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Organizational development
Well performing and resilient organizations are essential for society because they generate products and services, and they provide employment and opportunities for self actualization. Organizations are the subject of many capacity development interventions and practitioners involved in facilitating organizational change can draw from a wealth of analytical frameworks and practical experiences spanning various schools of thought.
Within the aided development sector the success or failure of community organizations is often measured against their ability to deliver results that more often than not are dictated by the expectations of the funding organization. Consequently, the goal in developing organizational capacity is quite narrowly defined and involves strengthening the management capabilities needed to deliver quick development results. These include operational planning, financial management, service delivery and so on. Experiences suggest that this one-size-fits-all approach undermines the emergence of flexible organizations that can respond to complex and changing circumstances within their institutional and broader environment. The resources highlighted in this section attempt to introduce various frameworks that can lead to a more integrated application of organizational development principles in day-to-day practice.
Featured Article
Capacity, complexity and consulting: lessons from managing capacity development projects
In recent years, the Research and Policy in Development (RAPID) programme of the UK-based
Overseas Development Institute (ODI) has increasingly focused on managing large, multiyear
processes, aimed at building the capacity of local institutions in developing countries to change
the way they engage with policy. This paper draws on the observations of RAPID staff involved
in various projects as well as on primary documentation such as trip reports, after action reviews
and project reports. It also includes a ‘ light-touch’ review of some of the grey and academic
literature available on capacity development, complexity, managing social change and aid agency
behaviour.
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Recent Articles
Organizational assessment tool for social movements
21 May 2012
My Healthy Organization (MHO) Social Service Assessment Tool was developed by RoadMap, a
US-based consultancy network that provides capacity-building support to social justice
organizations and movements. The tool is designed to integrate social justice and movement-building
values into organizational effectiveness benchmarks. It also aims to promote learning opportunities
for the organizations (and thus increase organizational development capacity "on the ground")
through providing detailed process and next-steps guidelines.
Building nonprofit capacity
15 January 2012
This
book uses the organisational lifecycle framework to help the nonprofit sector and its leaders
figure out how to effectively shepherd a change process in their organization. The book is based on
research by the
TCC Group, a New York based consultancy, in the
area of organizational effectiveness studies. It also includesd results from the core capacity
assessment tool (CCAT) - a 146-question online survey
that measures a nonprofit organization's effectiveness in relation to four core capacities -
leadership, adaptability, management, and technical capacities - as well as organizational
culture.
Resource mobilization: A practical guide for research and community-based organizations
15 January 2012
Donor scoping studies commissioned by IDRC in 2004 and 2008 showed that multilateral and
bilateral agencies are now more focused on large-scale, sector-wide funding, awarding bigger grants
to fewer organizations, with less money available for medium to small groups. The second edition of
this guidebook, co-pubished by IDRC’s Donor Partnership Division and the Philippines-based Venture
for Fundraising in 2010, pays specific attention to the resource mobilization needs of
community-based development research organizations, contained within their South and Southeast
Asian contexts.
Capacity building for local NGOs: A guidance manual for good practice
15 January 2012
In the early 1990s, as Somaliland emerged from civil war and conflict, indigenous
non-governmental and community-based organisations mushroomed. International organisations began
targeting reconstruction and development aid through local organisations and quickly came to
realise the need for institutional strengthening and capacity building. To coordinate these
efforts, a number of organisations came together to create an international NGO forum known as the
Capacity Building Caucus (CBC) in 1999. The aim of the CBC was to ensure learning from best
practice, coordinate, capacity-building activities, and eventually to promote sustainability
through a ‘training of trainers’ programme for Somali capacity- building officers.
This package of manuals was developed in part as a curriculum for the training of trainers programme, and in part for use by individual local organisations to assist them in the ongoing process of developing their own capacity.
MoreA practitioners guide to results-oriented capacity development
07 September 2011
Capacity development is usually marketed as a ‘process of change’. However, there is little point to change for the sake of change. Results-Oriented Capacity Development. A Practitioner's Guide for Leaders of Organizations and Development Managers, published in August 2010 by the Austral Foundation, offers a simple and practical approach to leaders, programme designers and managers, advisers and facilitators for implementing a results-based approach to capacity devleopment.
MoreBare Foot Guide 2 now available
20 June 2011
Following the success of the original
Barefoot Guide to Working with Organisations and Social Change, a brand new
Barefoot Guide to Learning Practices in Organisations and Social Change (BFG 2) has been
launched. Like the first volume, it is meant to be a resource for leaders, facilitators and
practitioners wanting to improve and enrich their learning processes inside their organizations and
in the field. It is freely downloadable and includes a practical Companion Booklet for
facilitators.
Other Topics
Essential Readings
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Ingrid Richter (2010) Organization development as a source: riding the pendulum between clocks and clouds - the history of organizational development in its relation to capacity development, in: Ubels, J., N. Acquaye-Baddoo and A. Fowler (eds) 'Capacity Development in Practice', Earthscan, pp. 101-115
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Alan Kaplan (1999) The Development of Capacity, NGLS Development Dossier No.10 Non-Governmental Liaison Service, United Nations Geneva
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Engel, P., N. Keijzer and T. Land (2007) A balanced approach to monitoring and evaluating capacity and performance: A proposal for a framework, ECDPM Discussion Paper 58E
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Gareth Morgan (2006, updated edition) Images of Organisation, Sage Publications
Featured Community
Society for Organizational Learning (SoL)
SoL,
the Society for Organizational Learning, is a network of communities of inquiry and practice
focused on concepts, tools, and methodologies that create the capacity for profound innovation and
change.
All communities are committed to SoL's principles, but vary in terms of focus, activities, and membership criteria. SoL's minimal infrastructure is designed to provide basic coordination among the communities while allowing for easy movement of people and information throughout the network. Organizational, Consultant, and Research memberships to the SoL community are granted by application and are based on interests and expertise. Individual Connections Membership is open to the public.
SoL was formed in April of 1997 to continue the work of MIT's Center for Organizational Learning (1991-1997). Peter Senge, author of the The Fifth Discipline: the Art and Practice of the Learning Organization is its founding Chairman.
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