From February 26 to March 7, 2014, the Centre for Sustainable Rural Development (SRD) organized a sequence of meetings and training with the participation of management team, advisory board and staff. These events are part of a long-term organizational development program which aims to solidify SRD’s position on its way to become one of leading non-government organizations in Vietnam.
This event series began with a training on Communications and Advocacy which was delivered by instructors from the Center for Research Management and Sustainable development (MSD) from February 26th to 28th. Advocacy is an integral component of SRD’s programs and integrated issues. Within the framework of community-based projects, SRD has been conducting advocacy at the local-level, which is always linked with the objectives of each project. The training allowed SRD’s staff to systematically review their knowledge about advocacy from policy framework analysis, steps in advocacy process, to advocacy tools. Thus SRD’s advocacy operations would be implemented more thoroughly and efficiently than before at local level projects. The training also offered a valuable chance for SRD’s project officers to share their advocacy experience, which has opened new opportunities for cross-project cooperation in advocacy. That being said, it will also help increase the effectiveness of SRD’s advocacy at higher levels.
Group discussion at the advocacy training
The advocacy training was followed by a Succession Planning workshop, which took place on March 3rd and 4th. With the support from facilitators from the Center for Community Empowerment (CECEM), all SRD’s staff entered thorough discussions in order to develop appropriate and possible solutions for the center which contained a specific roadmap from identifying criteria versa requirements, selecting candidates to coaching, practising and evaluating to selecting the most suitable one. Findings from the workshop have provided valuable inputs to SRD’s succession planning process that helps ensure SRD sustainable development. Additionally, the workshop created a space for sharing related to concerns, expectations, among SRD’s staff, which brought staff closer to each other and increased their commitment to the organization.
Selecting an item to symbolize SRD
The sequence of workshops/trainings ended with a training course on Institutional Analysis and Organization Strengthening (IA&OS) delivered by trainers from MFD – a global training and consultancy agency with 30 years of experience in organizing trainings on project management, result-based management. Throughout the training, SRD’s staff employed different models, analyzing tools to gain an insight into the strengths, weaknesses of SRD as well as opportunities and challenges in today’s NGO environment. Moreover, the training helped SRD’s staff to broaden their knowledge about management and leadership skills. SRD also took use of the training to review its 3rd Strategic Plan (2013-2017), and to propose new strategic directions in the coming period, which aim at making its development strategy more suitable to its internal capacities and the external environment.
Group discussion at the IA&OS training
What sets the above trainings/workshop apart is the combination between theory and practice they provided. In each training/workshop, SRD’s staff had the chance to acquire new knowledge and learn how to apply what they learnt into their work. The series of trainings/workshop, taking place in late February and early March 2014, are considered a strategic investment by SRD in order to sustainably develop and affirm its leading role as a professional NGO which is dedicated to support poor rural communities to adapt to changing environment and impacts of climate change.
-SRD-
Centre for Sustainable Rural Development (SRD)
No.31, Alley 19 Kim Dong Street, Hoang Mai District, Ha Noi
Phone: +84 24 3943 6676/78 | Fax: +84 24 3943 6449
