MANUAL OD TOOLKIT

Who provided the toolkit?

The OD toolkit is provided by Admira.

Admira (1994) provides training and consultancy to professional and volunteer organisations involved in providing shelter and support to survivors of sexual and domestic violence in war and post war situations. It started its work during the war in the countries of the former Yugoslavia.

Admira operates on the assumption that the involvement of the local health services in assisting survivors of sexual and domestic violence can be stimulated through an active and powerful women's movement. For these reasons, Admira also supports women's organisations by offering advice in the area of organisational development.

Development of this Toolkit on Organisational Development was undertaken to consolidate the effects of the consultancy work of Admira in the countries of the former Yugoslavia.

Admira, Sustainable care for survivors of sexual and domestic violence in war and post war situations.
Training and consultancy, Utrecht, the Netherlands.

What is the toolkit?

The OD TOOLKIT is a guide for non governmental organisations or non governmental development organisations  in reading materials on organisational development (OD), based on an inventory of organisational problems*

How  to use the toolkit?

A NGO can use the toolkit in three ways:

• defining the own problems, being guided to problem related materials
• searching for a specific topic using key-words, or
• jumping to the reading section, to explore the chapters that seem to be the most relevant.

The first way to use the toolkit: defining the own problem.

The OD-toolkit contains a description of frequently observed problems in organisations. Ten problem area's are presented: atmosphere, output, turnover of personnel, goals, resilience, money, power, expertise, agreements and external relationships. The user chooses one category and may refine the description of its actual problem definition by choosing deeper levels. More than 200 specific problems are described in this way.

Having chosen a specific problem that represents as close as possible the most bothering actual problem, the user is guided through relevant related topics and solutions.

All the problems refer to related material: dynamics, intermezzo's, solutions and/or reading materials. With a simple click on the title one may enter the accompanying reading material.

• So, starting with a problem there is a choice how to look at it.
• In some cases general mechanisms underlying more organisational problems in the region are described, we call them the dynamics of the problem,
• Often a dynamic factor related to the specific problem at stake is described, we call it an intermezzo.
• Two families of suggestions, called solutions are described. The first family is about organisational basics. The second aims at change. Solutions like growth, downsizing, cooperation or splitting up are described. Special attention is given to development from pioneering to professional organisation and to  mobilising civil society.
• From problems and from solutions references are made to specific reading materials.  An overview of literature will hopefully satisfy the still thirsty for knowledge. 
• All texts are brought together in the section background materials.

The second way to use the toolkit: consulting a key word list

By clicking in the main menu on 'key words list' the list is entered and clicking on the chosen word will lead to a description of the subject, either in the section problems, in the solutions, dynamics or background material.

The third way to use the toolkit: directly to reading materials

The reading  material can also be entered directly, by clicking on 'reading materials' in the main menu.

The material is grouped in chapters: civil society, organisations, change, management&leadership, gender&diversity, action, communication and a last chapter called 'extra'. This contains some suggestions to support the change agent or consultant who helps the organisation to explore a problem and implement a solution.

For whom

This toolkit is intended for NGO's involved in some kind of developmental work. You can either apply the toolkit to the whole organisation or to on a part of it. In applying the toolkit to a department, the idea is to relate all the topics to the level of that department: goals refer to department goals, management only refer to the department's management and so on.

The toolkit may be used by an organisation as a whole, or by (sub)groups, discussing together the choices to make, or by a single member of the organisation, being a manager or a worker.

Beyond the limited possibilities of the toolkit

Some organisations will make their way through the material, able to find the relevant reading material to help understand the problems of their organisation and to start some organisational change.

But for other organisations the toolkit may be a too limited instrument. The help of a skilled outsider may be needed to define more thoroughly the nature of the organisational problems and to find and implement appropriate solutions.

A group of NGO consultants in the region, involved in the development of this toolkit, may offer some help.

Names of consultants:

Admira, Sustainable care for survivors of sexual and domestic violence in war and post war situations. Training and consultancy.
     Vinkenburgstraat 2, 3512 AB Utrecht, The Netherlands.
     tel. 0031 30 2326500
     admira@transact.nl

^*  These problems are based on interviews with representatives of NGO's in former Yugoslavia and with Dutch trainers and consultants who worked with NGO's in the region from 1995 till 2003.