Innovative Programme Management Practices in Humanitarian Action and Its Impact on Quality of Programme: a Case of Norwegian Refugee Council, Somalia

Abstract

Despite access constraints, contextual and programmatic risks linked to the operating environment in Somalia, project implementation is ongoing, resources utilized, and reporting conducted. However, despite the implementation of programme management practices plans, the country continues to register delays in implementation and completion of humanitarian projects and triangulation of data from the field is near impossible; programme quality cannot be guaranteed in such a context. A necessary shift in programme management practices in this context proved necessary and was aided by the changing technological landscape including increased telephone and radio coverage, satellite capabilities coupled with the need for remote management in fragile and conflict affected environments as well as improvement in programme management practices capabilities. Objectives were to determine the need and influence of real time learning on programme quality; to establish the link between remote management requirements on programme quality; to investigate access to stakeholders and its influence on programme quality and to examine the influence early warning has played in on programme quality. The study was anchored on the Theory of Diffusion of Innovation approaches and the theory of Disruption of Innovation approaches. The target population consisted of NRC regional and Somalia country office staff. The target population covered both direct project management and administrative and support staff. A sample size of 98 was arrived at for this study and probabilistic sampling technique was adopted. The research used a questionnaire as the main data collection instrument. The study involved both qualitative and quantitative data. After the data was edited, it was thematically coded. Descriptive statistics including percentages, frequencies, standard deviations and means were utilized to ensure that quantitative data for dispersion were measured and analysed. The study established that a positive and significant relationship existed between the predictor variables (real time monitoring, remote management, access to stakeholders and early warning systems) and the outcome variable – programme quality in Norwegian Refugee Council, Somalia as denoted by beta coefficients of 0.712, 0.668, 0.761 and 0.806 (all had p < 0.05), respectively. This implied that real time monitoring, remote management, access to stakeholders and early warning systems were critical humanitarian action programme management components that had a significant positive influence on adoption of innovative approaches in programme management practices in Norwegian Refugee Council, Somalia.