Logistics of Success

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies-IFRC won the prestigious European Supply Chain Award for 2006 in the non-profit and also overall category. No small achievement considering that the previous winners of this award have included Coca-Cola, Dell and Johnson & Johnson. For the rest of us in the nonprofit sector, the win draws attention to a 'reflective question' - what gave IFRC operations an edge over such professional and savvy corporations?

From delivery of relief during disasters, channelizing micro-finance, maximizing revenues from donated goods to the supply of products made by income-generation projects - the need for fast, efficient, secure and economical logistics system is crucial. [Delivering the Goods: Rethinking Humanitarian Logistics]

If these systems are so critical to the results of the program, then are we (in the nonprofit sector) giving them due priority? Adequately investing in these systems and the skills needed for their operation?

As is the case with most other questions facing the nonprofit sector, a definitive 'yes' or 'no' answer would be difficult and also not appropriate. For, there are organizations that have integrated innovative supply chain solutions. But, unlike the corporate sector which is constantly upgrading to stay competitive, the non-profit organizations find it difficult to sustain investments in the world of rapidly advancing technology. Compounding this constraint in effective leveraging of technology is the general preference of funding direct relief over investment in infrastructure and shortage of skilled professionals. Though if the number of job advertisements for logistics and supply chain management functions are an indication, then the nonprofit sector is surely lengthening the chain..... [From Logistics to Supply Chain Management: The Path forward in the Humanitarian Sector]

Organizations too have a life cycle and each stage of its life has a distinct characteristic

Everytime I have moved jobs....the shift feels like moving marraige's. The work profile might be ditto. But the new partner has a uniqe personality, distinct quirks, a different style, a characteristic mood and its own brand of expectations! As the personal equation evolves, one adapt's to the rhythm and falls into the pattern. But does that pattern mirror our style or is it a reflection of the organization's characteristic motivation? Chapter 4 of the book `ORGANIZATIONAL ASSESSMENT: A Framework for Improving Performance´, explores this issue. But how come each organization and the people within it are motivated to behave in ways that are predictable within that organization? What are the forces that drive performance? [Some of the answers lie in Organizational Motivation]

So organizations are also like people. And have a life cycle too. As Bonnie J. Monte, artistic director of the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey (Madison), found through the life cycle analysis that the turmoil she sensed in her organization were the inevitable growing-up pains of adolescence....experienced by almost all nonprofit groups at similar stages of growth. [Getting Over Growing Pains]

If curious about the life stage of your organization, you can try the Nonprofit Life Stage Assessment and explore the typical features of each stage. The Advocacy Institute site, has a table which traces the subtle changes and complexities of leadership at each stage of the organization lifecycle. Spin Project's document `Communications Capacity Building - Throughout the Organizational Life Cycle´provides an interesting perspective on how the communication capacities, styles and needs also vary at each stage. And there is the important question of The Organizational Lifecycle and How It Affects Your Board. As the key tenet of sucessfully surviving partnerships spell out - it is crucial to know your partner better.

Drawing from the law of nature, the ecocycle concept draws parallels between the phases of evolution in biological systems and the lifecycle of an organization. Very thought provoking....especially when one considers the centuries old organizations that still continue to exist and evolve through a continous loop of change and renewal. Destruction and renewal are natural and unavoidable in the organization world too! [From Lifecycle to Ecocycle:Renewal via Destruction and Encouraging Diversity for Sustainability]

How to or 'not' to write about Africa

Have you noticed how stereotyping and off hand descriptions tend to creep 'unnoticed' into our language? No wonder, such a lot of emphasis is put on appropriate terminology in development and humanitarian work.

In the recent issue of ´developments´, the article 'How to write about Africa' exposes the clichés and stereotypes non-African writers employ all too often when they set out to describe the continent. An interesting read...makes one squirm at times!

[Proceed to Article]

A Special Search Engine Dedicated to Literacy: Google Literacy Project

Searching for the right information, especially when you need it the most and quickly, is quite often challenging! At such times, Aladdin's magical lamp and its super efficient genie would be soooo welcome. Wishes and wishes...

Well, Aladdin's lamp stays a fantasy. But Google has attempted to make the 'literacy' search a little easier and more focussed. It recently launched 'The Literacy Project' in collaboration with Litcam and the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning. The site is dedicated to collating and sharing resources related to the subject - books, videos, articles, organizations, experiences and groups. All in one place. Worth exploring it and lets keep an eye on the twists and turns in its development.

Hopefully, this might lead to some quality collaborations and gradually also to the creation of a single cyber window for literacy organizations(especially the newer and samller ones) to submit funding requests, connect with funders and streamline the process.

Exploring the 'Accountability' Challenge

Traditionally adopting the role of holding other decision-makers to account, non-governmental and non-profit organisations (NGOs/NPOs) have themselves come under increasing scrutiny over recent years. Issues surrounding the accountability of NGOs and the legitimacy of their claim to act as the voices of civil society were first debated in academic and research circles (for example by Michael Edwards from the Ford Foundation) before being taken up by the NGO community itself. The last few years have seen the proliferation of a broad range of initiatives, seeking to promote the accountability of the third sector. Apart from governmental regulatory moves, most of these NGO accountability initiatives tend to originate from within the sector and provide good examples of varying forms and degrees of self-regulation (for an overview see Robert Lloyd (2005) The Role of NGO Self-Regulation in Increasing Stakeholder Accountability, One World Trust). [One World Trust]

In the paper "Mechanisms for NGO Accountability", the author Lisa Jordan discusses the costs and benefits of ensuring NGO accountability, particularly with regards to the current practice that emphasizes 'upward' and 'external' accountability to donors. [Read Global Public Policy Institute Document]

Simon Zadek, chief executive of AccountAbility, explored a new generation of accountability mechanisms focussed on the horizontal and not the hierarchical in "Reinventing Accountability for the 21st Century". [On Open Democracy]

Kumi Naidoo, Secretary General and CEO of CIVICUS, posed the civil society accountability issue as a question on “Who Guards the Guardians?” [CIVICUS]

The Global Development Research Center's site compiles a range of reading material on legitimacy and transperancy. [GDRC]

Save Harry Case Study: Creating a successful online campaign

In 2001, Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) approached TechRocks to advise them on the launch of their 'Save Harry' online campaign. The campaign was designed to inform and mobilize the public against the $150 million advertising deal that Coca-Cola made to use images from J.K Rowling's Harry Potter books and movie for marketing the soft drink to children.

CSPI already had an aggressive organizing concept - using the publicity around the Harry Potter movie to generate coverage of their issue and motivating concerned fans of Harry Potter to write to the publisher, author, and movie producer. They had a great campaign name and URL (Save Harry), and the first draft of their website included a call to action right on the home page. CSPI specifically requested TechRocks for advice on how to generate online traffic, exposure, and actions on the SaveHarry.com website.

The Save Harry Case Study briefly explores some of the key aspects of the technical input into the campaign. Such as Audience-Driven Website Navigation and Promoting and Launching the Campaign. [Proceed to write-up]

While the CSPI coalition's efforts did not ultimately kill the marketing arrangement made between AOL-Time Warner and Coca-Cola, it effectively publicized well-founded concerns about the health impact of the soft drinks that were being marketed through the films. The website received more than two million visitors, portions of which were translated into French, Japanese, Magyarul and Spanish. The campaign also brought ancillary benefits to CSPI's broader agenda by strengthening its Internet advocacy skills and assisting in building what is now a very well populated e-mail activist-alert listserv. [CECHE]

Based on the campaign material, lesson plans also developed for teachers to highlight the cause of nutrition (or rather the lack of it in sodas) to children! [Harry lessons]

Artists in Development

The Artists in Development Programme (AiD) is an initiative coordinated by UNESCO's Arts and Cultural Enterprise Division. The programme is designed to foster skills among artists and creators in developing countries that can be turned into income-generating activities.

The Artists in Development website was developed to encourage knowledge sharing and be a resource tool for artists and cultural operators, stimulating creativity and providing support for cultural enterprise development. On the site you will find training materials as well as useful links and papers relevant to cultural enterprise development. [Artists in Development]