The learning NGO

Many NGOs are examining the relevance of management and organisational concepts from the corporate world in order to increase their effectiveness, efficiency and impact. The emerging use of ideas from organisation development (OD) in the NGO world is part of this trend (James. 1997). The recognition of the importance of management development in NGOs is another example of a concept which has its roots in private sector organisations but has been modified to suit the purpose, values and success criteria of the NGO sector. A more recent focus of attention in the corporate world — the importance of learning in organisations — has been the subject of many current books and has spawned the idea of ‘the learning organisation’. The ideas underpinning the concept of a ‘learning organisation’ have a generic appeal and, as a result, organisational learning is the subject of increasing interest in the NGO sector and the ‘not-forprofit’ world more widely. This paper sets out to examine the relevance of the ‘learning organisation’ concept for NGOs and concludes that the ideas have significant relevance for the sector.

The paper aims to provide NGO staff with a conceptual framework for the subject which is relevant to organisations which are value-driven, non-profit making and development-oriented. However, the purpose of the paper is not simply to describe the characteristics of learning organisations but to encourage NGOs to examine their organisations in the light of these characteristics. For this reason the paper includes a diagnostic tool (‘Learning NGO Questionnaire’) which NGOs can use to assess their current capacity for organisational learning.