FundTrack - Approve Before Spend

An Atala blockchain, a mobile app UX like Revolut, metadata and smart contracts (documenting the normal procurement / purchasing process.

30 years building and managing successful businesses. 12 years watching the NGO community consume grant funds, reporting after spending.

FundTrack is a modern-day, forward looking tool to facilitate timely project accounting, 3increase transparency, aid in decision-making and document the procurement and supply chain process as it happens. Especially tuned to the

charitably-funded international project environment. Where sponsors, separated by large distances from implementing partners, do not have active control of the project spending process.

The Cardano platform, and all of its components, properly harnessed and configured, offer opportunities for large and small organizations operating on the edge to simplify data collection and facilitate timely Project Accounting & Reporting. 

Creating a new, dynamic, data-driven dimension of Monitoring and Evaluation, the tool used by almost every UN agency, donors and sponsoring agencies. This "tip-of-the-spear" use of Cardano aimed at improving the Project Environment - will lead to many other applications across the spectrum of UN 17 SDG goals, in countries throughout the developing world.

FundTrack operates within the same time-tested budgeting, project accounting, procurement and supply chain management processes, familiar to all organizations. But brings those processes into the 21st century. Building on Shelly, Goguen, Marlowe, Basho, Voltaire, Atala, Yoroi and, in part, on the concept of "Ricardian Contracts".4

FundTrack design capitalizes on today's (and considers tomorrow's) telecoms' networks, widespread coverage of terrestrial & satellite-based internet service56, penetration levels of affordable smartphones, and Cardano blockchain protocols.

FundTrack harnesses features and capabilities of the whole of the blockchain-based Cardano Ecosystem built into

Alonzo (smart contracts)

Marlowe (Plutus Domain Specific Language for financial transactions)

Atala (permissioned networks, identity, payments, supply chain management)

Yoroi Mobile Application.

Whilst FundTrack appears to be aimed at Project Accounting, its value rests on access to the documents which underlie the cost data. Being able to see a "proposed" transaction that "somehow does not look right' before funds have been spent, gives the opportunity to exercise control. Perhaps just to ask for an explanation or more detail before approving. Sponsors never get that opportunity in typical grant management processes. (See graphic attached).

The UN uses a centralised SAP Enterprise Resource Program, "Umoja". It is based on the "End to End: Partner Life Cycle (See Graphic attached).

Anyone who has experience with ERP systems knows that change is a really big deal. Not to mention cost. FundTrack works at the bottom end of the food chain – where people and companies lack the resources (human and financial) to interface with a SAP enterprise resource system. The temporary nature of a project-based service provider (Implementing Partners) makes the economic equation to gather those skills unworkable, for all but the very largest organizations.

Conceptually, the Umoja approach is quite similar to FundTrack. So that is half of the battle won. The UN recognizes the benefit of trying to harmonize implementing partner processes. However, the cost and effort to get all levels of Implementing Partners able to use SAP, will be prohibitive – in every dimension. Whereas FundTrack focuses on simplicity and user experience. (Later discussed as human-centered design). The Revolut inspiration is quite relevant to FundTrack usability and adoption, a demonstration there is no need to reinvent the wheel when it comes to effective "killer-app" UX .

FundTrack is a tool for all kinds of development projects. Useful across the entire range of the UN 17 SDG. It can serve institutions, large non profits, government agencies and non governmental organizations, companies and consultants.

• A project is temporary in that it has a defined beginning and end in time, and therefore defined scope and resources.
• And a project is unique in that it is not a routine operation, but a specific set of operations designed to accomplish a singular goal. 
• So a project team often includes people who don't usually work together – sometimes from different organizations and across multiple geographies.

  FundTrack focuses on the most under-served segment at Phase 4 of this PMP: 'Effort and Cost Tracking.'(See Project Management Professional explanation attached.

 While Effort and Cost Tracking might seem to be a small part of improving outcomes, it is actually critical to achieving the UN Secretary general's commitment to data-driven transformation. For, Effort and Cost Tracking is the only place in the process where problems can be identified and prevented. If the data is not available to the Program managers sitting far away from the work, in a timely manner, decision-making is always condemned to being too little, too late – after the fact.

Traditionally, Monitoring & Evaluation programs leave Effort and Cost Tracking to the purview of Implementing Partners. The one party in the equation that has the least incentive to report mistakes, problems, missteps, or in worst cases, fraud, waste or abuse. Suspect expenses, easily hidden, can be reported as "net costs" in reports - obscuring problems completely, or at least until too late to avoid.

FundTrack enables

• Authorizing expenditures according to the Project Budget.
• Revealing changes in the Project Plan, as they arise, via the procurement process.
• Providing local implementing partners with a standard project accounting system, while they continue to manage
• their own financial accounting system.

UN SDG Projects are Large and Small

FundTract is designed to work for two levels of Projects. For example: Infrastructure and Sustainable cities (Goals 9 & 11) probably involve large complex multi-year projects - operating with sophisticated project controls and qualified financial and administrative staff.

Projects in other sectors like Education or Water (Goals 4,6) or Forests (Goal 15) may involve a series of or combination of smaller, short term projects, scattered over wide geographic areas, executed by several small Micro-Small-Medium Sized

Enterprises (Goal 9 – MSMSEs) each managing work with unsophisticated financial accounting systems (not using Project Accounting Systems) and a small financial and administrative support staff.

CIPFA \ THE CHARTERED INSTITUTE OF PUBLIC FINANCE AND ACCOUNTANCY published a report by The Intl Financial Reporting For Non Profit Organisations that says: 

"The preparation of financial statements is crucial for accountability and decision-making and for trust and confidence in NPOs."

"NPO stakeholders need financial reporting information that shows whether an NPO is achieving its objectives in a way that maximises economy, efficiency and effectiveness in the use of resources, while complying with restrictions and regulations, in the context of its longer-term financial health."

Sponsors Rely on Monitoring and Evaluation Teams

Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) activities are the main tools used to increase the likelihood of achieving Program and Policy objectives - Outcomes and Impact.

"Monitoring is the systematic process of collecting, analyzing and using information to track a programme's progress toward reaching its objectives and to guide management decisions. Monitoring usually focuses on processes, such as when and where activities occur, who delivers them and how many people or entities they reach."

"Evaluation aims at determining the relevance, impact, effectiveness, efficiency and sustainability of interventions and the contributions of the intervention to the results achieved. 9(Adapted from Gage and Dunn 2009, Frankel and Gage 2007, and PATH Monitoring and Evaluation Initiative)"

However, in neither mode does the M&E team get deeply involved, on a continuing basis throughout the project life cycle in project accounting, procurement processes, supply chain management or project documentation. At best, they discover problems or weaknesses after the fact.

M&E is useful to identify Outcomes and Impact, but not as useful in achieving efficiency and effectiveness of project implementation, especially Use of Funds.

Traditional mechanisms and systems, at their hearts, are founded in the pre-digitized world. Relying on personal interventions (field based Monitoring and Evaluation), after action reports, and lessons learned - codified in digital copies of paper documents. They do not capitalize on the extensive penetration of mobile communications and smartphones with cameras and mobile apps, in and around the edges of the developing world.