Aphivat Strey (A.

S)

STRATEGIC PLAN
2011-2013

Address: No 1, Group 01, Sophy 1 Village Sangkat Rattanak, Battambang

Municipality, Battambang Province,Cambodia

Telephone: +855(0)17 808 797, +855(0) 53 952 433

Email: chinvuthy@yahoo.com asbtb@camintel.com
 Abbreviations

AS = Aphivat Strey organization

CBO = Community-Based Organziation
HACC = HIV/AIDS Coordinating Committee (HACC)
MAFF = Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries.
NGO = Non- Governmental Organization
OVC = Orphan Vulnerable Children
OXFAM GB = OXFAM Great British
PLHA = People living with HIV/AIDS
SHG = Self-Help Group
SWOT = Strengthens, Weakness, Opportunity, and Threats
VSO = Voluntary Services Overseas
 Table of contents
Page

1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................... 4
2 About Aphivat Strey Organization(AS) .................................................................................................... 5
SECTION ONE: The AS in its Contexts .................................................................................................. 5
Vision ........................................................................................................................................................ 5
Mission ...................................................................................................................................................... 6
Core Values ............................................................................................................................................... 6
Goals.......................................................................................................................................................... 6
SECTION TWO: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) Analysis ........................ 7
SECTION THREE: Priority Areas, and Strategic Proposed Areas........................................................... 8
strategic goal 1: Livelihoods Improvement ...................................................................................... 8
Strategic Goal 2: People Empowerment ............................................................................................ 8
Strategic Goal 3: Organizational and community Capacity Development ........................................ 9
3 PROGRAMME DIRECTION ................................................................................................................. 10
3.1 Self-Help Groups (SHGs) and Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) ..................................... 10
3.2 Good Governance Strengthening .................................................................................................... 10
3.3 Livelihood Improvement ................................................................................................................. 10
3.4 People Empowerment...................................................................................................................... 11
3.5 HIV/AIDS integration and Protection ............................................................................................. 11
3.6 Gender Equality............................................................................................................................... 11
3.7 Children’s Rights Protection ........................................................................................................... 13
1 Introduction
The Strategic Planning process for the Aphivat Strey (AS) is based on directions provided by
recommendations of the AS Evaluation (August 2009), AS reflection meetings, and the
recommendations provided by the stakeholders meetings in 2009.
With this mandate and direction provided by the AS Management Team, AS Program Manager and
Voluntary Services Overseas (VSO) prepared drafts of the Strategic Plan for the AS for the years
2011 to 2013 in English version. AS Management Team has discussed the document at different
stages. A draft was also discussed at the monthly staff meeting, involving AS field staff.

Section one describes and analyzes the contexts in which the AS exists and functions, particularly
the provincial and national contexts. The section on the AS introduces the vision, mission, and core
values.
Section two explains the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) of the AS, using
the process of SWOT analysis. This was carried out by the evaluation team in August 2009 and the
two-day workshop with AS staff on 4-5, and 15-16 November 2010. In this section, the distinctive
advantages of the AS are also presented.

Section three—the most central to this process—identifies three priority areas that derive from the
five current projects adopted by the AS Management Team and staff, utilizing the priority as a
cross-cutting theme. This section systematically develops the associated directions and
programmatic goals, which are integrally connected. Conceptually, each direction points to a series
of actions, changes or functions, which produce results. The first step in defining each direction
specifies its scope and limits. This section also presents background details and analysis for key,
supporting perspectives, which were previously identified for attention and which relate to the
overall Strategic Plan. Deriving from this analysis, strategic options are proposed in the areas of:
programmatic synergy in planning and implementation; the AS financial framework; human
resources; and information technology. The section concludes with comments on how this section
connects the Strategic Planning Process to the ongoing process of its development.

The Strategic Plan document, as presented here, will be used as the basis and framework to develop
the detailed Annual Objectives (Operational Plan), which will reflect the specific requirements and
resources associated with its full implementation. The Annual Objectives—developed on an annual
basis and forming the basis of the Statement of Needs—will become the schedule for the work of
the AS Management Team and will provide details of all the planned programmatic activities, as
well as timelines and resource requirements for implementing the Strategic Plan. The Strategic
Objectives will allow for more precise planning of staffing and structure, and will allow for
dynamic changes. It will include the processes for staff recruitment and program development
expansion and a framework for monitoring and evaluation.
2 About Aphivat Strey Organization(AS)
SECTION ONE: The AS in its Contexts

Background and the current situation

Aphivat Strey is a Cambodian non-governmental, non-political and non-profit organization (NGO)
established in 1996 in Battambang province with both financial and technical support from
OXFAM Great British. This is the second largest town/city in Cambodia; the province of
Battambang has 14 districts, 96 communes, and 787 villages, covering an area of 11,702 km² with a
population of 1,061,336 persons, 537,148 women (National Census of Cambodia 2008).
AS is registered as an NGO with the Ministry of Interior in March 1998. AS employs 17 personnel,
(five males and 12 females); Executive Director, Program Manager, Office Manager, Project
Manager, four Program Officers, five field staff, one Administration staff and IT, one guard, and
one cleaner.
AS has been implementing 5 main projects – Income Generation, Natural Resource Management,
Agriculture, Women Empowerment, and HIV/AIDS integration project – in 10 communes of Ek
Phnom, Thmor Kaul district, and Battambang municipality in Battambang province, Cambodia.
Through projects implementation, 65 saving and self-help groups (12 HIV/AIDS saving groups)
were formed. Among of these saving and self-help group members established 6 Community-Based
Organizations (CBOs) with AS coordination. Although savings and SHGs formed, their capacity
need to be built for people grass root movement so that they will include the problems and issues of
the poor into the commune development plan. These experiences challenge us to utilize multiple
possibilities to improve the life of the poor and to strengthen CBOs.
Some of the many challenges that characterize this current situation are:
• Advances in information technology, which draws us late in communication with other
NGOs.
• The global economic downturn, which affect to CBO leaders and target villagers’ life.
• The deforestation poses a threat to the quality of life and at times the existence of all life
forms – issues around water, global warming, and imbalances – are needed to be addressed.
• The HIV and AIDS pandemic, which continues to cause remediable suffering and
impoverishment around the world, and poses significant challenges to the donors for healing
and justice.
• Women and children roles in development activities are over looked and excluded.

Vision
A society which improves the standard living of the poor in Cambodia, especially support women
to have the equal rights and capacity as men, maintain good environment, welfare, build community
ownership, respect human rights and help children to access to education in the sustainable social
development.

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 Mission

Cooperate with National and International Organizations, local authorities, relevant government
departments and communities to support and learn from men and women on management, rights in
decision-making and responsibilities in full participation for social development in Cambodia.

Core Values
Respect for human rights and democracy
AS organization respects each other among staff and villagers equally without discrimination. We
believes that villagers, especially women and children will be encouraged to speak out their
concerns and problems. We express full respect for member ideas and concerns for negative
behavior among our team. Any discontented member should be given courtesy.
We accept and respect the decision–making on the right majority rule.

Development with transparency, accountability, and equality

We believe that the implementation of all projects will be clear guided and information and
knowledge of project implementation can be shared. We take full responsibilities for our
organization’s actions, community, and donors with its roles of project implementation. AS also
believes that both its staff and community people – women and men – receive equal opportunities
based on their capacities and needs refer to AS’s abilities.

Strengthening Capacity and empowerment.

We commit to practice open-minded manner to provide the opportunities to AS staff and
community people to receive innovation and knowledge. We believe that among AS staff and
community people respect the culture of information, knowledge and experience sharing. We are
committed to acting with integrity when staff and community people take full their responsibilities
of decision-making and ownership.

Governance, cooperation and response.

We believe that all projects will be regularly followed up; monitored; and evaluated and all projects
will be supported and recognized from stakeholders. Feedback from other ways/sources is on time
and accurately.

Maintain and protect the natural resources environment.

We are committed to environmental sustainability in our product development programmes and
strive to minimize the negative impact of our operations on the environment. We are also
committed to ensuring that the working environment is safe and that all individuals take
responsibility for achieving this in both organization and field work.

Neutrality.
We are a neutral organization and therefore work with people from all walks of life. We have no
political, religious or racial sentiments.

Goals
To achieve our mission, AS has adopted three areas. Each area relates to our mission.
• Livelihoods improvement.
• People Empowerment.
• Capacity Development.

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 SECTION TWO: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT)
Analysis

SWOT Analysis

In the course of developing this Strategic Plan, three major observations emerged.
• The AS faces the limitation of staff capacity in understanding on community development
and how to build ownership of CBOs.
• Both the facilitating and operational aspects of the AS need to be upheld and reconciled
with the objective to strengthen the self-understanding of the Aphivat Strey as the integrated
community development and learning organization.
• The classification of project components of the AS need to be grouped clearly.
These observations were also addressed in an analysis of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities
and threats (SWOT) of the AS, which the staff undertook at the end of 2009 and early in 2010. The
SWOT analysis provided an insight into the staff’s self-assessment at a given time in the life of the
organization.
Strengths: The AS organization key strength include the organization’s demonstrated ability to
provide high quality, necessary services which help people dependant on natural resources live a
fuller life in the community. Staff is committed, and the services and programs offered are
monitored for quality. When there is a challenge, the organization meets it through innovative
capabilities. The AS organization has an excellent reputation and is looked up to by others service
providers as a leader. The AS policies have developed and put in place; size and involvement of
Community-Based organizations, saving, and self-help groups; monitoring mechanism; networks of
relations; and highly motivated and committed staff.
Weaknesses: The identified weaknesses indicate the need for: Vision, Mission, and Core Values
understanding; insufficiently coordinated planning; fund-raising; improved internal communication,
flexibility and efficiency; improved office space and equipments; and an adequate information
technology environment and public profile.
Opportunities: The most important emerging opportunities include: Increased network
engagement; demand for easily accessible information; adopted government policy on flooded
forests protection; new fund-raising possibilities; and information technology developments that
allow for increased attracting donors. Increasing community acceptance and opportunity for further
support – There appears to be increased community support and increased openness by community
members. This makes AS organization work easier at community level. The AS organization
beginning to a right-based approach to service delivery; the legislative framework; the increasing
demands of men and women dependant on forest and fishery resources and their families; changing
government strategies; and a growing recognition of the issue of human rights in the country.
Threats: Identified threats are: Global economic downturn; increased dependency on back-donor
funding–some of the donors are short term; increasing competition in areas of development profile;
limitations in the time of members of the Advisory Board of Directors for AS business.

(See Annex 1 for more detailed SWOT analysis)

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 SECTION THREE: Priority Areas, and Strategic Proposed Areas
The AS’s meetings conducted with Management Team and all staff meetings in 2010, identified
three priority areas (Strategic Goals) for the work of the AS–Livelihood Improvement, People
Empowerment for inclusion, and Capacity Development. In each of the priority area is dimensional
deeply rooted in the programmatic works.
With terminology of this context, “Strategic Goal” means to a long-term goal or direction.
“Strategic Objective” means to a medium-term goal is to both future-oriented and measurable; it
defines the desired future state that is both achievable and can be measured. “Annual Objective”
means to a short-term goal, it defines specific achievement and can be measured annually.

strategic goal 1: Livelihoods Improvement

Due to continuously context, this area consists of Self-Help Group formation, Saving Groups,
Natural Resource Management, Organic-Based Agriculture, Credit Scheme, and Small Enterprise.

Strategic Objective 1.1 Increase farmers’ food productions.

Impact Indicators
• Increased percentage of member with sufficient food by 24 to 50 percent i.e by 1,106
members to 1,271 members.
• Increased percentage of family cultivates organic practice-based agricultural products from
5 to 7 percent.
• Increased percentage of family increased income (%).
• Increased percentage of family grows rice twice a year by 7 per cent per year i.e by 5
families to 35 families per target commune.
• 100 percent of women group’s family has animal house and home gardening.
• 80% of 175 families increased incomes and secure food for consumption a whole year.

Strategic Objective 1.2 Strengthen community fisheries to manage conservation areas

effectively.

Impact indicators
• Increased percentage of community people can describe fishery law by 15 percent to 30 per
cent per year.
• Increased functionality of fisheries community organizations who contribute closely to their
communities.
• Increased percentage of people can describe the impacts of climate change by 70%.
• Increased percentage of community people’ social works make decision by themselves.
• 70% increase in the number of people who can describe the importance of flooded forest.
• Wildlife and fish species such as snakes, water birds, monkeys, turtles, snake headed fish
can be found in CFi areas.
• Six new CFis have full rights to manage their CFis legally recognized by MAFF.
• Increased 70% of people are able to describe on effects of climate change to their livelihood
and climate change adaptation.

Strategic Goal 2: People Empowerment

Strategic Objective: 2.1 Improve understanding on Human Rights and Laws.

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Impact indicators
• Increased percentage of community people capable to describe their rights in living with
peace.
• Increased people’s ability to explain their rights in social living and access to public services
and land law, fishery law, and forestry law.
• Increased numbers of people understanding on human rights, land law, and fisheries law.

Strategic Objective: 2.2 Enhance gender equity and end discrimination against women.

Impact indicators
• Increased percentage of women with the capacity to influence decisions related to household
economic and social affairs (%).
• Increased number of women in leadership positions in those civil society organizations
(SHGs and CBOs).
•

Strategic Objective: 2.3 Build understanding on AIDS Law and Law on improving the rights
of people with disabilities.

Impact indicators
• Increased services of people living with HIV/AIDS received(%).
• Increased services of people living with disabilities received(%).

Strategic Objective: 2.4 Enhance Children’s Rights.

Impact indicators
• Increased percentage of poor children attends primary and secondary school regularly.
• Increased percentage of family of the poor take care children.

Strategic Goal 3: Organizational and community Capacity

Development

Strategic Objective: 3.1 Improve staff capacity to work effectively.

Impact indicators
• Increased percentage of professional staff by 30% to 75%.
• Original Quick Book program installed and used for all donors.
• Annual External Audit for whole AS’s work.

Strategic Objective: 3.2 Improve capacity of committee members to work effectively.

Impact indicators

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 • Increased numbers of functional CBO committee members.
• Increased numbers of CBO committees in leadership positions in the civil society
organizations.
• CBO management plan puts in place and well-practiced.

3 PROGRAMME DIRECTION
3.1 Self-Help Groups (SHGs) and Community-Based Organizations (CBOs)

Empowering the Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) to work independently is rather than

working on behalf of them since its formation. The first step has been to encourage people in the
villages to come together to understand about the importance of saving groups and self-help groups
and form self-help groups where they can begin to explore common problems and experiences and
develop support mechanisms. The established SHGs respect SHG Model, which defined by AS
resulted from community consultative meetings. When there are enough self-help groups based
saving then they are encouraged to form a CBO with technical assistance from AS staff. These
established CBOs play their roles to improve livelihood through building social enterprise,
empower people, and build people’s understanding on social accountabilities so that they will
integrate people’s needs and problems into the commune development plan.
In order to be effective in working at grass root level, CBOs need to build their own
organizational capacity. At the present, 6 existing CBOs have succeeded in strengthening their
capacity in management, planning and advocate with local authorities for inclusion, but they still
require support to strengthen and improve their capacity to function effective CBOs.

3.2 Good Governance Strengthening

AS will increase support for good governance and the building of development capacities to
CBOs to improve the cost-effective delivery of services and broaden inclusiveness in their
community. AS will bring four elements of social accountabilities (good governance)
(accountability, participation, predictability, and transparency) deeper into the mainstream of its
operations and activities. It will regard accountability for economic performance, effectiveness of
policy formulation and implementation, and the efficient use of public resources as essential to
preserving financial resources for development purposes. AS will work to make sure that the poor
participate in meaningful ways in decision-making processes that affect the management of
resources on which they depend for their livelihood.

3.3 Livelihood Improvement

Livelihood improvement is composed of self-help group formation based saving, credit scheme,
agriculture, natural resource management, and small enterprise. Aphivat Strey (AS) plays its
important roles to provide both funding and technical support on making marketing work for the
poor and social enterprise to CBOs. Current AS income generation project will become to the
Social Enterprise Department. Target beneficiaries are capable of improving food security and
generating incomes. To result for food security, community people are able to analyze the priority
occupations and marketing needs. Besides, community people capable to make decision and build
ownership on local resource management.
Agriculture remains a source of productivity improvement, seasonal employment, and income
growth—especially when connected to local markets—for the majority of the poor lives in the rural
areas, and agriculture.

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 The development of agriculture, Aphivat Strey will implement the organic-based agriculture,
including vegetables, eatable fruit trees, and paddy rice by encouraging farmers to improve their
agricultural products.
The natural resource management, Aphivat Strey will collaborate with Battambang and Banteay
Mean Chey Fisheries Administration to establish 6 new community fisheries (CFi.) (5 CFis in
Banteay Mean Chey, and 1 CFi in Battambang province) to get official regconization from Ministry
of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries. Two new fishery conservations will be established with
technical support and 3 of 6 existing fishery conservations will be expanded in order to stock wild
fish more.
Flooded forests protection against wild fire will be set up with the assistance of Aphivat Strey in
collaboration with Battambang Fisheries Administration.
Climate Change affects to people’s food security. Aphivat Strey will play its important roles to
research its effects on people’s livelihood and people’s adaptation to climate change by
collaboration with Battambang Fisheries Administration and Department of Environment. The
research findings will be launched by organizing in Battambang province and all stakeholders will
be invited to participate and discuss to ensure the research report is acceptable and believable.
People’s understanding on effects of climate change and the strategies to adapt livelihood of people
to climate change will be improved.

3.4 People Empowerment

People empowerment is to integrate the vulnerable people to access to social services equally in
the society by providing training and campaign on gender, human rights, and laws to villagers for
better understanding in order to act their activities legally without violence. Besides, Aphivat Strey
provides materials and advice to vulnerable people to get justice legally.

3.5 HIV/AIDS integration and Protection

Health is important to development, productivity, social inclusion, and gender equity. In this
environment, AS will contribute to improvements in health mainly through inclusive and protection
HIV/AIDS project such as sanitation, food provision, support people living with HIV/AIDS
(PLHAs) and orphan vulnerable children (OVCs) to access to health services, and credit equally.
AS must be engaging in well-defined roles in direct partnerships with other specialized
organizations. AS will also continue to collaborate with HIV/AIDS Coordinating Committee
(HACC), referral hospitals, and MEDICAM to share the lessons have been learnt from the project
implementation to health stakeholders through monthly meetings. Furthermore, Aphivat Strey will
improve understanding on AIDS Law and Law on improving the rights of people with disabilities
to target community people and AS staff.

3.6 Gender Equality

Through lessons learnt and experience of project implementation over the last 15 years confirm
the importance of gender equity as essential to poverty reduction, improved living standards, and
sustainable economic development. AS will promote gender equity through operations that deliver
specific gender outcomes, such as improved access for females to health services, clean water, and
better sanitation by mainstreaming in the agriculture project, natural resource management, and
income generation project. The empowerment of women promises enormous gains—economic and
social, direct and indirect—that AS will help its CBOs and Saving-Based SHGs.

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 Empowering women to participate fully in economic life across all sectors is essential to build
stronger economies, achieve nationally agreed goals for development and sustainability, and
improve the quality of life for women, men, families and communities.
The women CBO leaders are key partners in efforts to advance gender equality and empower
women. The Women's Empowerment Principles offer practical guidance to business and how to
empower women in the workplace and community. The principles are designed to support CBOs in
reviewing existing policies and practices — or establishing new ones — to realize women’s
empowerment.

6.1 Establish professional CBO leadership for gender equality.

6.1.1 Affirm full supported policies for gender equality and human rights.
6.1.2 Establish CBOs’ targets for gender equality and include progress as a factor
in managers’ performance reviews.
6.1.3 Engage internal and external stakeholders in the development of CBO
policies, programmes and implementation plans that advance equality.
6.1.4 Ensure that all policies are gender-sensitive — identifying factors that impact
women and men differently — and that CBO culture advances equality and
inclusion.
6.2 Deal with all women and men fairly at work — respect and support human rights
and nondiscrimination.
6.2.1 Pay equal remuneration, including benefits, for work of equal value to pay a
living wage to all women and men.
6.2.2 Ensure that workplace policies and practices are free from gender-based
discrimination.
6.2.3 Implement gender-sensitive recruitment and proactively recruit and appoint
women to managerial and executive positions.
6.2.4 Assure sufficient participation of women in decision-making and governance
at all levels and across all SHGs and CBOs.
6.3 To make certain the health, safety and well-being of all women and men workers.
6.3.1 Taking into account differential impacts on women and men, provide
understanding on safe working conditions and protection from disclose
potential risks, including to reproductive health.
6.3.2 Against all forms of violence at work, including verbal and/or physical
abuse, and prevent sexual harassment.
6.3.3 Train staff and CBO leaders to recognize signs of violence against women
and understand laws and company policies on human trafficking, labour and
sexual exploitation.
6.4 Promote education, training and professional development for women.
6.4.1 Ensure equal access to all CBO-supported education and training
programmes, including literacy classes, vocational and information
technology training.
6.4.2 Provide equal opportunities for formal and informal networking and
mentoring.
6.4.3 Offer to develop case for women’s empowerment and the positive impact of
inclusion for men as well as women.
6.5 Implement enterprise development, supply chain and marketing practices that
empower women.
6.5.1 Build business relationships with women-owned enterprises, including small
businesses, and women entrepreneurs.
6.5.2 Support gender solutions to credit and SHG establishment.
6.5.3 Ask CBO partners to respect the CBO’s commitment to advancing equality
and inclusion.

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 6.5.4 Respect the dignity of women in all marketing and other businesses.
6.5.5 Ensure that CBO products, services and facilities are not used for human
trafficking and/or labour or sexual exploitation.
6.6 Promote equality through community initiatives and advocacy.
6.6.1 Lead by example — showcase CBO commitment to gender equality and
women’s empowerment.
6.6.2 Influence and advocate local authorities and government institutions for
gender equality by collaborating with NGO networking and community
leaders to promote inclusion.
6.6.3 Work with community leaders and stakeholders, officials and other
government agencies to eliminate discrimination and exploitation and open
opportunities for women and girls.
6.6.4 Promote and recognize women’s leadership in their communities and ensure
sufficient representation of women in any community consultation.
6.7 Measure and publicly report on progress to achieve gender equality and human
rights
6.7.1 Make public the CBO policies and implementation plan for promoting
gender equality.
6.7.2 Promote existing mechanisms that quantify inclusion of women at all levels.
6.7.3 Measure and report on progress by using gender data.

3.7 Children’s Rights Protection

The first step has been to gather data and information about the children are under 18 years old
in the AS target villages. The AS staff will study the story of individual child by focusing on child’s
problems, which affect to their live, immediate needs, and future needs. Children are encouraged to
come together to attend the meetings in each village in order to share their concerns and problems
and discuss to identify the common problems in the village. Through the meetings, children are
encouraged to form self-help groups of children where they can begin to explore common
experiences and develop support mechanisms. Children representatives including girls will be
elected. When there are enough self-help groups of children, then they are encouraged to form a
group of children to be presenting at commune level. These representatives are wider geographical
level to provide self-help group members across the commune with information and collective
support. AS will play its important roles to build the representatives of children and train on how to
communicate local authorities, government institutions, NGOs, private sectors, and other
development agencies so that they will run their business by themselves. AS will accompany with
them as they gain capacity and input change to reflect the stages of their development and their
needs.
In order to be effective at breaking down social barriers, AS will work closely with vulnerable
children families by influencing them to take care their children and allow them access to education
and by providing financial support through community credit scheme in individual village.

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Financial Framework

Amount in US$ 2011 2012 2013 Remarks

Total Income Admin. Prog. Admin. Admin.
Projection Prog. Prog.
58,429.04 197,350.01

51,787.78 37,261.10
153,380.28 202,480.86
Total Admin. Prog. Admin. Admin.
Expenditure Prog. Prog.
Projection 15,827.74 81,682.99
7,018.99 0
78,355.60 83,599.36
Projected Result Admin. Prog. Admin. Admin.
Prog. Prog.
42,601.30 115,667.02
44,768.79 37,261.10
75,024.68 118,881.50

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