Projects, Staff and Collaborations

Charities operating internationally often work with partners in other countries. This section covers what trustees should think about when choosing projects and partners and employing staff locally. It also looks at what a partnership agreement should cover.

Can my charity work in partnership with others?

Yes. Combining resources can be a cost-effective and efficient way to achieve a charity's purpose. The project or activity which you plan to do in partnership should work towards achieving both your charity's aims and your partners' aims. One example of this is in response to a disaster - see I would like to set up a disaster fund or special appeal. Where should I start?

You should be aware that many countries have specific laws and regulations relating to partnerships between domestic and foreign NGOs and to the employment of local staff in foreign organisations. You should check local rules before entering any arrangements.

What should my charity think about when selecting a partner?

When choosing local partners to work with, trustees must conduct thorough checks to ensure that:

• the activities they intend to carry out through their local partners are in furtherance of their charity's purposes
• their partners are and continue to be appropriate for the charity to work with
• the trustees have taken reasonable steps to monitor the use of funds to make sure that:
  a) their partners can and will apply their funds for proper charitable purposes
  b) the funds reach their partners and end beneficiaries

As part of these checks we advise you to:

• speak to others with the same interests to identify potential partners
• take up references wherever practical
• assess the viability of the potential partner
• get to know the type of people and organisation you are dealing with and the way in which they operate before entering into a written agreement
• require all potential partners to provide costed budgets and forward plans
• identify clearly what results you are working towards and how to know when they have been achieved
• establish local audit procedures, bearing in mind what is practical and possible
• check local regulations on partnerships between local and foreign organisations

When you have chosen a partner/s, you should sign a formal agreement with all parties which sets out what is expected of each - for more details see What sort of things should a partnership agreement cover?.

See also Due Diligence, Monitoring and verification of the end use of funds which has guidance and tools to help you in checking your partners.

What sort of things should a partnership agreement cover?

A signed agreement with partners overseas should include:

• agreement by the partner to provide regular donor reports - these should be of actual spend in a set format and signed off by a senior manager
• agreement to apply funds only for the purposes given (a restricted fund)
• the maintenance of appropriate accounting records
• right of access at all times (announced or unannounced)
• milestones and timetables
• audit provisions (internal, external or both)

What should my charity think about when choosing projects and beneficiaries?

The most important thing to think about is what projects will best fulfil the charity's purposes and give the maximum benefit to your beneficiaries. You should also think about:

• local culture and traditions
• the political situation
• advice, information and views from local groups

These may affect your plans, or how they can most effectively be carried out.

Remember that assets which seem small in the UK can have a very high value in developing countries. Plus there may be tensions between different local groupings or community representatives. It is possible that assets will be used for the benefit of one grouping at the expense of another. This means that charities should discuss issues with several different groups or individuals.

Can charities employ local staff to work on projects?

Yes. Charities should employ staff with the skills and experience needed to carry out their work. This can include local staff. Trustees should not assume that sending out staff from the UK is necessarily the best option.

Charities should bear in mind that employing local people can have additional benefits to the community in which they are operating. Employment and training encourages local skills and knowledge. This may be as beneficial to the entire community as the actual material aid that is being provided. Plus local people often have the knowledge of the community and culture that the charity needs.

Organisations may have to use their own home-based staff if there is no time to recruit locally or to act in an advisory/training capacity to local staff.

Why is it important to define roles and duties?

It's important to define roles so that there can be 'segregation of duties'. This means that no one person should be able to record and process a complete financial transaction. The responsibilities for different stages of the process should be separated - this is to make financial controls secure. Please see Internal Financial Controls for Charities (CC8) for more information.

In addition, it is good practice to create job descriptions for all staff, whether based in the UK or in other countries. The organisation should review and update these regularly. This is to make sure that there are no unnecessary gaps or overlaps.