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Capacity Strengthening for Non-profits: Placing Non-profits at the centre
Most non-profits understand how critical it is to develop strong organisational capacity, yet they frequently encounter challenges in determining the starting point to embark on their capacity-building journeys.
The lack of time and resources necessary to carry out capacity-strengthening initiatives has been one of the foremost reasons for putting this on the back burner as the “fire fighting” mode becomes constant. It has become increasingly evident that resilience in organisations is derived not just from agility but from the efficiency and effectiveness that robust processes and systems led to operations and programs.
Capacity strengthening means differently depending on the type of stakeholder. In addition to program delivery level, capacity strengthening activities are also directed at the organisational level. A case in point would be the instance when non-profits undergo training to develop sound financial management practices or to improve fundraising capabilities. However, well-planned capacity strengthening programmes go beyond this; they aim to enable non-profit organisations to develop their plans in stages.
It, therefore, adopts the approach of defining objectives and envisioned impact on the organisation through measurement mechanisms that include turnaround times and the institutionalisation of the knowledge gleaned in the process.
Organisations, therefore, need to ensure they have a coherent objective and make long-term plans based on cyclical assessments of how they are implementing these capacity-strengthening initiatives. As organisations begin to advocate the importance of capacity strengthening across staff and board, along with discerning capacity gaps and addressing them, we can expect to develop stronger, more agile non-profit organisations. Through this dynamic process, organisations, like people, learn to adapt and evolve to their full potential.
Capacity strengthening becomes more pertinent as we place a strong emphasis on assisting non-profit organisations in identifying operational and strategic gaps and providing actionable solutions that are tailored to the DNA of the organisations. With continuous assistance to institutionalise solutions, the program strives to co-create solutions within the framework of the developing sector addressing the requirements and challenges unique to each of them.
Social Lens Consulting is a Mumbai-based impact-driven enterprise that conceptualises and delivers capacity strengthening and organisation development solutions.
To know more, visit www.slens.co
