“Effectiveness comes from those qualitative things that give you the ability to network, communicate, and lead people toward an outcome they can’t see.” – Lynn Good
The rhythms of mammalian evolution and development etch an interesting, multi-phase narrative in the biological history of animal life. Mammals remain a dominant species on the planet earth, and include human beings – a race that has utilized its brainpower to create a variety of modern institutions, practices, processes, systems, sub-systems, methods, and paradigms. When we examine this wide-ranging context, we find the institution of the non-government organization (NGO) as a premier arrangement invented by gifted human minds.
A variety of NGOs operate within and across national borders in the present day. These, when steered with an element of increasing effectiveness, allow human beings to fashion different types (and grades) of programs aimed at improving the present state of the human condition. To that end, thinkers and NGO activists have worked (and continue to work) to fashion a variety of techniques, systems, and processes that enable NGOs to make a difference, and generate a positive impact on their respective areas of operation.
- Dissect the Method
Modern NGOS could seek to develop insights into their operating methods and procedures through the agency of flowcharts. Such forms of illustration enable non-government organizations to examine problems in new light, dissect the essence of complicated landscapes, develop unique modes of action that spur progress toward solutions, and instil increasing effectiveness into their chosen methods of operation. The flowchart also presents NGOs with new possibilities in terms of executing ongoing projects, designing and building relevant new capacities, and fashioning intricate outlines of solutions that could address enduring problems facing humankind. Further, original insights that emerge from such activity could undergo refinement and adaptation within the spaces of a modern flowchart. Hence, we could state that flowcharts represent a toolkit that aids civil society to attain its many objectives.
- The Deconstruction Technique
Deconstructing a series of objectives – when undertaken inside flowcharts – empowers civil society operators to gain high visibility into new projects. Such deconstruction helps in increasing effectiveness of project operators, allows scope for creating intelligent interventions, drives project-related conversations to higher levels, and boosts the ability of civil society to attain an increasingly seamless mode of project operation. In addition, such a stance enables project participants to stay on the proverbial same page, manage the expectations of all stakeholders, and develop templates of action that promote increasing effectiveness in multiple contexts. Further, such flowchart-based techniques encourage NGO activists to share knowledge of best practices, thereby benefitting (the design and execution of) programs and projects undertaken over the long term.
- Quantification & Links to Benchmarks
We may consider the idea of simple quantification as a method of increasing effectiveness in the modern civil society universe. Designers of projects could allocate numerical values to various stages of projects, develop a technique to assessing the values, and link these to appropriate benchmarks for subsequent evaluation. For instance, a flowchart could find active implementation in a project designed to provide clean drinking water to populations residing in semi-desert zones of major continents. This stance, when correctly operationalized, enables relevant operators to track progress in various stages of the project, and arrive at number-driven assessments. The different segments of flowchart could record the interactions and experiences of project personnel and register the quantification values – thus allowing the element of increasing effectiveness to resonate in this enterprise.
- Timelines inside Flowcharts
Timelines, when positioned inside the expanse and structure of a civil society project, could signal progress toward increasing effectiveness in terms of project development and execution. These lines could find representation inside flowcharts that describe the structure of projects, enumerate the methods of project execution, and indicate the key success factors that attend successful completion. We must bear in mind that project designers must create cogent timelines – and communicate these to all stakeholders. In addition, a set of separate timelines could mark the completion of certain phases of project; this illustrates a key utility of the idea of designing/implementing timelines. Additionally, flowcharts bearing timelines could emerge as tools of progress that impinge on every operational area of civil society projects, thus marking the increasing effectiveness of NGO-driven initiatives and interventions.
- Quantify, Quantify
The sources (and quanta) of funding aimed at different segments of NGO activity could find detailed representation within the spaces of modern flowcharts. In this context, the stewards of non-government organizations could design the outlines of such activity in a bid to gain increasing effectiveness in the NGO universe. We may view such techniques as a step toward streamlining the interactions between funding agencies, grassroots activists, coordinators, corporate liaison officers, and the operators of various organizations. Flow diagrams could also emerge instrumental in terms of developing methods to disburse various types of funds, creating interactions between funding agencies and government-based institutions, and signaling progress for the benefit of the stakeholder community. Additionally, public relations organizations affiliated to NGOs could utilize this technique to generate increasing effectiveness in their communications methods and platforms.
- Enter: Best Practices
Circular designs embedded within flowcharts may allow designers of NGO campaigns to source and implement best practices to uplift, inter alia, the quality of project design and execution. Pursuant to this, creators of campaign could collaborate with architects of flowcharts to connect a myriad elements of best practices with the stalwart segments of an ongoing project. The resulting visual could project complex imagery that indicates a sustained element of increasing effectiveness in terms of achieving major objectives enshrined inside project charters. Circular design represents one aspect of imaging innovation in such enterprise; developers and architects could re-imagine this technique to build novel configurations of flowchart that may ally with civil society operators. Additionally, the circular motif could represent the inauguration of new method that could potentially boost the mechanics of designing and implementing new generations of civil society charters and activities.
- Probing the Process
Deep dives into the structure, expanse, mechanics, and configurations of processes and systems hold potential when undertaken inside flowcharts. NGO activists, could for instance, embark on such ventures to locate zones of sub-par performance as part of campaigns to attain increasing effectiveness. The classical structure of flowcharts allows such deep dives to enter the mainstream of NGO activity; the outcomes include transparency in process design, operation, and execution. In addition, flow diagrams enable activists to brainstorm on the manifest utility of various stages of process; therefore, the flowchart could emerge as a tool of re-invention of key sections/segments of processes that distinguish civil society. Further, NGOs could utilize such techniques to arrive at faster modes of process execution, thereby adding the proverbial wind to the sails of campaign design and execution.
These texts encourage readers to consider the many uses flowcharts find in the universe of modern NGOs. We may view these illustrations as tools that shape the worldview of non-government organizations; these diagrams also enable activists and donors to find and locate the means of increasing effectiveness in multiple contexts of current relevance. We may expand the application of flowcharts to include policy design that animates key aspects of modern civil society. Additionally, NGOs could utilize different denominations of flowchart to re-visit the core ideas that comprise the fundaments of civil society. When shared across the board, these illustrations could promote stakeholder co-operation and empower NGOs to achieve their mandates with success.
