International Development Sector: Back Office Administration Lessons Learned

Why Back Office Administration?

In the international development sector, back office administration and social networks are fundamental to how practices are improved. The work of the administrator expert for the purpose of providing back office activities for development projects include such a diverse range of administrative tasks and routine services. These services carried out in support of a professional activity such as monitoring and organizing a national survey, providing overall administrative guidance and support to multi-donor programs for good governance and economic growth programs have played a central role in consultants’ work in various regions of the world. Such work has involved efforts to reach out to the relevant local partners, government officials, urban professionals, businessmen and women, and rural community heads.

Back office administration has played a particularly prominent role in managing international development projects. This reflects the enduring expertise of administrator experts in many international programs. Back office administration has been strategic to the work of international development projects. And the administrator expert engagement has been fundamental to efforts to manage development projects. Because of the growing importance of back office administration for international development projects strategy, its potential contribution to future phases of managing development projects, it is vitally important for administrator experts at all levels to understand what management and the decision sciences suggest, and what consultants who have worked in such capacity have learned, about how to engage and leverage local partners in projects and institutional networks.

 Administration 101 for Consultants: Lessons Learned

 Back office administration is a form of organizational management activity based on common claimed effort to improve projects implementation practices. (2) It is not necessarily technical, as projects terms of reference (ToRs) may specify technical aspects of projects. (3) Back office administration rather has the benefits of the administrator expert being involved in scientific and/or statistical research without actually having to do it. It gives the administrator expert the administrative and management jobs that the scientists or statisticians see as tedious and time-consuming. For the administrator expert, these jobs represent tasks with a definite beginning, middle, and end. Thus back office administration is a part of most development projects where tasks dedicated to running the implementation of the project itself take place (4).

There is no such thing as a "typical" technical and/or statistical development project. Technical projects may embody diverse project rules, structures, types of political authority, and terms of reference (ToRs) which may be influenced by social and institutional conditions and government policies. (5) Thus, for instance, the ‘microfinance sector capacity building in Sierra Leone’ survey project (2007/08) in the category of the ACP Business Climate Facility (BizClim), a joint initiative financed under the 9th European Development Fund (EDF), tended, at least traditionally, to be purely statistical but the interpersonal definitions of the project underscores the relevance of the administrator expert.  There are major organizational issues involved in all donor funded project that require the engagement of an administrator expert who deals with these issues in a timely and efficient manner. (6) The administrator expert’s inputs in the ACP-EU BizClim project include the overall organization and monitoring of the field survey which makes the expert more influential than the other experts in the project. The administrator expert is looked upon as the project coordinator who enables the right conditions under which all the experts of the project are able to work. (7)

Administrative Values, Processes, and Organization

Administrative values remain deeply ingrained in back office administration of international development projects and have had a profound influence on development projects’ social mores and political culture. (This observation holds for much of all development projects as well.)

These values include the high premium put on originating and leading organizational issues that provide high performance culture that emphasizes empowerment, quality, productivity and standards, and goal attainment. These values also foster ingroup solidarity, which finds expression in loyalty to the technical expert team, (8) coupled with a powerful desire to ensure proper inclusion of the project output (in the case of the BizClim project, the survey) into the strategic development plan for the overall program; ensuring proper operational coordination with the contractor’s terms of reference; which finds expression in having the necessary skills, personal qualities and levels of motivation to competently meet the objectives of providing back office support and working with institutions or corporations locally. (9)

Administrative processes include traditional forms of services tailored to effectively support the technical experts, to mitigate problems when possible and to preserve a dynamic and productive environment. (10) These processes are conducted in accordance with basic administrative principles, providing colleagues (who are the technical experts) with the resources (i.e. human resources, physical facilities, as well as computing infrastructure and systems) they require to carry out their project research or service mission. (11) Further, working in cooperation with the local partners is extremely important and other tasks of significance include research and review of existing materials, and recommendations for operational structure that produces. (12) The precise extent to which these basic administrative processes are applied determine how successful in meeting the mandate of the contractor by such service requirements by which the expert must:

· clearly understand the needs of all the stakeholders of the project; (13)

· develop a team approach based on strong collaboration and mutual support and trust between the expert team and the local stakeholders in the project; (14)

· motivate and continue to inspire a competent and skilled auxiliary local staff in the project; (15)

· ensure that roles and responsibilities for program objectives and resource management are clearly defined and well understood by all concerned. (16)

Organizationally, each international development project implemented in any region consists of nested beneficiary groups. In the case of the BizClim microfinance project in Sierra Leone (2007/08), the direct beneficiary of the activity is NaCSA’s microfinance program as well as the partner organizations (MITAF, BoSL and SLAMFI). There are also the indirect beneficiaries which include the six existing MFIs and the four community banks actively involved with MITAF as well as the sector as a whole. (17) The terms used to describe these stakeholder groups and the meanings ascribed to them may differ by project, however, basic administrative processes apply in every case. This simplifies efforts by the administrator expert who must be skilled to understand stakeholder relationships, dynamics, and politics in the implementation of projects. (18)

The enormity of tasks in a project and the political issues to be dealt with has caused development donors to fall back on inputs of the administrator expert for support in confronting the challenges of coordinating the implementation of projects. As a result, strategic administrative processes have assumed greater salience in back office administration in recent years. It is not a mistake to emphasize the significance of the role of the administrator expert in a project or to regard the administrator expert as the central organizing principle of any development project implemented.  Large parts of back office administrative processes are to ensure the specific objectives of a project are consistently pursued, in the case of a survey project, for instance, the survey tools are developed and tested; the field research is undertaken; data is reviewed before processing, and statistical analysis is undertaken and final report drafted. (19)

A detailed, up-to-date picture of the back office administrative system in international development projects is hard to see—at least in the open literature. Much of what is known about back office administration is based on profiles provided by project donors, and information gaps frequently have to be filled by what the administrator expert must do to ensure the successful implementation of a donor funded project. While there are a number of useful compendiums on the traditional responsibilities of administrative officers in organizations, these are largely catalogs of job description that are in much need of updating to meet the high expectation needs of international development projects. (20) Finally, there has been no systematic effort to assess the impact of the role of the administrator expert in project implementation and the state of relations between the administrator expert and all the stakeholder groups in a project. This article will hopefully constitute a modest first step in this direction. (21)

The Cultural Logic of Back Office Administration and Project Implementation

How do administrative values express themselves in the conduct of the administrator expert? Administrator experts are intensely jealous of the integrity of work outcomes—to the extent that integrity of work outcomes has been described as the "consulting center of gravity." The culture of integrity of work outcomes and the implicit threat of forfeiting fees if project outcomes are compromised may be a vestige of the back office administrator’s oath of expert engagement—a commitment of ensuring individual and group survival when there are terms of reference to be strictly adhered to. As a result, social relations among stakeholders in a project are characterized by a high degree of concern over integrity of work outcomes, status, and timeframes. (22) A well-known Steven R. Covey proverb expresses this tendency: "Seek first to understand, then to be understood”.  Some see the extraordinary politeness and generosity of consultants that characterize their social relations towards stakeholders in a project as a means of curbing this propensity for anxiety and apprehension for the integrity of project outcomes. (23)

What accounts for this tendency? One explanation is that it is a consequence of what defines a consultant. A consultant’s career is built on maintaining the scrupulous ethics and honesty that are the hallmark of any successful consultant—and to pay even more attention to the perception of ethical behavior. (24) Another explanation is that it is a characteristic feature of being a consultant to be efficient and be conscious of project timeframes. The administrator consultant must have the right experience. Knowledge of industry procedures, project requirements, likely project costs, and likely project timeframes, are all examples of where inadequate organizational experience can result in cost and time blowouts. The administrator expert must keep in touch with the latest developments in projects administration to provide the right advice to project stakeholders. (25)

In back office administration, the expert team of consultants, direct and indirect project beneficiaries, and government affiliations define the administrator expert’s identity and status in a project. Consequently, all personal interactions in a project potentially have a collective dimension. Experts assembled for a project is not a personal choice, but a team affair, with implications for the status and standing of the entire expert team. (26) Conflicts between individual experts in a team always have the potential to become conflicts between groups that undermine the success of the entire project. (27)

Relationships are central to project life. In an environment marked by suspicion and potential conflict between the expert team and the local stakeholders, building and maintaining relationships is a way to reduce the circle of potential adversaries or enemies. (28)

Back office administration is systemic, it has to do with the organizational issues of the project, and the activities undertaken provide the basis for sustained systemic action. Interpersonal interaction is the fundamental unit of getting tasks done in a project. On every occasion, the administrator expert considers organization-wide cooperation as key to the successful execution of tasks; it is generally in response to a specific task, such as collating economic data that should be included in a report. (29)

Back office administration has an inter-organizational dimension as well. A project is often identified with the government of a country, its civil service structure, and the civil society. Thus, an administrator expert is obliged to deal with all of these structures at a professional level.  (30) For the administrator expert, the administrative domain of all international development projects thus usually consists of dealing with a number of relevant stakeholders exclusively specified by the terms of reference of the project.  Among the team experts, there is strong pressure not to alienate these stakeholders in a project. Because the group of experts (consultants) is usually involved in more than one institution’s culture, and in each case they are seen as outsiders at the beginning, experts need to be able to win the confidence of strangers who may be initially threatened by the presence of consultants. The administrator expert must be that person of personable character capable of projecting the expert team’s image to the other stakeholders. A big dose of humor is said to make wonders, especially when directed at one’s self. (31)

Some back office administration activities take the form of effectively making use of all sorts of networks. Civil service and civil society networks are sometimes reinforced by less professional social interactions or more personal relationships, and may be mobilized in the pursuit of shared interests. Administrator experts are particularly adept at mobilizing social networks and forging more personal alliances, which account in part for the success of international development sector projects. (32)

The Spider in the Web

Overall, donor agencies have dealt with administrator experts as projects power brokers to help administer or implement a project, and they have often attempted to co-opt the work of the administrator expert as part of a strategy of "get things done". Other participating consultants in a project have likewise depended a great deal on the work of administrator experts to achieve quality project outcomes. It is therefore important to understand the sources—and limits—of administrator expert authority and organizational influence. (33)

Administrator expert authority. The administrator expert traditionally performs a number of functions related to the inner life of the project and its relations with the other stakeholders and the authorities. The role of the administrator expert for international development sector projects involves more like traditional administrative functions, and the administrator expert fulfill a number of important functions. The administrator expert’s job has been to be the spider in the web—collecting information from partners, everything from administrative data to their technical contributions, their expertise, and their expectations of the project, while making sure they meet the project’s deadlines. (34)

A very interesting task is to thoroughly understand all the specific terms of reference of a project and get all partners to understand them and agree to them as well. (35) In some cases the work seems to consist of calling other people’s bluff—not the participating consultants but the local stakeholders in the project. Almost without exception, often times the local stakeholders view with suspicion the work of the consultants, and the challenge is to what extent one has to be flexible on most things, and when to stand ground on the things that matter—like getting things done according to the terms of reference and maintaining one’s integrity. (36) One has to be willing to draw the attention of the contracting authority in such instances in order to defend one’s position in both of those cases without jeopardizing the project. (37)

The administrator expert must have an in-depth knowledge of how donor funding works, and should be skilled in developing good personal contacts with people in government and in civil society. (38) The very big plus side for the administrator expert is being right in the center of decision-making in the project implemented and the role of the administrator expert becomes more important when he or she is able to create the conditions for making the most out of people working in the project and their talents. (39) The administrator expert is more in control of his or her own work, to see output that is in some sort of relation to the time and effort put in, to work on projects that have a beginning an end. The administrator expert is responsible for the day-to-day running of the project. The work of the administrator expert is literally research project management. (40) The administrator expert has to be well organized to make sure deadlines are met and all partners are involved; diplomatic enough to deal with people of different backgrounds; and, perhaps most important of all, unflappable. (41)

Elements of traditional organizational management still apply in all international development sector projects. Management and organizational issues abound in delivering development sector projects. For example, if survey administration is the “line” activity within the project, the ultimate responsibility for delivery lies within the purview of the administrator expert. (42) And the more actors and organizational units that are required to deliver international development sector programs, the more complex that delivery may be. The need for coordination and cooperation in such complex systems is critical to success. (43)

Administrative influence. Administrative influence is reckoned in terms of the tasks completed. Details matter. Every task for the successful completion of projects matters. (44) Integrity also matters. The integrity of work outcomes is critical in international development projects. (45)

Today, as mentioned above, back office administration is generally the highest level at which sustained social action occurs; administrator experts are considered effective units of action. And the influence of an administrator expert is generally measured in terms of his or her work ethics, the ability to secure the interests of the project. (46)

The Donor Sector Today

The rules of donors and their influence and their specific terms of reference vary but have a common goal—effective delivery of project objectives. (47) There are a good number of well known donor agencies working for the good of humanity. Some of these donor agencies consultants should know about include:

· The ACP Business Climate Facility (BizClim), an ACP-EU joint initiative, is demand-driven and the requests for assistance introduced are implemented through contracts using the framework contracts of the commission (beneficiary) or through tenders. To this respect, the Contracting Authority is the European Commission but the daily management of each contract is ensured by BizClim. (48).

· USAID, the independent federal agency of the United States Government, often times cooperates with multilateral and regional institutions such as the African Development Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the Bank of International Settlements, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), IFAD, IMF, IOM, OECD, and the UNDP, to implement projects in various parts of the world. (49).

· The Department for International Development (DFID) is the part of the UK Government that manages Britain's aid to poor countries and works to get rid of extreme poverty and often works with consultants in many respects.  It has two headquarters (in London and East Kilbride, near Glasgow) and 64 offices overseas. It also has over 2500 staff, almost half of whom work abroad (DFID). (50)

· The Australian Government, through AusAID, competitively contracts aid work to Australian and international companies. These companies use their expertise to deliver aid projects and often train local people to continue the projects long after the end of the contracts.  AusAID contributes to global and regional poverty reduction programs set up by the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank and works with (AusAid). (51)

· The OECD brings together the governments of countries committed to democracy and the market economy from around the world to support sustainable economic growth, boost employment, raise living standards, maintain financial stability, assist other countries' economic development, contribute to growth in world trade. The OECD also uses a lot of help from independent consultants and shares expertise and exchanges views with more than 100 other countries and economies, from Brazil, China, and Russia  to the least developed countries in Africa (OECD). (52)

· UNDP is working through its specialized agencies like IFAD, UNICEF, UNCTAD, and with a wide range of partners to help create coalitions for change to support the goals at global, regional and national levels, to benchmark progress towards them, and to help countries to build the institutional capacity, policies and programs needed to achieve the MDGs (UNDP). (53)

· The African Development Bank (AfDB), Africa’s premier development finance institution, dedicated to combating poverty and improving living conditions across the continent through loans, equity investments and technical assistance, also offers great opportunities for independent consultants. AfDB-financed contract procurements are carried out in accordance with the requirements stipulated in the Rules of Procedure for Procurement of Goods and Works and the Rules of Procedures for the Use of Consultants (AfDB). (54)

· The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) also uses consultants’ help to promote sustainable development through loans, guarantees, risk management products, and analytical and advisory services. Established in 1944 as the original institution of the World Bank Group, IBRD is structured like a cooperative that is owned and operated for the benefit of its 185 member countries. (55)

· The Asian Development Bank (ADB) often partners with governments and the private sector to help reduce poverty and improve the quality of life of member countries based on its Strategy 2020, a long-term strategic framework adopted in 2008, grounded on three complementary strategic agendas: inclusive growth, environmentally sustainable growth, and regional integration. (56)

These donor agencies have their specific rules and terms of reference. (71) Within the field of EU-supported Research and Technological Development (RTD) projects, partners normally sign a consortium agreement to organise the work and to specify certain rights and obligations to carry out the Project. Separate and independent consulting firms are subcontracted by the EC or the consortium for projects in various parts of the world. (57) And experts who are engaged by the successful firms the consortium has subcontracted are strongly encouraged to always co-ordinate their activities with the activities of other EC funded projects or projects funded by other donors in the region of implementation. The work of the administrator is to establish such contacts. (58) And considering the fact that experts do have different experiences in project implementation, there are also certain issues experts must know about:

· Using proper documents, forms and terminology as required by EC Delegation and there are basic documents all consultants should use when communicating with their partners—the firms contracted by the EC or the consortium.

· The ToR as a basic and binding document must be strictly adhered to. If the expert thinks the requested deliverables or outputs are out of touch of reality, the expert must communicate his or reservations in the Inception Report or with the Delegation in a written form.

· Experts should be patient with the EC Delegations and Beneficiaries, if an expert does not agree with work processes or procedures as specified by the EC operations manual and terms of reference, the expert has the responsibility to try to convince the EC or the consortium by justifying other ways value can be added to deliverables or outputs.

· Experts must, however, understand the reality that the EC does not accept other rules and forms except theirs.

· Even when consultants are subcontracted by firms contracted by the EC or the consortium, consultants are expected to respect EC rules which prevail for all projects. (59)

Lessons Learned

Hands on experience with back office administration in international development sector projects concludes that the administrator expert performs a strategic role in helping the project accomplish its objectives by bringing a systematic, disciplined approach to evaluate and improve the effectiveness of work processes, control, and management processes. (60) The administrator expert creates a capacity which safeguards and reinforces project’s reputation as a reliable steward of donor resources.  (61)

Other required functional competencies of administrative expert include the expert having excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to set out a coherent argument in presentations and group interactions. The expert should be adept in the use of information and communications technology. (62)

Donor organizations prefer experts that operate within their organizational competency frameworks. They expect experts to lead and manage change with integrity, trustworthiness and confidence, keeping the contractor’s vision and values at the forefront of actions.  The experts must maintain a strong, independent mental attitude and highest integrity and ability to inspire and nurture an organizational culture of ethos and fairness.  (63)

As an expert, it is professional to keep accurate and systematic accounts, files and records. The records must clearly identify, among other things, the basis upon which invoices have been calculated. The expert must be proficient in preparing and submitting regular reports on the project activities to the project team leader emphasizing among others their impact on the different areas of intervention. The expert should also seek to set benchmarks and targets for achieving both program and activity based goals inclusive of indicators for measuring the extent of achievement and to highlight these in all reporting. (64)

Experts must not attempt or commit any fraud, deception, financial or procedural wrongdoing in relation to the performance of their obligations under the Contract, and shall immediately notify the contractor of any circumstances giving rise to a suspicion that such wrongful activity may occur or has occurred. (65)

The expert should not engage in any personal, business or professional activity which conflicts or could conflict with any of their obligations in relation to the Contract.  (66)

The expert must be familiar with the provisions of race relations, sex discrimination and disability discrimination and the expert should not unlawfully discriminate within the meaning and scope of these provisions. (67)

All donor agencies respect the environment; they therefore expect all consultants to help protect the environment in relation to the performance of the services and should comply with all applicable international environmental laws, regulations, and donor practices. (68)

The condition of maintaining professional indemnity insurance is important for most donor agencies. Professional indemnity insurance provides financial indemnity to a professional man or firm against a legal liability to compensate a third party who has sustained injury, loss or damage through breach of duty. (69)

Again, experts must know about project equipment use and keeps inventory of equipment, its condition and location and make such inventory available to the project contractor. (70)

Expert must know that no expenditure may be incurred in excess of the financial limit and budget items of the project without the prior written authority of the donor contractor. (71)

For most donor contractors, fees payable are deemed to cover cost of salary, overseas inducements, leave allowances, bonuses, profit, taxes, insurances, superannuation, non-working days and expenses of whatsoever nature that may be incurred except those otherwise specifically provided for in the Contract. (72)

Donor specific forms and invoices often in the form of letterhead, the contract reference number and bear an original signature are used to recover payments from donors. (73) For, DFID, for example invoices are numbered sequentially, dated and marked—“For the attention of the Administration Officer”—stating the period the services are provided using “from” and “to” dates. The final invoice presented in connection with this Contract should be endorsed “Final Invoice”. Experts must know that any invoices not presented in accordance with donor specific format may cause unreasonable delay in payment. (74) For currency information, the London Financial Times “Guide to World Currencies” does provide the information needed on exchange rates. (75)

Experts must also familiarize themselves with procedures for negotiating claims or disputes arising out of or in connection to Contracts. The Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution in London (CEDR) can be very helpful.  CEDR is an independent non-profit organization with a public mission and supported by multinational business, law firms and public sector organizations. (76)

Overall, the administrator expert prioritizes work schedules. Relieves the technical experts of administrative detail, coordinates work flow, update and chase delegated tasks to ensure progress to deadlines, maintain terms of reference manual to ensure consistent performance of routines. (77) To maintain proper communication mechanisms, the expert composes daily reports, research relevant data the technical consultants can use to support final drafting of the project report. (78) For any meetings, the expert emphasizes on agenda meetings. The expert arranges meeting facilities, acts as recording secretary, and prepares action minutes. The expert performs to earn stakeholders’ confidence. Even arranges local transportation. Seeks greater role in projects within administrative and other areas of competence. At the advanced levels, back office administration is about methods for handling work; it requires a constant audit of the way a project does things, and willingness to rock the boat for meeting deadlines in getting work done. (79) Here are some typical tasks:

• Study and understand international development sector procedures


• Recommend action to improve standard operating procedures.


• Take part in any administrative meetings to assure secretarial follow-through. (80)

In other areas, the expert finds himself with networking with the various stakeholders in the project that are playing a significant role in the life of the project. There is a saying in OD consulting that says “it is futile to put personality ahead of character, to try to improve relationships with others before improving ourselves”. Interpersonal coordination of projects objectives is the cadence of back office administration. To navigate the chaos of dealing with organizational issues in a project, the administrator expert tries to draw on the pillars of being an effective manager, pillars built on work integrity, respect, and reciprocity. The expert relies on the intimacy of an expert team and the other key stakeholders in the project. (81)

Emphasis on Interpersonal Relations

Some analysts and practitioners have argued that interpersonal relations are key to the success of projects. While consultants are often viewed with suspicion by the local operators they meet, it is the responsibility of the administrator expert to allay those suspicions.  Clearly, the administrator expert has realistic expectations regarding the influence of project stakeholders. The experts are generally well connected and plugged into various stakeholder networks (essential if they are to ensure project tasks are adequately completed) they have generally proven useful as sources of information and advice and as vectors of influence among their teams and the local stakeholders. (82) Experts can assist too in the preparation of technical projects instruments and the training and motivation of enumerators and/or other project participants. (83)

Despite such acknowledgements of the importance of social networks and the fact that interpersonal activities in back office administration consume between 50 to 70 percent of the administrator’s time, it is remarkable how little attention has been devoted to this subject in the consulting professional literature. Hopefully, this article on back office administration will spur greater interest in what is probably the most important work process in international development sector. (84)

The following engagement lessons learned—with particular emphasis on the special challenges of the administrator expert engagement—are drawn from a review of the administrative literature, journalistic dispatches, individual and group interviews with other consultants who have served in various parts of the world, and the author's own experiences. (85)

Institutional and cultural sensitivity, "hearts and minds," and shared interests. Because of the complexity of the operational environment in international development consulting projects, particularly when local participants in the project view with suspicion the involvement of “highly paid” external consultants, organizational challenges are inevitable. (86) Winning "hearts and minds" is what the administrator expert does which is necessary for project success. What is important is for administrator expert to nurture that spirit of shared interest in working together with local consultants to achieve common goals. (87)

Building relationships. In projects, as is with, in all organizations, persons are more trusted than institutions. Personal relationships are the basis of effective professional partnerships, and a sine qua non for effective organizational activities. These relationships, however, can only be established and maintained by engaging the project stakeholders. (88)

Relationships take time to build and need constant tending. "Face time" with project stakeholders is critical, even if nothing tangible comes of some meetings, since time together is an investment in a relationship whose benefits may not be immediately evident. In addition, such meetings might discourage slack in project. (89)

Credibility is priceless; once destroyed, it is very hard to reestablish. Accordingly, it is vital to make good on promises and to avoid making commitments that cannot be kept. Broken promises undermine efforts to establish rapport and build the relationships that are essential to success. (90) For these reasons, administrator experts should, to the extent possible, avoid practices that disrupt relationships with the local partners, such as showing off and pretending to be more knowledgeable than anyone else in the project.  (91)

Management Implications of Donor Rules of Engagement

While a detailed discussion of how each donor rules of engagement with external consultants are enforced in projects is beyond the scope of this article, it is important to recognize the management value of such organizational knowledge.

Another feature of donor rules that may be managerially significant concerns the relationship between patterns of work ethics and social relations among project participants. Work cultures vary in parts of the world. This is a widespread phenomenon in the developing world. (92) Research of work cultures in developing countries and in Africa has shown that most work cultures in the developing world have a laid back easy going work habit. The expert has to be patient but firm in promoting the right habits that should be nurtured. The point is proper work habits deepen democratic values and reinforce the benefits of responsible management of projects. (93)

Engagement as a management activity. Engagement planning at the lower tactical echelons—which are the echelons that interact most intensively with the civilian population (for example, the enumerators as in the case of a national survey)—is often ad hoc, highly informal, and done "on the fly" by the administrator expert with little if any formal staff input. Engagement, however, is too important to be done in such a manner, and should be approached like any other essential management activity. (94)

There should be a formal engagement planning process, with input from all relevant staff elements, to identify engagement targets, assess their motivations and interests, determine engagement goals, schedule meetings, and set agendas. Administrator experts should hold after-action reviews to evaluate the outcomes of meetings and plan for and prepare follow-on activities. (95)

Engagement planning would probably benefit from jotting down any activity undertaken in a day in a diary which helps the organization and oversee of activities. (96)

Understanding excellence in consulting. Consulting is a knowledge-based occupation; therefore, it is responsible for administrator experts to continue to acquire new skills and knowledge on how to meet the changing requirements of assignments or for career development purposes. The expert must continue to invest in relevant training to obtain and maintain the mix of skills and knowledge needed to achieve the highest level of performance in accomplishing projects objectives. Adequate investment in training to maintain and improve knowledge capital is a key strategic action by any energetic administrator expert. (97)

Being the expert is what empowers the consultant. Local stakeholders in a project have sometimes had unrealistic expectations concerning the expertise of consultants. Being a learning individual is a must. (98)

Avoiding the pitfalls of institutional politics. Working with stakeholders in a project poses special challenges. Local stakeholders are intensely status conscious and competitive, and rivalry and intrigue often characterize institutional politics. Thus, expert engagement often requires a careful balancing act among local coordinators, supervisors and other population groups in the project, to avoid creating or aggravating rivalries or conflicts. (99)

A specific pitfall associated with institutional politics is errors of ignorance. It is easy to err due to a lack of knowledge of work cultures in institutions. It is therefore essential to become intimately familiar with the history and politics of the institutions and the relationships that govern such institutions in order to avoid any missteps. (100)

The challenge is to strike a balance among participating stakeholders in a project. Expert engagement should be part of a broader effort to engage multiple sectors of stakeholders in a project in order to promote a spirit of comingling to work toward common goals. (101)

Conclusions

Interpersonal engagement is probably the most important administrator expert line of operation in back office administration in the international development sector. If experts achieve any degree of success in project implementation, it is in large part because they succeeded in engaging the stakeholders and leveraging stakeholder networks.

Interpersonal engagement, however, poses unique challenges deriving from the special demands of interacting with stakeholder communities whose norms, values, and forms of social organization diverge, in many ways, from those of donor agencies.

Finally, while interpersonal engagement lessons learned in back office administration by administrator experts in an international development project may apply anywhere; this should not be assumed to be the case. Every project is unique in its scope, its internal dynamics and politics, and its relations with the donors. Independent expert consulting is the driving force for participation. Research needs and organization emerge from all consultancy work to produce added value to international development sector projects. Back office administration is research project management suitable especially for those who don’t have that passionate interest in a specific area of science. With back office administration one has the benefits of being involved in scientific research without actually having to do it. The job market for administrator experts in international development projects looks very good. The UK Research Office in Brussels, ‘Development Executive Group’, ‘Microfinance Gateway’, ‘devnetjobs’,  ‘Association of International Consultants’,  Devjobs, ‘Eldis’, ‘Expat List’, ‘Idealist’, MSI Worldwide, ‘Peace Corps’, and ‘Relief Web’ advertise vacancies in just about every week they update their websites. These are time-limited appointments, but so are many research posts and almost all jobs in the international development sector. For an expert to stay employed between short-term consultancies, the expert should continue to make intense effort to email résumés to as many international development consulting firms as possible. With an ongoing, intense marketing effort there are good chances that an energetic expert stays employed.