Plan International's administrative hub — lessons learned

NAIROBI — In an effort to save money and run more efficiently, Plan International is experimenting with a “networked model” that uses regional administrative hubs to serve its country offices. These hubs centralize the organization’s operations in areas such as finance, human resources, information technology, logistics, and procurement into a regional hub that serves country offices in the region, rather than hiring staffers to perform these functions in each of the organization’s country offices. The first administrative hub was launched in June 2017 in Egypt, to serve the Middle East region. The hub provides systems management for the Jordan and Lebanon office. “It allows for more efficiency and less scope for error. It also frees up time for people on the ground to focus more on delivering aid to people rather than getting bogged down with the systems, procedures, and software,” said Mudasser Siddiqui, country director of Plan International Egypt. The idea for this shift came about in response to the organization’s experiences in Jordan and Lebanon. The organization needed to set up shop in these countries in response to the Syria crisis, but found itself entering a very crowded market. With so many NGOs and agencies cropping up, it had become difficult and expensive for Plan International to hire enough qualified staff to manage both of the new country offices. Instead, Egypt was picked as the organization’s first administrative hub. The organization had a presence in the country since 1981, giving it long-standing institutional memory that is helping it to serve the newer offices. One of the benefits of these regional hubs is that the organization can hire fewer staff members. The administrative hub allows the organization to save up to about 60 percent in administrative staff costs for the region, said Siddiqui. This loosens up funds so that more money is available for on-the-ground programming, he added. The Middle East hub is serving as a testing ground for the organization in its plans to expand this model to other regions. Siddiqui outlined some of the lessons the organization has learned so far from the Middle East hub on how to best implement this new system: - A clear understanding, such as a contract, is needed between the administrative hub and the country office, outlining the expectations from both sides. This can list what services the country office might need and what services the administrative hub will be able to provide. - This system also requires that the organization look critically at their global procedures to create continuity, with the mindset that each country office will soon have these administrative services available. This requires a change in business model that needs to be communicated effectively internally. - When there is a charge for services that are provided between the administrative hub and country office, there needs to be a proper system to back up this charge up with financial documents, such as an invoice. This exchange of services needs to be identifiable and audit-proof. - Compliance requirements, such as getting signatures on documents, need to be largely shifted online. This will also help to prevent an overlap between paper and online documents. - A balance is needed for the new system to work effectively, without adding too much bureaucracy that could shift the focus away from the delivery of aid. - A mindset shift is also needed among staff members so that they are comfortable working with employees that are in offices thousands of miles away. Plan International is “expecting further shared services options” in other regions in the future.