Underpinning the success of CIVICU'’ programmatic activities are CIVICUS' organisational services: financial management, asset/property management, human resources, membership and communications. 2006 was a year in which CIVICUS invested considerable time and resources to develop better systems and structures to improve its internal capacity in these critical areas.

CIVICUS has improved its finance and administrative systems by upgrading existing accounting software and implementing department/programme and donor cost codes to track all expenses allocated against each grant. New income reporting and budgeting formats were developed, as was a system to improve overhead cost recovery, all now in use. Other issues addressed include: co-ordination between the Finance Department and all other departments, pay-slips and taxes, recruitment of the new Finance Manager and temporary Financial Assistant (maternity cover) and obtaining legal advice to review and resolve the issue of the legal ownership of CIVICUS House by CIVICUS.

The main objectives of the Finance and Administration Department (FAD) are; to provide effective financial management and administration, to develop human resources (HR) and office and property management services that are appropriate to CIVICUS' vision and mission statements, to develop and reinforce CIVICUS' HR policies and management tools and to meet the requirements of the Board, Secretary General and Senior General Manager –Organisational Services. This includes maintenance of statutory records and the organisation’s secretarial matters. The key values of FAD are professionalism, competence, integrity, accountability and transparency.

Since August 2006, we have looked more closely into the IT-policy and systems of CIVICUS. The company that provides IT-services, PCB, has proposed several recommendations for us, ranging from policy questions to purchasing new software and hardware. As a result, increased staff training and infrastructure investment has been planned for 2007.

During 2006 a complete revision of CIVICUS' systems and procedures was undertaken to finalise the improvement of all the mechanisms being used to make operations/management of CIVICUS more efficient. The Administrative Procedures manual assists employees with answers to some of the more frequently asked questions regarding administrative processes. The Staff Handbook has also been reviewed and updated with a significant focus on critical sections such as recruitment, appraisals, maternity leave, visas and taxes. The Gender Policy was finalised in June 2006 and is in the process of being integrated into all our Programmes and Departments. Regarding employment equity, it is now possible for disabled persons to access CIVICUS premises. A ramp giving access to this group of people is now available.

Induction packages (In House, IT and Welcome to Johannesburg) were developed to help orientate new staff members to their new work environment. These documents will be reviewed on a regular basis.

Monthly training workshops were held by CIVICUS staff members to support internal communication and promote the integration of CIVICUS programmes. Six workshops took place; (1) World Assembly, (2) Membership, (3) Resource Mobilisation, (4) CIVICUS programmes, (5) IT and Excel and (6) Strategic planning. Inter-Departmental staff teams have also been created to tackle issues of fair trade/fair treatment and the office environment. These teams are addressing issues such as improved access to the office for people with disabilities, the use of South African goods/products that are environmentally friendly, normalising recycling and the procurement of services by CIVICUS from companies that promote the fair treatment of employees.

A total of 19 people were recruited while 21 left the organisation. At any given time, an average of 32 staff members were working at CIVICUS House from 19 nationalities. It is our aim to make sure that in 2007 there is less movement and staff turnover at CIVICUS as organisational recruitment, orientation, training and retention systems improve.