Born and raised in a developing country and having worked with many non-for-profit organizations, I was always eager to learn more about the uniqueness of the program and project management models used within organizations like NGO’s. Earlier last year, a friend of mine brought my attention to PM4NGOs. I went through their website in details and came across the certifications they offer and found them to be very interesting as they are specific to Program and Project Management for Development Projects.
“How to learn” flowchart
I wanted to share with you this excellent “How to learn” flowchart I saw recently at Tukongote School and Study Centre near the Victoria Falls at Livingstone in Zambia. It certainly applies to learning in general and project management in particular. We can learn a lot from our mistakes!
Can agile be scaled?
This APM Research Fund study builds on the 2015 APM North West Volunteer study on the practical adoption of agile methodologies which provided a review of approaches at a project level, this study aims to investigate the level of practical adoption of those programme and portfolio components addressed by Scaled Agile methodologies.
The objective of the study was to understand the extent to which scaled agile tools, techniques and roles are practically in place in corporate portfolio, programme, project and development management methodologies, to determine the level of corporate commitment to exploiting scaled agile, e.g. pilot, full use, selective based on need, as well as drivers for selection or deselection of the framework based on the overheads.
Who is the intended audience?
The proposed target audience is APM corporate members and their employees but would also be of interest to individual practitioners, training providers and those who are considering or have adopted Agile and now want to expand its use, or who have been struggling to align timeframes and products across multiple agile deliveries.
This article has been originally published at the APM Website. Click in the button below to read the full article and download the report.
The rise and reality of INGO domestic programming
Author: Susannah Pickering-Saqqa
This article was originally published at Bond
There is a growing interest in the idea of INGOs running programmes in their home countries alongside their projects in the global south. These “domestic programmes” (DP) range from helping impoverished communities in the UK, Canada and the USA to supporting refugees and asylum seekers entering Germany and Sweden.
Some INGOs, like Islamic Relief Worldwide, are embracing domestic programming for numerous reasons, but this multi-mandate focus presents a range of challenges.
Why some international NGOs are working at home
DP has traditionally been an issue that receives little attention, but it has taken on a higher profile in recent years. This is due to several interconnected factors:
How to manage staff – 10 tips for new managers
By Peter Marlow
So, you’ve been given a new project to manage and it’s big. You’ve been given some staff to help you but you’ve never managed staff before.
Managing people is not easy and it’s not something that is easily learned, except by doing it and making mistakes. Don’t worry, here are ten tips to help you to manage your new team effectively:
Build your team
Everyone is different. Your team will each have different strengths and weaknesses, and have an individual part to play in making your project a success. Management Theorist Meredith Belbin identified 9 different team roles – Resource Investigator, Team Worker, Co-ordinator, Plant (Problem Solver), Monitor Evaluator, Specialist, Shaper, Implementor and Completer Finisher. Most people will be most comfortable with two or three of these roles, but not all. So, get to know your staff. Give them tasks that exploit their strengths and help them with their weaknesses.
The empowering feeling of participation
By Oliver Carrick
“No. We’re not talking about that now. Would anyone else like to participate?”
So spoke the President of a local NGO to the monthly meeting of project beneficiaries.
Participation has so many forms that the word alone can seem meaningless. But let’s distinguish between two key types of participation: Participation as a means of performing project work, and participation as an end goal of the project itself.
Many of us who have worked in local development have been privileged enough to see the effects of the empowering initiatives which have people’s participation as an end goal. In the best-case scenario locals and beneficiaries engage in a cycle of learning by doing which improves their confidence and their skills to participate again in ever more complex tasks. The end goal is building local capacities, knowledge and experience by participation in development projects and initiatives.
Which project management training is right for you?
Lottie Watters, a Devex Reporting and Communications Associate based in Barcelona, has published this amazing article about project management certifications and courses, which includes PMD Pro as one of the top three recommended by global development professionals.
Which project management training is right for you?
Project management certifications offer the skills to successfully see a project through from start to finish. But with a wealth of project management courses out there, it can be overwhelming to figure out which course is best — particularly as many courses are designed for the private sector.
Different certifications — such as PMP, PRINCE2, and PMD Pro — vary in methodology, complexity, and time required to complete them. It is therefore key to select training best-suited to your field and line of work.
“It is important to do your own research on the development area, industry, or specialist profession you are in or aiming for. Once you have done that, you will have narrowed down the options and should choose the methodology that you feel comfortable with,” said Dave Bain, senior project manager at New Zealand Christchurch City Council, who has completed the PMP, PRINCE2, and Lean Six Sigma courses.
This article originally published on Devex. Follow the link below to read the full article.
https://www.devex.com/news/which-project-management-training-is-right-for-you-94336
PM4NGOS AND APMG ANNOUNCE THE RECIPIENT OF THE 2018 ALAN HARPHAM AWARD
The Alan Harpham Award honors and recognizes an individual with distinguished actions in promoting the professionalization of project management in the international development and humanitarian sectors. The selected winner demonstrates not only leadership in advocating for project management professionalization within the sector, but also in making it available to those who are most in need and to a range of stakeholders in the sector such as community based organizations or local NGOs. The award is named in honor of Alan Harpham, former Board Member of PM4NGOs and Chairman of APMG, and a global citizen dedicated to making this sector and community a better place.
PM4NGOs and APMG are delighted to announce that the recipient of the Alan Harpham Award in 2018 is Cristiano Moura, Social Development Project Manager at ChildFund Brasil. Inspired by the democratization of information and access to management tools provided by the PMD Pro Guide, Cristiano Moura developed a method to train the visually impaired in project management, specifically in the initial phase of the Project Life Cycle.
His method proposes that the visually impaired can design projects, improve management, attract resources and be recognized professionals of the social development sector, after all, now they can see how to make a good justification of their projects and design structured projects, taking into account the tools of Identification and Design of Design, as Tree of Problems, Tree of Objectives and mainly the Logical Framework.
Eyes of a visually impaired person are also in their hands, so the idea was to enable them to experience the tools through touch. There was a problem that in an expositive class would be extremely complicated to work with this audience. So, some questions guided the creation of this method, for example: “how to explain and make visually impaired that at the time of justifying the project we would have to use a problem tree?” “How could we make them understand that in roots, trunks and branches, we would have causes, central problem and effects?”. Click here to read more about Cristiano’s initiative and how the developed didactic resources contributed in the end to having a Logical Framework written in Braille.
We at PM4NGOs as well as the team of APMG International congratulate Cristiano Moura and wish him all the very best in the future to succeed in the field of Project and Program Management for NGOs.
About PM4NGOs
PM4NGOs is an international non-profit organization that seeks for an equitable and sustainable world where social investment achieves the greatest impact. PM4NGOs promotes excellence in the management of social investment projects and programmes through the creation and development of best practice guidance for development professionals, certification schemes for those working in the sector who will be proud to hold an internationally recognised qualification and a forum for communication and discussion about international development sector best practice. The PM4NGOs mission is to promote and sustain the professionalism of program and project management in the international development sector.
www.pm4ngos.org
About APMG
APMG International is a global accreditation body specialising in professional certifications to help individuals and business deliver best practice solutions. Our portfolio includes a host of industry recognised certifications; Certified Public-Private Partnerships Professional, Forest Garden Training Certification, Praxis Framework™ and Change Management. During the past 25 years APMG International has worked with over 550 Accredited Training Organizations and Scheme Owners across the globe. Over 2 million candidates from 100+ countries have taken an APMG exam in 21 languages. Our examinations are rigorous, challenging and consistent so that candidates can be proud of their achievement.
www.apmg-international.com
About Alan Harpham
As Chairman of the APM Group from 1997 to 2014 Alan worked tirelessly to build APMG’s international networks and reputation. Apart from his professional career, Alan was dedicated to serving his community. His portfolio of pro-bono activities included chairing the Ecumenical Partnership Initiatives Limited, where he also served as a volunteer chaplain to the East of England Ambulance Service. He was a director of the International Center for Spirit at Work; a board member of the Cranfield Management Association, and a Certified Management Consultant and Fellow of the Institute of Business Consultants. Alan was also a member of the Worshipful Company of Management Consultants and was a pro-bono mentor and consultant.
Parceria Enactus Brasil e PM4NGOs
Trabalhando em Conjunto para melhor Apoiar os Gerentes de Projetos Sociais do Futuro
A Enactus Brasil e o PM4NGOs firmaram parceria neste mês de novembro para ampliar a promoção e compartilhamento de metodologias e boas práticas com estudantes da Rede Enactus no Brasil.
A Enactus Brasil é parte do programa Enactus, presente em 36 países ao redor do mundo. Trata-se de uma rede de estudantes, líderes executivos e líderes acadêmicos, que fornece uma plataforma para os universitários criarem projetos de desenvolvimento comunitário que colocam capacidade e talento das pessoas em foco.
Os 2.800 estudantes universitários que participam do Programa da Enactus Brasil e desenvolvem mais de 210 projetos, serão acompanhados de perto e receberão apoio do representante do PM4NGOs no Brasil, Dov Rosemann. “O perfil dos estudantes que participam do programa é de pessoas engajadas com os desafios socioambientais de nossos tempos. Colaborar com essa geração de futuros líderes é ao mesmo tempo uma honra e uma ação estratégica para o desenvolvimento de uma cidadania ativa e responsável”, afirma Dov.
Além do acesso aos guias de boas práticas PMD Pro[1]e PgMD Pro[2], todas as metodologias e ferramentas do PM4NGOs, os estudantes que obtiverem a certificação uma das certificações do PM4NGOs terão acesso ao programa de integração e desenvolvimento profissional contínuo PMD Pro+.
Segundo Vitor Vannucchi Ungari, Gerente de Programas da Enactus Brasil, “através da ação empreendedora e sustentabilidade, os projetos buscam melhorar a vida de comunidades em situação de vulnerabilidade social. Os desafios são muitos e a complexidade é grande, mas sabemos que não mudaremos nada sem colocar as ideias em prática e executar nossos sonhos grandes. A parceria entre PM4NGOs e Enactus ajudará a profissionalizar ainda mais os projetos, buscando melhorar o desenvolvimento dos estudantes e consequentemente o valor gerado nas mais diferentes comunidades”.
Sobre a Enactus Brasil
Enactus é uma organização internacional sem fins lucrativos dedicada a inspirar os alunos a melhorar o mundo através da Ação Empreendedora.
A Enactus Brasil é um dos 36 países ao redor do mundo que opera o programa Enactus. Somos uma rede de estudantes, líderes executivos e líderes acadêmicos, onde fornecemos uma plataforma para os universitários criarem projetos de desenvolvimento comunitário que colocam capacidade e talento das pessoas em foco. Com isso, nossos alunos fazem da Ação Empreendedora a ferramenta que transforma vidas. E a transformação acontece dos dois lados: as pessoas que servimos e os alunos, que desenvolvem valores para se tornarem os verdadeiros líderes do futuro.
Assim como no mundo dos negócios, acreditamos que a competição estimula a criatividade e recompensa resultados. Para a Enactus, isso significa mais vidas impactadas. Uma série anual de campeonatos nacionais fornece um fórum para as equipes mostrarem o impacto de seus projetos, que são avaliados por executivos. O Time Campeão Nacional avança para a prestigiada Enactus World Cup, onde tem a oportunidade de vivenciar a celebração da excelência e colaboração.
Sobre o PM4NGOs
O PM4NGOs é uma organização sem fins lucrativos internacional que almeja por um mundo sustentável e equilibrado onde o investimento social em projetos e programas alcança o maior impacto possível.
O PM4NGOs promove a excelência na gestão de projetos e programas através da criação e desenvolvimento de guias boas práticas para profissionais de desenvolvimento social, certificação para aqueles trabalhando no setor social que desejam adquirir uma qualificação internacionalmente reconhecida, e mantém um fórum para comunicação e discussão sobre as melhores práticas para o setor de desenvolvimento social.
A missão do PM4NGOs é promover e apoiar o profissionalismo da gestão de programas e projetos no setor internacional de desenvolvimento social.
[1]Gestão de Projetos para Profissionais de Desenvolvimento Social
[2]Gestão de Programas para Profissionais de Desenvolvimento Social
Enactus Brasil and PM4NGOs partnership
Working Together to better Support the Future Social Development Project Managers
Enactus Brasil and PM4NGOs announce their partnership to share methodologies and best practices with the students of the Enactus Brazil Network.
Enactus Brasil part of the Enactus Program, present at 36 countries across the globe. The program is a network composed by students, executive and academic leaders, that offer a platform for university students create and implement community development projects, with focus on people talents and capabilities.
The 2,800 university students who participate in the Enactus Brasil Program and implement over 210 projects will receive close support and guidance from the PM4NGOs represent at Brazil, Dov Rosemann. “The students who attend the program have a socio-environmental engagement profile, focused on actual challenges. Collaborating with these future leaders is not only an honour but also a strategic action to develop responsible and proactive citizens”, says Dov.
Besides accessing the PMD Pro[1]and PgMD Pro[2]best practices guides, other PM4NGOs methodologies and tools, students who acquire one of the PM4NGOs certifications will have access to the continuing professional development program PMD Pro+
According to Vitor Vannucchi Ungari, Enactus Brasil Program Manager, “through sustainable entrepreneurship actions, projects seek to improve socially vulnerable communities living conditions. There are many challenges and the context is complex, but we know we will not change anything without changing our ideas in real actions. The partnership with between PM4NGOs and Enactus will help to make our projects even more professionals, improving students’ development and, as a consequence, generating earned value in the communities we support.”
About Enactus Brasil
Enactus is an international non-profit organization dedicated to inspiring students to improve the world through Entrepreneurship Action.
Enactus Brasil part of the Enactus Program, present at 36 countries across the globe. The program is a network composed by students, executive and academic leaders, that offer a platform for university students create and implement community development projects, with focus on people talents and capabilities.
Our Students make the Entrepreneurship Action the tool that change lives. The transformation happens on both sides: people we serve and students, who develop values to become the true leaders of the future.
Likewise the business world, we believe competition stimulates creativity and generate results. To Enactus, this belief means impact to a bigger number of lives. A series of annual national contests provides a platform to Enactus teams present their projects’ impact, evaluated by executive professionals. The national winner team moves forward to the Enactus World Cup, giving this team an opportunity to experience and celebrate the excellence in cooperation.
About PM4NGOs
PM4NGOs is an international non-profit organization that seeks for an equitable and sustainable world where social investment achieves the greatest impact.
PM4NGOs promotes excellence in the management of social investment projects and programmes through the creation and development of best practice guidance for development professionals, certification schemes for those working in the sector who will be proud to hold an internationally recognized qualification and a forum for communication and discussion about international development sector best practice.
The PM4NGOs mission is to promote and sustain the professionalism of program and project management in the international development sector.
[1]Gestão de Projetos para Profissionais de Desenvolvimento Social
[2]Gestão de Programas para Profissionais de Desenvolvimento Social