NGO Soul + Strategy

SummaryTosca focuses on her new book ‘Between Power and Irrelevance: the Future of Transnational NGOs’, which she co-authored with George Mitchell and Hans Peter Schmitz. Barney Tallack, ex-Oxfam leader and independent consultant, also made important contributions towards the book. Why transnational NGOs have a hard time living up to their (bigger) promises and claims How our transnational NGO sector is still governed by a 20th-century legal architecture for charities, and how this is detrimental on many levelsIf NGOs want to transform themselves into movements, brokers and thought conveners, they’ve got to change the expectations that society puts upon them, and – equally important – change their own cultural norms and assumptionsTopics covered in the book, such as strategy; digital adaption; measurement; governance reforms; leadership (development) challenges, collaboration, and mergers and acquisitions  How the book offers value for ongoing academic discourses -- such as why NGOs are in trouble; what’s the impact when NGOs are too focused on size and growth; and the implications when NGOs are ‘too successful’Unique features and messages of the book: 1) it is written based on a deep knowledge of NGO leadership perspectives and realities; 2) the sector’s change management capacity is woefully inadequate in proportion to the amount of organizational change it has to navigate if it wants to remain relevant, effective and legitimate; 3) and the gap between the sector’s espoused set of values and principles, and its real in-use behaviors needs to be narrowed seriously if it wants to continue to be relevant – or even survive.Quote“We had to walk a delicate dance between the expectations and standards of academics and those of practitioners in writing this book. It was our strong history of mutual respect and collaboration as co-authors that made it possible”Bios of authors and further information on the bookGeorge Mitchell, Baruch College, City University of New York, USAGeorge E. Mitchell’s LinkedIn profile George’s Google Scholar page: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=ognhAnMAAAAJGeorge’s Research Gate page: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/George_Mitchell10Baruch College faculty page for George:https://www.baruch.cuny.edu/mspia/faculty-and-staff/full-time-faculty/George’s Faculty bio page: https://www.baruch.cuny.edu/mspia/faculty-and-staff/full-time-faculty/georgemitchell.htmlHans Peter Schmitz, University of San Diego, USAHans Peter Schmitz’s LinkedIn profileFaculty page University of San Diego: https://www.sandiego.edu/soles/leadershResearch Gate site for Hans: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Hans_Peter_SchmitzGoogle Scholar site for Hans: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=HbBzLFAAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=aoMore info about book here - see temporary 30% discount coupon!

As NGO community we are staring into the unknown, and as Bob Johansen of the Institute for the Future, memorably, said recently: "The future will reward clarity, but punish uncertainty. Be wary of people who need certainty, since certainty is brittle". Yet, our brains crave certainty, so what to do? How to lead our NGOs during a global crisis like this?This was one of the central topics at the recent (June 3-5, 2020) 'Leading Together' meeting of the International Civil Society Centre, a  leading convening body for mid to large size transnational NGOs. I was happy to be of service to the Centre by offering a presentation on 'Leading during Crisis' and by assisting in the meeting's design and facilitation. We also tried something new: Tom Howie at the Centre and I recorded a joint episode to capture the meeting's main takeaways.In the episode, we hear thoughtful NGO practitioners offer their takeaways: participants Jayanta Bora, Executive Director for Global Human Resources at Plan International and Aida Rehouma, Lead Global Programming at World YWCA. And, of course, we also benefit from listening to the reflections of Wolfgang Jamann, the Centre's Director and main host of the meeting.Click here to subscribe to be alerted when new podcast episodes come out or when Tosca produces other thought leadership pieces.Or email Tosca at tosca@5oaksconsulting.org if you want to talk about your social sector organization’s needs, challenges, and opportunities.You can find Tosca’s content by following her on her social media channels: Twitter LinkedIn Facebook 

NGO change management is challenging - to say the least. A conversation with Barney Tallack to help you learn from a proBio Barney TallackPrincipal Consultant, Averthur ConsultingFormer Director of Strategy, Oxfam InternationalFormer Director for Change Management, Oxfam Int.Multiple other leadership roles in Oxfam (spanning a career of 25 years within that organization)Board member of Forest Peoples, Fairtrade Foundation and several other nonprofit boardsQuotes:“The field of change management is huge and has no boundaries”And on the financial implications of the pandemic for the global North-founded NGO sector: “Our own pre-existing conditions have exacerbated the financial implications of COVID-10 for the sector”In this chock-full episode, we discuss:How to use a ‘political frame’ in change management, and harness the power of ‘positive resisters’ and informal leaders (i.e. people who have lots of power within an organization, though not posititional power)How the use of such a political frame is appropriate as long as we are very self-aware of how our identity as NGO staff is rather tightly wrapped up with our jobs What does a people-centric approach to NGO change management entail?We also discuss Barney’s recent paper on the financial implications of the COVID-pandemic for NGOs and the suddenly even more critical need for drastic change: The “cognitive dissonance” of NGO staff in view of funding levels that had started to plateau and then decline well before the pandemic How senior NGO leaders and their boards should act now to drive big change rapidly LinkedIn profile Barney TallackYou can also reach Barney at: barneytallack[at]gmail.comRead his recent paper on ‘Existential Challenges in the Funding Landscape for Northern NGOs’ here. Click here to subscribe to be alerted when new podcast episodes come out or when Tosca produces other thought leadership pieces.Or email Tosca at tosca@5oaksconsulting.org if you want to talk about your social sector organization’s needs, challenges, and opportunities.You can find Tosca’s content by following her on her social media channels: Twitter            LinkedIn         Facebook 

In this episode, I discuss with Stefan Flothmann, who heads Greenpeace's MindWorks Cognitive Science Lab, how campaign designs miss how humans process difficult and negative emotions, and how this diminishes campaigns' effectiveness.Quotes:“Greenpeace staff were working on the assumption we were working towards a state of paradise, but they are struggling instead with the state of loss we have to deal with”“Our assumption used to be: we are humans, so we understand how other humans work. Common sense approaches to our campaigning suffice. We were wrong”Stefan's bio:·      Global Director at Mindworks Cognitive Science Lab, Greenpeace (GP) East Asia·      Former Program Director, Greenpeace E-Asia·      Former Dir Climate and Energy, Greenpeace·      Former Dir of Int Ocean Governance, Pew Charitable TrustWe discuss:Why Greenpeace as one of the largest brand names in environmental activism felt the need to change its assumptions behind its campaigning approachesThe relevance of behavioral psychology, social psychology and neuroscience for campaigning organizationsHow to better take account of difficult, and negative human feelings in advocacy?How to go from broadcasting and audience-centric to audience-empathetic approachesOrganizational resilience within NGOs during this period of a pandemic; how should leaders respond?Stefan Flothmann’s LinkedIn profileRead more here about  MindWorks's advice on how to campaign during the Covid pandemic. And here is MindWork's website about campaigning for mindset changeYou can reach Stefan at sflothma@greenpeace.orgClick here to subscribe to be alerted when new podcast episodes come out or when Tosca produces other thought leadership pieces.Or email Tosca at tosca@5oaksconsulting.org if you want to talk about your social sector organization’s needs, challenges, and opportunities.You can find Tosca’s content by following her on her social media channels: Twitter LinkedIn Facebook 

Are more Mergers and Acquisitions in NGOs’ futures? And is that a good thing? An interview with Rick Santos, a CEO who lived to tell the story  Bio Rick Santos Rick was the CEO of IMA World Health between 2009 and 2018, after having worked in the international health and development sector for over two decades IMA World Health is a faith-based nonprofit organization that provides health care services and supplies to vulnerable and marginalized people. We should note that in the developing world, an estimated 30 to 60 percent of health care is provided by faith-based organizations (FBOs). At the end of 2018, IMA World Health merged with Lutheran World Relief  Rick is currently Principal at NXPivot, which helps civil society organizations pivot in environments of lots of external change  Rick is a nonprofit professional with a Master of Business Administration (MBA) and a focus in strategy and management from Johns Hopkins University   In this episode, we discuss:  How did Rick as CEO go about pursuing a merger for IMA World Health, and what did he learn in the process?  Will the current pandemic likely lead to more explorations of Mergers and Acquisitions?  What hamstrings global North-founded NGOs in pursuing M&As?  Is it the pre-, during, or after phase that is most tricky/challenging to navigate during an M&A process?  Does a slowly rising trend in Mergers and Acquisitions inevitably lead to a further crowding out of Southern civil society? LinkedIn profile Rick Santos Website Rick SantosClick here to subscribe to be alerted when new podcast episodes come out or when Tosca produces other thought leadership pieces. Or email Tosca at tosca@5oaksconsulting.org if you want to talk about your social sector organization’s needs, challenges, and opportunities. You can find Tosca’s content by following her on her social media channels:  Twitter LinkedIn Facebook  

Tammy Dowley-Blackman is a seasoned and dynamite consultant in the domestic US nonprofit management and effectiveness space, who I look up to. In this interview, Tammy shares:  How her observations as a nonprofit leader, and the insufficient emphasis she observed nonprofits put on performance issues, drove her to set up her consulting firm The fallacy that ensuring diversity and inclusion strategies is not part and parcel of nonprofit business management How cultural competencies and attention to diversity, equity and inclusion strategies in nonprofits are intimately related How nonprofits who do not manage to transition from start-up, founder-focused mode to an emphasis on appropriate systems building are likely to falter  Quote: “Less is more -- when it comes to investment in leaders -- is not a good motto if nonprofits want to attract strong Generation Y and Z staff” Bio: Tammy is the owner of the TDB consulting firm, which supports nonprofits in the areas of  Communications and Development (Fundraising); Leadership Development; Project Design and Management; Research and Evaluation; and Talent Management. Tammy’s firm’s work is primarily US-domesticTammy’s consulting work grew out of what she saw in practice, during her tenure as an Executive Director for two nationally-affiliated nonprofits She also offers expertise on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, which all started with Tammy’s experience as a Diversity Officer at the Proteus Fund Tammy has taught at Boston University, Cambridge College and Lesley University   Resources: Website: http://www.tammydowleyblackman.com/ LinkedIn profile of Tammy Dowley-Blackman Click here to subscribe to be alerted when new podcast episodes come out or when Tosca produces other thought leadership pieces. Or email Tosca at tosca@5oaksconsulting.org if you want to talk about your social sector organization’s needs, challenges, and opportunities. You can find Tosca’s content by following her on her social media channels:  Twitter LinkedIn Facebook   

David Bonbright, co-founder and Chief Executive of Keystone Accountability, an international charity dedicated to bringing constituent feedback to social change practice. In this interview, David addresses the following questions and topics: What is Constituent Voice? And why is it so important if an NGO wants to be more outcome-focused? How is it different, and more than ‘downward accountability’?  Easier said than done: NGO leaders need to balance many competing values and priorities. How should they balance the voice of their primary constituents/clients/stakeholders/customers with those of other stakeholders, like boards, donors, staff members, and peer organizations?  And why is it that many NGO people rhetorically embrace the concept of Constituent Voice but quite lag behind in practice? Bio: Keystone seeks to maximize the social impacts of organizations -- nonprofit, business and governmental -- through the Constituent Voice™ methodology of planning, doing, measuring and communicating that fosters learning and responsiveness among all constituents. Keystone supports NGOs when they listen and respond to those meant to benefit from their activities.  David also worked with Aga Khan Foundation, Ashoka -- the entity that supported social entrepreneurs well before it became fashionable -- and with the Oak and Ford Foundations Resources: Website: https://keystoneaccountability.org/ LinkedIn profile of David Bonbright Click here to subscribe to be alerted when new podcast episodes come out or when Tosca produces other thought leadership pieces. Or email Tosca at tosca@5oaksconsulting.org if you want to talk about your social sector organization’s needs, challenges, and opportunities. You can find Tosca’s content by following her on her social media channels:  Twitter LinkedIn Facebook  

George Mitchell, professor at Baruch College at the City University of New York, USA, is one of my long time collaborators, a dear friend and one of those wonderful academics with a healthy respect for NGO practitioners. He and I, and Hans Peter Schmitz have co-authored an upcoming book on transnational NGOs, which will come out in June 2020.In this interview, George addresses the following questions and topics: What stops NGOs/nonprofits from becoming more outcome-oriented? How is it possible that NGOs can survive indefinitely without showing outcomes? Does the provocative concept of ‘successful failure’ explain this phenomenon? What are the specific roadblocks to watch out for when NGOs do aspire to become more outcome-oriented?  Some common myths when it comes to measurement and evaluation   The importance for NGOs of joining transparency platforms  Tricky aspects of integrating cost-effectiveness into evaluation approaches Bio  George Mitchell is Associate prof at Baruch college, where he taches as well as writes for academic and practitioner audiences in the areas of nonprofit management, transnational NGOs and evaluation and learning.   George pursued his PhD work in Political Science at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University, USA, where his collaboration with me as podcast host started. We go back 16 years!  George and I are co-author (together with Hans Peter Schmitz of the University of San Diego, USA) of a book : Between Power and Irrelevance: the future of transnational NGOs, which is expected to be published by Oxford University Press in June 2020.  This book is partially dedicated to the question to what extent NGOs are truly outcome-oriented, and what factors and incentive systems historically have influenced the actions and behaviors of NGOs when it comes to being outcome-oriented. Resources LinkedIn profile of George Mitchell Nonprofit Policy Forum article that references Seibel’s ‘successful failure’ concept:  https://doi.org/10.1515/npf-2019-0050 The book ‘Between Power and Irrelevance: the future of Transnational NGOs’, co-authored by George, Hans Peter Schmitz and Tosca Bruno-van Vijfeijken, will be published by Oxford University Press in June 2020 Click here to subscribe to be alerted when new podcast episodes come out or when Tosca produces other thought leadership pieces. Or email Tosca at tosca@5oaksconsulting.org if you want to talk about your social sector organization’s needs, challenges, and opportunities. You can find Tosca’s content by following her on her social media channels:  Twitter LinkedIn Facebook  

What organizational dynamics cause NGOs and funders to make overblown outcome statements?  In this interview with Julia Coffman and Tanya Beer of the Center for Evaluation Innovation, two thought leaders in the space of  evaluation and organizational learning in the philanthropic and NGO sector, we address: What stops us as nonprofits from becoming more outcome-oriented? When your NGO starts a new strategy, can the evaluation folks not just inform the eventual measurement of that strategy but also help you with synthesizing what was learned up till that point? And why can the more ‘comfortable’ notion of organizational learning – rather than evaluation – lead to reinforcement of confirmation bias? Julia and Tanya address these complex questions, that all touch upon organizational dynamics, in their thoughtful responses to my interview questions. Enjoy! Julia Coffman's bio Julia Coffman is the Founder and Director of the Center for Evaluation Innovation. Her focus is advancing evaluation and learning practice in philanthropy. For 25 years, she's worked with dozens of foundations on their approaches to evaluation. She has particular expertise in evaluating advocacy and policy efforts, emphasizing real-time learning that helps organizations to adapt their strategies and continuously improve.  Tanya Beer's bioTanya Beer is the Associate Director for the Center for Evaluation Innovation. Tanya and Julia are both high profile thought leaders in the field of philanthropy and evaluation, as well as organizational learning. Tanya was formerly at the Colorado Trust, working on research, evaluation and learning. Resources:  Website: https://www.evaluationinnovation.org/ LinkedIn profile of Julia Coffman LinkedIn profile of Tanya Beer Terrific short reading on daily organizational learning habits by Julia Coffman Click here to subscribe to be alerted when new podcast episodes come out or when Tosca produces other thought leadership pieces. Or email Tosca at tosca@5oaksconsulting.orgif you want to talk about your social sector organization’s needs, challenges, and opportunities. You can find Tosca’s content by following her on her social media channels:  Twitter  LinkedIn Facebook  

Alnoor Ebrahim, Professor @ Tufts University, USAHow can we as NGO leaders make sure that our strategy informs our measurement strategy as organizations? How can we make sure our NGOs are not just upward/funder-oriented in our measurement approach, but also focused on internal accountability and organizational learning? And what mindsets are most helpful to make measurement efforts meaningful? In this interview, we address: What stops us as nonprofits from becoming more outcome-oriented? What are some roadblocks to watch out for when NGOs aspire to become more outcome-oriented? What is the Big Idea behind Alnoor’s new book ‘Measuring Social Change: Performance and Accountability in a Complex World’  And what would Alnoor say is true that almost no NGO agrees upon? Quote: “It is not feasible nor even desirable for all NGOs to develop metrics that run the gamut from outputs to societal outcomes” (pg. 11, book Measuring Social Change by Alnoor Ebrahim) Resources: Profile: Alnoor Ebrahim is a professor at The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. His work is focused on accountabilities facing non-profit organizations, public entities, and social enterprise. He currently sits on an advisory board to the Global Impact Investing Network and Acumen Fund and has previously worked with the NGO Leaders Forum. Additionally, Alnoor Ebrahim has formerly been the chair of two executive programs at Harvard University and currently co-chairs a program at the Harvard Kennedy School.   Alnoor's newest book: Measuring Social Change: Performance and Accountability in a Complex World Alnoor and I are both Ambassadors in the Leap of Reason Ambassador community, an invitation-based network of nonprofit leaders, funders, analysts and consultants who want to promote a stronger performance and outcome-orientation among nonprofits. Alnoor’s email: alnoor.ebrahim@tufts.edu Click here to subscribe to be alerted when new podcast episodes come out or when Tosca produces other thought leadership pieces. Or email Tosca attosca@5oaksconsulting.orgif you want to talk about your social sector organization’s needs, challenges, and opportunities. You can find Tosca’s content by following her on her social media channels:  Twitter LinkedIn Facebook