Insightful agility' the regeneration of the Foundation for Community Work : a case study of a nonprofit organisation in the Western Cape

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT: It is not and cannot be business as usual for any organisation; from charities,developmental institutions to multi nationals. The operational environment oforganisations all over the world is affected and often infected by change.The need for change is linked to the need for new ways of looking at theexternal world. The way in which organisations adapt and respond to suchchanges, indicates the levels of maturity and awareness within organisations.The ability to adapt and respond to external stimuli to effect change in theenvironment is a process that goes beyond the learning organisationparadigm. It is when the organisation regenerates itself to remain viable andin so doing, make(s) a positive net contribution to the viability anddevelopment of the larger whole of which it forms part, that organisationalsustainability is captured (Groenewald, 2003:1 ).Bringing about change that is relevant and sustainable is context dependent.Herein lies the problem for today's Non Government Organisations (NGO's)that seek relevant and appropriate responses to an ever-changing operationalcontext. The purpose of this study is to demonstrate a possible path forwardfor an NGO of longstanding, which, in realising the inadaptability of itsstructure, sought to be responsive in an apt, agile and insightful way.Three objectives were dissected from the overall aim and used as guidingpillars in this research process. These were:To identify options in securing the FCW's future existence.To assess the feasibility of each identified option against the criterionof 'Insightful Agility', meaning how best would the FCW change or adapt itselfto remain relevant and viable in the social development arena.To propose a route for change in the FCW based on the feasibilityassessment of the future options. The Foundation for Community Work is a NonProfit Organisation of over thirtyyears standing, that has incubated the idea of transforming to a CommunityDevelopment Foundation. By applying the work by Markus Schwaninger,Intelligent Organisations (10), an integrative theoretical framework, theorganisation's journey is briefly sketched from its inception during theturbulent period of Apartheid South Africa, through to 1994 and the postApartheid era. In summary and according to Groenewald (2003), the 10 hasat its core, the ability of self-control of its activities; the structure for its viabilityand development and the internal interactive behaviour of its stakeholders.The FCW's strength was always its engagement with communities and how intouch it remained with community needs and aspirations. The challenge nowis to expand on the FCW's community networks and connectedness and toestablish the exact boundaries and scope of its development interventions.In developing a Community Development Foundation, (CDF) it is envisagedthat such a structure would be flexible, dynamic and adaptable enough toaddress the poverty needs of marginalised communities in the Western Cape.Poverty reduction programmes, have made little, if any, impact on the livingconditions of severely impoverished communities in which the Foundation forCommunity Work operates and major social inadequacies have not beenwiped out. The lack of coherent infra structure for effective and efficientresource mobilisation has not unlocked available resources, but has ratherslowed down the pace of grant-making. The intended mission of the CDF is tobring resources closer to communities by working together with marginalisedcommunities in the critical areas of need around poverty reduction with thefocus on youth development; HIV/AIDS; and the mobilisation of capacitybuilding and utilisation of local resources within civil society structures.This study is as much a testimony to past experiences, and of transformationprocesses highlighting growth points, initiatives and lessons learned, bringinginto play the present, as the Foundation for Community Work moves on toface new challenges of renewal and regeneration.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University