Octagon Leadership and Community Development Programme Review
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A Review of the Octagon Leadership and Community Development Programme (OLCDP) of The Bible Society Of The South Pacific Implemented in Fiji by The Octagon Group Ann Braun December 2008 ACRONYMS ACCF Assembly of Christian Churches in Fiji BSSP Bible Society of the South Pacific CCF Citizens Constitutional Forum ECREA Ecumenical Centre for Research Education and Advocacy FAB Fijian Affairs Board FSPI Foundation of the Peoples of the South Pacific International GCC Great Council of Chiefs GDI Gender-related Development Index GEF Global Environment Fund HDI Human Development Index IAS Institute of Applied Studies MPA Marine Protected Areas ODE Octagon Development Experience OG Octagon Group OIL Octagon Institute of Leadership OLCDP Octagon Leadership and Community Development Programme OME Octagon Mentoring Experience PTC Pacific Theological College TNK Turaga ni koro USP University of the South Pacific GLOSSARY Bose ni Komai Chief’s Council Bure Traditional thatched hut Davuata Unity Komai Title given to the leader of certain chiefly clans. A Komai may or may not also be leading a village. Koro Village Lewe ni koro Community member Liuliu ni koro Village leader of a village, who may be of a chiefly clan or the eldest male. Lotu Religion Matanitu The chiefly system Matanivanua Traditional chief’s herald/spokesperson Radini turaga ni koro Wife of turaga ni koro Radini vanua Chief’s wife Ratu Chief Sautu Well-being Taukei indigene, owner of land, nationalist Tikina District Toso ki liu Progress Tuirara Methodist; senior elder appointed by elders and congregation for religious administration within a village Turaga ni Koro Chief’s spokesperson/village administrator, appointed by village council Valatawa Catechist, Methodist church; appointee of the church to that village Vanua Vanua is a word meaning both 'place' and 'land' and also 'people,' specifically a group of people united under a chief Yaqona Kava, grog i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank the staff of Octagon and the Bible Society for their very full collaboration during this review, and in particular Isimeli Nalomaca who organised my visit to the Dawasamu communities and spent many hours responding to questions during my week in Fiji and then afterwards by email. I am grateful to BSSP staff members, Apenisa Lewatoro and Ratu Marika Waqaniuvalu (Tuma) who supported the field work. Tuma helped to facilitate the village reflections by creating a relaxed and informal atmosphere as he translated for me during the interviews and group discussions. The field work would not have been possible without these linguistic and facilitation skills. Apenisa provided many cultural tips, kept the field work moving and provided insight into Octagon’s work on Cultural Capital. I would also like to thank Joe Vakasiria, of Driti village, for his help in organising sessions with a variety of groups in each village and for his insights into the unique nature of each Dawasamu village. To my colleagues Claire Slatter, Vijay Naidu, and Mary Alison Lazarus thanks for your peer support and advice. Finally, I would like to thank all from the villages of Driti, Nabualau, Delakado and Nasinu who participated in the group discussions and extend particular thanks to the women who prepared the wonderful meals and snacks we enjoyed during these visits. ii Table of Contents Executive Summary ................................................................................................................ 1 Purpose ............................................................................................................................... 1 Methods............................................................................................................................... 1 Findings and conclusions .................................................................................................... 2 Recommendations: ............................................................................................................. 4 Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 5 Purpose ............................................................................................................................... 5 Methods............................................................................................................................... 5 General Context and Programme Background....................................................................... 8 The National Context........................................................................................................... 8 The Religious Context in Fiji................................................................................................ 9 The Rural Women’s Context ............................................................................................. 11 The OLCDP context .......................................................................................................... 12 Findings and Analysis ........................................................................................................... 20 Achievements of the OLCDP ............................................................................................ 21 Outcomes of the OLCDP................................................................................................... 22 Degree to Which Results Meet Expectations .................................................................... 24 Effectiveness of OLCDP Strategies for M&E .................................................................... 25 Degree of Access and Inclusivity of the OLCDP for All Members of Society .................... 26 Functionality and Validity of the Programme Design......................................................... 27 Governance Issues ........................................................................................................... 28 Alignment Between the OLCDP and NZAID’s Policy Framework ..................................... 28 Performance with Respect to NZAID’s Cross-cutting Issues ............................................ 30 Level of Demand from Partners for the Programme ......................................................... 32 Options for the Future of the OLCDP ................................................................................ 32 Conclusions and Recommendations .................................................................................... 33 Programme Results........................................................................................................... 33 Design Issues.................................................................................................................... 34 Alignment with NZAID’s Policy Framework ....................................................................... 34 Performance with Respect to NZAID’s Cross-Cutting Issues ........................................... 35 Recommendations: ........................................................................................................... 35 Annex 1: Terms of Reference ............................................................................................... 37 Annex 2: Review Itinerary and Programme of Meetings...................................................... 44 Annex 3: Chronology of Programme Dates .......................................................................... 48 Annex 4: Documents and References .................................................................................. 51 Documents Consulted ....................................................................................................... 51 Literature Cited.................................................................................................................. 51 iii Annex 5: Indicative Work Plan and Preliminary Analysis of TOR ......................................... 53 Annex 6: Reorganisation of TOR Purposes and Questions.................................................. 61 Annex 7: Guides for Group Discussions at Village Level...................................................... 63 Annex 8: Summaries of Interviews and Group Discussions with BSSP and Octagon.......... 65 Annex 9: Summaries of Group Discussions at the Village Level .......................................... 91 Annex 10: Contribution Story from an Octagon partner...................................................... 100 Annex 11: Key Octagon and BSSP Documents ................................................................. 104 Octagon Institute of Leadership Programme Outline ...................................................... 104 Monitoring and Evaluation Framework............................................................................ 106 Monitoring Information Provided by Octagon for the Review .......................................... 111 BSSP Research Questionnaire on Octagon Program..................................................... 116 Results of BSSP questionnaire on the Octagon Programme.......................................... 120 Octagon’s Strategic Direction.......................................................................................... 123 BSSP Board Members .................................................................................................... 127 Annex 12: About the Reviewer ........................................................................................... 128 Tables Table 1. Wealth ranking at the village