Giving Compass' Take:
- The Global Fund for People discusses the ways that design-thinking helps build capacity by identifying an organization's strengths and weaknesses and ways to improve.
- How can organizations benefit from this type of thinking and evaluation?
- Read about advancing racial equity through capacity building.
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Funding organisational development is especially crucial between years three and seven of the organisation’s life cycle.
Funding organisational development is especially crucial between years 3-7 of the organisation’s life cycle. In the first three years of its establishment, the organisation is replete with high energy. The ‘cause’ or ‘vision’ creates an adrenaline rush, and very often the founder/s operate on little or no external input or motivation.
As the organisation enters years three and four, the initial energy dies down. The team encounters several roadblocks that were previously inconsequential. The programmes are now in place, but the systems are unsteady. This is when the organisation is the most vulnerable and malleable. Setting up strong systems could create a secure foundation for the organisation; thus, capacity building support is crucial at this juncture.
At Global Fund for Children (GFC) we have adopted a design-thinking approach, wherein we encourage leadership to understand and self-assess their organisation’s strengths and weaknesses, and identify areas for improvement.
- Let the nonprofit take the lead. dentifying areas for improvement must be led by the organisation, as opposed to being donor-driven. At GFC we have our partner organisations fill out a self-assessment form before we engage with them.
- Don’t penalise honesty. So that the focus remains on organisational development, funding decisions must not be influenced by a nonprofit’s self assessment.
- Look past your initial knee-jerk reaction. More often than not, when nonprofits are struggling, their funding partners are quick to step in with a solution. This however, is not always the best approach.
- Be open to funding non-programme essentials. Another challenge faced by many organisations is the lack of visibility their brand has. The Indian development space is crowded, making it difficult for funders to discern which nonprofits to fund.
Read the full article about capacity building by Dhvani Doshi at India Development Review.