Care and Protection of Children (CPC) Learning Network COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY | MAILMAN SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH

STRATEGIC PLAN 2020-2023 Nurturing Leadership, Promoting Action and Sparking Critical

Conversations to Address 21st Century Child Protection Challenges and Opportunities

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Overview (Background and Framework) ............................................................................................. 2

Vision and Mission ............................................................................................................................. 3

Values ............................................................................................................................................... 4

Strategic Approach............................................................................................................................. 5

Strategic Strands ................................................................................................................................ 6

Strand I: Nurture Leadership in the Global South ................................................................................ 7

Strand II: Integrate Learning and Action .............................................................................................. 9

Strand III: Spark Critical Conversation ............................................................................................... 11

Summary ......................................................................................................................................... 12

Appendices ...................................................................................................................................... 13

APPENDIX A: Milestones and Metrics .......................................................................................... 14

APPENDIX B: Organizational Sustainability .................................................................................. 16

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OVERVIEW

Background The Care and Protection of Children (CPC) Learning Network was established in 2005 to promote innovative research, nurture communities of learning, and build the next generation of researchers and advocates for children and families. The Network has demonstrated substantial impact in its work to facilitate learning, disseminate evidence to affect change in children’s care, protection and development policy and practice, enhance collaboration among heterogeneous groups, and link global and national level actors. The Network occupies a unique niche in the children’s care and protection field. Its grassroots positioning toward learning produced by Global South researchers and practitioners has helped to bolster and support the growth of emerging voices. To this end, the Network has advanced partnerships with several research centers located within Global South universities, leads a number of cutting-edge collaborative initiatives, and manages a global network of faculty affiliates. Since its inception, the Network has remained open and adaptive, fostering, supporting and participating in dynamic networks. Its work is accomplished through a Secretariat housed at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, along with an Advisory Board comprised of leading child protection practitioners and researchers. In addition, the Network relies heavily on its partner country leads in four locations (Indonesia, Uganda, Burkina Faso and Colombia), as well as faculty affiliates based around the world.

Framework The proposed strategic plan was initiated at a meeting of the Advisory Board in December 2018. During that discussion, three overarching goals were prioritized as strands to be woven together:

Amplify Global South voices

Bridge practice and research

Support inclusive research These goals have continued to resonate throughout the new strategy development and were refined and strengthened through research, consultations and workshops.1

1 Research and strategy work for the new plan were conducted via the following methods:

Key Informant Interviews (25 diverse stakeholders, including priority countries, faculty affiliates, funders, working groups, members of the board of advisors, staff members and peer organization leaders)

Survey (95 informants: Board, faculty affiliates, funders, and peers; 23 respondents) Staff and Board of Advisor Input (Staff and BOA input included conversations, interviews, written feedback,

interviews and two full-day meetings with staff) Desk Research (Review of documents and web-based research) Network Research. Models and practices of most relevance and value to CPC, including a scan of over 40

organizations.

Children’s Well-being

The Network considers children’s care, protection, and development to be integrated elements of overall child well-being. We recognize that in many places, each of these elements ends up being addressed by different strategies and agencies. Our intent is to maintain a holistic approach that may cross structural boundaries in service of the real and intersecting needs of children and youth.

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Key findings from the consultations and strategy sessions include:

The Network is widely respected and appreciated for its work. Its convenings, dissemination of resources, and ability to serve as a connecting hub are especially valued by researchers, practitioners and policy makers. Informants suggested that despite being small, the Network has an outsized impact due to its high level of engagement in the sector.

The Network has a unique role as a university-based center, providing it a degree of freedom to explore perspectives that diverge from the mainstream as well as to bring attention to challenging and difficult issues.

The broad and flexible structure of the Network facilitates a comprehensive approach that connects researchers and practitioners, bringing together micro and macro perspectives. The Network’s approach has also served to highlight research and practices from the Global South that have received insufficient attention to date.

Because the Network’s agenda has evolved organically, it is often pulled in many directions and challenged in its ability to maintain a strong focus. As some respondents observed, the Secretariat can get overextended or diffused in too many different directions. Informants provided numerous suggestions on potential focus areas as well as ways to redefine and shape the roles of the Board and the faculty affiliate network for greater effectiveness.

VISION A world where learning enhances policy and practice to support children’s rights to protection, development, and well-being.

MISSION The Care and Protection of Children (CPC) Learning Network fosters global leadership to bridge knowledge and practice for children’s rights to protection, development, and well-being.

VALUES The Care and Protection of Children (CPC) Learning Network is guided by the following set of core values:

SOCIAL JUSTICE. The Network seeks to speak truth to power and operates in a way that respects varied contributions and builds equitable relationships over time. This process will create the space for new voices to constructively challenge the status quo. The Network is committed to a contextual, ground-up approach to children’s rights to protection, care, and development that moves toward centering power in the Global South. It encourages the voices and active participation of Global South researchers, as well as youth, families, communities, and others who have historically been excluded from conversations. It promotes gender equality and gender justice. It catalyzes shifts in power dynamics, starting within its own organization, and influences

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societal, patriarchal, cultural, political, and other power structures that affect children’s rights and wellbeing.

INNOVATION. The Network is comprised of learners, generators, and implementers of applied knowledge. It partners with colleagues on the cutting edge of designing more holistic and contextually relevant approaches to child protection. The Network is committed to “co-learning” that is multi-directional, with research, practice, and policy informing each other. It is willing to explore innovative approaches that might appear too new or risky to others.

INTEGRITY. The Network is committed to work that respects the agency and autonomy of participants and communities, as well as principles of ethical research. It offers inclusive leadership with humility about its own limitations and transparency about its approaches. The Network’s stance is one of listening and openness and remains faithful to the evidence that emerges from the dynamic intersection of research and practice.

TRANSFORMATIVE RELATIONSHIPS. The Network seeks authentic human connection in all its work. It acknowledges that shifting power structures and creating a more holistic model may not always be easy and starts with nurturing honest and meaningful relationships. The Network holds safe spaces for constructive conversations about challenging issues and encourages the child protection community to acknowledge failures and learn from what is not working to advance the vision of a world where all children can thrive.

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STRATEGIC APPROACH

The Care and Protection of Children (CPC) Learning Network’s strategic intent is to amplify child protection voices of the Global South. This plan represents a shift toward more of an “accompaniment” role for the Network. The Network’s core focus will be centered on serving as a catalyst for evidence-based practice by building global strength in diverse, context-specific aspects of child protection research that more meaningfully incorporates practitioners’ voices.

The Network will seek to build and strengthen knowledge ecosystems. Being housed at an academic institution allows the Secretariat freedom to explore new ideas that may challenge existing norms regarding child protection and care. The Network will bring in Columbia University’s Global Centers as additional connection points and will seek opportunities to partner with others at the cutting edge of child protection. Across its work, the Network hopes to support holistic, systems-based approaches to child well-being that include meaningful engagement of youth, families, and communities.

The Network has evolved to date in a highly organic fashion. While it will retain the flexibility and agility that allows for embrace of new ideas and opportunities, it will move toward a more structured, outcome-focused process to achieve long-term objectives aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals. The Network will move from a more “hub-and-spoke” model with the Secretariat at the center to a “node-to-node” model that facilitates direct connection among peers with common interests and provides a richer network of support to all participating individuals or institutions.

The Secretariat will model a restructuring of the Board of Advisors to transition decision-making power to leaders from the Global South. It will ensure adequate staff capacity as well as effective partnerships and collaborations to sustain the “accompaniment” role over the long haul.

Knowledge ecosystems

Thinking in terms of a knowledge ecosystem in children’s care and protection can help the field increase its impact. By knowledge ecosystem, we mean a holistic approach that includes embedding learning in all activities, supporting evidence-based research, promoting openness, creativity, and safe spaces, and building authentic leadership. All of these elements and their intersections are important in creating meaningful changes in children’s lives.

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STRATEGIC STRANDS The Care and Protection of Children (CPC) Learning Network will prioritize the following strategic strands of work:

Nurture Leadership in the Global South Support research groups and individual affiliates as they emerge and grow around the world

Integrate Learning and Action Link researchers, practitioners and policymakers to strengthen the relevance of research and its effectiveness in increasing the impact of policies and programs

Spark Critical Conversations Drive the inclusion of critical unaddressed topics and diverse perspectives from those not historically represented in global conversations about children’s care and protection

The three strands are closely interwoven. As the Network supports active Global South researcher and practitioner engagement, it inherently sparks critical conversations with fresh perspectives and stimulates the integration of learning and action. The following sections highlight the goals, approaches, and actions for each strand. Specific milestones and metrics for each strand are included in Appendix A. The organizational sustainability work that will underpin the three strands is outlined in Appendix B.

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I: NURTURE LEADERSHIP IN THE GLOBAL SOUTH

Support research groups and individual affiliates as they emerge and grow around the world

The Care and Protection of Children (CPC) Learning Network will support researchers around the world, with an emphasis on those in the Global South, to strengthen evidence-based research that links policy and practice. Effective outcomes critically depend on locally relevant knowledge ecosystems and institutions. The Network will provide support that builds on existing capacity, helping researchers around the world to produce multi-sectoral and interdisciplinary research that is relevant in their own context and beyond.

The Network will leverage the influence it carries as part of a well-known research institution, Columbia University, to strengthen support for Global South researchers. It will draw on existing resources, such as Columbia University Global Centers around the world, to strengthen the infrastructure for cutting-edge child protection research.

The Network has consistently been a champion of diversity. However, in settings throughout the world, diversity in gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, religion, ethnicity, and so on, is often lacking. The Network will highlight diversity throughout its membership and partnerships, as well as ensure that diverse perspectives are included in critical conversations.

GOALS

Support country leads as they become increasingly robust, thriving research centers influencing policy and practice.

Forge new partnerships and strengthen knowledge ecosystems in two to three additional countries.

Grow and enhance an engaged, interconnected, and diverse Faculty Affiliate Network to include at least 50 researchers, prioritizing new faculty from the Global South.

APPROACHES

Support country leads. The Network will continue to support its four country leads in Indonesia, Uganda, Colombia, and Burkina Faso. With each center at different stages of growth, the Network will renegotiate partnership agreements to define specific ways to support and enrich their work. It will seek to strengthen organizational infrastructure and research methods, as well as advocate to bring greater visibility to the work of each partner.

Forge new partnerships. The Network will explore and initiate additional partnerships in two to three new countries. It will support relationships with institutions with which it has worked in the past and/or other institutions emerging as leaders in child protection research. Potential areas for expansion include a country in the Middle East, Brazil, and Bangladesh (building on the existing partnership with BRAC University).

Gender Equality

Gender justice and gender equality are foundational aspects of effective work in children’s care and protection. We will work with our partners and faculty affiliates to ensure that the Network’s values align with and integrate into their efforts. In particular, we will seek to ensure gender equality in leadership as well as in the work and wider outreach to the organizations and faculty we support.

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Grow and enhance the Faculty Affiliate Network. Scholars and research centers rooted in countries around the world will be invited to connect and learn from one another, support emerging researchers in honing their skills, and share ideas to increase the reach and impact of the research in practice. The Network will expand its global network of faculty affiliates to a robust, interconnected network encompassing at least 50 members, prioritizing researchers from the Global South. It will enhance the web platform to be more interactive and capable of facilitating advanced search and connect functions.

PROPOSED ACTIONS

Renegotiate partnership agreements. The Network will work with country leads to define specific strategies for engagement and mutually beneficial support. This may include supporting strategic planning and infrastructure, enhancing ability to attract funding, providing educational resources, promoting South-South exchanges for institutional development, and/or supporting bridge-building with policymakers and practitioners. Additionally, we will request that center leaders serve as members of the Network’s new Board of Advisors.

Identify potential new country leads. The Network will explore additional partnerships in at least two new countries. This will start with mapping research capacity in a few countries most affected by child protection concerns but lacking in sustained knowledge ecosystems, followed by field visits for a drill-down into local context, potential partners, needs and capacities. The results of this exercise will provide the basis for proposals of locally appropriate knowledge ecosystems and institutions that build on existing capacity to produce relevant, multi-sectoral and interdisciplinary research, and support evidence-based dialogues that bridge research, policy and practice in each country. The Network will seek to leverage Columbia University Global Centers as well as existing country leads during this process.

Initiate enhanced Faculty Affiliate Network. The Secretariat will identify potential new faculty affiliate members, develop member materials, and invite participation from an initial new cohort.

Columbia University Global

Centers

Columbia Global Centers facilitate the

collaborative engagement of University

faculty, students, and alumni with the

world to enhance understanding,

address global challenges, and advance

knowledge. Of the nine global centers

around the world, several centers, such

as those in Brazil, Jordan, and India, are

engaged in research that may be

relevant to CPC’s child protection work.

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II: INTEGRATE LEARNING AND ACTION

Link researchers, practitioners and policymakers to strengthen the relevance of research and the impact of policies and programs The notion that research, policy, and practice should be co-designed and mutually reinforcing has been central to the Care and Protection of Children (CPC) Learning Network’s work since its inception. The Network remains committed to that vision and will take concrete steps to ensure the co-design of research with policymakers and practitioners so that evidence for improving policy and practice has clear and direct application to practitioner needs. Approaches that are owned by the policymakers and practitioners who will use the evidence generated ensure that these actors are able to embody agency and action. Communications platforms will be central to this effort. The Secretariat will work with partners in the Global South to explore how capacity-sharing can be most effective, as well as how partners’ models of integrating learning and action can be replicated and communicated to a global audience for even broader impact.

GOALS

Build pathways between research and action via capacity sharing that supports researchers in designing research informed by real-world needs and contexts as well as continued learning from programs and policies in action.

Strengthen connections among researchers, policymakers, and practitioners to share knowledge and address critical topics in a vibrant community of practice that fosters collaboration between research and practice.

APPROACHES

Reduce the isolation of researchers. The Network will identify or create communications platforms in which researchers can meaningfully engage with policymakers and practitioners, building on successful working group models such as the INSPIRE Working Group and the Assessment, Measurement, and Evidence Working Group of the Alliance for Child Protection in Humanitarian Action, both of which the Network currently co-leads. The Secretariat will also seek out global leaders who would like to assume leadership roles in INSPIRE and the AME Working Groups.

Support scientific rigor and evidence-based research. The Network will encourage rigorous child-focused research methods as well as the freedom to challenge existing tools and approaches. Utilizing a case-based learning design, the Network will seek to build practitioner capacity to understand and implement evidence-based approaches. The Network will draw on implementation science to support applied research that is in service of informing interventions.

Research, Policy, and Practice

The Network strongly emphasizes the

connection among research, practice, and

policy work. For policymakers and

practitioners to value research fully and to

take up its findings, they should be involved

from the beginning of the research design

process, helping to design the research

questions and intended outcomes. A co-

design process that involves practitioners

and policymakers from the beginning

ensures that they are not only aware of how

research can help them but are also engaged

in the learning process. This engagement

allows them to craft tailored processes for

changing policy and practice once evidence

has been generated.

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Emphasize multi-directional learning. The Network will only support and endorse research that was designed through meaningful participation of practitioners in the Global South. It will not co-brand or host learning opportunities (webinars, conferences, etc.) that exclude these perspectives. Through its network approach, research and broadly accessible learning opportunities, it will encourage ongoing and mutually beneficial relationships between researchers and practitioners to facilitate evidence use and enhance practitioners’ understanding of research.

Maintain commitment to ethics. The Network will be mindful of potential unintended consequences and model learning orientation by taking time to reflect and learn from its successes and failures.

PROPOSED ACTIONS

Design enhanced learning and communications platforms. Identify researchers’ interests and priorities for connection. Explore options and initiate design of a more robust online platform, including ways to connect with practitioners and policymakers.

Transition INSPIRE and AME Working Group leadership. Find Global South leaders who would like to take over the Secretariat’s work in these two groups.

Engage both researchers and practitioners. In partnership with country leads and their respective universities, the Network will identify effective existing learning platforms (e.g. Massive Open Online Courses) and build a database of practitioners and policymakers, as well as researchers, to whom it will promote uptake and implementation of evidence-based interventions.

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III: SPARK CRITICAL CONVERSATIONS

Drive the inclusion of critical unaddressed topics and diverse perspectives from those not traditionally represented in global conversations about children’s care and protection The boundaries of what constitutes children’s care, protection, development, and well-being and the extent to which a rights-based approach should serve as the guiding framework for the field have been the subject of many debates. These have often been fractured and contentious. The Care and Protection of Children (CPC) Learning Network, together with its country leads, will endeavor to spark critical conversations that help actors in the fields of child protection, development, and well-being find common ground; debate forgotten, sometimes controversial, topics; and collaboratively move forward in service of common goals and values. The Network’s commitment to social justice, integrity, innovation and transformative relationships will be integrated into its support for these challenging conversations.

GOALS

Drive strategic conversations around holistic approaches, prevention, inclusivity, and thinking “outside the box” of dominant child protection and care strategies.

Drive the inclusion of critical unaddressed topics and diverse perspectives from those not traditionally represented in global conversations about child protection, including young people.

Create and facilitate safe spaces in the sector as a whole, supporting the healing of divisions and helping those who care deeply about child protection to hear one another, acknowledge mistakes or doubts, and learn together.

APPROACHES

Explicitly address power dynamics. To amplify the voices of the Global South, the Network acknowledges the importance of explicitly addressing power dynamics at all levels, from its own organization to the child protection sector as a whole. The Network will advocate in global fora and power structures for Global South partners to define agendas, set priorities and lead critical conversations. The Network is confident that amplifying the power and impact of voices and ideas that have historically been less prominent (e.g., voices of indigenous people, gender minorities) will translate into higher uptake of evidence in services for children and families worldwide.

Identify and highlight critical topics. The Secretariat, in partnership with its faculty affiliates and country leads, will support efforts that go beyond mainstream child protection discussions. The Network will move toward a more diversified program portfolio and thematic areas that emphasize new and intersectional approaches, with an overall shift toward a more holistic view of the field of child protection and care. Topics of likely initial interest include the Violence Against Women/Violence Against Children divide that inhibits intersectional movement building, particularly in ways that help this conceptual work to inform practice. Other topics could include how to ensure that children’s rights movements also make gender justice central to their platforms, or opportunities for children and youth to conduct policy advocacy.

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Support appropriate representation of new approaches. The Network will provide platforms for new and innovative voices. It will connect child protection spheres from local to international and micro to macro. It will support collaboration with other fields that can offer new ideas and approaches to promoting children’s safety and well-being, such as education, climate change and youth activism. Overall, it will seek to emphasize thematic issues that have been left off the global agenda in order to move toward a more holistic agenda for the field of child protection. In some cases, this may mean advocating for different conceptualizations and framing of child protection issues than those that currently hold sway in mainstream thinking.

Increase emphasis on prevention. The Network will support researchers in incorporating evidence on prevention and conditions for protective factors in families and communities that increase the health and well-being of children and families.

Convene gatherings. By leveraging its convening power and a well-respected global platform, the Network will foster strategic convenings on critical topics not being addressed by mainstream child protection conversations. These may be in person or virtual, intersectional and forward-thinking, led by Global South researchers and practitioners, and offer an invitation for more conventional researchers to broaden their thinking. Most importantly, the Network will seek to play a healing role in the sector as a whole, overcoming divisions and helping those who care so deeply about child protection to hear one another, acknowledge mistakes or doubts, and learn together.

PROPOSED ACTIONS

Identify critical topics and discussion frameworks. The Network will lead a process to map out and prioritize critical topics for discussion, potential participants, and locations (including whether to utilize in-person convenings or virtual dialogues) for the 2021-2023 period. It will begin framing out the structure and format of the high-priority conversations.

Identify high-priority advocacy opportunities within power structures. The Network will lead development of a priority screening process to help map out where/when advocacy to engage Global South participants in global fora is likely to have the highest-leverage impact over the next few years. Initial work will begin on determining how best to use each opportunity, and the Network will utilize its process for any 2020 advocacy opportunities.

Synthesize evidence on prevention. The Network will analyze its existing library of research, identify the most promising findings on “what works” in prevention and synthesize them in an easy sharable and understandable format (e.g., evidence briefs). It will offer guidance to practitioners interested in applying findings or connect them with relevant groups for additional implementation support.

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SUMMARY The consultative planning process highlighted the Care and Protection of Children (CPC) Learning Network’s key niche in the global child protection and care arenas. The review process confirmed the Network’s contributions to foster viable and sustainable ecosystems and institutions with the capacity to (1) generate relevant research, (2) engage diverse actors in key child protection initiatives, and (3) host convenings that challenge the status quo. At the core of the Network is a value placed on fostering relationships with policymakers, practitioners, and academics. It is hoped that the proposed three strands will be instrumental in ensuring the success of the Network’s new strategy. Guided by a more focused approach, the Secretariat is confident that the Network will be able to utilize its well-established niche to address critical gaps in the child protection and care fields and promote policies and programs based on robust evidence to achieve positive outcomes for children and families at local, national and global levels.

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APPENDICES

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APPENDIX A: MILESTONES AND METRICS

Strand I: Nurture Leadership in the Global South

End of 2020:

Renegotiated partnership agreements with existing country leads

Initial assessment of potential partners to pursue completed

Continued engagement with Columbia’s global center in Brazil and outreach to selected other centers to identify opportunities for strategic collaboration.

Faculty Affiliate Network participant and potential participant feedback obtained on needs, interests, and best tools for engagement.

Plan developed for revamped network, including membership expectations, list of potential invitees, and application process.

End of 2023:

Four current country leads actively engaged, including in CPC Board, and demonstrating increased impact within their countries and beyond.

New partner is engaged with CPC, and CPC is in discussion with / building relationship with two others.

Faculty affiliate network has at least 50 members. Robust connection among researchers is leading to new ways of thinking about child protection, tools, and measures and coordinated action to strategically working to reshape the global agenda. Knowledge coordination and sharing is effectively mobilized to respond as new challenges emerge.

Active collaboration with at least one of Columbia’s global centers, and engagement with one or two others as well as with other research institutions doing relevant work.

METRICS

Country leads’ satisfaction, proposals submitted and awarded, number of joint programs and increased global visibility and reach

Faculty affiliate awareness, use of network, satisfaction, and impact on research and collaboration; building of relationships, facilitation of connections

Development of effective metrics will be a task that we undertake in 2020; this may evolve over the life of this plan. Many of the impacts that will be most meaningful are challenging to quantify, so we will use a mixed-methods approach to incorporate qualitative feedback.

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Strand II: Integrate Learning and Action End of 2020:

Initial testing performed of learning platforms such as MOOCs, online workshops, working groups, mapping tools, with clear feedback for use

Explore the transition of the Network’s role with INSPIRE and the AME Working Groups to Global South leaders

“What works” in prevention synthesized and disseminated End of 2023:

Revamped network with at least 50 participants/members, with strategies to support emerging researchers as well as researcher-practitioner connections

Plan for next phase of network enhancement

Effective structure for convenings, and plan for next phase of convening work

Leadership of INSPIRE and AME Working Group has transitioned to Global South

METRICS

Network participant engagement and level of learning satisfaction

Annual internal assessment of value added by tools for engagement vs. resources required to maintain them

New Network leaders of INSPIRE, AME Working Group satisfied with their ability to engage and influence these efforts

Strand III: Spark Critical Conversations

End of 2020:

Initial topics of interest for strategic conversations identified with Board and country leads input from Network integrated; and other organizations with relevant interests invited to collaborate in addressing key topics

Strategy established to test various types of convenings in 2021-22: online, regional, international

Initial progress toward both inclusion and welcoming, active engagement of Global South leaders in global conversations, including AME Working Group and INSPIRE

Initial prevention writeup disseminated End of 2023:

Strategic and systematic process to address high-interest topics that tend to get neglected

Demonstrated impact in driving active engagement of Global South leaders in global conversations

METRICS

Number of Global South leaders actively engaged in global conversations

Global South leaders’ satisfaction in being heard, leading, and changing the conversation

Specific follow-up actions from engagement in new topics, including prevention

Increased inclusion of new topics in child protection field in national, regional, and global policy documents

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APPENDIX B: ORGANIZATIONAL SUSTAINABILITY The Care and Protection of Children (CPC) Learning Network’s impact in the world depends on its ability to maintain its Secretariat, Board, and broader network in healthy ways that reflect our culture of relationships, creativity, listening, equity and integrity. To this end, the Secretariat will engage the broader network to attend to internal policies, practices, funding, and communications to keep improving its effectiveness.

GOALS

Funding: The Network has sufficient and sustainable funding to support its goals and staffing needs.

Communications: The Network has strategic, well-staffed, and metrics-driven communication tools in place to support its community and clear structures for communications among the Secretariat Board, and broader Network.

Staff: The Network maintains long-term continuity and clear staff roles.

Culture: As it expands, the Network maintains its values and organic, nimble culture while adding structures for knowledge capture, reflection and process and policy improvements for both the Secretariat and Board.

Board: The Network builds a redesigned, Global South-driven Board of Directors.

APPROACH

For the Network, and specifically the Secretariat, to succeed in amplifying global voices, it must be appropriately staffed and have effective structures and systems in place to manage its work and measure its success. It will also be important to set boundaries and acknowledge limits, which may require turning down opportunities outside of the Network’s core mission.

The Network commits to holding itself accountable to a healthy and sustainable workplace and pacing for the long haul, so that its success is not dependent on any one person or on pushing itself or partners beyond a sustainable workload.

The Network commits to regular reflection on its effectiveness.

PROPOSED ACTIONS

Develop and implement strategic fundraising plan to build the Network’s organizational capacity

Frame and regularly assess and improve communications plan

Create staffing plan that includes clear job responsibilities, onboarding of new employees, support for research associates to be highly effective, and a succession plan for continuity of leadership

Add one program staff member, particularly to address communications and coordination.

Create organizational structures that support the Network’s culture while increasing its ability to work effectively on our highest-priority efforts.

Develop a strategy for the Board’s growth and development, including key roles and expectations, ensuring a diverse and inclusive Board, use of advisors, and establishing best practices for Board operations.

A New Board

Framework The Board has evolved along with the Network, with members who are experts in diverse aspects of child protection. It has served primarily in an advisory capacity. While the Network hopes to retain some key advisors to the Secretariat in a more informal role, it will shift leadership toward Global South country partners.

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Care and Protection of Children (CPC) Learning Network COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY | MAILMAN SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH

The Care and Protection of Children (CPC) Learning Network Secretariat is housed

at the Program on Forced Migration and Health at Columbia University’s Mailman

School of Public Health.

P. 212.342.5158

F. 212.342.5222

E. info@cpclearningnetwork.org

60 Haven Avenue, B-4, New York, New York 10032