Page 16 - Sustainability and entrepreneurship for CSO's and CSO networks Cambodia 1 November 2018

CHAPTER 6: ORGANISATIONAL CAPACITY
Where are we now?
When assessing the current state of your organisational capacity, you can make an organisational scan. A scan is a snapshot of your organisational capacity and can be repeated several times to monitor the developments of your organisation over a period of time. The decision to conduct an assessment starts within your organisation. Before you start, you have to be clear on your intentions: what do we want to achieve, where are we now and are we ready for a change? It is important that the organisation is committed to assess and to improve organisational capacity. Board, management, staff, beneficiaries and a selection of stakeholders must be involved and committed to support a possible change. Conducting assessments can be felt as a threat: practices, routine and power division, become explicit and a mirror to management, staff, board and beneficiaries. It requires preparation, commitment and clear communication to explain what was done and what will be done at all levels of the organisation. CSO networks are member based organisations. The ultimate vote for a change of a member based organisation is with the members. An assessment is a first step and may have implications. Therefore, be prepared, seek support, plan, organise, create commitment and allocate budget, time and staff to take the first step in what may lead to a transformation of your organisation.
Who conducts the assessment?
Involve people who form a good representation of the organisation and its stakeholders. Make sure that all levels are represented including board, members, suppliers and funders. Contracting an outsider for process guidance and support may help you to look at your organisation with new insides and neutral observations.
The OCAT Tool
The Organisational Capacity Assessment Tool (OCAT), developed by McKinsey & Company (McKinsey & Company), is an excellent assessment tool to measure your operational capacity and identify areas, which need improvement. It can be used as a self-assessment tool, you can also invite other resource persons to fill in the OCAT tool.
https://ocat.mckinseyonsociety.com/account/login and:
https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/social-sector/how-we-help-clients/organizational-capacity-assessment-tool
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