Skip to main content

A probe into how NGOs can fulfill people's unmet needs, constantly improve capacities


By Our Representative 
A new book “Managing A Million Missions” co-authored by Prof Muthusami Kumaran and Mathew Cherian, released at a function held at India International Centre in New Delhi claims to provide key insights on building strategic capacity for Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) to promote universal strategic management to facilitate their current operations and support future growth.
Released by the Business and Community Foundation, the book has been "distilled from the knowledge and good practices of leading NGOs, worked for several decades with NGOs, and know the pulse of their nonprofit/NGO sectors very well. These interviews with NGO leaders in Belize, India, Nepal, South Korea, and the USA, from across three continents formed the baseline for this book project", says a media communique issued by the Foundation.
The book focuses on why NGOs, as the vanguards of the civil society space across the globe, address a wide array of social, environmental and other issues. Natural disasters and man-made calamities such as the climate change and the recent Covid-19 pandemic have further accelerated a variety of issues faced by humanity and necessitated the response from the NGO sector. NGOs address long-standing issues, new issues as they emerge, and fulfil unmet needs of populations in both the developed and developing nations. By their very nature NGOs build the capacities of people they serve and improve their standards of living. 
So, according to the authors of the book, it is vital that NGOs need to constantly improve their own capacities in order to stay true to their missions, achieve organizational effectiveness, operational efficiency, and be relevant to the civil society at large. They describe key areas of strategic management after interviewing 25 exemplary NGO leaders in five countries, many of whom had been founders of organisations and leading NGOs.
Many NGO leaders interviewed expressed their views candidly on a variety of management subjects from vision and mission to strategic planning and networking. One common theme for success that emerged in all the interviews was “stick to your core mission and do not allow mission creep.” Another approach all these NGO leaders champion is to infuse strategic planning and implementation to all elements of managing organizations.
India (with an estimated three million NGOs) and the US (with more than 1.5 million registered nonprofits), contends the book, has the largest NGOs/ nonprofit sectors in terms of size and scope, some of whom can offer examples of best and promising management practices.
Management challenges currently and during the post-pandemic era require high levels of analysis, skills, and focus on growth like never before
Another approach all these NGO leaders champion is to infuse strategic planning and implementation to all elements of managing organizations. Speaking on the occasion Mathew Cherian said, “One common theme for success that emerged was, stick to your core mission Effective leadership, proper management, transparency and accountability are key facets of capacity building." 
He added, "We are sure that NGO sectors in various countries have such best and promising practices that all NGOs can emulate and adopt for achieving management excellent. Management challenges faced by the sector currently and during the post-pandemic era require high levels of analysis, skills, and focus on growth like never before. This book, we hope, will make substantial contribution in building the management capacities of NGOs.”
Prof Muthusami Kumaran asserted, “We began conceptualizing the book during the pandemic highlighting best managing practices. The interview with the NGO leaders gave the idea of the book. It gives a new twist to the management practices of NGOs. World over NGOs are omnipresent and without them the world would be much darker space."  
"They must master the art of planning. The mission statement is centric to the programmes which must be client centric. NGOs have to think strategically to build capacity themselves. Each chapter of our book focused on promoting strategies as it is key to the functioning of any NGOs”, he added.
The book release was followed by a panel discussion chaired by Ms Ravneet Pawha. The speakers include Dr Ashok Khosla, Prof Archna Kumar, Prof Muthusami Kumaran and Mathew Cherian.

Comments

TRENDING

Andhra team joins Gandhians to protest against 'bulldozer action' in Varanasi

By Rosamma Thomas*  November 1 marked the 52nd day of the 100-day relay fast at the satyagraha site of Rajghat in Varanasi, seeking the restoration of the 12 acres of land to the Sarva Seva Sangh, the Gandhian organization that was evicted from the banks of the river. Twelve buildings were demolished as the site was abruptly taken over by the government after “bulldozer” action in August 2023, even as the matter was pending in court.  

Right-arm fast bowler who helped West Indies shape arguably greatest Test team in cricket history

By Harsh Thakor*  Malcolm Marshall redefined what it meant to be a right-arm fast bowler, challenging the traditional laws of biomechanics with his unique skill. As we remember his 25th death anniversary on November 4th, we reflect on the legacy he left behind after his untimely death from colon cancer. For a significant part of his career, Marshall was considered one of the fastest and most formidable bowlers in the world, helping to shape the West Indies into arguably the greatest Test team in cricket history.

Loktantra Bachao Abhiyan raises concerns over Jharkhand Adivasis' plight in Assam, BJP policies

By Our Representative  The Loktantra Bachao Abhiyan (Save Democracy Campaign) has issued a pressing call to protect Adivasi rights in Jharkhand, highlighting serious concerns over the treatment of Jharkhandi Adivasis in Assam. During a press conference in Ranchi on November 9, representatives from Assam, Chhattisgarh, and Madhya Pradesh criticized the current approach of BJP-led governments in these states, arguing it has exacerbated Adivasi struggles for rights, land, and cultural preservation.

Outreach programme in medical education: Band-aids for compound fractures

By Amitav Banerjee, MD*  Recently, the National Medical Commission (NMC) of India, introduced two curricular changes in medical education, both at the undergraduate and the postgraduate levels, ostensibly to offer opportunities for quality medical education and to improve health care accessibility among the underserved rural and urban population.

Promoting love or instilling hate and fear: Why is RSS seeking a meeting with Rahul Gandhi?

By Ram Puniyani*  India's anti-colonial struggle was marked by a diverse range of social movements, one of the most significant being Hindu-Muslim unity and the emergence of a unified Indian identity among people of all religions. The nationalist, anti-colonial movement championed this unity, best embodied by Mahatma Gandhi, who ultimately gave his life for this cause. Gandhi once wrote, “The union that we want is not a patched-up thing but a union of hearts... Swaraj (self-rule) for India must be an impossible dream without an indissoluble union between the Hindus and Muslims of India. It must not be a mere truce... It must be a partnership between equals, each respecting the religion of the other.”

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

Will Left victory in Sri Lanka deliver economic sovereignty plan, go beyond 'tired' IMF agenda?

By Atul Chandra, Vijay Prashad*  On September 22, 2024, the Sri Lankan election authority announced that Anura Kumara Dissanayake of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP)-led National People’s Power (NPP) alliance won the presidential election. Dissanayake, who has been the leader of the left-wing JVP since 2014, defeated 37 other candidates, including the incumbent president Ranil Wickremesinghe of the United National Party (UNP) and his closest challenger Sajith Premadasa of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya. 

A Hindu alternative to Valentine's Day? 'Shiv-Parvati was first love marriage in Universe'

By Rajiv Shah  The other day, I was searching on Google a quote on Maha Shivratri which I wanted to send to someone, a confirmed Shiv Bhakt, quite close to me -- with an underlying message to act positively instead of being negative. On top of the search, I chanced upon an article in, imagine!, a Nashik Corporation site which offered me something very unusual. 

Will Bangladesh go Egypt way, where military ruler is in power for a decade?

By Vijay Prashad*  The day after former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina left Dhaka, I was on the phone with a friend who had spent some time on the streets that day. He told me about the atmosphere in Dhaka, how people with little previous political experience had joined in the large protests alongside the students—who seemed to be leading the agitation. I asked him about the political infrastructure of the students and about their political orientation. He said that the protests seemed well-organized and that the students had escalated their demands from an end to certain quotas for government jobs to an end to the government of Sheikh Hasina. Even hours before she left the country, it did not seem that this would be the outcome.