One central point of departure for the organizational review was the context of operations. This led SPG to consider the context specific requirements placed on SCA as an international non-governmental organization in Afghanistan. SCA is a large organization and Afghanistan is a very challenging environment. Any international actor working in Afghanistan must be organized and staffed so as to ensure an ability to navigate in a context with high levels of corruption, political instability, insecurity and structural inequality while maintaining operational effectiveness. The context places high demands on flexibility while at the same time requiring absolute clarity in terms of decision making authority and lines of communication in various scenarios as conditions and operational realities may change rapidly. Understanding the realities of the operational environment and placing SCA’s organizational development process within this context, was therefore one of the most important tasks for the review team.

The assignment was carried out with a highly participatory approach, seeking broad participation of SCA management and staff throughout the review process. It was also important for the assignment that stakeholders throughout the organization have felt that they are involved and have a voice in the organizational development process. Participatory data collection was central for the consultants to fully understand SCA from the perspective of its management and staff and it helped ensure SCA ownership of the process. SPG interviewed close to 100 staff members in Afghanistan in the spring 2014 while the country prepared for national presidential election.

The Swedish Committee for Afghanistan (SCA) is working in Afghanistan since 1982. SCA’s vision is an independent Afghanistan in peace, where human rights are respected, rural communities are empowered and all Afghans have the right and opportunity to democratic participation in the governance of their country. SCA’s work encompasses programmes for education, health, support to persons with disabilities and rural development. There are also support units for all programme activities relating to quality assurance, civil society, human rights & gender and information. SCA has about 5700 employees, of whom 99 % are Afghans. SCA’s main target group is the rural population, specifically women and girls. Operations include capacity development, advocacy and service delivery. The work is always conducted in close cooperation with the local population. The management office is situated in Kabul, while operations are carried out in 17 provinces from five project offices and four field offices.