From Zanzibar to Kampala to Molo...
CSOs prepare to dialogue about the complexity of partnership for capacity building
Thirty-six civil society leaders from Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda met in Moshi (Tanzania) for three days in March to prepare for a rare event. The rare event for which they are preparing is a joint consultation between East African (Southern) and Northern NGOs, which will take place from 8-12 November 2009 with emphasis on the strengthening of partnerships for capacity building of Southern NGOs. Specifically, in the preparatory workshop held 15-18 March 2009, the meaning of "capacity" was unpacked, in an effort to fully understand the implications of capacity development as an intervention for organisational and institutional development of CSOs in the South today.
Participants observed that capacity building aimed exclusively at strengthening administrative skills and systems is merely dwelling on service delivery as the basis of relationship between Northern and Southern NGOs. The currently predominant technocratic orientation to development has hardly touched the more strategic capacities related to institution building, such as, values, identity, confidence, and the ability to challenge power relations that hinder meaningful relationships. The result, for many Southern NGOs has been loss of vision and the erosion of institutional identity and leadership. Such circumstances have generally resulted in self-defeating competition among Southern NGOs, and loss of ability for creative, collaborative and sustainable partnerships within the South itself.
The meeting expressed the hope that the November dialogue will generate consensus about the need to shape a holistic approach that supports a developmental approach to capacity development, including identity management and transformational outcomes in project activities of Southern NGOs need to be able to draw on their "innate power" in order to develop and grow as sustainable local institutions. It was noted that organisational and institutional capacities need to be approached as complex "strategic" processes that require ownership and long-term commitments in the relationships that support their development.
For more information, contact: nyantito.machota@easun-tz.org
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A strategic process for institutional development of civil society
In November 2008, EASUN facilitated a strategic planning workshop for MRADI, a grassroots, community based organisation (CBO) that provides educational and relief services in response to HIV/AIDS in Kilimanjaro region of Tanzania. The specific approach used in facilitating the workshop enabled MRADI to embrace strategic planning as an opportunity for visioning, practice review and planning (i.e., shifting its focus toward institutional development as a strategic outcome). This would ensure that MRADI's service delivery is developmental and, therefore, relevant.
A developmental strategy is about transformation
EASUN approaches strategic planning as an opportunity for organizational learning and renewal. Essential interventions in this approach are based on key pillars of PAAR (Participation, Appreciative Action, and Reflection), which focus on ethical leadership as processes of empowerment. Through the PAAR orientation, EASUN was able to support stakeholders of MRADI, with widely varying experiences, to work collaboratively and creatively to review and define their organisational practices in service delivery to vulnerable individuals, institutions and communities deeply affected by spreading HIV infections.
Developmental planning methodologies used
- On first day of the workshop, participants developed shared understanding of strategy and strategic planning.
- Subsequently, creative, shared learning processes gave the participants new lenses with which to perceive the complex nature of their organization and its development questions.
- Further brainstorming enabled participants to prioritize strategic platforms and objectives for transforming MRADI's internal capacity areas and how they are to be managed for ethical and effective delivery of services.
"Strategy" is essentially common sense
The workshop was consciously managed through ethical leadership and facilitation. This is an approach that uses participatory, shared learning processes, which draw on lived experiences of participants. Outcomes included good feelings and strengthened team spirit. At the same time, the process was extremely effective in both confidence building and fostering shared understanding, as the foundations for participatory planning. It was particularly remarkable to see how members of this grassroots CBO came up with definitions of strategy such as might be expected only of acknowledged experts in strategic planning. The definitions by MRADI members, however, seemed more grounded and meaningful, given that they had emerged from exploring their own life experiences.
Trust, openness and participatory methodologies for empowerment
Trust and authenticity of the facilitators were essential appreciative and participatory interventions that enabled MRADI members to gain confidence and plan the new strategy for 2009-2012. Such ethical leadership is absolutely necessary in facilitating communities for empowered participation.
The participatory, appreciative and reflective learning processes applied in the workshop specifically used alternative language channels (role-plays, color-work, metaphor, etc) for clarifying issues in the current situation and making connections to lived experiences in MRADI's organizational life and program activities. The "first line" of empowerment in this approach is the fact that it allowed members and staff of MRADI to take charge of their own learning and thinking in the strategic planning process. The outcomes left no doubt that MRADI members, in collaboration with other local institutions and beneficiaries, have the capacity to develop authentic strategies when supported with trust and empathetic resources.
For more information or discussion, contact: mosi.kisare@easun-tz.org
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The ETHOS leadership workshop is on schedule...
Confirm your participation today!
Planning for the workshop is moving full steam ahead. 18 individuals have confirmed participation in this unique workshop on ethical leadership from 24-29 May 2009, in Moshi, Tanzania. 10 places are still available. If you have been thinking of confirming, please do so today. The central objective of the workshop is to offer leadership skills for "enabling positive engagement and participation of organization members in taking responsibility". The workshop emphasis upon ethics, appreciation, empowerment and participation is driven by a desire to democratise reflective learning and leadership in organisations.
If you are interested but have not heard about the workshop, please send your inquiries to: doly.anyona@easun-tz.org
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Interested in FOD?
EASUN's FOD course equips leaders and senior program staff of civil society organisations with knowledge and skills for facilitating organization development processes (OD). These include tools for diagnosing organisational questions and skills for establishing and facilitating reflective learning for culture and systemic transformation.
For more information, contact: lydia.bwenda@easun-tz.org
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________________________________EASUN Centre for Organisational Learning
P.O. Box 6120 Arusha, Tanzania
Tel: +255-(0)27-2548803
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info@easun-tz.org
www.easun-tz.org
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