountability;
Lobby and invest in local advocacy to increase the
responsiveness of government and local businesses
in fulfilling their promises and policies;
Partnerships with the private sector to deliver
assistance to communities.
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Goal 1: To address multi-dimensional
aspects of food and nutrition insecurity
In both Somalia and Kenya, we will work to
seek solutions and have a greater impact on food
and nutrition security and build local adaptation
to climate change. At the time of disasters,
addressing the emergency needs of people
affected by disasters will remain a priority as it
saves lives and livelihoods. Furthermore, agility
to scale up operations to meet the changing
needs will be critical. Further, supporting
markets and incomes in crisis will be essential to
ensure that families have access to food.
We intend to expand our work in improving
local producers improve their food security and
nutrition, social protection systems, enterprise
development and employment, and agricultural
and non-agricultural value chains that have
impact on long-term poverty. As the security
and governance systems in Kenya and Somalia
improve, we have the opportunity of working
with the private sector in the development of
market systems for critical inputs for enterprises.
Finally, WASDA will support disaster risk
reduction and climate resilience in order to make
food systems in the Horn of Africa more
resilient to disasters.
What we will do
To achieve this objective, we plan to increase
the number of people reached, speed and quality
of our emergency response. Since the regions in
which WASDA works are prone to natural and
manmade disasters, a strong focus on saving
lives and livelihoods in emergencies will be
necessary. WASDA’s responses to emergencies
will increase our ability to be flexible in
responding quickly as required and enable long-
term development. WASDA is committed to
scaling cash-based programming for a range of
basic needs in contexts where it is appropriate.
Furthermore, safety nets and social protection
systems are among the best options for
empowering the most vulnerable people so that
they can start adapting to climate change and
building resilience.
For those in development context, we will
promote sustainable agriculture, and deepen and
scale up our resilience and climate change
adaptation. We will seek to implement and
develop innovative food security and nutrition
programs, scale up our work in strengthening
our work in sustainable livelihoods, social
protection, and enterprise and value chains
development. These interventions will be
adaptable to facilitate appropriate response to
changing operational environment, and promote
links between WASDA’s humanitarian and
development work.
Our priority actions will include
1. Addressing the acute food and nutrition
needs of disaster affected populations, and
build the local communities’ capacities in
disaster risk reduction, prevention,
preparedness and response mechanisms;
2. Increasing the sustainability of food systems
in the Horn of Africa by strengthening
capacities, increasing access to inputs and
improving productivity, diversifying
livelihood options, and rehabilitation of
natural resources;
3. Increasing WASDA’s work in building
resilience of communities, and leverage
existing social protection schemes that
protect access to food while promoting
nutrition, livelihoods and asset creation.
4. Partnerships with the private sector in value
and supply chain, financial services for the
poor, and enterprise development and
employment;
5. Building internal competency and capacities
for delivery of quality and effective
programs as well as exploring better
solutions through deeper contextual analysis
and innovation.
Goal 2: To support communities access
resources
Access to clean water and sanitation are relevant
for improved nutrition and health, while
education enhances peoples’ ability to adapt
their behaviour and better their lives, and to
demand appropriate services. Education is an
investment for the future, a vital for economic
growth, and is a priority for communities in our
program areas. Addressing poverty and food
insecurity relies on better management of natural
resources.
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What we will do
Our work to increase access to resources and
services are intended to strengthen households’
and community vulnerability. In this strategic
period, we plan to continue to strengthen health
care and educational systems in our program
areas, and improve access to water and
sanitation services and facilities; integrate
human development and livelihoods programs
for resilience; and increase community the
security of access, control, and management of
over land, water, and natural resources.
The Horn of Africa region is characterized by
high prevalence of communicable diseases as a
result of low-level awareness and inadequate
health infrastructure and services. This is
associated with low awareness levels,
inadequate facilities and laxity of governments
to provide adequate public health and hygiene
services. In health and sanitation, we seek to
expand the households’ access to water and
public health services, including in emergencies.
Tackling water-borne diseases, HIV/AIDS and
malaria is our priority alongside focused efforts
in reproductive health and childcare. Further,
investments will be made in social mobilization
on social and environmental factors such as
health education, greater access to potable water
and sanitation, better personal hygiene, and
improved nutrition; and in public policies that
enhance access to services and facilities.
Similarly, education levels are low due to
inadequate framework for access retention and
transition, and quality of infrastructure and
services. As education is a priority for both
communities and governments in the region, our
goal will be to invest in increased access to
relevant and quality education to all. In addition
to the infrastructural development and quality
improvements, WASDA will develop initiatives
that influence the government to allocate
adequate resources for education along with
sensitizing communities and facilitating
households to send their children (especially
girls) to school.
The ecosystems in the Horn of Africa are scarce,
poorly developed and poorly managed. Our goal
is to ensure access to safe water and sustainable
management of natural resources. In our work,
three key issues will be priority: improving the
management of existing resources, ensuring that
new programs do not generate new hazards, and
tackling of climate change. We seek to improve
the access and management of natural resources,
especially grazing lands and water resources.
Our overarching goal is to improve the
management of water and natural resources in
the long terms while improving access and
capacities of community institutions in the
immediate term.
Our priority actions to meet the objective will
include
1. Direct delivery of critical healthcare and
educational inputs, services and resources
during emergencies;
2. Supporting longer term improvements in
healthcare and education systems ensuring
that they are more accessible, gender and
age-sensitive, and more sustainable;
3. Leveraging technology and working with
the private sector in delivery proven
techniques and technologies that will ease
access to services and resources;
4. Influencing public policies and practices that
enhance climate change adaptation, and
facilitating key interventions such as the
scaling up context-relevant disaster risk
reduction measures and strengthening
traditional methods of coping with disasters;
Goal 3: To strengthen local capacities
and partnerships to enable our
communities’ participation in
development and decision making
With the new constitution and devolved
governance structure, citizenry is getting more
involved in their development. WASDA will be
engaging its constituencies in realizing their
strengths and capacities in addressing
development needs. This means devoting a lot of
efforts in linking people to devolved systems
and working with local groups in demanding
change from their government and local actors.
Further, as businesses play a critical role in
peoples lives in the Horn of Africa, WASDA
will engage with them in contributing to
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humanitarian assistance and reducing poverty
among local populations.
What we will do
As WASDA shift to a more enabling and
facilitating role, WASDA will invest more in
building capacities of local actors (women and
youth groups, and associations) in political
participation, information access and self-
organization to improve their voice and
prioritization of their needs. We will work with
others including businesses, states and civil
society to improve WASDA’s ability to deliver
assistance to communities.
Our priority actions to meet the objective will
include
Organizing and building local capacities:
WASDA will work with and support local
institutions and organizations in exercising their
rights and organization to address issues
affecting them. Women and youth play a critical
role in livelihoods of the poor in the Horn of
Africa and are crucial catalysts in bringing
changes within communities.
WASDA will
Prioritize empowering the women and youth
in our programmatic areas.
Enhancing the access to information: local
communities will be supported to access
information that will enable them access
information need to make informed choices
and participate in decision-making. In
addition, WASDA will promote social
accountability to enable the constituents to
benefit from local resources and enhance
public participation and accountability.
Lobby and invest in local advocacy to
increase the responsiveness of government
and local businesses in fulfilling their
promises and policies in resource allocation
and addressing the needs of the vulnerable
populations;
Partnerships with the private sector: work
with others including businesses, states and
civil society to improve WASDA’s ability to
deliver assistance to communities.
15
Section 4: Prerequisites for success: Increasing WASDA capacity and
strengthen accountability
In the period 2016 – 2020, WASDA will be more strategic in focusing and strengthening its program
direction, raise its profile and increase membership and partnership engagement, growing and
diversifying its funding base, and strengthen its capacity to achieve organizational goals. The objective is
to be proactive in developing an effective and efficient operational and programmatic model for program
implementation. This will be achieved by:
1. Improving our funding strategy by linking fundraising with communication activities and
partnerships strategy, instituting a professional grants management system with capacity to manage
multiple and varied projects, and explore a diversified funding base;
2. Improving our organizational governance systems and administration by rethinking the organizational
structure. The current human resource, administrative guidelines and policies, finance and grant
management systems will be reviewed with the objective of increasing effectiveness and
transparency. There will be a re-thinking of the organizational structure to best meet the new
operational realities of the strategic planning period 2016-2020. This will include a new organogram
and systemized grades and salary bands;
3. Exploring a diversified funding base and invest in exploring core-funding opportunities to support
capacity building and strategic projects. In addition, sustainability fund will be established in line
with clear financial, transparency and legal requirements;
4. Investing in research and communication unit to guide the work in the strategic period – in addition to
ensuring new areas of program intervention in line with the WASDA’s domain of change, the
WASDA’s research and communication unit is to ensure that organization’s work becomes cohesive
and logical program rather than a collection of ad-hoc projects.
Enabling actions
To operationalize the strategic plan, WASDA conducted a detailed analysis of its strengths and
weaknesses. Based on this analysis, we have identified three main operational priorities where we want to
channel our resources and strengthen our capacities, in order to deliver quality programs with maximized
impact.
1. Enabling action 1: Partnerships: WASDA is a leading partner, has a good reputation and has
demonstrated expertise in programming in Northern Kenya and Somalia. In all its interventions,
WASDA has continued to partner with like-minded organizations in helping reach more people and
have a more significant impact on the lives of the most vulnerable people.
2. Enabling action 2: Advocacy and communication: Based on evidence collected from the field,
WASDA will produce quality documents (brochures, leaflets, case studies, audiovisual documents,
etc.) that reflect the vision, mission and values of the organization.
3. Enabling action 3: Strengthening program design and management through innovation and
learning: WASDA plans to constantly improve the quality and relevance of its programming by
using the lessons learnt from our experience. Further, WASDA will be using technology to improve
access to basic services of our impact groups.
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Section 5: WASDA’s Balance Scorecard
WASDA has developed a balanced scorecard (BSC) to guide the delivery of this strategy. The following matrix summarizes WASDA’s strategic
objectives, key performance indicators and initiative/ programs. A more detailed matrix that identifies performance targets along with the objectives,
indicators and initiatives has been separately prepared to guide strategy implementation and performance monitoring.
Mission: Mobilize and engage communities and other stakeholders in creating strategic partnerships for sustainable management of the
environment, water resources, livelihoods, education, and public health services in the Horn of Africa
Goal 1: To address multi-dimensional aspects of food and nutrition insecurity, and linking with the adaptation to climate change
Objective Indicators Initiatives
Increase WASDA’s work in reducing the
risk of disasters and build resilience of
communities;
Percentage and number of households in
the program areas with secure livelihoods
and are able to withstand disasters.
Number of integrated disaster risk
programs in place in the program areas
Building communities’ resilience to risks of disasters
Building local communities capacities in disaster risk
reduction
Build the local communities’ capacities in
emergency preparedness, risk reduction
and response,
Percentage and number of households in
the program areas that are prepared and
adequate respond to disasters
Number of community capacity building
program put in place
Building communities capacities to prepare and reduce
and respond to disasters; and
Building local infrastructural capacity to prepare, reduce
and respond to disasters
Building capacities of local institutions managing
natural resources
Address the acute food and nutrition needs
of disaster affected populations;
Percentage and number of households in
the program areas that are considered food
secure
Households food security status and
incomes
Building resilience of key livelihoods in the program
areas to disasters;
Address the impact of acute food and nutrition
insecurity through emergency and long-term
programming
Integrated pastoral and agro-pastoral livelihood
programming
Supporting livelihood diversification programs
Building internal competency and
capacities as well as exploring better
solutions through deeper contextual
analysis and innovation.
Capacities of staffs and partners to design
and implement integrated programs
Quality and innovativeness of WASDA’s
program and ability to attract adequate
funding to implement the programs
The number and percentage of programs
achieving the intended results
Institutional strengthening and capacity building
program
Monitoring, evaluation and Reporting systems
Board and staff development programs
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Goal 2: To support communities in access to resources and services - public health and education, and water and natural resource management
Objective Indicators Initiatives
Direct delivery of critical healthcare and
educational inputs, services and resources
during emergencies;
Percentage of households with access to
critical healthcare, education and other inputs
and resources during emergencies
Emergency healthcare, education, inputs and resource
access programs
Supporting longer term improvements in
healthcare and education systems;
Percentage of households with access to long
term access to healthcare, education and other
inputs and resources
Number of programs supporting access to
healthcare and educational systems
development and improvement
Institutional and infrastructural development in healthcare
and education;
Building management capacities of healthcare and
educational institutions
Innovative programs to increase access to services for
critical households
Leveraging technology and private sector in
delivery proven techniques and technologies;
Number of innovative programs put in place
to address emerging and existing needs
Pilot technologically innovative programs
Influencing public policies and practices that
enhance climate change adaptation, and
facilitating key interventions such as the
scaling up context-relevant disaster risk
reduction measures
Number of policies and practices whose
development are attributable to WASDA
Number of advocacy initiatives and strategic
partnerships developed
Advocacy programs
Building internal capacity (Board and staffs) for advocacy
Goal 3: To strengthen local capacities and partnerships to enable our communities’ participation in development and decision making
Objective Indicators Initiatives
Organizing and building local capacities,
especially of local institutions and
organizations in exercising their rights and to
address issues affecting them;
Institutional capacities for managing local
organizations and institutions;
Number of program and activities
implemented by the local institutions
Local capacity building programs
Building partnerships with local institutions and
organizations
Enhancing the access to information and
promoting social accountability to enable the
constituents to benefit from local resources
and enhance public participation and
accountability;
Level of access to information and social
accountability to beneficiaries;
Institutional mechanisms for beneficiary
accountability and feedback mechanisms
Social accountability and feedback mechanism
Building partnerships with local institutions and
organizations
Lobby and invest in local advocacy to
increase the responsiveness of government
and local businesses in fulfilling their
promises and policies;
Number of local government and business
actors investing in needs of the community
Level of funding from these actors for
supporting local programs
Advocacy programs
Building partnerships with local institutions and
organizations
Partnerships with the private sector to deliver
assistance to communities.
Number of partnerships and funding from
private sectors for local initiatives
Number of corporate social responsibility
programs
Building partnerships private sector
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Section 7: Implementation Strategy for Strategic Plan 2016-2020
WASDA has developed an implementation strategy to serve as a roadmap for turning the strategies and
plans into action for accomplishing the strategic goals and objectives. The detailed roadmap is maintained as a live document to spot gaps and opportunities as they arise, however, a summarized version bearing the essential elements of the implementation strategy is presented in the form of a pyramid list below.
PROGRAMMES
BUDGETS
PROCEDURES
COMMUNICATION
Ob
ject
ives
; P
oli
cies
; S
trate
gie
s
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Section 8: Organisational Structure for delivering the Strategic Plan 2016-2020
20
Wajir Office - Headquarters
Diif Road
P. O. Box 209-70200
Tel. 046-421176
E-mail: [email protected]
Nairobi Office
Solar House; Moi Avenue
Opposite Cooperative House
P. O. Box 28409-00200, Nairobi
Tel: 020-2218358
First Edition: January 2017
Design & Layout: Kenbridge Consulting Limited
Photo Credit: WASDA
For the People of the Horn of Africa
