Civil society organizations (CSOs) have been advised to make quality impacts in society by building formidable structures through innovation and collaboration.
The Chief Executive Officer of Sterling One Foundation, Olapeju Ibekwe, said there is a need for not-for-profit organizations in Nigeria to strengthen their organizational systems, structures and capacity for greater efficiency and effectiveness in the discharge of their functions.
Ibekwe gave the advice recently at the National Organizational Development Summit — a civil society capacity building organised by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Palladium, Sterling One Foundation and the Ford Foundation — held in Abuja.
“Because of the kind of work we do, it is very important so much so that we as civil society organizations are required to be organized, collaborate, build sustainable partnership and remain very efficient in our different organizations,” she said.
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The 2023 edition of the summit was focused on enhancing innovation and technology for organizational resilience and performance.
“Passion is not enough, there is need for skills and effective capacity to drive organizational goals,” Chichi Aniagolu-Okoye, regional director, West Africa, Ford Foundation, said.
Aniagoku-Okoye appealed that not-for-profit organizations should utilize collaboration, partnership and knowledge sharing to fas-track development, noting that there is a need for effective leveraging across civil society space for optimal performance.
She also stressed the importance of working with the CSOs and not through CSOs.
In her remarks, Amina Salihu, deputy director, MacArthur Foundation, said, “There is a need to have clarity about what you want to achieve as an organization, as an organization that wants to make impact, you have to be clear of your strategy, purpose and vision. These are the foundation for effective performance.”
Salihu encouraged budding CSOs to design and implement efficient structures and systems in order to position for impact and funding opportunities.
She noted that funding is competitive, hence emerging CSOs should remain focused on their work, vision and purpose, adding that it is time to expand and not shrink the space for the civil society.
“Considering the operating environment in Nigeria today, civil societies organizations must be more engaged now more than ever before. This system strengthening for NGOs is particularly crucial at this time,” she said.
In an abstract presentation on Digital Technology and Organizational Efficiency in Civil Society Setting, Ambassador Onoja maintained that digital technology is the backbone for redefining organizational development, describing it as a tool for organizational competitiveness.
“Digital technology is the pillar for resilience building. It is shaping everything around us including organizational behaviors, it empowers organization for resilience, it is relevant today, it is relevant for tomorrow.
“It is import to invest and adapt to it, for you as an organization to operate without digital technology it is suicidal,” he added.
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