NGO’s contribute a lot towards
the development of people. A visiting lecturer of Harvard recently
remarked that if there was any development happening in grassroots-India
it was because of the NGO’s. But how exactly have they contributed
to the growth and development of human resources? NGOs have contributed
by finding philosophical and pragmatic answers to issues about human
development in and through their operations. Contrasting to the
popular notion of ‘charity’, it is the newer concept
of ‘development’, which has helped NGOs achieve their
developmental objectives. And this new philosophy of development
has worked only when it has encompassed the recipients, development
workers and the stakeholders. But can these lessons to be relevant
to corporate Human Resources Development? This paper analyses this
issue in two sections, by examining a few core, critical issues
that are confronting NGO’s today as they engage in development.
What is the context in which the NGO has contributed to the development
of Human Resources Development?
What are the applicable lessons for corporate Human Resources Development
of these?
In order to embark on the contribution
made by the NGO to the development of Human Resources Development
it is vital to trace the context in which NGOs work today. Let
us take a look at the issues in the NGO today.
What are
the business themes faced in the NGO work?
Development vs Charity –
the evolving place for beneficiaries in the development process
Motivation for Development
in an NGO
Funding Fundas and
Ideological Agendas
Human Development –
an input/output perspective
Contribution of NGO work to
Human Resources Development
What should be the focus of Human
Resources Development ?
Shifting the paradigm of Human Resources
Development
Company vs. Community
What are the business themes faced
in the NGO work?
1. A Human Resources Development puzzle
in the NGO sector is that largely government efforts have failed
in development while NGOs succeeded. What has enabled these organisations
to succeed?
2. Although the term voluntary organization is often used in India
to refer to NGOs involved in development work, many NGOs are not
in fact voluntary organizations, and many rely primarily on paid
staff to plan, coordinate and implement their development projects.
Some of these paid staff are permanent employees while most are
on a contract basis. What sort of HRD issues does this raise within
the organisation?
3. How much of development can full-time paid workers achieve
by motivating voluntary workers? If yet development occurs then
what does it teach us about motivation as a stimulus among the
target population as an essential pre-condition for Development
to occur?
4. What is the contribution of charity based work compared to
development-based work when it comes to Human Resources Development?
5. What are the HR implications in the beliefs of the founders
of the NGOs?
6. What are the different stakes involved in the NGO work from
the perspective of different stakeholders?
7. A major operational theme running with NGOs currently is procurement
of external funding from abroad vis-à-vis local funding.
How does this influence the work? In a book entitled "The
Alms Bazaar," Ian Smillie identified three problems that
Southern NGOs commonly face when seeking funding from outside
(foreign sources): "cherry picking" specific projects,
refusal to fund overheads, and delays in decision-making and remitting
funds. Although these are not the only problems for Southern NGOs,
they highlight the nature of the difficulties involved in seeking
funds from donors who may be unfamiliar with conditions on the
ground, and who have their own programming preferences, guidelines,
and expectations. What are the business implications for the NGO
in light of such ‘cherry picking’? ....next
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