Identifying and Analysing

Social Service and Community

Organisations in Ghana.

Lecture 4
Plan of presentation
• Part 1: Types of Organisations
Public Sector Organisations
Private Sector Organizations
Third Sector Organisations
- Community-Based Organisation
- Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs)

• Part 2: Strategic & Operational Planning for NGOs

 • Generally, there are different types of
organisations categorised by different types of
ownership:

Private sector
Part 1: Public sector
Third sector
Types of Non-Governmental Organisations
organisations Community Based Organisations.

• These different categories of ownership make

up what we call the sectors of the economy.
Types of organisations
Types of
Organisations

Public Sector Private Sector

Third Sector
Organisations Organisations

Community
Based
Organisations
(CBOs)

Non-
Governmental
Organisations
(NGOs)
What are Private Sector Organisations?
Types Of CBOS
 Organisations owned by individuals.

Private Sector Organisations are financed by

private money from shareholders and by bank
Private Sector loans.

Organisations These organisations are profit driven.

Profit from Private Sector Organisations

benefits the owners, shareholders and
investors.
What are Public Sector Organisations?
Types Of CBOS
 •Public Sector Organisations
are owned and run by the
government.
•They provide goods and
Public Sector
services for the benefit of the
Organisations community.
•They operate with money
raised from taxes.
What are Third Sector Organisations?
Types Of CBOS
 • Third sector’ is an umbrella term that covers a
range of different organisations with different
structures and purposes
• These oganisations neither belong to the
Public Sector (i.e., the state) nor to the Private
Sector (profit-making private enterprise).
Third Sector • Third sector organisations include:
Organisations  Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs).
 Community Based Organisations (CBOs).
 Think tanks and private research institutes
(this does not include universities and
colleges).
Third Sector Organisations
• Most Third Sector Organisations devote themselves either to
a particular issue which needs to be solved (for example,
climate change); or to a particular group in society who
requires support and representation (for example girls facing
cultural barriers to education).

• Third Sector Organisations provide services related to these

issues (for example, girl child education).
Third Sector Organisations
• Third Sector Organisations try to achieve their aims through a wide range of
activities.
• Examples include:
Fundraising
Providing legal advice
Providing other forms of direct support and advice to the groups they help.
• In addition, Third Sector Organisations provides support on issues involving
changes to relevant local, national, or international policies.
• Examples of Third Sector organisations are:
Community Based Organisations
Non-Governmental Organisations
What are Community Based Organisations?
Types Of CBOS
 • Community-Based
Organizations, or CBOs are
Community organisations that provide
Based social services at the local
Organisations level.
(CBOs) • CBOs are Non-Profit, Non-
Governmental, or Charitable
organizations that works to
generate improvements within
a community at the local level.
Community Based Organisations
(CBOs).

• CBOs are community development processes in the form of a

formal organization.
• Usually, CBOs are locally formed, locally staffed, and their
actions are specific to the location they operate in.
• Focus of CBOs is to build equality across society in all
streams –E.g. health care, environment, quality of education,
access to technology, access to spaces and information for the
disabled.
Community Based Organisations
• The local status of CBOs means that they may be limited in
certain resources depending on the geographical location of the
CBO and the community it serves.

• The inference is that the communities represented by the

CBO's are typically at a disadvantage.

• Since CBOs are localized, they mostly focus on issues within

the community they operate in.
Community Based Organisations
• This does not mean that CBOs only focus on minor issues; large scale
issues like crime and poverty are common areas of interest for CBOs.
• Community Based Organisations can also attend to issues that exist outside
their immediate community which affects their local community.
• In some instances, CBOs may collaborate on an issue outside of its
community with another CBO.
This usually happens when there is some overlap regarding areas of interest, such as
shared geographic boundaries between the two communities.
• CBOs may also look at how a larger issue is being handled in other
communities in order to find guidance or alternative solutions.
Activities of CBOs
• Work conducted by CBO's generally falls into the themes of human services,
natural environment conservation and urban environment safety and
revitalization.
• Examples include:
 Food security
 Elderly/Senior citizens associations
 Environmental protection/conservation
 Humanitarian/disaster response
 Medical relief funds
 Youth activity centers
Key Feature
• Due to their localized focus, CBOs have a wealth of information regarding
the issues it is focused on within the community.
• They highlight issues that need to be addressed and then include every
relevant piece of data regarding those issues for those that will be working
on them.
• This includes details about what is wrong in the community, what should be
done to solve the situation, available resources, and effects of the issue on
the community.
• NB: For anyone who is attempting to start the community development
process in their community, including a CBO in the process can help make
things go smoothly.
Types Of CBOS

• Just as with any organization, there are different

types/categories of CBOs.
• The categories or types usually dictates the
structural and legal features of the CBO and the
impact of its operations.
What are the types Of CBOs?
Types Of CBOs
•Common Interest Groups (CIGs)
 These are usually organizations that involve community members who have shared
goal(s) and interest(s).
 Common Interest Groups are mostly simple and flexible enough to be modified
while still retaining its core structure. As a result, CIGs are a common CBO type
present in communities and community development.
•User Associations:
 Technically a type of CIG, user associations are like clubs where the resources they
provide to the community are applicable primarily to the association’s members. They
can operate, maintain, and fund facilities using resources and money obtained publicly
and/or privately.
Types Of CBOs
•Village Development Committees (VDCs):
 VDCs tend to be CBOs that act as a collective governance in villages. They have a set
of rules that govern not only the VDC's actions, but the whole community. A VDC can
also be set up in addition to a village's current government, and the two can work in
tandem.

• Faith-Based Organizations (FBOs):

FBOs are CBOs and non-profits with a religious twist to them. They can have
similarities to other types of CBOs, depending on how they are initially set up.

• Micro-Finance Institutions (MFIs):

These are CBOs that are focused on financial elements in the community, like lending
and savings. MFIs are not banks, per se, but they do offer similar services for poor
communities.
Advantages of CBOs
•Tax-Exempt Status:
CBOs are legally defined as a nonprofit organization, and thus
exempted from paying taxes.Tax-exemption status has financial
advantages, such as access to public service announcements and
advertising discounts.

· Direct Benefits:
A CBO is designed specifically for the community it operates in, thus
ensuring that any benefits the organization offers goes to those it is
intended for. This makes it easier to ensure that the issues in the
community are getting ‘full’ attention in order to find a solution.
Advantages
· Perpetuity:
Since a CBO is an established organization, it is separate from any one individual and is
eligible for organizational perpetuity.
This means that if the person who initially began and operates the CBO leaves for
whatever reason, retires or dies, the organization is not going to necessarily end. Rather,
the orgnaisation will continue so long as it has a purpose.
•Liability Protection:
The separation that CBOs have from individuals as organizations means that they have some
built-in liability protection in place. If a member's personal actions lead to consequences like
fines or lawsuits, the CBO isn't going to be impacted on a legal standpoint.
Should a CBO be sued directly or have any kind of legal consequences for its actions, it is
able to have its own liability insurance coverage to protect it as it is considered a type of
non-profit.
Disadvantages

• Financial Restrictions:
 Money is often an issue for most CBO, as their actions are dependent
on the funding. Progression towards the group's goals and their
activities for the community development process can be delayed if
there are any financial issues at hand, like a lack of money from
fundraising and donations.

• Workforce:
 CBOs are dependent on people being involved in the organization,
and their workforce is primarily made up of volunteers. While this can
be a good thing-volunteers tend to have a genuine passion for their
cause(s)-it can backfire if there aren't enough volunteers to get things
done.
Disadvantages

• Social Pressures:
Even when there is support within the community for CBOs and
community development, there can also be resistance. The goals
and/or methods of a CBO may not have widespread acceptance in
the community. It is therefore important for CBOs to pay attention
to the atmosphere of the community and the attitudes of its
residents when it is taking actions.
What are NGOs?
Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs)
• NGOs are Third Sector Organisations which concentrate on development
activities and focus their energies and resources towards poverty reduction.
• Difficult to define NGOs because the concepts and terms used to explain NGOs
are unsystematic and unclear in terms of the nature, types and roles.
• For instance, NGOs are also referred to as:
 Non-Profit Organization (NPO)
Grassroots Organization (GRO)
 Civil Service Organization (CSO),
Membership Organization (MO)
• Often, these different categories refer to the same concept.
 Ghana’s NGO Policy
Guidelines
• According to Ghana’s NGO Policy
Guidelines 2007,:
• NGOs are independent, non-profit
making, non-political and charitable
organisations, which primarily seek to
enhance the social, cultural and
economic wellbeing of people in
society without any religious, political
or ethnic bias.

Credit: Konga.com
Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs)

• NGOs form part of civil groups and are essential actors in society,
politics and economic advancement.

• NGOs are distinct and separate from Government Organisations and

profit-making businesses because:
 They are viewed as Third Sector Organisations who do not make
profit like the profit-making businesses
Differs from Government Organisations because their authority
and mandate are not from a political process although they operate
under the laws of the country.
Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs)

• In Ghana notable Non-Governmental

organisations (NGOs) involved in rural development
include:
 UNICEF
UNDP
 FAO
CARE International
World Vision International.
 Take Note:
Most CBOs are considered to be a
type of Non-Profit Organization
But they are
and may operate similarly. not the same.
CBOs and
NGO’s
Non-profits are usually large
organisations that have a particular area
of focus which is addressed through
multiple projects and actions.
CBOs and Non-Profit Organisations
• A CBO is far more limited:
• Usually handling a single project pertaining to an area of focus purely within the community they
are present in.

• Aside from the collaboration mentioned previously, a CBO will not exist outside of the community
they act in.

• CBO can be a part of or connected to a larger organization like a regular Non-Profit Organisation,
but they will not act as a branch of that organization outside of their geographic focus.

• Within community development, CBOs tend to serve primarily as the middlemen for resources and
actions.

• Many larger groups, like Non-profits use CBOs as a way of interacting with those who are already
at work on issues within the community.
PART TWO
Strategic & Operational Planning for NGOs
Strategic & Operational Planning for NGOs

• Planning is an essential process for organizational management and

good governance.
• The Sectors of the Economy – Public, Private and Third Sector
organisations need strategic planning to achieving objectives.
• Strategic plan is a document that provides details about the goals,
objectives and other relevant steps and actions needed to be taken by
an organization to accomplish its goals and objectives.
• It is a document that directs the overall functioning of an
organization.
Strategic Planning for NGOs
• Strategic planning is a management activity that is used by
organisations to set priorities, focus energy and resources,
strengthen operations, adjust the organization’s direction in
response to a changing environment and ensure that
employees and other stakeholders are working towards a
common goals to achieve results.

• Strategic planning is vital, yet it is a complex issue

especially for smaller organizations.
Strategic Planning for NGOs
• Like any organization, strategic planning is important for the development of
Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs).
• An effective strategic plan clearly states the mission and vision of the NGO and
provides an overall direction to the future of the organization.
• A strategic plan is a useful guide to direct the making of best decisions. This is
because, at any instance, members of an organization can refer to the vision and
define its further course of action.
• A strategic plan provides NGOs with a good idea and understanding about its
strengths and capacities, weaknesses and problems as well as resources (SWOT
analysis ).
Strategic Planning for NGOs
• By means of strategic planning, NGOs shall know what all it needs to do in
order to accomplish its set targets. They can execute their duties and
functions in accordance with their strategic planning. This shall make its
activities more organized and well planned.
• Strategic planning makes it ‘easier’ for NGOs to define their budget, utilize
time and human resources to conveniently work towards achieving both
short-term and long-term objectives with increased capacity and efficiency.
• When Strategic planning is part of organizational culture, employees and
stakeholders become more disciplined and NGOs can experience better
performance.
Strategic Planning for NGOs
• A strategic plan enables an NGO to focus more on the
important matters and less on insignificant projects and
initiatives. It also informs NGOs about environmental
changes that demands attention.
• NGOs that plan strategically and follow their strategies can
have the advantage of developing a good image and
reputation and securing a good position/recognition in the
NGO environment.
Tools and Principles of Strategic Planning

• A good strategy is usually accompanied by effective planning tools.

• There are several planning tools that could be considered while
conducting strategic planning.
• Examples of Strategic Planning tools are:
• Visioning
• SWOT analysis
• PESTLE analysis
• Portfolio analysis
• Interrelationship digraph.
Tools and Principles of Strategic Planning

• Each tool has its own importance, and organisations

may sometimes combine some of the tools into the
strategic planning.
• Focus on two planning tools:
Visioning
SWOT analysis
Tools and Principles of Strategic Planning -
Vision
•To vision is to plan for future.
•Vision can be described as a motivational statement for the organization and its
employees
•Visioning starts with brainstorming and it answers basic questions such as:
• what does the organization want to achieve in the future
• what would the organization look like
•what image should the organization build in the minds of people (e.g.,
stakeholders, potential customers, etc)
•In general, visioning provides a futuristic revelation to the organization’s present
image and standing.
Importance of Visioning
 Vision of an NGO is the major foundation that guides further plans and prospects of the organization.
 If you think of an organization as a human body, vision is the head.
 Leaders/Management refers to the organizational vision to have a realistic approach for the organization.
 How is Visioning done?
 Through proper planning – demands brainstorming to foresee the future of the NGO by asking questions
such as:
 Where will the organization be in 5 years?
 Who are your target beneficiaries?
 What specific issues does the organization want to address and how?
 How can the organisation achieve its goal?
 Vision statement must be expressive, appealing and well drafted to give direction to the NGO.
 Visioning is best done by choosing specific time-frame which is practical for the organization to achieve.
 •Vision statement of the NGO must be appealing, use simple
language, have a broad context and mostly written in present
tense.
•Examples of Vision Statements:
•CARE International:
 We seek a world of hope, inclusion and social justice,
where poverty has been overcome and all people live in

Importance dignity and security. We seek a world of hope, inclusion and

social justice, where poverty has been overcome and all
people live in dignity and security. We seek a world of hope,

of Visioning inclusion and social justice, where poverty has been

overcome and all people live in dignity and security.
• Save the children International-
 A world in which every child attains the right to survival,
protection, development and participation

•Oxfam
 Our vision is a just world without poverty.
Tools and Principles of Strategic Planning:
SWOT Analysis
• S.W.O.T stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats.

 Importance of SWOT analysis:

SWOT analysis provides leaders with useful information which can
be used to develop or sustain internal projects in the view of
challenges that could prevent an organization from being efficient.
Enables leaders to develop an overall picture of the current position of
the organization in order to devise a future plan of action, based on the
present situation and in accordance with the organization’s objective.
How is SWOT Analysis conducted?
 SWOT analysis involves deep focus on both the internal and the external
environments of an NGO.
 For example:
 Strengths and weaknesses are within an organization (internal)
 Opportunities and threats are mostly outside the organization (external).

•Within the internal environment:

• Management /Leadership brainstorms on the vital strengths of the organization
and explore how to translate the vital strengths into a competitive advantage.
• Management /Leadership also highlight key weaknesses and try to improve
them.
How is SWOT Analysis conducted?
• In the external environment
• Management /Leadership concentrate on all
possible ways to sustain the NGO and make it and
flourish.
• A list is made emphasizing the most promising
opportunities and the serious threats to the NGO.
• The key opportunities and threats are then mapped
out and projected in the overall strategic plan.
How is SWOT analysis conducted
• Overall, SWOT is an analysis of the following:
 Strengths - Positive factors within the NGO that will enable the organization achieve its
objectives and targets.
 Weaknesses: Internal factors that will prevent the organization from achieving its desired
goals and objectives.
 Opportunities: External factors that are beyond the control of the NGO, but which can
probably support the organization in moving closer to its goals. Analyzing opportunities
and integrating them into plans helps an organization to take advantages of a situation.
 Threats - Negative external factors which may jeopardize ongoing activities. It is always
essential to assess threats whilst developing strategic plans in order to lessen the risks.
Strategic & Operational Planning for NGOs –Why?

• In the 1970s and 1980s, Public, Nonprofit, and Private organizations experienced rapid
social and economic changes.
• Social and political turbulence continued through the 1990s with war, economic crisis,
and political conflict causing uncertainty for Public and Nonprofit Organizations, as well
as Private Sector Organizations.
E.g., wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, terrorist attacks, increasing poverty, and
environmental risks from climate change, demanded that Public and Nonprofit
Organizations should adapt to changing circumstances in terms of public support and
financing
► Most critically, the rapid changes required organizations to plan “strategically” to ensure
that they could cope with the changes (Bryson, 2004: 6).
Strategic & Operational Planning for NGOs

• One of the major mechanisms to ensure that organizations

and governments could understand and adapt to their social,
economic, and political environments was through Strategic
planning.
• Unlike other forms of long-term planning, Strategic
planning involves:
Analyzing an organization’s internal and external
environments systematically to identify strategic issues
and to develop action plans to address those issue.
The Planning Process - Recap
• In previous lectures, it was discussed that Planning is usually done with
some idea of what is possible and what is not possible.
• The process of Planning begins with the selection of general decision
criteria and the goals that the organisation hopes to achieve.
• For example, Organizational planning might begin with decisions such as:
Budget for the fiscal year.
Human resources available.
Mandated functions or services that the organisation must deliver by
law.
Possibility to implementing new projects/programs.
The Planning Process
• Developing long-term goals (e.g., up to five years).
• Developing short-term objectives (usually up to
one year) and prioritizing them in annual action
plans.
• Evaluating progress in achieving goals and
objectives.
• Reevaluating goals and objectives, as well as
reexamining the internal and external
environments at least during each year.
• Repeating the process of strategic planning after
most goals and objectives have been achieved or
circumstances change.
Strategic Planning Process
• The Strategic Planning process mostly begins by
determining what the plan should achieve and who
should participate.
• The Strategic Planning process involves the following
tasks:
 Developing a “vision of success” for the organization
(i.e., what the organisation hopes to achieve or what it
should look like in five to ten years).
Developing a “mission statement” that briefly
describes what the organisation does and plans to do.
Strategic Planning Process
Outlining the organization’s mandates (i.e., what it is
required to do under law)

Conducting environmental survey to identify internal and

external threats and opportunities.

Assessing internal resources and capabilities.

Identifying “strategic issues” for the organization.

The Strategic Planning Process
• The vision must be realistic and should convey a positive, action-
oriented image of the organisation that will appeal to employees and
external stakeholders.
• The mission statement must be a brief statement of the purpose of the
organization such that employees and external stakeholders can
remember and identify with it.
• The mandates are usually requirements under law. This should capture
for example how to deliver a service or respond to a social need.
The mandates may also include historical expectations that are not
likely to change significantly.
The Strategic Planning Process
• The survey of the internal environment should include human and financial
resources, technologies, and other factors that may pose threats (e.g., resource
limitations or skill deficiencies) or opportunities (e.g., availability of highly
skilled workers).
• The survey of internal resources and capabilities is mostly to reaffirm the
availability of resources, such as budget and personnel.
• However, the survey is also used to anticipate demands on the organization and
assess the availability of other essential resources such as:
► Physical space (e.g., is there room to house new programs and
personnel?)
► Technologies (e.g., does the computer network have enough capacity for
new functions if needed?).
The Strategic Planning Process
• The survey of the external environment should include stakeholders
that support the organisations’s programs or need its services, as well
as those who may oppose the organisation or support its competitors.
• The external survey should also include societal and economic factors
that may pose challenges or opportunities for the organisation.
For example, when the government is experiencing economic
shortages, it is generally not a good idea for the organization to
propose new programs. However, new programs that can save
money may be very well received.
The Strategic Planning Process
• After the Planning Process has developed descriptions of where the organisation is
currently (i.e., the status quo) and where it wants to be (i.e., the vision), strategic
issues can then be identified. For example:
Will new job skills will be required?
How about training (i.e., development of internal resource) or hiring (i.e.,
extracting external resources)?
Will new technology will be required, or will technology be an issue?.
• After the strategic issues have been identified, the next stage is to develop
strategic goals to address issues.
For example, if technology is a major issue, the planners may identify the
kinds of computers or other technologies that will be required.
The Strategic Planning Process
• To operationalize the long-term goals, measurable
objectives must be developed.
For example, if an organisation wants to develop or expand
capabilities to do emergency management, the objectives
might be to acquire a certain number of geographic
information systems (GIS) until accomplish this goal.
Other objectives might be to train a certain number of people
and to hire professional social workers or personnel with
specialized skills in organizational planning.
The Strategic Planning Process
• The success or failure of strategic planning usually depends on the
level of support from senior officials in the organisation and “constant
effort to keep the planning exercise on track, time, and realism”
(Rosenbloom, 1998: 353).
• Strategic planning is an on-going process that requires periodic
review of progress in implementing the goals and at least annual
updates of the action plans.
• All assumptions about the environment also should be reviewed
periodically to ensure that the plan is still realistic.
Summary
• Organizational planning involves developing a course of action based
upon assumptions about the future and includes assumptions about the
environment and the organization itself.
• Plans are more often based upon forecasts which are probabilistic
statements that X will occur while recognizing that X may not occur
(Starling, 1998: 236).
Organizations frequently use expert forecasting,
The value of involving many and diverse people in the process is that
ideas about alternative solutions and information processing
capabilities expand.
Summary
• Examples of expert techniques used in forecasting include:
Delphi Technique – used to anticipate threats, opportunities, and other
changes in their task environments.
The Delphi Technique is a consensus-building exercise in which experts
are asked to forecast future events and give their reasoning
anonymously. The forecasts are summarized and given back to the
individual experts for assessment. The process may be repeated one or
more times until the experts arrive at a consensus (Starling, 1998: 236-
7).
Impact assessment can be used to examine the effects of policies or other
actions.
Summary – TAKE NOTE!
• Technology assessment examines the effects of
technological change (Starling, 1998: 240).
For example, a major challenge during major disaster
(e.g., flooding) is disruption in communications systems.
The expansion of cell phone networks has made it possible
to communicate from disaster areas, although the lack of
electricity can make it difficult to recharge cell phone
batteries therefore, users will not be able to connect with
their networks.
Summary (Assessment of technology) – Take
Note!
• Also, the use of modems in laptop computers has made it possible for project field
workers to send and receive data and do various tasks that previously had to be
done in emergency operations centers or even in headquarters facilities far
removed from the disaster area.
• Growing use of social media is changing communications on organizational
activities.
For example, facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and other platforms encourage
people to post messages and videos that increases the awareness of
developmental issues.
• Public agencies, NGOs, and Private Sector Organizations are also using social
media to disseminate information on individual and community development
within their own networks.
Summary
• Planning begins with the selection of general decision
criteria and the goals that the agency hopes to achieve.
• planning is normally done with some idea of what is
and what is not possible
• Strategic planning involves analyzing an
organization’s internal and external environments
systematically to identify strategic issues and to
develop action plans to address those issue.
 Strategic planning is an on-going
process that requires periodic
review of progress in implementing
the goals and at least annual
updates of the action plans.
Summary All assumptions about the
environment also should be
reviewed periodically to ensure that
the plan is still realistic.
References
• Allison, M., & Kaye, J. (2011). Strategic planning for nonprofit organizations: A
practical guide and workbook. John Wiley & Sons.
• Chechetto-Salles, M., & Geyer, Y. (2006). Community-Based Organization Management,
Handbook series for community-based organizations. Institute for Democracy in South
Africa (IDASA): South Africa.

• Opare, S. (2007). Strengthening community-based organizations for the challenges of

rural development. Community Development Journal, 42(2), 251-264.

• Hagan, G. A. N. (2019). Financial Management of NGOs in Ghana: A Case Study of

Central Aid (Doctoral dissertation, University of Ghana). – Pages 9-12
 Answer one of the following questions:

1a) What are the mission and vision statement of the

Department of Social Work?

Take home
Exams (IA) 1b)What are some of the environmental factors that can
impact on the Department’s development over the next one
year?

2) Mention and explain some of the Strategic Planning

Processes that the Department of Social Work must follow to
address challenges such as the new academic way of teaching
and learning.
 1. Questions 1a and 1b are together.

2. Submission is Thursday 18th February

by 12pm PROMPT.
Exams 3. Maximum is 5 pages, New times
Roman, Font size 12 and 1.5 line spacing.
Guide:
4. Students must clearly indicate their ID
numbers and Names on the exams paper.
GOOD LUCK.