"This Praxis Paper offers a brief overview of current thinking and practice in relation to the impact assessment of organisational capacity building interventions. The paper highlights some of the conceptual, methodological and practical challenges (issues of clarity, power and culture, among others
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) and then goes on to provide an overview of some of the practical approaches that have been adopted by NGOs and CSOs to overcome these challenges. It is a thought piece designed to engage practitioners (particularly those from developing and transitional countries) in a fruitful debate." (Executive summary)
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"This book tells how four busy executives, each coming from a different background, each with a very different perspective, were surprised to find themselves converge on the idea of narrative as an extraordinarily valuable lens for understanding and managing organizations in the 21st century. It ref
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lects a conversation that took place under the auspices of The Smithsonian Associates in April 2001 and the effects that this conversation has stimulated since then." (Preface)
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"This book contains 50 stories, all of which have been specifically chosen to help you deal with the difficult and complex process of change. Some of the stories have been lent by other authors, some are my own creation, some were developed by participants during storytelling workshops and some have
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been re-told or adapted to address a particular aspect of change. As with my previous books, there is a ‘moral’ attached to the bottom of each story. In some situations you may feel it appropriate to disclose the suggested moral to your listener(s), but in others it may be more appropriate to allow them to reflect and formulate their own understanding. There is a danger of being over-prescriptive when sharing the meanings of stories; they always contain more than one meaning, as I have found on many occasions – and there’s usually at least one that you never thought of! There is also guidance in this book on how you might use the stories to promote reflection and meaningful discussion." (Publisher description)
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"This essential guide offers a detailed framework for assessing communication processes within an organization and using the results to develop improved organizational strategies. Presented in clear, accessible prose are the "tools of the trade" for planning and initiating audits, gathering data usi
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ng a wide variety of methodologies, analyzing the findings, and preparing effective reports. Throughout, practical examples drawn from the authors' influential work in the field help readers understand the real-world applications of the concepts discussed and gain skills for creative problem solving." (Back cover)
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"This introductory user's guide to systems analysis and systems design focuses on building sustainable information systems to meet tomorrow's needs. It shows how practitioners can apply multiple participatory perspectives in development, so as to avoid future problems. As a practical guide, it is pr
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esented to be readily comprehensible and is organized to enable users to concentrate on their goals efficiently, and with minimum theoretical elaboration. The chapters follow the sequence involved in planning an information system, explaining key words, the time involved in each step, ending with a tutorial or exercises." (Publisher description)
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"This book is written for managers of NGO and community organisations. It aims to help them to think critically about what kinds of information they, their organisations, their staff, and their project partners need. It discusses how they can access such information, manage it, and communicate it in
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the most effective and equitable way. The approach it describes is illustrated with case-studies from Oxfam's experience and other sources." (Oxfam Publishing catalogue 2003)
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"The perspective that informs this important book is that every evaluation of a capacity development effort should itself contribute to the capacity development effort and ultimately to the organization’s performance. This is a revolutionary idea in evaluation. With the idea have come the question
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s: Can it be done? And, if it is done, what will be the consequences? This book elucidates and deepens the idea, shows it can be done, and examines the consequences, both intended and unintended, of engaging in capacity development evaluation." (Foreword)
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"The concept of multi-stakeholder partnership (MSP) as an instrument for achieving development goals is sound, particularly when stakeholders with unique complementary strengths or core competencies add value to development efforts and pool their resources and assets in solving problems. But while m
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any laud the virtues of MSPs, most are struggling to make them work. The central challenge seems to revolve around the nurturing of a working relationship based on trust, mutual respect, open communication, and understanding among stakeholders about each other’s strengths and weaknesses. Stakeholders from each sector bring their own organisational mandates, interests, competencies and weaknesses to partnerships. Without open acknowledgement of these factors, and without processes in place to facilitate negotiations among stakeholders for optimal outcomes, effective MSPs will not emerge [...] Knowledge about MSPs as reflected in the contents of this publication is not perfect. It is meant to trigger debate and to serve as an open invitation for all stakeholders with MSP experiences in the area of ICT4D to share their perspectives and knowledge on the subject. What the GKP would like to obtain is a thorough and comprehensive understanding of how MSPs work and can be made to work effectively – knowledge which we ultimately intend to share with the rest of the world. The GKP is the world’s first MSP operating at the global level in the area of ICT for Development. It precedes the G8 Digital Opportunities Task Force (DOT Force) and the Digital Opportunities Initiative (DOI)." (Pages iii-iv)
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"Documenting and Communicating HIV/AIDS Work” is a toolkit of participatory activities that aims to build practical skills among NGOs/CBOs responding to HIV/AIDS in developing countries. It is a resource to help such groups improve the quality of their programme work and external relations – by
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recording, learning from and sharing their lessons and results. “Documenting and Communicating HIV/AIDS Work” is based on the practical experiences and participatory approaches of the International HIV/AIDS Alliance. The toolkit is designed to be used by organisations and trainers who support NGOs/CBOs. It can be used flexibly, with one or a group of NGOs/CBOs, and during training workshops or technical support visits. The toolkit has five sections that cover the concepts, planning steps and skills involved in carrying out effective documentation and communication work, as well as Information cards about developing specific products." (Summary)
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"To date, no evaluation frameworks are specifically targeted at evaluating partnership relationships, as opposed to partnership programmatic outcomes. Following a discussion and definition of partnership, its defining features, and value-added, the paper proposes a framework for assessing partnershi
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p relationships in order to: (1) improve partnership practice in progress, (2) refine and test hypotheses regarding partnership’s contribution to performance and outcomes, and (3) suggest lessons for future partnership work. The proposed assessment approach is continuous, process-oriented and participatory, and developmental. Targets of assessment include compliance with prerequisites and success factors, degree of partnership practice, the outcomes of the partnership relationships, partners’ performance, and efficiency. Indicators and associated methods are proposed for each of these. The framework addresses the evaluation challenges of integrating process and institutional arrangements into performance measurement systems, thus contributing to relationship performance as well as program outcomes. It can also be used to enhance the theory and practice of partnership." (Abstract)
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