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OD and International/Community Development (OD-ICD) SIG: July 2011

  • 14 Jul 2011
  • 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM
  • JHU Carey School of Business - Dupont Circle

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OD/ICD SIG

Date: July 14, 2011

Time: 6:00 to 9 pm, with bring-your-own-dinner and networking starting at 6 pm.

Topic: Partnering in International Development Projects

Description:

Background

Partnering has become a key principle in development. The Paris Declaration and Accra Agenda for Action Development call for partnership and capacity building between donors and recipient nations.  In addition, projects are often designed as partnerships between and/or among donors, NGOs, government, local institutions, and local communities and involve capacity building of national systems.

Development projects use partnering for a number of reasons that include combining the skills and competency of implementers under one umbrella; collaborating with key stakeholders to find and implement solutions; providing capacity building; and/or promoting “ownership” or “buy in” of activities by aid recipients.

A common characteristic of development partnerships is that neither party has direct managerial control over the other partner.  This fact leads to the question “Who is in charge?” and causes difficulties for many managers, who, whether on the donor or recipient side, are not trained to work collaboratively with partners.

In our experience, many development professionals do not have an explicit model they use to develop strong partnerships.  In many projects, partnerships develop organically without a shared, conscious partnering framework; this leads to the hit or miss success of partnering.

OD has developed a strong partnering framework designed to increase the effectiveness of consulting.  In this framework, a consultant is defined somewhat broadly as one who wants to have influence, but does not have direct managerial control over the system or people they want to influence.  This position of “consultant” is one that development organizations find themselves in often, particularly when working with local communities, institutions, NGOs, and governments.  In fact, in any capacity building project, the outside aid organization is effectively a consultant as defined above.

Meeting Objectives

In this experiential workshop, participants will share their experiences in partnering and discuss a collaborative consulting model based on the work of Peter Block.  Participants will work with the model and identify the strengths and weaknesses of this model for their work in international development.  Adding this model of collaboration to the development professionals “Toolbox” will improve their ability to plan for and establish productive partnerships in all aspects of their work, particularly in capacity building projects.

For OD professionals, the meeting will provide a refresher on key contracting skills with an international development twist.

This meeting of the OD/ICD SIG is designed to build the capacity of development professionals who:

  • Plan development projects;
  • Backstop regional and country offices;
  • Conduct capacity building interventions; and
  • Manage projects in the field. 

It is also designed for OD Professionals working with international development projects.

Bio

Oscar Abello is the global programs coordinator for the Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE), which currently partners with local organizations in over 70 countries to engage entrepreneurs in democratic governance. At CIPE, Oscar co-edits the CIPE Development Blog, and also works with CIPE's staff and partners to develop content for social media and a range of other online platforms including the CIPE Development Institute. Oscar's work focuses on the intersection of governance and enterprise, with a growing emphasis on financial sectors.

Oscar has a B.A. in Economics and a minor in Peace and Justice Studies from Villanova University, where he was a St. Martin de Porres Scholar, and also shared the inaugural Solidarity Award from Villanova's Center for Peace and Justice Education. Oscar is a huge fan of writing, undermining injustice, NPR's This American Life and The Moth, Malcolm Gladwell, financial intermediation, the Philadelphia Phillies, endogenous processes and Villanova basketball. When he's not busy tweeting for CIPE @CIPEglobal, you can follow Oscar @oabello or reach him via email at OAbello@cipe.org.

Frank Page is an independent consultant recently returned to the States after 17 years of consulting with and managing community based development projects in Indonesia. He specializes in strategic planning, project planning, community development, and organizational diagnosis. Over that time his clients have included capacity building, community development, AIDs prevention, environmental protection, and democratization NGOs/projects. During this period, Frank was also the Urban Program Manager for CARE International Indonesia, where he managed child nutrition, TB prevention, and avian influenza prevention projects. All of these programs worked closely with local governments to help them adopt better practices to deliver these programs once the CARE programs were completed. Frank’s last work in Indonesia was with an AUSAID Reducing Emissions from Forest Degradation and Destruction (REDD) pilot project. His role was to develop the facilitation and consulting skills of the project’s community engagement team and to facilitate integrated project planning. Frank began his career with the Peace Corps in the Philippines and has worked with Save the Children in Sri Lanka and OEF International in Somalia. He has an MSc. in International Agricultural Development from the University of California, Davis and an MSc. in Organizational Development from the AU/NTL program. 

SIG Leader:
Frank Page (fcpage@yahoo.com) | 202-595-4830

Steering Committee:
Oscar Abello (oabello@cipe.org) | 202-5074055
Jenny Lyman (jennifer.lyman25@gmail.com | 202-257-1498)
David Osborne (dosborne@change-fusion.com | 703-939-1777)
Winta Teferi (xxwintex@yahoo.com | 202-595-4830
Priscilla Enner (priscilla.enner@gmail.com | 551-427-7433)

SIG Description: The OD/ICD SIG is a forum for collective learning and exchange among professionals who, in their own work, support development and positive change through collaborative partnerships in the arenas of Organization Development (OD), International Development (ID), and Community Development (CD). The SIG is a multi-directional conversation among participants with diverse worldviews, theories of practice, and partnerships; and a common desire to create positive, sustainable change through trusting, transparent, accountable, and powerful collaborations and organizations. Participants are aware of the challenges and opportunities inherent in issues facing the world (e.g., material poverty, violent conflict, climate change, social injustice, and more).

The SIG is a multi-directional conversation between diverse participants, and draws on presenters from within and without the participant base, prioritizing presentations with experiential components. Because participants lead busy lives, the participant base will be different in each meeting, creating a dynamic and evolving community. 

Who would benefit from attending: Practitioners, change agents, leaders, social entrepreneurs, policy analysts, grassroots activists, and partners in the arenas of International Development, Organization Development, and Community Development. These may include representatives of any sector (e.g., government, international institutions, philanthropy, civil society, academe, corporations, social entrepreneurs, etc.).

Meeting Frequency: Second Thursday of each month

Who We Are

Chesapeake Bay Organization Development Network (CBODN) - is the premier DC Metro area network and community of practice of Organization Development (OD) practitioners. Founded in Chesapeake Bay, MD, our name still pays homage to our founders, and we are grateful for their brilliant minds and vital contributions to the field of OD.

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