No experience in NGOs.
I have yet to see a field where organise project management didn't work.
Construction, IT, pharma, marketing,..... Saving Changes...
Yes Danny I have, in the Philippines, and in a nutshell, they aren't very warm or fluid to the idea. It may be different in other countries, and I know it is here in Australia. But certainly while I was in the Philippines running projects, NGO's although not top heavy like government institutions, were still political animals, which meant they liked doing it their own way, or it's the highway. One of my passions was helping these organizations in third world countries see the benefits of project frameworks and standards from PMI. Perhaps over time I (we) can break this reluctance to change. Saving Changes...
Sergio Luis ConteHelping to create solutions for everyone| Worldwide based OrganizationsBuenos Aires, Argentina
I have implemented and I have trained people from NGOs. Is not about to incorporate standards. Is about to find a way to do things in a better way than today to achieve the objectives. At least, in my experience. Saving Changes...
Bhaumik ShahVice President - Operations| Awaaz De InfosystemsAhmedabad, Gujarat, India
I have been working with NGOs since last 7 years but haven't see standardized PM framework in practice. Each project / organization prefer to use own framework. From my experience I feel it may be difficult to implement "standard" framework since each project is different in nature in terms of deliverable, intervention and impacted communities.
However in the sector they do use certain standard M&E (Monitoring and Evaluation) framework to define and track outcome indicators. Saving Changes...
Adolfo JaramilloInternational Development Law OrganisationEysins, Switzerland
This is the biggest concern being PMP and working for a non profit org. I believe you need to convince the top management on the benefits and opportunities to get the buy-in from rest of staff. Top management need to see the risks they could avoid, improvements in project implementation and controlling, specially linking this to money. Then they need to support it and make this happen in the org. My advise. Saving Changes...
Stéphane ParentSelf Employed / Semi-retired| Leader MakerPrince Edward Island, Canada
NGOs have specific events, like fund-raising, that are unique to them. All in all, you should be able to manage such events just like you would a project. Saving Changes...
ANGELA SHEPHARDSr. Project Manager/Consultant| TekSystemsOklahoma City, Ok, United States
I have been in the NGO industry for over 10 years now and the struggle remains the same. Helping the executive team understand and support a stable the concept of a "true" PMO and help them understand the benefit to the organization as a whole. From my experience, I have found that there are some complexities with the idea of a PMO and managing projects the proper way but the foundation is the same. But, I often run into sponsors and stakeholder who want it ran their way. I would love to discuss how other NGO's are running their PMO's. Saving Changes...
Fernando TeixeiraManaging Director| PM Solutions ConsultoriaSalvador, Pm Solutions Consultoria, Brazil
I have started an engament on PMI Bahia Chapter as volunteer for Social Program. Because Covid-19 it has been a struggle to communicate through Skype as people in ONG´s are not used to tecnologies. In order to have a continued development on capacitation I feel I need to pursue phone calls and later on face o face communications. Saving Changes...
Thomas WalentaGlobal Project Economy ExpertHackenheim, Germany
PMI itself uses these standards and is a NGO.
I am a volunteer for a German NGO and they use some standards. Every volunteer assignment is run as a project.
Think as soon as NGOs reach a certain size, they think about optimizing their operations and project management is one path to support this.
On the other hand, operational excellence is not a primary goal of NGOs, they tend to focus on their purpose and gaining resources (volunteers, funds ). A good book about good practice for NGOs is Forces for Good. Saving Changes...
Shalila RajSenior Manager, Strategy and Research| Magic Bus India FoundationIndia
I have been working in NGO sector in India for more than a decade now and is able to apply some of the PMI standards to the projects I have been part of. Social/Development sector differs from the industrial and corporate sectors in terms of needs, context, and innovation. The biggest challenge is in contextualizing the principles, using creativity, and calculating cost effectiveness. Value and benefit realization has been a challenge too. Recently there have been a shift in using project management to yield maximum benefits but a long way to go. Another challenge is working with a team that may not be trained in project management. There are organizations like PM4DEV, Humentum, Pyramid who offer project management courses customized for NGOs which is a great help. We motivate staff to enroll into these courses and build those skills. Understanding the sector is crucial in deliberating the use of PMI standards for NGOs. Saving Changes...
