Enabling and freeing up organisations

A workshop session during the DSA/BOND Stakeholder Conference on the Research / Practice Interfact at The School of Oriental and African Studies, London

Convenor: Alex Jacobs, Director, Mango

This workshop will look at the organisational principles or structures that are necessary to improve development practice, paying attention to inappropriate structures that have resulted from basic assumptions being carried over from the private sector.

There is a frustration that attends a lot of NGO work, where people are fighting organisational structures and finding that the organisation isnot helping them to do their work (particularly when they are in thefield). Once a receptive and broadly appropriate organisational structure is in place then people can start to think about how to improve what they do - and that means making good use of available research.

Alex Jacobs has extensive experience of NGO operations, from varied field experience (particularly in sub-Saharan Africa) to management, board,consultancy and funding agency appointments. He has a degree in Social Anthropology and qualified as a Chartered Management Accountant while working as a private-sector management consultant. He has worked with rural communities in Zimbabwe and Kenya, and in many other countries with NGOs including Oxfam GB.

Alex was part of the team that founded Mango in 1999. He currently sits on BOND's board of trustees and Oxfam GB's audit committee. He holds apart-time visiting fellowship at Oxford University, and teaches on academic programmes at several universities.