This presentation based on a research paper by Dr Satish Pandey talks about the challenges in implementing strategies in Non Governmental organizations.

1. Strategic Management in NGOs
Venkatesh Ganapathy

2. Reference
• Pandey, S. (2011). “Managing for Change:
Organizational Challenges for Development
• Organizations”. Chapter 13 in Sandip Anand,
Ibha Kumar and Anjula Srivastava (Eds),
• “Challenges of the Twenty First Century: A Trans-
disciplinary Perspective” , MacMillan India: New
Delhi, pp. 198-217

3. NGOs
• Also called as development organizations
• Contribution to health, education, poverty
alleviation, environmental protection and
community work.

4. Changes in working of NGOs : Causes
• International politics
• New Technologies
• Industrial development
• Scarcity of natural resources
• Climate change
• Social and cultural change

5. Third sector – Voluntary sector
• Non government
• Not-for- Profit

6. Changes since 1991: LPG
• Social, political and economic changes
• Liberal economy
• FDI
• Growth of knowledge intensive industries
• Fast urbanization
• Scarcity of energy and natural resources

7. Critical factors in the external
environment of NGOs
• Politico-legal environment
• Socio-cultural environment
• Economic environment
• Technological environment

8. Statistics
• There are roughly 3.3 million NGOs registered
in India
• NGO sector – Rs.75000 crores annually
• Positive role of voluntary sector in national
development

9. Problems in NGOs
• Reduced funding supports from donor
agencies
• Inadequate corporate support to long term
development goals.
• Lack of professionalism in NGO management
practices
• Long term institutional sustainability
• Competition for resources

10. Problems (Cont’d)
• Organizational culture
• Inappropriate strategic management
• Poor decision making
• Lack of special skills needed
• Absence of criteria for staff selection
• Inexperience in managing relations with
government and media

11. 4 stages of growth for NGO
• Start up
• Expansion/ growth
• Consolidation
• Phase out

12. Scaling up of NGOs
• NGOs – catalysts of policy innovations and
social capital
• Creators of knowledge in social sector
• Contribute to community and society
development

13. Strategic management by NGOs
• NGOs – look beyond short term
considerations to create opportunities that do
not exist
• Strategy can be influenced by
– Focus of beneficiaries
– Focus of donors
– Focus of founder members
– Management of change

14. Smaller NGOs & their strategies
• Strategy driven by goals and values of founder-
leader
• On scale-up, need to chalk out formal strategies
for survival and sustainable growth
• Growth phase – focus on achieving operational
efficiency
• Stage III – move towards long term sustainable
objectives
• Stage IV – focus of strategy on institutional
building and social sustainability

15. Indian NGOs
• Often influenced by international donor
agencies
• Focus on ensuring development missing
• Partnership focused strategy may be relevant
– build capabilities of local NGOs, build
networks with regional NGOs, international
funding organizations and government
agencies.

16. NGO strategy must focus on
• Social development
• Long term sustainability to beneficiaries
• Core competency

17. NGOs with a good organizational
structure
• SEWA
• CRY
• PRIA

18. Large NGOs – structural inertia
• Bureaucratic systems
• Absence of a professionally driven governing
board
• Poor governance
• Improper organizational structure
• Absence of participative management
• Absence of professional culture

19. Success of strategy depends on..
• Strong organizational culture
• A culture of organizational learning and capability
building
• Robust decision making processes
• Shared commitment to a common cause
• Creation and sustenance of formal teams
• Formal HR policies
• Mix of top-down and bottom-up approach
• Proper documentation
• Selection and recruitment of human capital

20. HR strategies
• Stage 1 – Need for committed people
• Stage 2 – Professionally qualified teams
• Stage 3 – Retain key people
• Stage 4 – Redefine staff capacities and roles,
redeployment of human resources, capability
building

21. Summary
• Strategic management of NGOs is more complex due
to the organizational structure and culture and
complexities associated with them.
• Performance evaluation, people management – crucial
issues
• Reduced dependence on donors and founder members
• Build organizational capabilities and networks
• Need for greater transparency in sources and
utilization of funds
• Change management is crucial