1. NEW! Organisational Learning
Dates: 07 December 2005 - 09 December 2005 Location: London, Southwell House
Course fee: £420.00
Number of days: 3
Description:
Over the past five years there has been a blossoming of interest among NGOs, donors, academics, consultants and support organisations in the subjects of organisational learning, the learning organisation and knowledge management. The following examples indicate the progress that has been made by some development and humanitarian organisations in mainstreaming learning into their strategy, policy and practice.
· It is now commonplace for larger INGOs to have ‘Programme Learning Coordinator’ or ‘Knowledge Manager’ posts. Many NGOs have policies, strategies and budgets for organisational learning to translate their aspirations into reality.
· There is a growing literature specifically written about learning in NGOs.
· Donor funding regularly comes with a condition to learn from the organisation’s experience and make this available to a wider audience.
· Information and Communications Technology (ICT) has developed rapidly so that the use of the World Wide Web and email are now commonplace in most countries. Indeed, the ICT capability of NGOs in the South/East has ‘leap-frogged’ that of many of their partners in countries in the North/West. This makes the sharing of information and knowledge easier and quicker than could reasonably have been foreseen even a few years ago.
· Many umbrella organisations have embraced organisational learning as a focus for their activities. For example, INTRAC’s PRAXIS programme has an important focus on organisational learning and BOND has a learning initiative that supports a Senior Managers Organisational Learning Network (SMOLNet).

This workshop will draw on an in-depth understanding of the current ‘state of play’ in the related fields of organisational learning and knowledge management.

Aim
Enable participants to develop a thorough understanding of the theory and practice of organisational learning that they can apply with confidence in their own work and organisation.

Who is this course for?

This course assumes that participants are already familiar with concepts, principles and practice of Organisational Learning, since these will not be covered in detail here. The level of the course is expected to be intermediate-advanced.

Contact us at training@intrac.org

Dates: 01 February 2006 - 03 February 2006 Location: London, Southwell House
Course fee: £420.00
Number of days: 3
Description:

To get further information contact us at: training@intrac.org

Dates: 25 January 2006 - 27 January 2006 Location: London, Southwell House
Course fee: £420.00
Number of days: 3
Description:
Aim of the Course:

Working in development both in the North and the South signifies working in a constantly changing environment. This course raises awareness about the need for organisations to continuously respond to the changing environment. Internal change is required if organisations are to remain effective. In this course change is conceptualised as a continuous process that can be managed.

The method of training uses a mix of presentations and lectures for the theoretical framework. Participatory exploration of issues, using the experiences of the participants, is used to incorporate theoretical learning into practical examples. The course combines group work, plenary discussions and feedback.

Who is this course for?

·Managers who are responsible for managing change in their own organisations or supporting change in partner organisations

·Practitioners who are interested in understanding the issues and tools used in change management.


Objectives:

·Examine models for understanding organisations

·Explore different types of change in organisations

·Reflect upon the challenges of working with organisational culture and responses to change

·Familiarise participants with methods and tools for diagnosing, planning and implementing change

·Discuss factors which contribute to a successful change process.

Contact us at training@intrac.org

Dates: 08 February 2006 - 10 February 2006 Location: London, Southwell House
Course fee: £420.00
Number of days: 3
Description:
This workshop will review the developments in the methodologies for assessing the impact of the types of Social Development work undertaken by NGOs. It will analyse the emergence of Impact Assessment as a separate discipline. It will also explore the areas of overlap between evaluations, which look at the efficiency and effectiveness of outcomes, and impact assessment which aims to identify the longer-term changes associated with Social Development work. The workshop will examine to what extent the NGO community’s experience with impact assessment has begun to contribute to the body of knowledge about likely benefits (and problems) with particular ways of working.

The method of working combines case studies, group work and peer support. This is complemented by presentations on relevant theoretical frameworks and emergent trends and thinking.

Who is this course for?

This course assumes that participants are already familiar with concepts, principles and practice of Monitoring and Evaluation, since these will not be covered in detail here.

Objectives:

·Emergence of impact assessment

·The importance of perceptions – who defines what impact is?

·Exploration of alternative methodologies

·How to get a representative picture – the use of case studies; sampling methods; triangulation between quantitative and qualitative data

·Uses of base line surveys and data

·Allowing for changes in indicators

·Using the information

Contac us at: training@intrac.org

Dates: 20 February 2006 - 24 February 2006 Location: Oxford, Rewley House
Course fee: £980.00
Number of days: 5
Description:
Aim of the Course:

The purpose of this course is to provide participants with a framework for exploring the nature of OD interventions aimed at building the capacity of their own and their partner NGOs.

Over a period of four and a half days, participants will:

·Examine their role as a change agent
·Review their understanding of the OD intervention cycle
·Examine the links between OD and capacity building
·Assess the range of possible OD interventions: their advantages and disadvantages and how to select the most appropriate intervention
·Explore the use of OD in NGO partnerships
·Examine Organisational Assessment as a specific OD process
·Examine the particular challenges of monitoring and evaluating OD work
·Examine responses to change at organisational and individual levels and how to manage these

The course will offer a balanced menu of training methods including:

·Presentations backed up with comprehensive handouts
·Individual practice presentations
·Practice and discussions using an OD case-study
·Action-learning methodology
·Small-group exercises
·Guided individual reflection

…all of which are designed to encourage the sharing of practical experience and stimulate creative thinking.

Participants will receive background reading material on OD definitions and models for understanding organisations, prior to the course.

A key element of the course will be the use of small action-learning sets during which participants will have an in-depth opportunity to explore issues of concern to them in their own work. To enhance the benefits of working in this way, participants will be asked to carry out specific pre-course preparation. A guide will be provided as to what participants are expected to prepare and present at the course.

Who is this course for?

This course is designed for people who have change-agent responsibilities for the management or implementation of capacity building programmes, who have some experience of OD and who wish to explore in some depth issues concerning OD interventions.

Objectives:

By the end of the course, participants will have developed:

·Their understanding of the process of OD and its specific application to NGOs
·Their ability to design and use tools and processes for organisational assessment.
·Practical ideas for using OD in relationship-building and capacity building interventions
·Their ability to select the most suitable types of OD interventions.
·Ideas for addressing individuals’ responses to change
·Practical ideas for monitoring and evaluating OD interventions.

Level: intermediate

Contac us at: training@intrac.org