We faced technical problems in connecting with Tony Kennedy by video, so instead we asked him to phone us. Thus the Quick Chat this week is audio-only and similar to the UNICEF@75 series DOC produced with us last year.
For much of the year Tony and his wife, Wendy, live on Salt Spring Island off the western coast of Canada. But each summer Tony and Wendy travel east to enjoy life on an island in Lake of the Woods, Ontario. He phoned us from there.
In this chat with Fouad Kronfol and Tom McDermott, Tony talks about:
- the importance of change and adaptation in UNICEF. "If we tried not to change, we'd be past history. The biggest and most abrupt change came with Jim Grant who saw the need 'to shift gears', and Jim took us to new heights".
- field experience which is what makes UNICEF staff relevant. "If you aren't relevant in the field, you aren't relevant."
- the importance of national officers who are the mainstays of most offices.
- the enormous responsibility entrusted to programme officers to make good decisions and to country representatives without referring to Headquarters. He recalls the instructions Dave Haxton would give his programme officers, "If you ask me for a red dress in a blue box with a yellow ribbon when you're out there, I'll make sure you get it with no questions asked. But when you get back, you'll have to explain it to me."
- the growing demands by Headquarters for detailed reporting were having an impact on the quality of field work even back when he was moving out of country offices.
We hope that you will enjoy - as we did - this opportunity to catch up with Tony.
Tony's concern about (overly) detailed reporting reminds me of the best reporting model (and the worst) that I encountered.
ReplyDeleteThe best was from Dr. M. Irwin in Bangladesh (1977). It was of maximum length of 2 pages and consisted of three parts: achievements (and opportunities); constraints (disappointments, missed targets, etc.); and statistics (and related financial details). The worst was in the regional office in Nairobi (ESARO circa 1981 ....) where an overly detailed format was imposed on the country offices. Many failed to comply but as more time and effort was made, compliance increased; nevertheless, ESARO felt it necessary to hire someone to ensure that all reports were seen and signed off by all regional officers. I think it died a natural death.