CDD TOOLKIT
Governance and Accountability Dimensions
Module 2.1: A Well-Defined and
Operational Human Resources Strategy
Programs that aim to empower the poor and vulnerable, and build institutions to ensure the
sustainability of CDD-based approaches, face a unique human resource challenge. They require
quality human resources (HR) professionals who believe in and espouse the core values and
principles of such programs. Therefore, the careful recruitment and selection of staff, their
continuous capacity building, and staff motivation are all extremely critical to achieving optimal
outcomes and results. In CDD-based projects, giving staff a sense of institutional sustainability
and an environment that prioritizes its people by making the rules of the game transparent,
consistent and rational is crucial. Good governance and accountability to those living in
poverty—particularly when vulnerable groups are involved--are not only critical aspects of
CDD-based projects but also a value system to which project staff should adhere.
HR policies and systems that set out clear processes and procedures for all employees across the
employment cycle (from recruitment and staff selection, to performance management, to
resignation, termination, or retirement) help to provide employees with a sense of security
based in transparency and fairness. It is important, therefore, to develop clear, written HR
policies and manuals that establish consistent processes to recruit and retain the best possible
staff. Such manuals should also lay out staff performance evaluation procedures, incorporating
input and feedback not only from supervisors, but also directly from the communities to which
staff members are accountable. HR policies and systems should also support staff capacity
building and leadership, and institute effective staff grievance redress mechanisms. This is
important for addressing the concerns of the project’s most important asset: the team.
Field units should be prioritized, as they are at the front line and best understand the
complexity and nuances of eliminating extreme poverty in the country context. To this end, any
organization hiring staff for this purpose should strive to:
• Strategically place the best possible program staff in the field to directly work with
those living in poverty. The field teams should consist of people who can bring new
ideas, enthusiasm, and hope to communities facing the challenges of poverty, as well as
the requisite capacities, dynamism, standards of excellence, results focus, and team
orientation to the job.
• Motivate program staff to perform, prevent attrition, and retain high quality staff in the
field. The HR system should be completely transparent and should support
accountability, especially downwards. All staff should receive an orientation on the
Module 2.1: A Well-Defined and Operational Human Resources Strategy
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CDD Toolkit
■ Section 2: Project Level Tools
system (as well as regular trainings to refresh and update this skill set) before starting any
appraisal. Areas of performance assessment should typically be developed jointly in
consultation with the staff concerned, and conducted in a way that gives full opportunity
to the person being appraised to express his or her views, while also providing space for
the views and assessments of peers, the community, and the people that he or she guides
or supports as juniors.
• Build staff capacity on thematic/functional areas, as well as their capacities for
management and leadership. In-house training, capacity building plans, experience
sharing workshops to promote cross learning, and exposure visits to successful CDDbased projects (within and outside the country) can be some non-monetary incentives
towards this end.
• Ensure that the higher levels of the organization spend substantial time and energy in
the field, and truly become a support structure (rather than just a supervisory/quality
control structure) to help the team address grievances at all levels. Grievance redress
committees, as opposed to individuals, are tasked at various levels with resolving these
concerns in an open and consistent manner.
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Module 2.1: A Well-Defined and Operational Human Resources Strategy