FacebookXYouTubeLinkedIn
communication@well-grounded.org

Organisation Development

Revitalizing civil society support in the face of crisis and opportunity

2022-03-11T13:45:00+00:00December 14th, 2015|

By Cath Long Civil society organisations are under assault around the world. As recently described in The Guardian and by networks such as CIVICUS, the past several years have witnessed a surge in government efforts to restrict local organizations’ ability to operate or access external funds. At the same time, development aid often exacerbates constraints placed on civil society organizations by favouring short-term, restricted funding, curtailing investment in salaries and overheads, and imposing onerous reporting requirements. The 2015 CIVCUS annual report on the state of global civil society rightly observes that, “It is not surprising that domestic civil society does not [...]

Strengthening Organizations – what do African CSOs need and want?

2022-03-11T13:44:59+00:00August 17th, 2015|

“We tend to talk a lot about the work on the ground, but focus much less on organizational development, even when the sustainability of actions on the ground depend on the strength of an organization…Organizational development is not like planting a bean seed where you will actually see the growth in two months, but instead it’s a process.” -Representative from an African civil society organization (CSO) On July 26th we had a unique opportunity to bring together some of Maliasili Initiatives’ and Well Grounded’s partner and client organizations to discuss issues related to funding and financial sustainability, partnerships, human resources and [...]

The value of conversations in organizations

2022-03-11T13:44:59+00:00July 8th, 2015|

While we may sometimes think of an organization as a structure, something more or less permanent, organizations are, of course, never static things. They are always in process - their visions change, as do their missions, structures, activities, donors, and staff. One of my biggest learnings has been that to truly appreciate the nature of process and change in organizations, I have had to work at seeing the world very differently. A big part of this has been learning to see that everything is in relationship, and that understanding and working with relationships is key to organizational development. The relationships may [...]

Eureka moment for an organisation development practitioner

2022-03-11T13:44:58+00:00June 8th, 2015|

Have you ever had a Eureka moment when a song describes exactly how you feel?  Yep, that OMG moment! I know the feeling. Now imagine what is being described in the song is not only how you feel, but also your perception of the world, your ideas of how to make a difference, your personal vision, your values. I know, what are the odds? Small, you'd say? Wait until you read my story. I come from Africa, specifically the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). From a continent and a country that have and continue to struggle with poverty, disease, conflict and [...]

What if we stopped telling other people what’s good for them and thinking and acting on their behalf?

2022-03-11T13:44:57+00:00April 9th, 2015|

A recent conversation brought to mind Gandhi’s observation “Whatever you do for me without me, you do against me…” I’d been facilitating a strategic process with an organisation whose executive director told me about an earlier experience with strategic planning in 2008: “… [it] didn’t really help us move forward, it wasn’t the right time and we never asked for it. Our partner was concerned about our organisational development; they wanted to use this process to identify our strengths and weaknesses and generate a capacity building plan, but it was their idea, their project, not ours. It was supposed to be [...]

Welcome to the Well Grounded blog!

2022-03-11T13:44:57+00:00March 16th, 2015|

Welcome to the Well Grounded blog! This will be a space for reflection about the challenges facing African civil society organisations today – particularly the challenges they face in their own organisations, in developing collective action with others and in identifying how to open and occupy space for real and positive change. As time goes on, we hope that many different people and organisations get involved in the conversation, challenge ideas, provoke discussion and debate and share solutions. When Iola Leal and I set Well Grounded up in 2010, both of us, from a forest campaigning background, had worked for a [...]

Go to Top