Four Months of the Transition

Four months have passed since the historic General Assembly in New Delhi, where IPPF’s membership charted a path to reforming its governance structure and resource allocation model. We are midway between that moment and what will be the first meeting of the new Board of Trustees, and can report that IPPF is on track to implement the vision of the GA as a result of the dedicated work of the Transition Committee and its support teams, and the ongoing engagement of IPPF’s membership. Key milestones in this process include.

• Recruitment for the Board of Trustees and Nominations and Governance Committee: In conjunction with an external recruitment firm, the Transition Committee developed a skills matrix and vacancy adverts to attract the best candidates for these roles. The application window closed on March 27 with more than 200 applicants, and the Transition Committee will be interviewing the top 30 candidates by the end of April in order to present a slate of candidates for confirmation at the May Governing Council meeting.
• MA Governance Reform Pilot: The Transition Committee has developed a concept for this pilot, which will support up to 10 MAs to strengthen their governance, and budgeted for the same in the second phase of the reform. The application process is open now through April 20.
• Terms of Reference of the New Governance Bodies: The Transition Committee, Reform Management Unit and Governance Support Team developed draft Terms of Reference for the General Assembly, Board of Trustees, Nominations and Governance Committee, and other Board Committees. These are under review, and final approval by the TC is forthcoming.
• Regional and Youth Forums: Regional Directors from all six regions, with support from the Governance Reform Team, have been discussing how these new platforms for regional knowledge sharing and dialogue could be implemented in their regions following the guidance given by the General Assembly. These discussions are continuing at regional level. Simultaneously, IPPF is recruiting a new Youth Program Officer who will lead engagement of young people around the Regional and Global Youth Forums.
• Regulations, Byelaws, and Policies: Changes to IPPF’s regulations in accordance with the GA decisions have been drafted and forwarded to the Governing Council with the requisite six weeks in advance of its meeting, and the Legal Support Team is drafting relevant changes to the byelaws and policies to send to the GC. Final approval of all of these documents will be taken up by the GC at its May meeting.
• Resource Allocation: The Resource Allocation Support Team has agreed processes for developing all three funding streams in accordance with the GA recommendations. The consulting firm Redstone was contracted to conduct wide consultations across IPPF’s stakeholders and develop a proposal for a funding formula under Stream 1. It has already conducted ten interviews, and will launch a survey of IPPF’s membership in late April. A draft paper and guidelines will be presented to the Board at its first meeting in July. Teams are also working on developing criteria for funding under Streams 2 and 3, and will survey members on key associated questions alongside the survey for Stream 1.
• Communications and Operations: Throughout this time, a Communications and Operations Support Team has been working to ensure that the membership has timely and thorough information about the reform process, particularly through newsletters and the ippfischanging.org website. Communications intensified in the weeks leading up to the deadline for BOT/NGC applications, to ensure that people, particularly youth, knew where to apply and how to apply. A dedicated youth page on Facebook, with more than 70 verified IPPF youth members, also supports regular updates and dialogue among youth. On the operations side, this team has supported the Transition Committee with coordinating a number of tasks, including correspondence, translations, Board interviews, and planning for the Board induction retreat and meeting.
• Reform Management Unit: Simultaneously, a core group has been working to ensure that IPPF has continued donor support throughout the Reform. They have updated IPPF’s risk registry for the transition, as requested by donors, and have submitted proposals for additional funding. IPPF has now received commitments for funding for most of Phase 2. The RMU also updated the budget to reflect the impact of the C-19 pandemic.