I’ve been having similar conversations in several places over the last couple of weeks, which usually triggers a post. People send me a draft strategy document and say ‘what do you think?’ I take a deep breath and launch in. Half an hour later they look a bit shell-shocked, but (these are NGOs after all), always say what a useful conversation it’s been……
So to save everyone some time on the next occasion someone does this, here are 5 common mistakes that I often point out:
1. Putting yourselves at the Centre of Everything
Activists gotta activate. After a cursory ‘context analysis’ (at best), we’re into ‘what can/should we do?’ That self-centrism means we have only a limited understanding of (or interest in) how the system is (or could be) changing without us. That’s problematic for several reasons – swimming against the tide is different to swimming with it (should we arguing for good stuff when the tide of change is in our favour, or trying to stop bad stuff happening in a political downturn?). In the absence of a decent understanding of how the system is evolving, and where change is more/less likely to occur, it’s much easier for people to default to their preferred topics/methods, even if they make little sense given the context.

What I stress these days in the importance of distinguishing between a Theory of Change and a Theory of Action – that creates a useful intellectual distinction that keeps you focussed on the external world for a bit longer before diving into your planning.
2. Thinking you’re more important than you really are
In a lot of the arenas where we are trying to bring about change, INGOs are minor players compared to the big hitters – national and local governments, corporations, trades unions, faith groups, grassroots mass movements. But often INGOs think they’re big, and so if Climate Change/racism/gender is critical, that’s what they should be working on. But just jumping on an already overcrowded bandwagon may not be the best use of your limited resources – why not identify the gaps, either by topic, or by method (eg INGOs seem to be good at getting people to talk to each other – ‘convening and brokering’) and start there? For the economists and fellow travellers out there, time to identify our political/organizational comparative advantage…..
3. Doing all the thinking up front
Our context analyses, strategy papers, theories of change etc just get longer and longer, and always seem to come at the start of the process. That sort of makes sense, in that it’s part of deciding what you want to work on and how. But it’s also daft, because one thing you can be sure of is that you will learn much more about the system once you start trying to change it. So better to spread the investment in reflection and analysis across the whole period – start with a ‘best guess’ and push off from the shore. Then have specific moments when everyone can stand back and decide what is/isn’t working and what needs to be dropped/changed/expanded (often with a facilitator, as this kind of discussion can be difficult). I’m a big fan of the Harvard ‘Searchframe’ or the ‘strategy testing’ process developed by The Asia Foundation – they both build in a process of reflection and adaptation without tipping over into permanent ‘analysis paralysis’.

4. Looking for a map, not a compass
Hardly anyone will read the big long strategy document once it’s been signed off. Sorry. Organizations and people within them take decisions on a daily basis based on ‘fast thinking’ – rules of thumb. Often these are implicit, lurking behind the arguments over strategy like a spectre at the feast (I think people’s divergent and unexamined rules of thumb go a long way to explaining internal disagreements in many organizations). So it may be worth spending some time identifying and discussing them, although that too carries risks.
5. Letting doubts and preferences about your identity rule your head
Most of us (I’ve long since given up) want to be cool, or at least in the presence of coolness. That unacknowledged fact probably influences strategy discussions more than we realize. I’ve been banging on for years about how people in early retirement make great activists – they have time, resources, contacts and experience of any number of institutions we want to influence. But they’re old. Instead, every strategy says that youth campaigning is the way to go, even though many youth activists lack those same assets (time, resources etc). Not either-or, of course (and I apologise for channelling my inner Victor Meldrew). But in any case, let me ask – do you think youth movements are sitting around waiting for the INGOs to show up and lead/convene them? Thought not.
And here’s my thoughts on a similar cluster of conversations from 3 years ago (relieved to find I’m not just saying the same thing).
You do need a compass. (The principles that help you to travel on the map and to move towards useful directions). Having a map only does not help. A map can be useful but not essential. What we need is a sense of a terrain. In which we are moving.
Master piece: “I’ve been banging on for years about how people in early retirement make great activists – they have time, resources, contacts and experience of any number of institutions we want to influence. But they’re old. Instead, every strategy says that youth campaigning is the way to go, even though many youth activists lack those same assets (time, resources etc). “
Excellent advice. Thanks Duncan.
Cannot agree more. Is this not what the approach on conflict sensitivity is trying to tackle too? Beyond avoid doing harm and maximize positive impact, it focuses on understanding the context and positioning one’s intervention within it, and adapt.
Thanks Duncan. On strategy, I’ve written a couple of posts based on experience I’ve had helping organisations develop strategies and plans to influence policy: the first on why strategy is as much about reflecting on the present rather than crystal ball gazing: https://onthinktanks.org/articles/strategic-planning-its-just-as-much-about-the-present-as-the-future/ and another on some lessons I’ve learnt from facilitating strategy as a more reflective process as less of a forward looking on: https://onthinktanks.org/articles/ten-lessons-from-facilitating-strategy-with-think-tanks-and-policy-teams/ just in case they are of interest.
Thanks Ajoy, useful additions
An excellent and amazingly honest article! Unusual these days 😉 And a very accurate description of a typical NGO “mentality”. Nearly all the ones I came across over the past 25 years acted exactly like that.
Sure you had written a very interesting massage, this really practical done in my Country South sudan where by INGOs dominates everything thinking that they are the supper power, over the local national NNGO’S
In fact I prefer NGOS’ company for the support that provided,strict I enforced to know more a bout the company
Thank you for the message.
Generally, before we start anything, we need to create a strategy for every organization or business. If we want to start NGO, it’s not the easy part. Fully we have to pay attention to How can we help them(people) and What are the benefits to them(people) to get this.
Here, I have an example of one NGO organization, that is empowering the youth(Unnati Skill Centre) to get employment. Their motto is to give life skills training(<a href="http://unnatiblr.org/unxt/"Spoken English) and help them to get a better job placement.
I have some experience in NGO’s it can be challenging to bring the whole team to the table to strategise. These days I am working on edtech. I actually have some content on the ‘original’ spectre at the feast (in Macbeth) https://app.brillder.com/play/brick/357/cover