I) What are Capacity Assessment and Partner Scoring?
II) Internal Capacity Assessment - online with the OneGMS
III) Internal Capacity Assessment - offline
IV) External Capacity Assessment (outsourced)
V) Partner Scoring and Risks Levels
I) What are Capacity Assessment and Partner Scoring?
As mentioned in the CBPF Global Operational Manual, the analysis of the risk level of an Organization is an essential component of the CBPF accountability framework. Partner risk analysis is carried out by analyzing partner capacity which determines eligibility.
The eligibility assessment, and subsequent Partner Risk scoring, is composed of both the Due Diligence (step 1) and the Capacity Assessment (step 2).
After successfully completing Due Diligence, prospective CBPF partners (NGOs and Red Cross/Red Crescent Societies) undergo the Capacity Assessment (CA) process. The CA is aimed at determining whether the organization has sufficient capacity in terms of institutional, managerial, financial and technical expertise. It allows the Humanitarian Financing Unit (HFU) to determine the risk level of the organization (high, medium, low or ineligible). The principle is that the higher the risk, the more stringent assurance mechanisms will apply if the organization ever gets funded by the CBPF.
Capacity assessments are coordinated by the HFU of each OCHA Country Office. Currently, every prospective partner organization is assessed at the national level. Capacity assessments should take place before an application for funding is submitted. Ineligible partners can re-apply for capacity assessment six months after having undertaken the first one, provided they can demonstrate that the elements that caused the initial rejection have been addressed.
There are three Capacity Assessment methods: the Internal Capacity Assessment (ICA) performed online, the ICA performed offline, and the External, or outsourced, Capacity Assessment (ECA).
II) Internal Capacity Assessment - online with the OneGMS
As of 2019, it is mandatory for HFUs to score an organization’s capacities using the online ICA Global Questionnaire, available on the OneGMS.
To perform an ICA, the HFU must have access to multiple documents related to the prospective partner’s organizational information, policies/manuals, reports and other relevant documents.
The ICA process, performed by HFU, includes:
1) a desk-based review of the documents provided by the organization;
2) interviews with the organization’s staff members; where possible or relevant visits to the implementing partner’s offices, and
3) interviews with key informants such as previous/existing donors and partners, as well as cluster leads and members.
The ICA takes into account and, whenever possible, encompasses existing assessments such as the Harmonized Approach to Cash Transfers (HACT). An NGO’s HACT result can be used to score the 5th Category of the ICA: Internal and Financial Capacity
On conclusion of the ICA, the HFU will let the organization know of their resulting risk level (High, Medium, Low or Ineligible).
III) Internal Capacity Assessment - offline
Under certain circumstances, the ICA can be performed offline, outside of the OneGMS. HFU officers are still required to enter the offline data into the platform. However, for compliance reasons, it is strongly advised to use the OneGMS to perform the Capacity Assessment and not perform it offline.
IV) External Capacity Assessment (outsourced)
The ECA follows the same ICA process and assessment method, however it is performed by an external, consulting party, contracted by OCHA country’s team.
Please Note: the OCHA Country Office is responsible for supporting the coordination and ensuring the quality and accuracy of assessments carried out by third parties through thorough review.
V) Partner Scoring and Risks Levels
The Capacity Assessment (ICA / ECA) aims to score the partners as follows:
- Non-Eligible Partners
- Eligible Partners
Based on the CA score and the Funds’ scoring table and thresholds, Eligible partners are rated as:
- High Risk,
- Medium Risk, or
- Low Risk.
Risk levels determine the minimum set of control mechanisms and operational modalities applied throughout the grant management cycle.
As a partner implements projects, its risk level will be determined by its Performance Index (PI) score and capacity assessment score. Over time, as partners receive funding and implements projects, risk ratings will increasingly be determined by partner performance. To know more about risk management of Partners over time, please refer to our article on Partner Performance Index and Risk Management.
*Please Note, the partner-based risk analysis only applies to NGO and Red Cross/Red Crescent Societies partners. These entities are not part of the UN system and do not have the legal standing of UN agencies. UN agencies are intergovernmental organizations that are accountable to UN Member States. Each UN agency has its own governance and control framework which applies also to their management of CBPF grants, they are not concerned by the Capacity Assessment step of the Eligibility process.