Sustainable Existence - Peaceful Coexistence
Danmission’s Programme Strategy
1. Foreword AND Theological Basis
This strategy constitutes the overall framework for all programme work in Danmission. It sets the vision, direction and themes for our work. As a Christian organization we base our work on the fact that faith matters to, and contributes to give life meaning and direction, to the majority of people in the world, and that this must be taken into account when working for sustainable existence and peaceful coexistence.
The strategy is a living document. It has no timeline or expiration date. Instead, it will be revised and updated on an annual basis. This process will include the elaboration of an annual crosscutting operational plan, with concrete targets to be met in the coming year(s). Furthermore, the strategy will be operationalised in country or regional programmes.
As a Christian faith-based organisation, our raison d’etre and view on ourselves ultimately takes point of departure in our faith and understanding of the nature and mission of the Church – and our relationships to others and to society.
Central to our Christian faith is that we see mission to be God’s mission to the world (Missio Dei) – which we humans have a vocation to participate in. God’s mission springs from the creative and redemptive love of God. As Christians we believe in God as triune. God the Creator calls all human beings, Christians, and all people of good will alike, to be stewards of creation and to promote human dignity, justice and peace. Jesus Christ, the Saviour and Liberator, gives his disciples a share in his sending to the world with the mandate to heal, empower people and communities. The Holy Spirit, The Giver of life, empowers for this mission and equips people so that they have the needed energy and wisdom to serve as agents of change and transformation.
Being sent (missio) to service (diakonia) is central to our identity a key to why our organisation was founded. We are here to serve others. With all partners, Danmission sees that joint aims and goals – despite how we formulate it – concern to serve both fellow human beings, society, and creation.
From this, stems our understanding of service as stewardship. We are stewards for a time only, entrusted with power and resources – human, economic, and natural which we should manage in a responsible and accountable way and pass on to our successors and future generations. This holds true in the organisations and institutions where we play a role. This also holds true for the wider society and planet earth. Service (diakonia) also entails good administration of what is entrusted to us. We have a responsibility to be good stewards ourselves – and a responsibility to advocate for and insist on good governance and accountability of those bearing duties both among our partners and of those in power in the societies in which we work.
2. Context analysis and global trends
This strategy is written while the COVID-19 pandemic has hit the entire globe, underlining, paradoxically, the fact that humanity is both linked together: we live on the same planet and we hold the fate of each other in our hands, and divided: entire countries and continents are locked down both internally and closing the borders to each other, trying to keep “the others” away. The full consequences of the pandemic are still to be seen but it is likely that the scope of the effects will be extremely severe, not least in countries like Danmission’s programme countries. These contexts are already marked by poverty, insecurity, and inequality as well as high levels of conflict and social tensions. In the wake of the pandemic, direct and indirect effects are likely to cause economic and societal meltdown and significantly re-enforce the problems. Even before the pandemic, we saw a world marked by severe challenges, volatility, and unpredictability – which calls for actors to be agile and innovative.
All over the world, poverty and inequality is rising, affecting individuals, communities, and countries. The consequences of COVID-19 risk fuelling this development. Millions of people can lose their livelihood and many already do not have access to basic services such as health and education – or even food. For lots of people it is a big question whether they and their children will be able to sustain their families. Will they be able to live from the earth and in their societies and have access to the resources they need to sustain a life in dignity, free from poverty.
With the Covid-19 pandemic we see what a world in crisis can be like. This should be a wake-up call for the much larger and long-term climate crisis and all the interconnected crises related to our management of nature and resources. Creation, and our life on earth as such, is at risk. Issues are global but they affect people in local contexts. Closely linked to the climate crisis we see irresponsible stewardship of and unequal access to natural resources – leading to poverty and conflict. Earth is becoming un-liveable – leading to scarcity, migration, and potential rise in conflicts, affecting most severely the poor, the most marginalised and discriminated groups. Interlinked with poverty and inequality comes discrimination and violent conflicts. It challenges our ability to live peacefully together at all levels: Globally, regionally, in countries, villages, families.
People are faced with questions about which kind of powers will prevail in the future: Will forces who work for a world we can live in together, find strength and corporate to act on this? Or will forces who benefit (economically, politically etc.) from “clashes” between groups gain further momentum? Will authoritarian forces succeed in attempt to polarize groups against each other for their own gain? Polarization often includes religious actors or actors who make use of religion. This is extremely dangerous and can unravel social cohesion in societies and disrupt into communal unrest and violence across national and international contexts.
Globalization is related to migration and the rapid developments related to media and technology. Societies experience diversity and pluralism: People are increasingly meeting, living with, and exposed to others who are different from themselves. Both individuals and societies need to learn new ways to coexist. Interconnected events from the local to the global levels are driven by geopolit-
ical turbulence with all kinds of power struggles between old and potential new superpowers both globally and regionally. Autocratic regimes find new friends and allies and multilateral cooperation and institutions are challenged
We see a political rhetoric on the rise with the use of “othering” for political and economic gain – intentional creation of “them”-and- “us”, polarization, nationalism, derogative narratives, and discrimination.
Along with this comes a shrinking space for civil society actors, especially critical voices and actors who challenge political or economic powers. All kinds of excuses are used to silence these voices – lately we also see the COVID-19 pandemic being used as a justification for political clampdown under the disguises of the lockdowns for health reasons. Also, religious groups and individuals, both Christian and others, experience restrictions, marginalization or even persecution in some countries. The very space to practice their religion and spirituality is under pressure.
The role of religion
In recent years there is a growing recognition, also among secular actors, that religion is something that must be taken into account when working for sustainable development. Most people around the globe identify themselves as belonging to one or another religion. Religion is a key source of norms, ideologies and teachings which shape people’s minds and values – and promote and justify a spectrum of actions.
Religion can be misused for identity politics underlining a “them-and-us” rhetoric or by anti-rights actors to discriminate against certain groups or individuals. And religion can be used by minorities as a kind of “shield” to avoid contact with the surrounding majority society. Religion can be part of the problem – but it can also be part of the solution. Cultural norms can promote or hold back groups and individuals. The way we choose to see the planet can make the difference between those who wreak havoc on the environment for the destruction for us all – and those who act on protecting it e.g. from a sense of reciprocal connectedness with God’s creation.
Religious groups and religiously engaged actors often play a crucial role in making change happen – in reaching out to “the other”. They are engaged in society and recognized as important actors who can inspire hope and work for societal change, peace, justice, and a healthy relationship to resources and to nature.
Churches and other religious institutions are often among the main providers of basic services such as health and education and they constitute the prime social network of many people across the globe.
Religion is often the source of spiritual strength. Humans are spiritual beings. When the world changes rapidly and sometimes violently, religion is often the source for consolation, hope, strength and trust that things can improve, that a new world is possible – and strength to join forces for action. And sometimes faith remains as one of the last sources of resilience. Theology and faith can be emancipatory and help people to connect with each other and with God.
For Danmission, the recognition of the role of religion is very good news, and as a Christian organization we are well placed to work constructively in the interplay between religion and sustainable development.
3. Vision, themes, and intervention areas
The overall vision for our programme work is that of a world with “Sustainable existence & Peaceful co-existence”. A world people can live in, and a world with “peaceful co-existence” – a world people can live in together. This is based on a holistic worldview where people and nature co-exist in a sustainable way. Based on our vision we work with three themes with a set of interrelated intervention areas.
Vision
Sustainable EXISTENCE & Peaceful CO-EXISTENCE
We promote sustainable existence – for a world people can live in; and peaceful coexistence – for a world people can live in together
Intervention areas:
Theme I:
Contextual theology for faith and social action
Strengthening faith, hope and resilience – and stewardship and social action for sustainable development
Theme II: Dialogue and peacebuilding
Strengthening inclusive and just community building, and promoting peaceful conflict management
X Strengthen theological centres to be catalysts for faith and social action
X Promote freedom of religion and belief; assembly & association, and strengthen civil society
Intervention areas:
X Strengthen interfaith and intercultural dialogue and action
X Strengthen faith-based peacebuilding, mediation, and conflict management
Theme III:
Sustainable, just, and equitable stewardship
Strengthening local communities to access, use and protect natural resources, to reduce poverty, and to enhance sustainability for people and planet
Intervention areas:
X Enhance theological and spiritualbased responses to poverty and natural resource scarcity
X Strengthen sustainable, just, and equitable access to and use of natural resources
X Manage natural resource conflicts
I. Contextual theology for faith and social action
Theological engagement and faith-based developments and actions are key areas for Danmission. We work for people to be able to foster faith, hope, and resilience. And we work for them to build agency and strength to be stewards and take action. Danmission will focus on strengthening theological centres to be catalysts in their societies, enhance contextual theological reflections and faith-inspired social actions, help strengthening spiritual connectedness – and guard the rights of people to meet and work together.
A. Strengthen theological centres to be catalysts for faith and social action
Theological and faith-inspired reflections can foster human creativity, nurture hope and promote action for justice and social change (public theology, consciously contextual theology and theologies about liberation from poverty etc.), enhance positive views of the “other” (theology of religions etc.) and inspire developments for peace and support people’s relationship to resources and nature (ecotheology and theologies related to stewardship, service, sustainability and interconnectedness).
To get access to learning critical thinking skills, access to learn in reflective spaces and to be able to imagine and act on a better tomorrow can make the difference between despair and hope. Practitioners are often separated from those engaged in intellectual and other reflections. There is a need to not just strengthen theological reflections but also to turn them into social actions.
Danmission will:
X Support and strengthen Christian theological centres - educational institutions - to secure high-quality theological education for future preachers, teachers, and other actors in dialogue and diaconia to be catalysts for learning, reflection, and action in their societies
X Support contextual and public theology development and language, which answers to needs, hopes and voices of people in local contexts and motivate to take action.
X Support places which enable groups of people to reflect in order to go
against dehumanizing forces and voices and take part in development of their contexts and for the benefit of their societies.
X Support socially engaged faith-based actors in the translation of theology into action and strengthen churches and other local faith communities to take part in and contribute to society
B. Promote freedom of religion and belief; assembly & association; and strengthen civil society
The very foundation for practicing and taking action together is threatened in many societies. Powerful forces restrict the space for certain groups of people, minorities, human rights actors, or local civil society organisations to work together, fight for human rights and take action against poverty and for the common good. This includes religious actors and minorities: For many people, the space to practice their spirituality and religion is under pressure. Sometimes religious interpretations are used to support discrimination, violence, hate speech, retaliation. Already discriminated groups often suffer the most when violent words (derogative, discriminatory and hate speech) and violent actions are directed towards them e.g. in orchestrated attempts to stigmatization and scapegoating. Danmission will:
X Support the freedom of thought, conscience, religion, or belief for people to enjoy the right to think freely, hold positions and share ideas, including the freedom not to have a religion. It includes people of faith or no faith, including indigenous groups. It also relates to publicly practicing and manifesting one’s spirituality and religion – hereunder to assemble and act together. A special focus is on people living in poverty and discriminated and vulnerable groups
X Promote democratic formation for peaceful pluralism and inclusive citizenship. This includes facilitating safe-spaces and supporting networks for community change agents across religious, ethnic, social, professional, and other groups
X Strengthen local civil society actors. Promote joint action among change agents (civil society organisations and individuals) for social justice, active citizenship and community building.
X Promote community organizing and community dialogue and joint action.
X Protect and support the freedom of assembly and association for all – and promote a free space to engage in active civil society – in promoting equal rights and diversity for local and civil society actors with a focus on vulnerable groups.
II. Dialogue and peacebuilding
Peace and justice are central words in the Christian Bible. Often, they appear together and remind us that there is no justice without peace – and equally, no
peace without justice (Psalm 85:11). Danmission works for strengthened coexistence and strengthened cooperation. Both actions and mindsets are important. A change in mental models on how we see other people, can cause the difference between those who act to “love your neighbour as yourself” and those who engage in scapegoating, discrimination and violence against the “others”.
A. Strengthen interfaith and intercultural dialogue and action
We engage in interfaith and intercultural dialogue to strengthen community building and relationship between people for joint action and cooperation. Often relationships are built by working together – finding a “common third” (diapraxis). The building of constructive reciprocal relationships across groups is pivotal to have in place if polarization attempts, violent conflicts or humanitarian and health crisis hit communities.
Dialogue and diapraxis can be positive factors in bridging divides between people and groups, in efforts to reduce poverty, preserve nature, and in securing social and economic development in general. In some contexts, dialogue and diapraxis can go hand in hand, in other contexts one has to come before – and pave the way for – the other.
Danmission will:
X Strengthen inter- and intrafaith, intercultural and interethnic relations and build networks for people who value and promote human interconnectedness and community building.
X Support local actors to convene transformative intercultural, inter- and intrafaith dialogue between religious leaders and others across religious and cultural divides
X Promote the building and rebuilding of relationships between religiously engaged actors, including with spiritual, existential, and transformational elements – also in challenging environments of enmity, violence, conflicts, and polarization
X Support interfaith diapraxis and common social action - faith-based engagement and action for peace, coexistence, poverty alleviation, nature preservation, justice and the common good across religious divides.
B. Strengthen faith-based peacebuilding, mediation, and conflict management
Peace is more than absence of war. The Christian concept of Shalom has connotations to harmony, joy, well-being, life in all its fullness and good and safe relations. In a Christian understanding peace is communal. In a broad sense it relates to some level of peace with oneself, peace with other people, peace with God –and peace with the natural environment.
Faith-based and traditional actors can often use the richness in their traditions, narratives, liturgies, values, and practices which – sometimes since ancient time –have been used to promote both justice and peace. These actors and approaches are often overlooked in peacebuilding efforts, despite the fact that faith-based actors are present locally and can play formal or informal roles as mediators, in
conflict resolution, advocacy and as change agents for social justice. Digital technologies play an ever-increasing role in almost all sectors of society and across industries through increased use of better and faster internet, remote censoring devices, satellite imagery, higher computing power, and through advances in machine learning and artificial intelligence. They offer new means of tackling issues such as peacebuilding, conflict resolution, rights violations, and violent extremism, or what we also refer to as PeaceTech. Danmission is already a player in this field which we want to continue exploring.
Danmission will:
X Support traditional and religious peacemakers, across divides, in their prevention, mediation and reconciliation efforts, convene cooperation among all types of actors, at both local, regional and national level.
X Support local actors in community-based peacebuilding – in analysis of conflict drivers and structural issues and in setting up sustainable structures to promote social cohesion
X Support psycho-social endeavours related to people suffering from conflicts and their effects.
X Support local actors to take action to prevent communal violence, extremism, derogative narratives, scapegoating and hate speech in communities and in media and new technology
X Promote innovative peacebuilding approaches and partnerships in order to prevent, mitigate, resolve and reconcile. This includes qualitative work with few targeted individuals, and quantitative work of scale e.g. with the use of media, social media, and technology, including PeaceTech.
III. Sustainable, just, and equitable stewardship
God’s creation, the world we live in, faces unprecedented challenges. It is a combined threat of global scarcity of vital natural resources, declining biodiversity, and the onset of extreme climate change. This is combined with growing inequality and unequal access for people to the natural resources which to most people on earth are key to upholding a life in dignity and free of poverty. The different faces of this threat are already beginning to converge and in the coming decades are likely to produce a tidal wave of unrest, rebellion, competition, and conflict. As natural resources become scarcer and climate change disrupts production, food security will be challenged, affecting in particular the poorest segment of the population.
Natural resources are becoming increasingly scarce as a result of several factors: supply-induced scarcity, structural scarcity, resource capture, etc. These various forms of scarcity can lead to a potentially destabilizing social effects, for instance lower agricultural production and migration. Disruptive social effects such as these, in turn, can lead to conflict and violence under certain conditions.
These threats call for a Christian response for sustainable, equitable and just stewardship leading to joint actions across religious, political, and other divides. Danmission will emphasize the following areas: Theological and spiritual responses to natural resource
scarcity; sustainable, just, and equitable access to and use of natural resources; and natural resource conflicts.
A. Enhance theological and spiritual based responses to poverty and natural resource scarcity
Human beings are part of God’s creation. At the same time, we are commanded to care for the creation (Genesis 2:15). We are called to protect people and the planet we live on and to live in harmony. This is possible only if we realise the interconnectedness and deeply understand that nature is also taking care of us in various ways.
Danmission will:
X Foster Christian theological and multi-religious reflection on just, equitable and responsible stewardship across religious and other divides (green theology).
X Strengthen spiritual and social connectedness among faith groups affected by poverty and natural resource issues (interconnectedness).
X Promote interfaith dialogue and cooperation on poverty and natural resource issues (green interfaith).
B. Strengthen sustainable, just, and equitable access to and use of natural resources
Overexploitation of natural resources poses a real danger to humanity. Currently, our consumption is substantially greater than the planet’s capacity to regenerate its resources and handle our waste. This means that conserving natural resources such as fresh water, forests and minerals is pivotal. Declining natural resources and unequal access to and distribution of resources negatively impact the livelihood of communities located in areas rich in natural resources.
Danmission will:
X Support natural resource dependent communities and civil society actors to protect and access natural resources.
X Improve the livelihood and resilience of natural resource dependent communities.
X Promote innovative partnerships with private sector actors, tech actors, and research institutions to enhance alternative income opportunities for poor and natural resource dependent communities.
X Protect and support natural resource defenders and foster linkages between natural resource defenders at the local, national, and international levels.
C. Manage natural resource conflicts
Conflicts over access to natural resources are growing in scope, magnitude, and intensity. If not addressed in an effective and timely manner, natural resource conflicts can escalate into violence, result in environmental degradation, and ad-
versely affect community livelihoods, leading to increased poverty.
Danmission will:
X Support natural resource dependent communities and civil society actors to prevent and address natural resource conflicts.
X Foster dialogue between natural resource actors to build constructive relationships and strengthen cooperation.
X Promote innovative peacebuilding approaches and partnerships in order to mitigate natural resource conflicts.
4. How, where and with whom we work
4.1 People – who our interventions aim to benefit
Our country and regional programmes are designed to empower and to improve the situation for people, groups and communities affected by poverty, marginalization, discrimination, conflict or similar – in the given contexts. These are our primary target group.
In our aim to make change happen we also work indirectly – i.e. with societal structures and important institutions and actors who are not themselves the most vulnerable or marginalized, but who nevertheless have roles related to decision-making, reach and impact which affects these groups and the direction society is heading. Here our target groups are people and groups who are well placed to bring about change (change agents) related to our goals - in local contexts and across groups. This includes future change makers – young and future religious, societal, political and thought-leaders. It also entails strategic institutional actors like churches and other religious institutions, civil society and local governmental actors.
4.2 Partners – we work in partnerships, in mutuality and accompaniment
Danmission works with and through partners – many of whom are local, but some may also be regional, national, or international. This is based in the understanding that we are not here for ourselves. As being sent (missio) to be together in service (co-diakonia) is central to Danmission, it is also central to our partnership approach and relates to whom we partner with.
From a Christian point of view, Danmission and our partners are members of the same body but with different roles. Local actors and partners are embedded in local contexts and have legitimacy, knowledge, access, and roles here that Danmission has not. Local actors are legitimate expressions of e.g. civil society and groups. Local churches are holistic local expressions of church with worship and proclamation as well as community, witness, and service.
We work with partners with whom we have common goals and values, and we
seek to build country and regional programmes with different types of partners who have different competencies and complement one another in attempts to create synergy and efficient interventions with and for those we serve.
As part of the Christian Church family, the wider family of faith actors and civil society, and along all other actors in the society, we also find our partners within these spheres, as illustrated below.
Creation Society
A. Christian faith-based actors: churches and Christian civil society organisations
With churches and Christian Faith-based organisations, networks and alliances we share our Christian faith and have a natural connection. This gives us the ability to work together as partners with a common language, collective memory and understanding of being part of the world wide body of Christ, sent together to take part in God’s universal mission, in discipleship to Jesus Christ, and how Christ sends people to service (diakonia) related to the recreation and rebuilding of community according to the love of God.
Christian accompaniment includes walking together also as companions in the theological and spiritual realms – in prayer and worship. We value and nurture and wish to strengthen ecumenical – Christian intra-faith – relations. Being part of the same family also allows us to go into both constructive and critical dialogue related to understandings about Christian norms, teachings, and theology. It gives us a platform to address sensitive issues where we and our partners may not agree. And it gives opportunities to relate to Christian perceptions of stewardship – how to manage entrusted power, means and resources in a responsible and accountable way.
B. Faith-based organisations and civil society organisations
We partner with faith-based organization and civil society organisations, networks and alliances with whom we share goals and values. In the same way as described above we partner in working and walking together. We have close and
natural relations with other faith-based organisations with whom we also walk together in accompaniment.
As a civil society actor we also partner with other civil society actors. We wish to contribute to the development of strong, independent, and diverse organized groups of engaged people which is crucial to further inclusivity and democratic development.
C. Other strategic programme partners
To enhance programme work, we partner for shorter or longer time with public or private sector actors with relevant competencies or skills. Danmission convenes actors to work together to create synergy, bring added value, test and bring interventions to scale. Danmission as convener and facilitator of cooperation includes cross-sectoral corporation and co-creation (e.g. academia, tech actors, social movements, government, private sector) as well as engage in strategic network, alliance- and coalition building.
4.3 Where we work/Geography:
Danmission is currently present in the following regions and countries:
z East Africa region
~ Programme countries: Tanzania
~ Network countries: Madagascar
z Middle East region
~ Programme countries: Lebanon, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Iraq
~ Network countries: None
z South/South East Asia region
~ Programme countries: Cambodia and Myanmar
~ Network countries: Bangladesh, Pakistan, India
In the coming years we will strengthen our presence and further develop our impact in these three regions and in the present programme countries. As we get ready for expansion, this will take point of departure in these countries and regions to take advantage of potentials for programmatic synergies across borders and to increase efficiency in our work.
We will develop new country and regional programs based on thorough analyses of needs and opportunities in each context and designed to meet specific goals within the thematic intervention areas outlined in this strategy. We will build on the existing partner portfolios in each country and expand these with new partnerships when and where needed to reach our goals. Revisions of partnership portfolios will always be done with a view to strengthen synergies and complementarities between the partners.
Danmission has two different engagement levels in the countries:
X Programme countries – This is where Danmission’s core programme work takes place. All interventions are guided by this programme strategy and by country or regional programmes. Danmission’s secretariat is responsible for implementation based on clear divisions of roles and responsibilities between country/regional offices and the headquarters in Denmark.
X Network countries – These are most often countries where Danmission has previously had an extensive engagement and where there is a wish to continue partner relations. The work with these countries is implemented by groups of volunteers in Danmission within agreed frameworks and agreements as to the scope and content of the work.
In addition to its global engagement, Danmission will in the coming years pursue an ambition to reinvigorate and further develop its programme work in Denmark in an overall effort to create stronger links between our national and international work. This effort will take its departure both in previous experiences from programme activities in Denmark and from experiences from our international work. We already have both international and national experiences to build on especially within our second theme Dialogue and Peacebuilding but linkages between our national and international work will in the coming years be pursued in relation to all three themes.
4.4. Advocacy and network: Bridging the local, national, regional, and global
Our approach is not to focus solely on the very local community work in isolation – and neither is it to work in capitals far away from the local contexts of people. For our work to benefit local actors, it is important for us to work with partners who have reach, are legitimate and relevant in their local context. However, this should be combined with the scale, power, and legitimacy of those who have a reach regarding e.g. advocacy or communication channels at a national, regional, or similar level. Hence, in our country and regional programmes, we work with selected themes at the local, national, and regional levels. When developing country programmes, we will focus on programme and advocacy work, which strengthens synergy between these levels, and partner portfolios should reflect this.
We work – as Danmission and with partners – with advocacy, strategic network, and alliance-building at all levels, including at global level. The exact focus of our advocacy work will be defined in the operational plans within the following areas:
X Religion and development and religion, peace, and conflict. Including the role of religious actors.
X The interplay between the Humanitarian-Development-Peace issues and the role of local actors.
X The right to practice and act – as civil society and faith-based actors.
X The right to sustain oneself and one’s community and to access and protect nature and natural resources
4.5. Crosscutting Principles
The following principles are fundamental for Danmission’s programme work, and cut across all our different kinds of programmes and projects:
Local context and partners
Our work should always take point of departure in the local context, and we work with local partners. What we do has to answer to concrete needs of local people and support local stewardship of actors who care for their society and environment.
Community building
Humans are social beings, created for fellowship and community. Strengthening coexistence, cooperation and the building of community is a principle in our way of working and a goal for our work. Community is important both for our human wellbeing in general and for our endeavor to make change happen. Often the act of “working together” is itself a part of community building which is why we intently act as bridge-builders in bringing together partners of different identity and professional backgrounds.
Human rights
As a Christian organization we believe in the intrinsic value of all human beings as created in the image of God. For this reason, we promote human rights for all individuals and groups and commit to working with a rights-based approach. We work - together with our partners – to ensure that people in our target groups are seen and treated with respect as sovereign actors in their own right – with agency over their own lives. People should be empowered to participate actively, to formulate their own needs and make change happen, know their rights, and understand and build power to change the structures which create inequality or discrimination.
As a framework for this we use the PANEL+ principles: Participation, Accountability, Non-Discrimination and Equality, Empowerment and Linkage to human rights.
Danmission believes that the quality of our work depends on our ability to base our partnerships and interventions on as thorough and contextually grounded analyses as possible, and we always strive to secure our own and partners’ capacity to develop these. This is relevant for our thematic analyses as well as for our equal treatment and gender analyses. In relation to gender, we take departure in our fundamental belief that all genders have equal rights. Women’s and men’s rights are equally important to promote in our work, and we believe in the necessity of and potentials in women and men working together to promote the common good. In each country and/or regional program, the specific analyses will determine how gender roles, women’s rights, men’s rights, boys’ and girls’ rights as well as other individuals’ and groups’ rights should be addressed and considered in our thematic programmes.
Good Stewardship and Accountability
We often have long-term partnership and value the fellowship, accompaniment and reciprocity and mutual respect as part of the partnership. However, partnerships can also come to an end, either due to differences in vision or way of working, or because of corruption or abuse of power or resources in ways that destroy the trust, necessary for respectful and fruitful cooperation.
We commit and contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals
We see our strategy within the framework of the global 2030 agenda and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We support and value the integrated and indivisible nature of the goals, its focus on people, planet, prosperity, peace, and partnership. We advocate for, communicate about and take part in this call for actors from all sectors to take responsibility and work for this universal framework and agenda and translate it into action. The primary focus should be the poorest and most vulnerable, never forgetting the principle of “leave no one behind”. With this strategy we see ourselves as contributing to aspects of the following goals:
GOAL 1: No Poverty
GOAL 4: Quality Education
GOAL 5: Gender Equality
GOAL 10: Reduced Inequality
GOAL 13: Climate Action
GOAL 15: Life on Land
GOAL 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
GOAL 17: Partnerships for the Goals
Programme Department Operational plan & annual targets 2020-2021
This plan stipulates the most important focus areas for the coming 18 months of work in Danmission’s Programme Department. It contains a number of areas for development (udvikling) as well as a few key “running tasks” (drift) which should not be forgotten.
2020-2021 will be the first year of implementation of the new Programme Strategy both in Danmission’s Headquarters and in programme country, and this is the overall focus which is spelled out in details below. It happens at a time of consolidation and recovery during and after the Covid-19 crisis, both in the Department and in Danmission’s programme countries and the work with and situation of the partners and all plans should be seen in light of this and the still prevalent unpredictability of the situation.
Country and regional programmes to be developed
The programme strategy should be implemented through the development of 3 country programmes (Myanmar, Cambodia, Tanzania) and 1 regional programme (Middle East, incl short chapters on each of the countries: Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, Jordan, Iraq). A country programme should include all Danmission’s work in the country, it should show the coherence of the work and give the direction for the coming years. A country programme should include at least 2 out of the 3 themes of the programme strategy.
Project Cycle Management System (PCMS) developed and fully implemented
The PCMS, which is already in process of being developed, will be a coherent system designed to manage Danmission projects, including among other elements planning, quality assurance, risk management, financial and technical monitoring, evaluation, and learning. It will describe a clear distribution of project management tasks and roles and clarify which formats should be used for what purposes. It will include guides for working with human rights, equal treatment, partners, financial assessments etc.
There should still be room for diversity, and the intention is not to have a completely uniform model for all projects, but rather to ensure a more systematic approach and easily accessible tools across different kind of projects and funding modalities, still keeping a degree of proportionality in what is required depending on the size of the project and capacity of the partner – and avoiding unnecessary bureaucracy.
Outcome Harvesting (OH) rolled out globally – to learn from, monitor and document results
The OH model has been tried out in most of the MENA-work, especially DAPP, and has proven to be a good way of collecting the results of our work from and
with the partners, and to learn from it. This includes both expected and unexpected results. Furthermore, the format also provides Danmission with a lot of good stories to be shared both in reports to donors and in communication to the members, network and the wider public in Denmark and internationally. During 2020-2021 OH should be rolled out as part of the new country programmes and included in the PCMS.
Next steps for innovation in the programme work throughout 2020 and 2021
Danmission has developed a strong profile in being innovative in the programme work. This should still be the case, and a plan for next steps for innovation should be developed and become part of the programme strategy.
Plan for Danmission advocacy focus areas in 2020 and 2021
A plan for Danmission advocacy focus should be developed in line with the programme strategy. Most likely it will include the following areas:
X Religion and development
X Religion-Peace-Conflict incl. a stronger focus on the “Triple nexus, Hum-DevPeace”
X Localisation – participation and engagement of local actors
X The right to practice and act together as civil society and faith-based actors, incl FoRB
X The right to sustain oneself and one’s community and to protect nature and natural resources
Partnership policy to be implemented
The partnership policy described in the programme strategy should be operationalized with Danmission partners through a process to ensure the necessary dialogue and matching of expectations with all partners, large or small, according to their size and capacity as part of the ongoing capacity assessments and partnership agreements. It also includes Danmission’s code of conduct, ethical guidelines, and anticorruption policy as well as complaints mechanisms which should be made accessible for partners and beneficiaries in all programme countries.
Decentralisation and establishment/consolidation of country/regional offices – ongoing focus
The process to decentralize the project implementation will be intensified, and Danmission country/regional offices should be established and/or consolidated in the programme countries with clear distribution of roles and tasks between Hellerup and country or regional offices. The aim is to make sure key tasks related to project implementation, financial management, day-to-day partner contact, and, where relevant, communication can be handled at country level by local and posted Danmission staff. This will include clarification on whether Danmission should become registered in countries where this is currently not the case (Tan-
zania and Myanmar). The work in the MENA countries should still be managed from the regional office in Beirut. This process includes considerations about new forms of long-term and shortterm posted staff (nye former for udsendte).
Danmission office in Hellerup should be tasked with providing the overall strategic direction, crosscutting coordination and resource management, the necessary technical and professional expertise, ongoing contact with Danish and European donors and stakeholders etc. This includes a plan for which areas of expertise should be prioritized in Headquarters (e.g. theological development, dialogue, human rights, conflict management, poverty and natural resources, project management incl MEL, innovation etc. ), how the technical expertise can be ensured and made available across countries and programmes, and how staff at HQ keep a connection to Danmission’s engagements at country/community level.
Good cooperation and clarity of roles and tasks with Danmission departments for Communication and Engagement (K&E) and Resources and Capacity (ROK), must be a focus too.
Full time registration
In order to better manage the human resources of the programme department, both for documentation and planning, and for better coverage of staff hours in back-donor projects a full time registration system should ideally be in place by the beginning of 2021.
Ensure future donor funding (Danida/SPA, DAPP, EU)
Several major back-donor agreements are ending by end 2021. This is the case with the current Strategic Partnership with Danida, the Danish Arab Partnership Programme (DAPP) and the EU-funded Hiwarouna project in Lebanon, Syria and Iraq (provided that Danmission gets a no-cost extension for Hiwarouna into 2021, which is currently being applied for). It is expected that a considerable effort will have to be put into developing new programme applications following the processes stipulated by the donors. Many points in this plan should help Danmission be in a good position to be able to get continued funding from these and possibly other sources, but it will require considerable amount of resources, both in 2020 and in 2021.
An overall plan for global fundraising will also have to be developed, connected to both country/regional programmes and offices.
Keep the “programme machine” running
Besides all the new tasks, the existing programmes should still be implemented according to plans and agreements, including financial and programmatic monitoring, evaluation, reporting, planning, partner contacts, donor dialogues etc. This includes large engagements such as the current Strategic Partnership with Danida (in Cambodia, Myanmar, Tanzania, Egypt, Syria), the DAPP programme in
MENA (and being part of the DAPP Human Rights and Dialogue Consortium in Denmark), the Hiwarouna project in Lebanon, Syria and Iraq, the FoRB-project in Lebanon, as well as a number of other larger or smaller projects with own funds or funds from other donors which are still running (unless otherwise decided).
The new EU CEEJA project in Cambodia is still in its initial phase and will supposedly require quite a lot of work and attention in the coming months, along with the ensuing expansion and consolidation of the office in Phnom Penh. This also includes ongoing management of relations with authorities in Cambodia due to the sensibility and political profile of the project.
During autumn 2020, corona permitting, it is expected that Danida will carry out a coherent thematic review of Danmission including both Headquarters and probably also visits to Myanmar and MENA. This is part of Danida’s normal programme cycle and it will also inform the next phase of the Strategic Partnership. A considerable amount of time and resources will have to be set aside to prepare and participate in this process.
