A summary of the results from our 2021-22 membership survey
Introduction
In January 2021, the annual membership survey was circulated to all GNDR members in order to:
- Assess whether the network is meeting members’ expectations
- Inform the secretariat membership engagement planning for 2022-2023
- Support the global board and the secretariat in setting up key performance indicators for 2022-2023
Response rate and geographical distribution
There was a response rate of 41% of affiliate members and 27% of associates. This is much higher than previous years.
Caribbean, Central America, Central Asia and East and Southeast Asia regions had over 50% of member representation in the survey with East and Southeast Asia having the highest response rate with 71.26%. The lowest response rate was from the Pacific, however the region had an increase from last year.
Membership strengths and gaps
- 67% of the responses were from small CSO’s with an income of less than 100.000 USD a year meaning small CSOs make the biggest proportion of GNDR membership
- Over a third of members have expertise in building the resilience of women and children and young people. There is a need to engage new organisations with expertise building the resilience of older people, people with disabilities and LGBTQ groups and to strengthen the capacity of the current members
- Over 40% of members have expertise in building resilience in the context of climate change and 20% in gender inequality; there is a need to build expertise in the context of conflict, urbanisation and forced displacement
Being part of a global network
- 83.4% of members joined GNDR to connect and collaborate locally, nationally, regionally and globally online and face to face events (via RAGs, NCMs and the Global Summit)
- 79.4% joined and stayed for the capacity strengthening opportunities i.e. webinars, workshops and learning resources
- 70.8% joined for the advocacy opportunities for example being able to contribute and shape the localisation movement, risk-informed development and other influencing activities
We will continue providing these spaces online and in person at the national, regional and global level
We will continue with our capacity strengthening and advocacy opportunities ensuring that they reach as many members as possible.
Engagement
Most engagement is with communication materials. We will continue sharing information and resources via our website and newsletter as these are a source of information and engagement for members with the secretariat. Participation in capacity strengthening opportunities has the highest engagement in non written materials.
Member-to-member engagement or engagements in projects and meetings is lower. It is important that we invest in the coordination of NCMs for members to engage with others face-to-face at the national level. Members can also be reminded of how resources like VFL and other research can support their work and organisational strategic objectives.
Meeting members expectations and needs
- 58.3% of members strongly agrees or agrees that the opportunities (activities, projects, resources, etc) offered by GNDR meet members’ needs and expectations
- 51.8% strongly agree or agree that the capacity strengthening opportunities offered by GNDR have increased members’ organisation capacity to lead and be accountable to their community
Our capacity strengthening offer this year was particularly strong. The Local Leadership Academy has provided opportunities for members to strengthen their capacity in the areas of financial management, project management, fundraising, safeguarding and theory of change. The women’s mentorship programme is addressing gender mainstreaming. These opportunities contributed to the positive response and we should strive to continue making these available.
- 69% strongly agree or agree that GNDR has increased members’ understanding of the benefits of collaboration showing progress towards our strategic goal 1 and the need for this as a network
- 64.5% strongly agree or agree that all GNDR members regardless of their background and circumstances have equal opportunities to engage and participate in GNDR activities.
While the majority of members agree we need to identify the barriers perceived by members and address them. We also need to ensure that the selection criteria of projects and activities is clearly communicated.
- 75% strongly agrees or agrees that the communications (newsletters, reports, papers, etc) that they receive from GNDR’s secretariat are relevant and helpful to their work (can take learning and inspiration)
Capacity strengthening resources or opportunities
Members’ responses were categorised into five broad categories:
- Organisational strengthening/technical skills
- Exchange
- Risk-informed development and localisation
- Inclusion
- Technical DRR which will guide the development of future iterations of the Local Leadership Academy
Where we have provided training and developed resources it is recommended that the secretariat promotes them again via the Community Platform and via other communication outlets ie newsletter, social media, website.
Representation
- 61% of members strongly agree or agree that members’ voices contribute to the network’s direction and activities
- 51.9% strongly agrees or agrees that they understand how the national focal point represents their country’s interest to the regional advisory group
We need to identify the barriers perceived by members and ensure we are providing them with enough spaces to contribute to the direction of the network throughout the year. Similarly as a secretariat it is important that we inform members of the role of the NFP. NFPs need to also engage with (new) members to inform them of their role as country representatives and how their interests are brought to the RAG from an accountability perspective.
- 41.5% strongly agrees or agrees that the national focal point regularly consults the members they represent and amplifies our interests to the regional advisory group
Less than half of members agree that NFPs represent and amplify their interest to the RAG. It is important that the secretariat promotes an understanding of the role amongst members but also amongst NFPs from an accountability perspective. RAG chairs also have a role in ensuring that NFPs bring their country’s perspective to the RAG. As a secretariat we need to ensure we have structures and mechanisms in place to support those actions. During NCMs NFPs can give an overview of theirs and RAG roles in relationship to the membership in the country
- 48.6% of members strongly agree or agree that they feel represented by their region’s representative to the GNDR global board
- 46.2% strongly agrees or agrees that their region’s representative to the GNDR global board communicates constantly the decision from the global board to the members they represent
Less than half of members feel represented by their regional representative to the global board. As elected representatives it is important that the secretariat monitors the engagement between regional representatives and members and supports regional representatives to be able to carry out their role.
Similarly less than half of members agree that their board representative communicates the decisions of the board to them. As representation, ongoing communication between board members and members is an essential part of the Governance structure. The chair of the board needs to promote feedback of any decision made from regional representatives to the members they represent. The secretariat needs to ensure that the structures and mechanisms are in place to enable that communication. The data needs to be further explored to see if representation is particularly low in specific regions.
Striving for risk-informed development and being accountable to communities most at-risk
- 42.1% strongly agrees or agrees GNDR (through collaborations and exchanges with other members, projects, activities, resources, training and other events) has helped their organisation’s activities meet community priorities
- 58% strongly agrees or agrees GNDR ensures that it is accountable to local communities most at risk and challenges others to do the same
Over half of members agree that GNDR is and challenges others to be accountable to communities most at risk. However, agreement to the previous question on whether GNDR has helped members meet their communities priorities is lower. This suggests that our message is strong but the perception of how our activities transfer to community priorities is less so.
- 53.3% strongly agrees or agrees GNDR has improved members’ organisation’s ability to implement risk-informed development
The majority of members agree that GNDR has improved their ability to do risk-informed development showing that we are making strides towards achieving our strategic goal. We should continue reinforcing our messages and activities to continue positioning ourselves as leaders in this area.
Use and improvement of the Community Platform
While it may seem that the majority of members use the Community Platform on a regular basis they also experience regular challenges. Feedback on how it could be improved has been incorporated into terms of reference for future projects.
- Make it more user friendly/simplify it/make it easier to navigate
- Organisations with shared interests should be enabled to connect and collaborate
- Promote more national engagement
- Promote global knowledge and resource sharing ie case studies and good practice
- More information in other languages
- Making it accessible for people with disabilities
Covid-19 prevention and resilience building support
The recurring themes were information sharing and capacity strengthening. Examples of good best practices may be made available via the newsletter but members should be encouraged to share their own experiences and work via the Community Platform.
Additional comments and support
Members’ responses were categorised into three broad categories:
- Opportunities to exchange with other members
- Strengthening the role of the national focal point
- Advocacy support.
The first two categories mirrored responses from the survey highlighting the need for spaces to exchange with other members and the need for the national focal point to play an effective role in mobilising and bringing members together.