Standard 10: Laying the foundations for effective donor engagement and accountability.

• Primary responsible: Project manager/chief of party (PM/CoP)
  • The PM/CoP has primary responsibility for ensuring the quality of start-up deliverables.

• Others involved: Project team, including program, operations, and senior management team (SMT), and IDEA staff as applicable; regional technical advisor for MEAL
  • Project team members from program, operations, and the SMT play a critical role in developing and reviewing start-up deliverables;
  • IDEA staff clarify award deliverable requirements, review, and submit the final deliverables for centrally managed awards;
  • The regional MEAL advisor reviews MEAL deliverables per CRS’ MEAL policies and procedures. 

Project team member involvement varies depending on the required deliverables, but often includes the head of programming (HoP), head of operations (HoOps), finance manager (FM), any project MEAL staff, the country program MEAL coordinator, and procurement and supply chain management staff.

Per donor requirements (as summarized in the project Award Management Deliverables CalendarThe Award Management Deliverables Calendar is an "at-a-glance" tracking tool that summarizes information about deliverables (e.g., technical and financial reports; MEAL documents such as Terms of Reference and evaluation reports; detailed implementation plans or project work plans, etc.) that CRS must submit to the donor under the terms of the donor award.

Follow these steps to prepare high-quality start-up deliverables:

1. During the project start-up workshop and initial project team meetings, the PM/CoP leads the project team in:

• Reviewing the early start-up plan, the Donor MEAL Requirements Checklist (see MEAL Procedure 7.1), and the Award Management Deliverables Calendar.
• Identifying a responsible project team member for each start-up deliverable (in some cases, the PM/CoP may be the person responsible).

2. The PM/CoP or IDEA donor engagement staff contacts the donor, if needed, to clarify templates and expectations for the start-up deliverables, if these are not clear in the agreement.
3. The PM/CoP discusses each start-up deliverable with the person responsible for preparing it, to ensure common understanding of:

• Deliverable requirements, including the appropriate template.
• Key messages to highlight, if possible given template requirements and any other restrictions (see Standard 10, key action 4).
• CRS and donor quality expectations (for centrally managed awards, discuss donor expectations with IDEA staff).

4. Working backward from the deadline for submitting the final draft deliverable to the PM/CoP (e.g., at least several days before the donor deadline), the PM/CoP works with the individual responsible to develop a schedule for preparing the deliverable. This schedule must incorporate:

• The agreed process for drafting the deliverable (or refining a draft developed through a collaborative process), including receiving inputs and/or feedback from partners.
• The agreed process for internal review and finalization of the deliverable, and deadlines for reviews needed at the country, regional, and/or headquarters (HQ) level.

Plan carefully for thorough internal review, revision, and time to address unexpected problems in the submission process: Schedule ample time for reviews of deliverable quality, including MEAL advisor review of MEAL start-up deliverables (e.g baseline Terms of Reference), per CRS MEAL procedures 1.2 and 3.3.MPP 1.2: MEAL advisors review key MEAL documentation prior to submission to donor as a means to improve quality practices.
MPP 3.3: Regional MEAL advisers review baseline and evaluation ToRs to improve evaluation quality and ensure appropriateness to information needs. For centrally managed awards, allow sufficient time for IDEA staff review of deliverables, with time for revisions before the donor deadline. Build in an adequate buffer for submission before the deadline, especially if the donor has a complicated online submission process or a submission process that is new to CRS.

5. The PM/CoP reviews the drafts and coordinates subsequent SMT (e.g., HoP, HoOps, FM) and IDEA review of the start-up deliverables, using the Checklist for High-Quality Communications and Submissions to DonorsThe Checklist for High-Quality Communications and Submissions to Donors is a checklist of brief questions for preparers and reviewers of documents submitted to donors, aimed at ensuring overall document and communications quality (format and content). .
6. The PM/CoP works with the person responsible for each deliverable to address reviewers’ feedback and finalize the deliverable per the schedule developed under step 4.
7. The PM/CoP, or IDEA staff, submits the start-up deliverables to the donor on time and per the format required.
8. The PM/CoP or IDEA staff uploads submitted deliverables to the Gateway award record.