The Chief Executive Officer of Sterling One Foundation Olapeju Ibekwe has urged not-for-profit organisations in Nigeria to strengthen their organisational systems, structures and capacity for greater efficiency and effectiveness in the discharge of their functions.
This, she said, is “because of the kind of work we do, it is very important so much so that we as civil society organizations are require to be organized, collaborate, build sustainable partnership and remain very efficient in our different organizations”.
Ibekwe spoke during the National Organisational Development Summit in Abuja.
The summit is a civil society capacity building and institutional strengthening conveyed by the United States Agency for International Development, USAID, Palladium, Sterling One Foundation and the Ford Foundation.
It was aimed at enhancing the efficiency of the not-for profit organisations and the civil society organisations to ensure effective performance.
The 2023 edition of the summit is focused on enhancing innovation and technology for organizational resilience and performance.
Organizational development is one of the system strengthening models for deepening organizational effectiveness from the point of view of the use of technology, innovation and other essential work tools to improve organizational performance.
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“Passion is not enough, there is need for skills and effective capacity to drive organizational goals,” Chichi Aniagolu-Okoye, regional director, West Africa, Ford Foundation said.
Aniagolu-Okoye maintained that not-for-profit organisations should utilise collaborations, partnership and knowledge sharing to fastrack development, noting that there is need for effective leveraging across civil society space for optimal performance.
She stressed the importance of working with the CSOs and not through CSOs, noting the need for collaboration and partnership.
“There is need to have clarity about what you want to achieve as an organization, as an organization that wants to make impact, you have to be clear of your strategy, purpose and vision. These are the foundation for effective performance” said, Amina Salihu, deputy director, MacArthur Foundation. Salihu encouraged budding civil society organizations to design and implement efficient structures and systems in order to position for impact and funding opportunities. She noted that funding is competitive, hence young civil society organizations should remain focused on its work and stay on the course of vision and purpose.
“Considering the operating environment in Nigeria today, civil societies organizations must be more engaged now more than ever before.” Salihu notes particularly that it is time to expand and not shrink the space for the civil society. “This system strengthening for NGOs is particularly crucial at this time” she maintained.
In an abstract presentation on Digital Technology and Organizational Efficiency in Civil Society Setting, Ambassador Onoja said: “Digital technology is the backbone for redefining organizational development, it is a tool for organizational competitiveness. Digital technology is the pillar for resilience building. It is shaping everything around us including organisational behaviors, it empowers organisation for resilience, it is relevant today, it is relevant for tomorrow”.
Ambassador Onoja further maintained: “It is import to invest and adapt to it, for you as an organization to operate without digital technology it is suicidal,” he said.