Structurally, the Project's functions and the roles of each member seemed to be clear and well-defined. However, taking part into the daily activities and interactions of the Project staff made me observe specific irregularities on how the Project is being managed and how objectives are met and delivered to the funding agency. Ultimately, the Project has long-range issues, both internally and externally, that makes management difficult and delivery of targets a challenging task not only for the staff, but also for its partners, the Task Force members.
Internal long-range issues involve the seemingly slow progress in the recruitment of individuals to critical positions in the support team, specifically, the M&E and training specialists. Most critical among these positions is the M&E specialist, since this position is responsible for the implementation of the Project's evaluation program, in addition to the responsibility of ensuring that the endeavors of the Project are in line with the proposed objectives given to the funding agency. During the time I was with the Project, monitoring and evaluation is being handled solely by the M&E associate, sometimes with the help of the research specialist....
Task Force members also received late trainings because of the lack of a training specialist to develop and implement training programs. Field staff is forced to assume the role of trainers just to accomplish the committed number of trainings held and to make the TF members equipped for the tasks they need to accomplish -- ultimately, achieve the Project's committed targets to the funding agency.
The overlapping roles that the staff assume in the Project is problematic in that they become overworked and at times, give poor outputs on the tasks they are supposed to deliver. Because of multiple roles and responsibilities, the Project loses its focus in providing quality delivery of targets, and staff has become more concerned with getting the job done rather than making sure if their efforts in the community are geared towards a more sustainable development not only of the Task Forces, but also the communities they are helping out. While this issue is considered as a long-range one since this is still a prevalent issue in the Project, this can be remedied by seeking help from the mainstream NGO they are affiliated with (World Vision), not to mention seeking the support of its network of organizations and individuals.
