Project communications in one thousand words or less

Introduction Lola arrived late for our dinner meeting. She was flustered as she whirled into the restaurant. She had made the critical mistake of answering her telephone just before leaving the office. The person on the other end of the...

Governance Q&A: When being told to do something feels wrong

I am a program manager, delivering human service programs in my region. I have been told to do something that feels all wrong. I can't break confidentiality to tell you what it is. I went through our code of conduct...

A framework for personal and organizational success

Introduction Many organizations develop strategic plans and spend the time to outline the tasks, responsibilities, and timelines required to implement the plan, yet they are still unable to make a meaningful difference in the organization's achievements. This article is written...

A hitchhiker’s guide to project change

Introduction The previous article discussed the reasons for scope change and how to recognize when changes may be on the horizon. The key question that it did not address is "how". How does the team manage change? This article revisits...

Governance Q&A: Is it ethical to pay grant writers a percentage of grants received?

Is it ethical to pay grant writers a percentage of grants received? This question comes up all the time, as many charities would like to have a chance at new monies with no cost to them. They do not understand...

The tri-process model for trans-organizational system (TS) effectiveness

Many academics and government experts are exhorting community developers, practitioners, and private sector managers to partner and collaborate. Although some inter-organizational systems, such as industry councils, have been around for many years, few primers exist as to how to do...

Canada boasts second largest nonprofit sector in the world

If you are a bit surprised by the title of this week's Cover Story, you're not alone. Even the researchers that came to this conclusion were somewhat surprised to learn that Canada has one of the largest nonprofit and voluntary...

Not another “me-too” strategic plan

Introduction The process of strategic planning has become one of uniformity. The strategic plans of one organization look very much like that of every other organization, except for a changed title page. Compounding this uniformity are the so-called consulting experts...

Peer learning: Addressing needs of executive directors

A recent study of executive directors in the nonprofit sector reveals troubling indicators of burnout, isolation, poor compensation and benefits, and excessive demands. The nonprofit sector is at risk of losing leadership and management skill sets as these individuals leave...

The ups and downs of offering and accepting pro bono work

Here's a pop quiz. What is the definition of pro bono? Is it: (a) services performed at no charge? or (b) for the public good? We've come to think of pro bono as a synonym for "free" or "no charge",...