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Mindset
Consider the following when running the project in Non Governmental Organization:
1. For project Sustainability
§
The
feeling of ownership:
It requires more work than just involving local people- the target of the
project. It is more than just the statement the project is run by the targeted
audience themselves. For a project to be sustainable and profitable it needs
personal ownership of people with entrepreneurial minds and they should not
only feel or know by writings that they own the project but also practically
they see the benefits they obtain. These
people should be optimistic that the project future is good and they will
personally benefit.
§
Is this
project what your target need?
It is a common mistake by many NGOs to introduce projects to local people
thinking that is what people want.
Since it is not practical to say no to such projects, people will try to
find their way out of such projects to earn their living and perhaps collect
resources to do what they like instead. Sometimes, I think people may want the
project but are not ready to ‘make sense
out of the project’ due to some barriers such as lack of education,
difference in culture, and poor introduction of the projects to them.
So, to ensure sustainability, culture of the area should be discussed,
economic environment be studied to learn the different opportunities and
alternatives available to the people so as to know if this project brings the
best alternative to those we want to involve, and hence, proper training to
ensure people understand short and long term prospects of the project.
§
The case
of providing loans to the locals
The loans can be repaid only if it is provided
to people who understand; these people like the project and have means to repay
the loans. By means here I mean these people have the knowledge of how to run
projects for which they have obtained loans.
Administration of the lending is
very important not to allow too many people be given the loans, there should be
training for these people before they get loans, and analysis is done on to
know credit worthiness of the borrowers.
Not forgetting that fraud,
corruption and favouritism can take place during lending process which in the
long run will kill the project.
§
Continuous
efficiency and productivity
Efficiency and productivity depend on the management style
and introduction of the project. But continuous improvement and strategic
thinking will help to ensure efficiency and productivity in the project.
Management style has to do with the way people targeted in
the project are integrated in the project and how they get motivated to perform
their duties.
Strategic thinking is necessary to solve unexpected
challenges and problems while projecting the better future of the project.
Accounting
and Accountability:
Common mistakes when working in NGO is that
people don’t take accounting seriously. Accounting is assumed to merely for
donor’s purposes. However, accounting if taken seriously will help the
organization in improving its accountability. It will help to know where the
resources are moving, and help the organization improves its operations for
instance management reports may help the management come up with alternative
ways to reduce costs of operation.
2. For Growth consideration
Marketing-
Your organization may use the
social networks such as face book and twitter to create its online presence.
Having its own website or blog can also help to bring online, international
presence. However careful content creation and management is important.
You may also create strategic partnerships with other
organizations so that you can obtain benefits of such partnerships for
instance, services and funding for your strategic partner.
You can use Youtube to show videos of your projects to
increase credibility of your organization.
Operations
The areas that will need to be observed carefully on
operations management include the following:
- § Membership enrollment management
- § Organization Structure and general human resources affairs
- § Projects’ records Management
- § Financial Management – Accounting and Reporting
