Unit 4 NGO Strategy Flashcards
What is strategy development or strategic planning?
the process of building strategy: collecting relevant information to stimulate the process of establishing a vision for the organisation + programming the activities necessary to achieve that vision.
What - vision
Why - mission
How
Who - beneficiaries / clients
Key challenge for many NGO’s in developing a strategy:
balancing the need to apply tools and approaches for strategy development whilst ensuring that the process is not seen as a one-off event.
What is strategic management?
making choices and implementing the plans which are developed to pursue them. This includes making changes to the plans where necessary.
For NGO’s this is not blue print, but a dynamic process with a changing context.
Strategic thinking
the ability to detect and learn from trends and patterns in the activities of the NGO and to create or identify new opportunities for the organisation where none existed before.
Mintzberg (1994): using synthesis, intuition and creativity to produce a not too precisely articulated vision of direction.
the five key strategic choices:
- few or many
- symptoms or cause
- provide services or campaign for change
- focus or diversify the services
- hold to our beliefs or get tempted by new resources?
what are the four generations of strategies of development-oriented NGOs?
(Korten, 1990)
- First generation - relief and welfare (temporary alleviation of the symptoms of underdevelopment)
- Second generation - small-scale, self-reliant local development (capacity development to meet own needs, limited & not tackling local power structures)
- Third generation - sustainable systems development (tackle the sytems while also building capacity)
- Fourth generation - people’s movements (transform institutions)
Why develop a strategy?
- learning from experience (reflect)
- look up from day-to-day, see big picture
- listen + build relationships with stakeholders
- teambuilding + expertise of staff
- bring coherence to projects and organisation (pulling it together)
- ask yourself where to focus energy + resources on
The key components of strategy development:
James, 2011)(Britton, 1994
- Present situation (SW)
- Vision of the future
- Outside changes and trends (OT)
- Mission of the organisation
- Constituency problems, views and needs
Also called the information core of strategy development.
Followed by:
- analysis of information
- key strategic issues
- strategic priorities
- strategic objectives
Vision
a verbal picture describing the future situation that the organisation is aiming to help create
mission
a statement explaining the basic purpose of the organisation: why it exists and what drives it in working towards its vision of the future.
The eight steps of strategy development
James, 2011)(Britton, 1994
Strategy development process:
- Get organised
- Gather information
- Analyse the information and identigy the key strategic issues
- develop the strategic priorities and overall organisation strategy and strategic objectives
Strategy Implemention:
- draft the strategy document
- acquire resources
- implement the strategy
- review and update the strategy
Step 1 Get organised
of the 8 steps of strategy development - (James, 2011)(Britton, 1994
dicide to develop it committment outside help? the process strategy team? Who? how integrated? how to deal with disagreements?
Step 2 Gather Information
of the 8 steps of strategy development - (James, 2011)(Britton, 1994
problems of your beneficiaries collect beneficiaries views on their needs and how to meet these info about history organisation present situation (SW) outside changes (OT)
Step 3 Analyse the information and identify the key strategic issues
(of the 8 steps of strategy development - (James, 2011)(Britton, 1994)
+ approaches to identify strategic issues
Strategic issues: unresolved difficulties that significantly influence the functioning of the organisation or its ability to achieve a desired result.
Develop strategic options.
(Bernard and Walker, 1994) Approaches to identify strategic issues: 1. direct approach 2. goals approach 3. visionary approach 4. learning approach
Tools of strategy development
(Stakeholder analysis, SWOT/SWOC, Environmental Scanning (PEST)
- Impact analysis
- Porffolio analysis
- life-cycle frameworks
- Visualisation techniques
Explain the change impact analysis matrix
Likelihood - low, medium, high
Impact on NGO - Low, Medium, High
>> Monitor effects (h,L) >> Action (h,M)(m,H) >> Priority action (h,H) >> Contingency plan (m,M)(l,H) >> Trach (l,L)(m,L)(l,M)
Portfolio analysis matrix (James, 2011)
1) Stars - strong projects, growth potential
2) Question marks - new/innovative
3) Foundation stones - solid, popular at first, unattractive later
4) Dead ducks - no added value
Life-cycle frameworks
Holmes, Manitoba Institute of Management
1) birth
2) adolescent
3) consolidation
4) prime
5) maturity
6) aristocracy
7) bureaucracy
8) living death
Step 5 Draft the strategy document
of the 8 steps of strategy development - (James, 2011)(Britton, 1994
3 main sections (lawrie, 2007)
- 1page ex summary
- 6 page max public document - main points for promo purposes
- detailed guide for internal use - key assumptions, the result of the analysis, timetables, plans for implementation.
(James, 2011)
- executive summary
- background (when started, development, key stakeholders, achievements)
- Identity of organisation (mission, vision, values, theory of change)
- Strategy process (how, who, analysis ext environment, SW)
- strategic priorities (choices made, strategic aims)
- implications of the strategy (for current programs, organsiation, funding/resources)
Create committment, HR policies and systems, financial management, test the strategies
Step 7 Implement the strategy
of the 8 steps of strategy development - (James, 2011)(Britton, 1994
- develop objectives
- indicators
- action
- monitor
- correct
Mintzberg’s model of strategy formation (1992) or the strategic learning feedback loop
Strategic learning:
Intended strategy»_space; (unrealized strategy»_space; strategic learning)
Deliberate strategy «_space;Emergent strategy
Realized strategy
Strategies for expanding the impact of the NGO
- Geographical expansion
- project replication
- chain integration
- diversification
- entering into strategic partnerships, alliances and networks
- forming new NGO’s
- scaling up
