‘Alternatives’ is an agency created to provide Consultancy Services to NGOs and Civil Society groups in the Independent Social Sector in the areas of Social Analysis and Organizational Transformation and Development. It also assists organizations in the areas of organizational/programme evaluation/audits, and developing human/ organizational development strategies.

What “Alternatives” offers to the strengthening of Civil Society/NGOs in the social sector?

• Renewing Organizational Culture- Organizational Development-

Often times, Organizations suffer from the predicament of inertia and/or a ‘status quo’ syndrome. This can happen to organizations which have grown in years and find re-appraisals painful and, hence, avoid them. Unwillingness to transform and renew can often cause an organization to deteriorate to the point where it’s very relevance and foundation are shaken. The timely infusion of ‘add-ons’ that can strengthen an organization through bringing in external inputs and the study of parallel/similar organizations can revitalize it. Quite often, patterns of organizational operation/working, become outmoded and, thus, ineffective. A collective and transparent review of the systems and structures in use to advance organizational goals needs to be periodically undertaken to pre-empt lethargy and negative growth.

‘Alternatives’ employs a time-tested approach called FUTURE SEARCH that enables organizations to create and develop ground-breaking/innovative approaches to organizational development. It is a practical method of bringing forward positive changes in organizational behaviour and learning /community engagement and energy for realizing sustainable solutions to deep seated societal issues. Future Search can enable and equip an organization to re-envision-re-strategize-reorganize-restructure itself to emerging societal challenges based in scientific social analysis.

Future Search also engenders faith in the collective wisdom and capacities of people- regardless of their position, status, gender, and age to come together and develop ‘common futures’ for the systems and structures they work within, belong to, and seek to sustain and transform. Through the use of Future Search as a tool, Alternatives can facilitate the creation of a new tomorrow based on a look-back at organizational history, at the immediate social context, and evolve new visions-method-energies to implement the plans that emanate.

• Participatory/transparent Governance patterns and systems

All too often, organizations develop patterns of governance which either never gets to be renewed and/or revised despite changing times and contexts. Governance systems which lack in transparency and dynamism, and which do not cater to the social context or changing agendas can easily result in organizational disarray. It can also cause decline drop in morale of those involved in its working. Stubborn refusal to deal adequately with this situation and to apply new organizational principles based on transparent-participatory mechanisms and strategies can amount to organizational disorder. Such situations need incisive analysis, and solutions that are developed with wide participation of stakeholders and community intervention points- the people- so as to avoid organizational crisis.

ALTERNATIVES would seek to engage in some objective analysis of the facts and problems and based on collective problem identification also seek collective problem solving tactics to remedy the situation. As in the case of the Future Search, governance systems must revolve around vision-mission-strategic intents.

• Human Resource Development/Capacity building

People are the core of any organization. It is they who can make things work or retard advancement of the organization’s agenda. Reviews and re-definitions of organizational goals and individual functions within them must of necessity be accompanied by preparations pertinent to the emerging organizational visions/patterns/methods etc. Alternatives would assist by bringing in training modules and initiatives aimed at re-gearing and re-tooling people with new skills and capacities.

• Independent Organizational and Project Evaluations/Assessments/Audits

Quite often, an organization will choose to bring in an external evaluator to appraise its work and make suggestions about its performance and areas of achievement. It may also ask for identifying areas of non-achievement. These are like performance audits (going beyond only financial aspects) around which stakeholders- funders, the Board of Directors, A General Body, the community- assesses their relationship with the organization and or projects carried out by it.

Alternatives can support such comprehensive audits by bringing in an individual or a team of individuals to carry out such an audit/assessment to carry out the required task and present an analytical finding purely as an external group doing an independent study. At the end of the study, findings will be placed before the core group of the organization and then to those who commission the study along with the comments of the core group.

• Training in Project Planning/Monitoring/Evaluation, and Social Marketing/Fund Raising

Many organizations often require technical assistance in writing up and formulating project proposals for funding sources. Alternatives will provide support in developing and formulating project submissions and training personnel in project/proposal writing based on sound participatory/consientizing social research and analysis using participatory tools. Similar assistance will also be needed in the usage of PME (Planning-Monitoring-Evaluation) mechanism. 

• Policy papers/Research projects

Organizations that are into dealing with programmes of social intervention whether of development/economics, human rights, advocacy, gender, caste/race, child rights, environment, often launch into action without having carried out adequate social analysis and research. This can have the effect of actions that can tend to become superficial and not address the real issues at stake.

Alternatives will engage qualified researchers in the task of field/internet-based research and come up with analysis of the issues to be addressed, propose a perspective and paradigms from which it/they can be dealt with for the organization to consider and work from.

• Compiling Dossiers/Workbooks/Documents/audio-visuals

In an era where information has attained overflow levels, organizations need to formulate policy and actions based on a wide range and base of information. The internet has made possible access to tremendous sources of information. What is often lacking is compact working documents/audio-visuals which conveys the sense of issues in a comprehensive, analytical and sharp manner for the constituency of the organization. Alternatives will support organizations in this important task by locating appropriate researchers/writers who are able to use creative and meaningful educational tools. It will also support organizations by proposing developing policy/advocacy lines through succinct and well-researched papers that can form the basis for action.