Episodes
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Summary
Quite a few smaller size social sector organizations assume that program evaluation is too complex or demanding an undertaking for them. Is that the case, though?
If we want to introduce program evaluation to staff, leadership, and boards who have not yet been inducted into the importance of program evaluation: what are the most effective questions to generate genuine interest in and motivation to engage in such program evaluation?
How can we build a more evaluation-friendly culture all around?Chari Smith, President and Founder of the consulting company Evaluation into Action has written a book that gives clear answers to these questions: Nonprofit Program Evaluation Made Simple (2021). She explains her core argument in this podcast episode.
Chari's Bio:
Program Evaluation enthusiast: Author, Speaker, Consultant, and TrainerPresident/Founder of Evaluation into Action, a consulting companyProgram Evaluation Associate at Northwest Regional Educational LaboratoryWe discuss:
Chariâs book is meant for small to midsize nonprofits who have not yet taken up program evaluation, to make it achievable to them. The book is also meant for entry-stage evaluatorsChari values Beth Kanter's and Aliza Shermanâs definition of organizational culture â âOrganizational culture is a complex tapestry made up of attitudes, values, behaviors, and artifacts of the people who work for your nonprofit.âIf you apply a collaborative, inclusive, participatory, and non-siloed approach to introducing program evaluation, your chances of increasing buy-in grow considerablyOnly collect data that you will actually analyze and synthesize into actionable data and that is likely to influence decision-makingA program evaluation-friendly culture cannot be âmandatedâ, on the one handOn the other hand, the role of culture ambassadors â people who already are in favor of program evaluation â is important in instilling an evaluation-friendly cultureWhat's also important is the role of organizational âheroesâ, and the use of stories, images, and narratives, while organizational artifacts (tangible objects that can be seen around the organization) can be used to signal a desired culture.Quote:
âBy gathering data, nonprofits can pivot from a reactive stance to a proactive one, by acting on the data gatheredâResources:
Chariâs LinkedIn ProfileWebsite of âEvaluation into ActionâBook âNonprofit Program Evaluation Made Simpleâ -
Summary
What are the main benefits of a network structure, where power, authority, and leadership are dispersed and shared across regions, from an effectiveness perspective?What are the most important enabling habits, practices and behaviors that go with that, as a change leader?
And what are the most valuable network-related frameworks, concepts, resources, and tools at work in moving towards this structure?
In this NGO Soul+Strategy podcast episode, I interview Anu Kumar, President and CEO at Ipas, on the why, the what, and the how of changing an organization from a hub and spoke to a horizontal NGO model.
Anu's Bio:
President and CEO at IpasFormer Chief Strategy and Development Officer as well as Executive Vice President at IpasSenior Program Officer, Program on Global Security and Sustainability, Population and Reproductive Rights, MacArthur FoundationProgram Officer, MacArthur FoundationSocial Scientist in Human Reproduction, WHOWe discuss:
Ipas is the leading technical org that advocates for access to contraception and abortion services, globallyTraditionally, Ipas has had a hub-and-spoke organizational model, like many traditional NGOsA strategy change â for Ipas to contribute to a sustainable global contraception and abortion access ecosystem â demanded that countries would take over much of the lead in Ipas. So form followed functionIpas started its change towards a network model by defining what decentralization meant for itselfIt then defined shared leadership as its management model, and articulated change behaviors, practices, and management set-up as required next stepsSubsequently, it changed its structure to that of a network in which the US no longer was the primary member, and a Network Leadership Group, a Staff Community Council, and a NetCare group were formed -- the latter nurtures the networkIpas explicitly chose not to become a (con)federated organization and to remain a corporate hierarchical structureAs a next step, it adopted horizontal decision-making for some of its decision-making on budget aspects and recruitmentAdopting a horizontal management approach does *not* mean there is no hierarchy anymore: the CEO, CFO, and a few other executive leaders still have some positional power, but their realm of decision-making is now reducedDecentralized decision-making means faster decision-making; more cross-country collaboration is also happening that's not involving the US.Role clarity is still an issue to be improved upon. On the other hand, global coherence was facilitated through a codified collaboration agreementIpas' board, still based in the US, retains fiduciary responsibilities, so compliance continues to be importantResources:
Anu's LinkedIn ProfileIpas WebsiteLinkedIn article on Ipas change approach by Anu KumarBridgespan consulting group article on Re-imagining Multi-Country NGO Operating ModelsSamantha Sladeâs book was informative for Ipas's change journey: Going HorizontalYouTube
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Missing episodes?
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Summary
Conflict within our organizations: we often don't really want to face them, but they are very much there. The result? Plenty of passive aggression to go around.
What are the implications of such forms of conflict avoidance?In other NGOs on the other hand -- especially in the last few years it seems -- internal strife has come out into the open - sometimes spilling into the media in an unwanted fashion.
On another note: is interest-based problem-solving still a helpful approach to conflict management skill building, or not?
In this NGO Soul+Strategy podcast episode, I interview Daniel Genberg, one of the foremost consultants on NGO governance matters, on how conflict mediation can come to the rescue when nonprofits deal with internal strife.
Daniel's Bio:
Independent advisor on governance issues; Daniel is one of the premier INGO governance advisers in factSpecial Advisor for Not-For-Profit Organisations at Morrow Sodali (formerly Nestor Advisors), a consulting company on governance and sustainabilityDirector of Governance, Amnesty InternationalHead of Governance Development, ActionAid InternationalHead of Governance and Accreditation at the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF)Anthropologist by trainingWe discuss:
Even though Daniel is called in to consult on governance issues -- both their structural and process dimensions --, behind these governance issues one often finds people, relationship, and power issues that truly drive the difficultiesThus, conflict mediation skills need to be part of the toolbox of a governance adviserConflicts tend to revolve around 1/ resource distributions and who holds the (financial) resources; 2/ differences in view about strategic directions; and 3/ divergent understandings of the roles and authority of management vs. boards In resource-scarce environments, conflicts tend to aboundImportant steps in mediation: 1/ abandon a win-loss attitude; 2/ itâs not always about compromise (i.e. mini-win, mini-loss); 3/ how can we grow the pie for everybody?; 4/ the importance of feelings; 5/ the need to be able to try out ideas without committing to them as yet; 6/ it is not the role of the mediator to create solutions; 7/ confidentiality; 8/ the use of a structured process with an outcome that prevents loss of faceDo we see a rise in recent years of intra-organizational strife in civil society? Yes, there are more areas of tension, due to the gloomy financial prospects of many organizations, and power and authority structures that have been in place for decades.Quotes
"Conflict mediation is not so much about getting out of conflict but about restoring relationships, listening skills, and learning and understanding how a situation looks like from the other side"Resources:
Daniel's LinkedIn Profile
Morrow Sodali (former name Nestor Advisors)
Center for Effective Dispute Resolution
CIVICUS Essay Tosca on NGO sector scandals about abuse of power and the role of cultural issues
SSIR: The Upside of Conflict, with Joseph McMahon, Allen Fowler and Elizabeth Field
&nbs
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Summary
What are some structural things that are wrong in development aid and in civil society?
Which mindsets most need to be decolonized when it comes to the relationship between global South civil society organizations (CSOs) and INGOs?
Global North-founded INGOs need to be reimagined. How, in turn, do global South-founded NGOs have to change to take over many roles that INGOs currently still fulfill? And how do they need to recalibrate their power relationships with INGOs?
In this NGO Soul+Strategy podcast episode, I interview Charles Kojo Vandyck, a development practitioner based in Ghana, a leader at the West Africa Civil Society Institute (WACSI), and a thinker on alternatives to development and alternatives to INGO models.
Charlesâ Bio:
Development practitioner, based in Ghana, who is on a mission to drive transformative change within civil societyHead of the Capacity Development Unit at the West Africa Civil Society Institute (WACSI)Core team member, RINGO project â Reimagining International NGOs Founding Member of the International Consortium on Closing Civic Space (iCon)Trustee of INTRAC and an Advisory Board Member of Disrupt DevelopmentHost of the podcast Alternative Convos, which focuses on social cohesion as well as social change in Africa. You can find Alternative Convos on SpotifyWe discuss:
The West African Civil Society Institute (WACSI), based in Accra/Ghana, is a regional organization focused on civil society support and institutional strengtheningRINGO project: the Reimaging the INGO project is a collaborative global project among civil society leaders to prototype new models of INGOs that shift power to the global South and equalize relationships between global South and global North NGOs as well as fundersAccording to Charles, here are some of the problems with current models of development and aid architecture: a projectized approach to development; local expertise of people is insufficiently recognized in project design; the ad-hoc and short-term nature of money flows; the presence of dependency cultures; lack of asset-based models to development (instead of deficit-based ones)The policies and ways of working of INGOs have to be part of what needs to shiftThe RINGO project helps to identify areas of stuckness and develop prototypes for alternativesThe hardest nuts to crack within the RINGO project are related to structural racismGlobal South NGOs also need to change their models: they need to invest more in talent development and succession planning, to help generational shift from founders to successors; develop their skills in intersectoral as well as intersectional approaches to development; and invest in technology skills.Resources:
Charlesâ LinkedIn Profile
Podcast Alternative Convos â on Spotify
WACSI Website
Reimagining the INGO Website
YouTube video of this podcast
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Email Tosca at [email protected]
You can find Toscaâs content by following her on her socia
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Summary
Leadership transitions are tricky -- and potentially risky -- moments in a nonprofit's life. What are the most common pitfalls or aspects that get overlooked when nonprofits -- and outgoing leaders themselves -- tackle such leadership transitions?
What key strategies and tactics are essential to ensure a smooth leadership transition and maintain organizational stability?
What are the habits, practices, and behaviors that are most aligned with a successful exit of an Executive Director?
In this NGO Soul+Strategy podcast episode, I interview Ignacio Saiz, who transitioned out of the Center for Economic and Social Rights (CESR) some 2 years ago, on the right way to do this.
Ignacioâs Bio:
Senior Advisor on Human Rights, Economic Justice, and Strategic LeadershipFormer Executive Director at the Center for Economic and Social Rights (CESR)Ignacio also held various managerial and leadership roles at Amnesty International, including Director of Policy Programs, Deputy Director for the Americas, and other rolesWe discuss:
How planned transitions should be seen as an opportunityWritten transition plans help in avoiding miscommunication, and in allocating clear roles and responsibilities for how to deal with the transition, while clarifying the timeline as wellA comprehensive communication strategy is vital: outwards (towards donors/funders, peers/partners), as well as inwards (towards staff, board, advisory councils, volunteers etc.)Participation of staff is vital. One mechanism can be representation of 1-2 staff in the Board recruitment committee, as long as the organization is very clear though about staff's decision rights vis-a-vis the selection of the successor Outgoing leaders often underestimate the anxiety that may occur among staff and some board members -- especially if their tenure has been longWhether the outgoing leader plays any role in the organization beyond their tenure is a very tricky and highly contextualized decision, and needs to be carefully negotiated between the outgoing and incoming leaders. Most importantly, this must be completely steered by the needs and preferences of the incoming leader.Quotes:
âBoards need to realize top leadership transition involves more than a recruitmentââPlanned leadership transitions should be seen as a shared opportunity, not a cause for concernââTransition takes at least two years, and has to include the transition-in period when the incoming leader needs active supportâResources:
Ignacioâs LinkedIn Profile
Ignacio's blog post on the matter (note links at the end to two good additional resources)YouTube video of this podcast
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Summary
What should I imagine, practically, when a team coach starts to support my team?
What does a well-known team coach find the most rewarding about working with nonprofit teams?
Can a team coach detect any differences in team behaviors or tendencies between their for-profit and nonprofit clients?
In this NGO Soul+Strategy podcast episode, I interview Alexander Caillet, CEO and co-founder of Corentus, Inc., on all of the above questions, including how to navigate team behaviors when it comes to organizational politics as well as decision-making.
His answers may surprise you!Alexanderâs Bio:
· CEO and co-founder of Corentus, Inc.
· Adjunct professor at Georgetown University, in its Leadership Coaching Certificate Program
· Alexander also worked at other coaching and consulting companies
· His education is in Organizational Psychology
We discuss:
Corentusâ vision: thriving, high-performing teams that result in a sustainable and harmonious futureWhat differentiates Corentusâ approach to team coaching from other approaches is its blending of team coaching with team facilitation, training, and consulting Alexander is one of the pioneers in the relatively new field of team coachingThe various stages of a team coaching engagementCorentus has worked with a range of nonprofits: Save the Children, Oxfam, Technoserve, Syngenta Foundation, AIPP, and others.Alexander observes interesting differences in what pre-occupies teams in the for-profit and nonprofit space, respectively. They relate to themes such as productivity, efficiency, and effectiveness of processes, as well as decisivenessHe also observes differences in terms of a greater focus on achieving consensus or even unanimity in the nonprofit sphere, rather than using decision-making methods such as voting, delegation, and authority with consultation.Quotes:
âI was surprised to encounter issues of hierarchy, power, DEI, and dysfunction in the nonprofit sector, I had not expected these as much in this sectorâ
Resources:
Alexanderâs LinkedIn Profile
Corentus Website
Corentus Email
Info on Corentus' offer on Low bono / Pro bono team coaching opportunity
YouTube video of this podcast
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Summary
What is the state of DEI in US-founded international development organisations (both for-profit and nonprofit), and how has this state changed since 2021?
What has been the action, as compared to the professed intentions for action?
In this NGO Soul+Strategy podcast episode, I interview Shiro Gnanaselvam, President and CEO at Social Impact, on DEI (Diversity, equity, and inclusion) trends in US Development agencies.
Shiroâs Bio:
CEO of Social Impact, a US-based mid-size consulting company that offers MEL (Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning) services to the international development sectorFormer EVP and COO of Social ImpactCOO of AfriCare, largest and oldest African-American founded international NGO focused exclusively on the continent of Africa.Senior Director, Monitoring and Evaluation, Millenium Challenge CorporationWe discuss:
Racial and ethnic minorities remain under-represented in positions of powerThe global development sector remains predominantly white and female, including at the topDisability reporting shows signs of greater awarenessOrganizations have invested in establishing governance structures for DEI: policies, strategies and staff with dedicated responsibilities as well as collective staff bodies (DEI councils etc.)There are modest improvements in how diversity data are capturedCommitment to DEI remains, but competing priorities and resource limitations are a severe impediment to progressThere are tensions between global DEO, localization and domestic DEI that need to be resolved â but also many points of similarityResources:
Shiroâs LinkedIn Profile
Social Impact website
Social Impactâs blog post on overall survey results
Social Impact blog post on 7 actions the US development sector must take
YouTube video of this podcast
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Or email Tosca at [email protected] if you want to talk about your social sector organizationâs needs, challenges, and opportunities.
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Summary
What is life after leadership like?
What happens to you as a person when you leave a high-powered, highly visible role in civil society?
What happens with your sense of identity? Does this also perhaps touch on ego as well?
What offers new meaning and purpose, when we live our life-after-leadership?In this NGO Soul+Strategy podcast episode, I interview Sam Worthington, former President and CEO at InterAction, who stepped down from a position with much positional as well as symbolic power just about a year ago.
Samâs Bio:
Executive coach, board member and advocateFormer President and CEO of InterAction â 16 yearsFormer President and CEO of Plan International USAExecutive Director at Delphi InternationalWe discuss:
In the months before you leave your leadership job, expect that the extent to which your colleagues still want you to make decisions on important things will rapidly declineIn Samâs case, the sense of loss that was involved was not about loss of power (since heâd experienced positional power for a few decades), but was about loss of the comradery that former colleagues and peers used to provideYou can partially fill this void by offering (informal) coaching to new incoming CEOs for instance.Life after leadership does mean you can move more from doing to being; you can be more present nowSometimes leaders, once they retire, still are called to speak in global gatherings based on their reputation, their personal brandOur knowledge which we can still contribute now is the synthesized wisdom of decades of experienceSam is writing a book to look back on everything he learned, his views on the sector, and what gives him hope -- follow him on LinkedIn to stay tuned!Quotes:
âThe transition is about having been the village chief before; now, I am no longer in the villageââMy public persona never was my identityâResources:
Samâs LinkedIn Profile
Book David Brooks, From Strength to Strength
Essay by David Brooks in The Atlantic: The New Old Age (gated)
YouTube video of this podcast
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Or email Tosca at [email protected] if you want to talk about your social sector organizationâs needs, challenges, and opportunities.
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Summary
What is scaling? And how is it different from growing?
Whatâs the role of partner strategies or multiplier strategies in scaling?What are the implications of scaling in an era of decolonizing aid, localizing development, and shifting roles of nonprofits and NGOs, shifting power, authority and decision rights?
In this NGO Soul+Strategy podcast episode, I interview Amy Ragsdale, Director at Spring Impact, a consulting, coaching and training agency specializing in scaling strategiesfor mission-focused organizations, on how to navigate the big scaling quandary.
Amyâs Bio:
Director at Spring ImpactSenior Consultant at Capgemini Consulting Research Fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain SciencesWe discuss:
Spring Impact offers coaching, consulting services, and training for mission-focused organizations keen to scale their impactGrowing the size of an organization or solution means increasing its revenue and/or impact at the same rate as adding resources to an organization. Scaling means you are impacting a societal problem at a larger scale, by increasing impact exponentially, while adding resources incrementallyCentral questions to ask: 1/ What are we scaling?; 2/ Where are we scaling?; 3/ Who will do the scaling? Who are the âdoersâ? Who are the âpayersâ?The following attributes of the organizational culture of social mission organizations act as enablers for scaling success: 1/openness to failure; 2/ an ability to hold our hypothesis on what works lightly; 3/ a realization that invention is not the same as innovation!The following leadership mindsets are enablers as well: 1/ clarity whether your org is pursuing growth or impact; 2/ staying committed to the problem (NOT the solution); 3/ being collaborative by defaultFinancial sustainability models underpinning scaling strategies: examples can be government funding; earned income revenue; fee for service; advertising - and moreQuotes:
âScaling is not the same as growing. The two are often confused. â
âInvention is not the same as innovation! (the latter involves testing and learning)â
Resources:
Amyâs LinkedIn Profile
Website of Spring Impact
Podcast Mission to Scale
YouTube video of this podcast
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Summary
What are the vital steps a senior leader have to take as they step into a new leadership role? What to do and what to expect when you are transitioning into that new role?And, separately, to what extent are African leadership models and frameworks different from global North ones? Most importantly, what could global North imprinted leadership models learn from African ones?
In this NGO Soul+Strategy podcast episode, I interview Adama Coulibaly, Global Programs Director at Oxfam, on both these topics. He is a very experienced NGO leader, a coach, and an eloquent thinker and author on all things leadership. And he just transitioned into his new role at Oxfam, so he is here to speak from experience!
Adamaâs Bio:
A seasoned leader with nearly 30 years of experience in international development and humanitarian aidGlobal Programs Director, Oxfam International; earlier in his career he was also a Regional Director at Oxfam Leadership positions as Country Director at the International Rescue Committee, Regional Director at Plan International, and Principal Adviser at UNICEFCertified Transformational coach, and somebody who labels himself a 'positive thinker'We discuss:
His advice to leaders who are transitioning into an organization, based on his own experienceWhat differentiates African takes on leadership models and frameworks, as distinct from global North imprinted models?Adama Coulibaly (nickname âCoulâ) considers himself a born positive thinker; he learned this behavior in his youth while facing very difficult circumstances in his home country MaliAs an adult, he learned about the field of positive thinking; and that positive thinking is good for your physical and mental healthCoulâs advice, in a nut shell, on how to transition into a new senior leadership position:Give yourself at least 2, if not 4 weeks between two jobs
Use your break time to learn as much about your new organization as you can
Communicate healthy boundaries immediately, otherwise, you will pay a stiff price
Build on what works; donât feel the need to change everything or most things
Prioritize external engagement, insist on it, and commit to external engagements so that your calendar time for this is protected
On African models of leadership: they tend to focus on the collective nature of people: the person in the context of their community (see for instance the Ubuntu model)Quotes:
âPositive thinking is not about utopia: I call myself a realistic positive thinker. There are a lot of negative things in the world. It is about how we balance negative and positive thingsââIf you have a weak transitioning period, you set yourself up for failureââAs soon as you enter the door, you have to problem solve, there is no honeymoon for senior leadersâResources:
Adamaâs LinkedIn Profile
Positive minds, a pro bono consulting, coaching, and mentoring group (see also Coulâs blog on this site)
Coulâs blog post about leadership transition
YouTube video of this podcast&a
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Summary
What should we think of when we consider organization integrity issues?
How do you distinguish between positive and negative forms of power?How do we nurture power for organizational integrity?
These are the fairly complex questions that we address in the podcast today.
In this NGO Soul+Strategy episode, I interview Bhavika Patel, Senior Adviser for Equalities and Inclusion at Oxfam Great Britain, and Alex Cole-Hamilton, independent consultant and one of the founders of the Power and Integrity Initiative, on their work on positive power for organizational integrity.
Bhavikaâs Bio:
Currently the Senior Adviser for Equalities and Inclusion at OxfamBrings HR, culture, and EDI (equity, diversity, and inclusion) experience, with practical experience in understanding power in relation to EDI and organizational ways of workingLed on HR issues in Oxfam, and has been a Talent Advisor at UNICEFMSC in applied positive coaching psychology
Independent consultant, advising boards and executives on ethics and integrity risks and related decision-making frameworksFormer head of Ethics and Compliance, Oxfam Great BritainFormer head of Corporate Responsibility, OxfamFormer ethical trade project manager, The Body Shop
Alexâs Bio:
The Power & Integrity Initiative is focused on UK-specific agencies; it aims to complement, but not overlap, with other ongoing activities, such as the RINGO project, Pledge4Change, #ShiftThePower etc.Concrete examples of measures and policy areas related to organizational integrity: safeguarding, anti-racism, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI), environmental sustainability practices, anti-corruptionHow is power perceived in general? And in our sector?How can integrity be understood more holistically, going beyond the classical interpretation of ethics, to look at people's behavior and organizational behavior in relationship to each other?The initiative just went through several Labs to pilot getting to a shared understanding of what power is (not easy!); their write-up on what was learned will be published in late 2023Positive power as a concept comes out of the thinking on transformative power, led by Srilatha Batliwala and others at CREA. It also builds on notions of power with, power within, power for and not just power over (hierarchical or positional or coercive power)Even if power is used with good intention by (in)formal leaders in our sector, whether we like it or not, the impact of white-normed organizational systems and processes is not neutral
We discuss:
Resources:Website of Power & Integrity
Alexâs Website
Bhavikaâs LinkedIn Profile
Alexâs LinkedIn Profile
YouTube video of this podcast
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Summary
How can the feelings of people who work in organizations both facilitate and suppress change?
What makes people attach reputation and credibility to another person? And how does this relate to diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts, and these may work out in practice?What's the problem with think tanks from the perspective of a decolonization goal, and what has been the problem historically?
In this NGO Soul+Strategy podcast episode, I interview Ajoy Datta, consultant, policy researcher, and coach, on decolonizing think tanks, policy research organizations, and consulting agencies.
Ajoyâs Bio:
Independent consultantOver 20 years of experience in the global development and humanitarian sectorSupports leaders, teams, organizations, and networks to collaborate, perform better, learn, innovate, and changePerforms designing, monitoring, and evaluating work to engage with and influence policy and practice as well as strengthen decision-making systemsWorked 12 years at the Overseas Development Institute (DI)'s research and policy unitWorked 3 years at the On Think Tanks (OTT) consulting groupStarted at VSO, the British volunteer agency, in ZambiaWe discuss:
The useful role of psychodynamics in organizational development: what goes on in our minds, consciously and unconsciously, while working in organizations. Some of these feelings are suppressed and below the surfaceDecolonizing organizations means that we aim to do away with hundreds of years of Western, global North power, such as philosophical underpinnings, concepts, frameworks, assumptions, knowledge systems, and leadership profiles. When organizations recruit people who are dissimilar in demographic or experiential profile from those that were thus far considered the 'norm', the 'default' -- if their organizational culture, expectations towards staff, and org systems donât adapt to these new profiles, tension will be the result. These people will be at higher risk of either leaving or being âspit outâThe phenomenon of the glass cliff: when people with demographic profiles different from what was the norm thus far are recruited to high-risk leadership positions, and then fail. What to do about all of this? 1/ Name and acknowledge what is happening. If we fear talking about it, it will never be addressed; 2/ âdecriminalize bias"; 3/ create a safe container for discussion; 4/ communicate externally but also internallyResources:
Ajoyâs LinkedIn profile
Ajoyâs Medium blog posts
Ajoyâs Website
Sample blog posts: 1, 2
YouTube video of this podcast
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Summary
How should we think about the âcollective journey to equitable developmentâ of Northern-founded NGOs, national NGOs and their funders?
What obstacles stand in the way of continuing on that journey?
Why does Humentum argue that NGO operating models need to enable ERA (Equitable, Resilient, and Accountable) development, and how does that need to come about?
In this NGO Soul+Strategy podcast episode, I interview Kim Kucinskas, Director for Community Strategy at Humentum, on nonprofit operations as a driver of transformation.
Kimâs Bio:
Director, Community Strategy, HumentumDirector, Member Engagement and Services, HuentumSeveral other roles in Humentum since 2012Worked in Namibia on issues related to local epidemicsFundraising role at the International Institute for Cooperation and DevelopmentWe discuss:
The pressure is building for significant change in the northern INGO sector; itâs coming from all frontiersThere is actual strategic power in the operations model; if we change it in a significant way, big change happens in the power distribution between northern INGOs, funders, and national NGOsHumentum argues this in their new 3-part series of reports on ERA: how to move to an Equitable (E), Resilient (R) and Accountable (A) development sectorBut this will only happen if northern INGOs, funders, and national NGOs make significant changes in their institutional architecture, people and culture, funding, and risk frameworksInstitutional Architecture is one of Humentum's main building blocks towards ERA: within this, organizations have to have sufficient autonomy for the sector to be able to be equitable, resilient, and accountablePeople and Culture: who is recruited, and works where; a shift in the âheadquartersâ concept from one that is location-based to role-based; where staff receive fair and equitable compensation, etc.Funding: the islands of innovation that are happening in various places need to become âmainlandâAccountability, with a focus on risk management: within this, a shift from risk transfer to risk sharing is requiredBe mindful: the way in which the process of #shiftthepower is happening is actually reflective of the very ways in which power is still being held right now.Quotes:
âThere is strategic value and potential in operations; not as âback-office functionsâ but as drivers of transformationâ
âWe are at a tipping point in terms of significant NGO sector changeâ
Resources:
Kimâs LinkedIn profile
Kimâs Email
Humentum's ERA reportsYouTube video of this podcast
Click here to subscribe to be alerted when new podcast episodes come out or when Tosca produces other thought leadership pieces.
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Summary
How does a climate change activist movement such as Extinction Rebellion (XR) chose among strategies and tactics on the spectrum between more 'radical' actions such as civic agitation, (nonviolent) disobedience, high-profile stunts that may lead to arrests and more 'mainstream' actions that may (or may not?) help them build a more broad public base?
How does Extinction Rebellion (XR) see the distinction between insider and outsider strategies in climate change activism?
Is it necessarily the case that 'radical 'activism by nature is cyclical, i.e. that it cannot be maintained on a long-term basis because of the intensity of this activism model?And how does Extinction Rebellion deal with internal as well as external equity dimensions of the fact that low-income people and/or those who face discrimination tend to get hit harder by the impacts of climate change?
In this NGO Soul+Strategy podcast episode, I interview a youth activist in the Netherlands (my original home country), on how she sees Extinction Rebellion tackle all these choices and trade-offs.
Bio of the youth activist X:
Student at Erasmus University College, Rotterdam, the Netherlands Involved for the last year, 4-5 hours/week
How climate change fights and climate justice issues need to be interlinked to both benefit from sustained civic actionThe nature of the three global XR demands: 1/ Tell the Truth; /2. Act Now; 3/ Decide togetherHow environmental activism in the global south has a history of white elite-level advantage, how it rightfully has been critiqued for suffering from white elitism and how it is now trying to overcome this by focusing on embracing everybodyâs contribution and being expressly inclusiveClimate change requires both civil disobedience and broad public support. Collaboration between social movements such as Extinction Rebellion (XR) and formally registered NGOs is therefore importantGroups like Greenpeace are better than XR at drawing in the media, examples such as the Netherlands NGO Milieu Defensie (Environmental Defense) are good in online petitioning, while movements like XR are good in mass mobilization. They need to complement each otherThe sustainability of engagement in XR-type activism, with its typical peak-type activities, fairly time-intensive forms of self-organization and democratic decision making styles may be challenged; XR expressly tries to compensate for this through encouraging collective self-care
We discuss:
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Summary
Environmental activism, environmental justice and equity concerns: what, if anything, is challenging about holding all of these three concerns at the same time?
Can a better integration or balance be achieved between these 3 concerns?
To what extent is radical activism cyclical in nature because it is hard to keep activists motivated for peak public mobilization moments?
In this NGO Soul+Strategy podcast episode, I interview Aseem Prakash, Professor of Political Science and Founding Director at the Center on Environmental Politics at the University of Washington, Seattle (USA) on climate change activism by nonprofits and social movements. Aseem does much of his research together with Nives Dolsak, also a Professor at the University of Washington.
Aseemâs Bio:
Professor of Political Science; Walker Family Professor; Director, Center for Environmental Politics at the University of Washington, SeattleFormer Assistant Professor in Strategic Management and Public Policy at the George Washington University in Washington DCObtained his Ph.D. at the Dept of Political Science and the School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana UniversityMBA from the Indian Institute of Management in Ahmedabad, IndiaNivesâ Bio:
Nives Dolsak is Professor in Sustainability Science and Director of the School of Marine & Environmental Affairs at the University of Washington, Seattle, USAVisiting professor at the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia
Is environmental activism still guilty of white elitism? To what extent is a concern for environmental degradation, including climate change, still primarily a concern for citizens only once their material needs are met? Is the focus on environmental justice making a difference in this regard?There are few climate deniers anymore â even in the US: it is more a conflict over what instruments or ways of fighting climate change to use, not a conflict anymore over the goals themselves. Who carries most of the burden of energy policy implications coming out of climate change mitigation needs? Who loses and who wins across rural/urban areas, class, and race? Who pays for the costs of mitigation, and who gets the benefits? These are equity concernsClimate change contention and the surge of populism across the world are closely linked since class and location or place (rural vs. urban concerns) are intertwinedWhat are the merits of outsider strategies â a la Extinction Rebellion and Sunrise Movement vis-a-vis insider strategies (Environmental Defense Fund, Greenpeace (partially) etc.?âRadicalâ, disruptive activism can have several benefits while it can also antagonize or turn away broader publics (see the radical flank argument)Museum vandalism to draw attention to the climate crisis is primarily a European tactic and surged in 2022; it seems to have died down so far in 2023.
We discuss:Resources:
Aseemâs Website
Aseemâs LinkedIn Profile
Academic article on climate change activism motivated museum vandalism (open access!): https://www.nature.com/articles/s44168-023-00054-5Example of a article by Aseem and Nivek for broader audiences: HERE
Their article on South Africa and coal:
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Summary
What are the strengths of a confederated nonprofit organizational structure and what are its inherent weaknesses and limitations?
What is a âdiversified networkâ type of organizational structure?
To what extent does having a confederated organizational structure, as well as the aspiration to be a diversified network, Impact the nature, legitimacy, adaptability, and quality of decision-making?
In this NGO Soul+Strategy podcast episode, I interview Doris BĂ€sler, formerly Oxfam, on the potential and peril when NGOs aspire to use a network structure
Dorisâ Bio:
Right now, Doris is resting, learning, and volunteering in Berlin, GermanyFormer Director for Strategy & Feminist Futures and Strategy & Confederation Development at Oxfam InternationalFormer Director for Organisational Development services at Transparency International, as well as head of capacity servicesWorked at Mines Advisory Group (MAG)Former Head of office as well as other roles at the country level for the International Committee for the Red CrossWe discuss:
The path by which Oxfam chose a confederated organizational structureThe differences between federated, confederated and corporate unitary structures, and the strengths as well as challenges of confederated structures â and how it is all about places on a spectrumHow Oxfam got stuck for a while in discussing the choice of a federated versus confederated model â and how the aspiration of a âdiversified networkâ came upA diversified network implies that there is diversification of voice: not just global South members, but also non-Christian affiliates, greater recognition of the primacy of Africa within Oxfam, diversification of affiliate business models, etcHow Oxfam tried to prevent the creation of a lot of âmini meâsâThe implications for internal systems of decision making, valuing of different forms of knowledge, assets etcQuality Decision making can be challenging in a diversified network like Oxfam, but if the values and the âwhyâ and purpose are clear, this helpsQuotes:
âComplexity of organizational structure is not inherently negative, if you understand itâ
âBeing a diversified network is an imperative, not a nice to have in a world within which power is clearly shiftingâ
Resources:
Dorisâs LinkedIn profile
Dorisâ Email
Related Blogpost
Youtube video of this podcast
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Summary
What is the difference between forecasting and foresight, as a skill and an area of work?
What are the pitfalls when international civil society organizations (ICSOs) apply crisis frameworks to trends that are actually longer-term, intersecting, and systemic?
Decolonization and diversity: how are these big current discussions and areas for taking action intersecting with what sometimes is called 'anticipatory capacity': the capacity to anticipate futures and know how to act in order to try to influence them?
In this NGO Soul+Strategy podcast episode, I interview consultants and former Amnesty International practitioners Danny Vannucchi and Heather Hutchings, on anticipating the future of civil society operating space - the legal, political and normative space for CSOs to do their work. Their report, commissioned by the International Civil Society Centre (ICSC) as part of its long-term work on civic space, is titled: Anticipating Futures for Civil Society Operating Space.
ICSC's mission is to strengthen the impact and resilience of international civil society organizations to support people to change their world for the better. The Centre does this by convening civil society actors, offering training, research and other activities.
The Centre is planning further work on civil society's anticipatory capacity and is keen to get in touch with potential partners. Email Miriam Niehaus at ICSC: [email protected]
Consultant at Storm ConsultingFormer senior Advisor, Conflict and Organizational Development at Amnesty International
Heatherâs Bio:Dannyâs Bio:
Senior Strategy & Human Rights ConsultantSenior Strategic Facilitator at GRID ImpactAdjunct Professor at the University of California, Los AngelesFormer director of Global Strategy & Impact at Amnesty International
Foresight and forecasting are two different concepts, yet they easily get misunderstood in civil society (CS): forecasting is about the mitigation of risk and is a more pragmatic concern. Foresight is about imagining different futures, shaping visions of the future, and forging strategies to shape the future that emerges. To be ahead of trends, in other words.Crises can keep civil society in a âdefensive crouchâ, in a reactive mode. Crisis management mode is a well-honed capacity in civil society, but we do not focus enough on the trends underlying those crises. Due to a lack of anticipatory capacity within civil society, we miss opportunities to make use of or shape longer-term trends CS has sufficient awareness of macro trends, but we fail to make this knowledge actionable; what are the reasons do decision-makers not act on the data on trends that is offered to them?Future scanning is actually often primarily about good strategyCivil society collectively can improve its anticipatory capacity by pooling resources
We discuss:Quotes:
âHow to not sit at the table laid out by others, but rather, invite others to sit at your own table â that is the challengeâ
âCrisis response is an important part of NGOSâ public relations
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Summary
What is âtransscalar activismâ in a nutshell? And how is it different from what academics call the 'Boomerang' model of international advocacy NGO networks?
When did international NGO advocacy begin attracting the attention of academics, and why? What had shifted at that point, what had changed?
What was the dominant narrative in academia for a long time? And what was wrong with that?
In this NGO Soul+Strategy podcast episode, I interview Elizabeth Bloodgood, Associate Professor at Concordia University, Canada, and Christopher Pallas, Professor at Kennesaw University, USA, on major shifts in advocacy and campaigning approaches among NGOs. Trust me: their empirical research, based on practitioner case studies, is relevant for us practitioners.
Elizabethâs Bio:
Associate Professor at Concordia University in Montreal, Quebec, CanadaLecturer in non-state actors at the University of Pennsylvania, USAAssistant Professor at Dartmouth College, USAChristopherâs Bio:
Professor of Conflict Management at the Department of Political Science and International Affairs at Kennesaw University in Georgia, USAHis research focuses on nongovernmental organizations and their role in international policymaking and developmentWe discuss:
Chris and Beth argue that how we think about advocacy strategies in relation to the roles and practices of global North and global south founded NGOs is well overdue for an updateThe argument they make in their 2022 book âBeyond the Boomerang: From Transnational Advocacy Networks to Transscalar Advoacyâ is linked to hot topics of today, such as decolonizing aid, and a shift in power and agency between global South-founded and global North-founded NGOs â a shift that Beth and Chris argue has already been well on its way for 10+ year. The era of the so-called âboomerang effectâ model in global advocacy -- in which national-level global South-founded NGOs would link up to global North-founded NGOs on advocacy causes when they did not find their government to be responsive -- that era is overTheir argument as expressed in the book implies changes in what are legitimate, needed roles for global North-founded NGOs into the future.National NGOs in the global South now choose at what scale to operate (thus the term âtransscalar activismâ) â whether local, national, regional or global -- and these days ally with Southern CSOs as much as with global North-founded NGOsThis also means that we should expect to see that global South-founded NGOs will feel less obliged to engage in marketing and reframing of their local causes in order to get international partners or global-North based media on their side.Resources:
Elizabethâs LinkedIn Profile
Faculty page of Elizabeth
Faculty page of Christopher
Christopherâs Google Scholer page
Book: <&l
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Summary
Whatâs problematic about philanthropy in the ways the sector has practiced it for many decades?
Are there limits to trust-based philanthropy?
How do boards of grant-making philanthropies such as the Global Fund for Children have to change their composition, mindset, and oversight practices to lessen a compliance and upward accountability lens and to make themselves more responsive to actual needs?In this NGO Soul+Strategy podcast episode, I interview John Hecklinger, President and CEO at Global Fund for Children, on how we can practice philanthropy thatâs less colonial in mindset and practices.
Johnâs Bio:
President and CEO, Global Fund for Children (GFC)Co-Chair, Alliance for International Youth DevelopmentChief Program Officer, Global GivingBusiness development director, Global GivingDirector of Data Acquisition in the private sectorPeacecorp volunteer (US volunteering program)We discuss:
Global Fund for Children acts as an intermediary in on-granting philanthropic resources from family and corporate foundations to child and youth-focused, local civil society organizations. It also facilitates peer cohort capacity strengthening among grantee partnersWhat John learned from working at Global Giving in terms of its innovative role in introducing crowdfunding to the nonprofit and citizen-giving sector The risks when well-intentioned philanthropic organizations reinforce a mindset of compliance and upward accountabilityGFC stimulates homegrown philanthropy because communities have assets that can be leveraged How GFCâs board had to evolve in composition, mindset and practices composition to be liberated from simply approving âpre-bakedâ dockets of prepared projects and to move to an approach that allowed GFC to become more flexible and responsive to needsWhat does the future of philanthropy look like, beyond grantmaking, when on-granting organizations such as GFC have taken themselves out of the picture?Quotes:
âEveryone was getting smarter together once the board composition became more representative of the grantee partners it worked withâ
Resources:
Johnâs LinkedIn Profile
Global Fund for Children (GFC) Website
GFCâs blogs
Podcast episode #22, NGO Soul + Strategy, with Dorothy Nyambi of MEDA
Benchmarking study on Shifting Power among 17 CSOs (International Civil Society Centre)
Youtube video of this podcast
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Summary
What are the characteristics of 'digitally native' campaigning organizations?
How do digital NGO campaigning organizations compare and contrast with traditional, 'brick and mortar' NGOs?
Do digitally native civil society organizations and traditional NGOs sufficiently seek to complement each other, in order to maximize impact? I don't think they do.
In this NGO Soul+Strategy podcast episode, I interview Nina Hall, Assistant Professor of International Relations at the Johns Hopkins University, on my episode 'Digital advocacy NGOs: a necessary, complementary force'.
Ninaâs Bio:
Associate Assistant Professor of International Relations at the Johns Hopkins University, School of Advanced International Studies, EuropeNina's research explores the role of transnational advocacy and international organizations in international relationsPublished research on advocacy organizations and multilateral institutionsAuthor of the recent book Transnational Advocacy in the Digital Era, Think Global, Act Local (Oxford University Press, 2022)DPhil (Ph.D.) in International Relations from the University of OxfordWe discuss:
Nina studies progressive national digital advocacy and other digital campaigning organizationsDigital advocacy organizations use digital campaigning tactics such as online petitioning, combined with offline tactics such as street mobilization, offline meetings with campaign targets, etc. Digital advocacy organizations are less likely to work on issues that are less broadly popular, such as minority rights issuesNina pushes back on the use of the word âplatformâ for digital advocacy organizations since the actors she studies have actual HQs, paid staff, etc.The kind of digital advocacy organizations that Nina studies have most potential to be effective in more or less democratic societies, where they are in a position to pressure elected or appointed decision-makersThe profile of most âmembersâ (i.e. supporters) of digital advocacy organizations is that of middle-class, educated, urban citizens with adequate internet accessWhat are the strengths and weaknesses of this type of digital advocacy organization, as compared to those of traditional NGOs?What's the difference between staff-stewarding campaigning approaches versus member-driven approaches?Resources:
Ninaâs professional Website
Ninaâs personal Website
Ninaâs book: Transnational Advocacy in the Digital Era: Thinking Global, Acting Local, Oxford University Press, 2022
Nina's book recently won the ISA ICOM best book prize, see HERE
Stanford Social Science Innovation Research excerpt of Nina's book - HERE
Twitter thread by Nina on the book â HERE
Youtube video - Show more
