The upcoming ‘launch’
of the CNC will present a substantive challenge to many organizations within
this sector. These challenges will directly impact on how such organisations
adapt their existing internal and external reporting frameworks, which, in many
circumstances, impacts not only the management of these organizations but also
their boards.
The reasons
publicly given for the major reforms are well known. The economic impact of the
sector alone, dictates that change must occur. The relative size of the sector
in the context of the Australian economy is, as I have written in the past,
somewhat out of kilter with comparative Western economies in the context of the
sheer number of NFPs on a per capita basis. The long term sustainability of
many within this sector continues to challenge their ability to match values
and mission with operational capacity. Not to mention of course the contextual
problems associated with ongoing donor fatigue and the well publicized, poor,
philanthropic leanings of the Australian population, again, when compared to
other wealthy Western economies.
When
considered in this light, the changes coming down the pipeline are both potentially
complex but needed. The question of whether the CNC in its current proposed
form and in the political context of an unpopular minority government facing an
election in the near term, and a political environment that appears to deny the
application of real social ‘vision’, on a range of fronts, can deliver, is not
the issue that requires the attention of those trying to implement a tough
course of action that may have far reaching consequences. At the end of the
day, this sector needs to address these challenges and start looking at itself
with some effective navel gazing and consider how they, individually, can
achieve what they need to achieve in order to serve those that they serve in
the broader community.
So the
questions that each NFP, its executive, its board, needs to consider, is what
can we do to ensure that our organisations can adapt to this changing landscape
over the course of the next few years.
The impetus
for change, in this context is clear. Given that one of the key reasons that
change efforts in many organisations, irrespective of whether they are in the
NFP or the for-profit sector, fail, is due to the lack of an appropriate
cause-and-effect relationship. In essence, there must be a sound reason for
wanting to change. As has been well recognized in much of the change
literature, the simpler and clearer the basic goal of the change management process
is, the more likely it will be to take hold within the organisation, largely
related to the ability for change communication to be far more easily applied
and understood. This also opens up the ability for a larger representation of
involvement from within the organisation, thereby encouraging involvement,
participation and potentially acceptance.
As many in
the NFP sector attest, the range of changes that may be proposed over the
course of the next few years will challenge many organisations. To what extent
is your organisation ready to not only adapt to the myriad of changes in a
reactive manner, but also to what extent is your organisation ready to embrace
change in a proactive manner, seeking to bring change to your organisation with
the aim of ensuring your ongoing provision of services to the communities that
you seek to currently serve as well as those that you wish to serve in the
future?
OPTIMUM NFP works
within the field of change management and has been doing so within the NFP sector
successfully over a number of years developing change processes and frameworks that
enable such organisations to bring their strengths into the management of change.
