Tailored Organisational Assessments
Summarises the benefits of tailoring an organisational assessment tool to the needs of an organisation, how to do it, and top tips for good practice in using OA tools.
On this page you will find tools that we have developed, examples of our published writing, and other resources that we have found particularly useful in our practice.
Summarises the benefits of tailoring an organisational assessment tool to the needs of an organisation, how to do it, and top tips for good practice in using OA tools.
This tool compares an extensive range of capacity development methods, from formal training to less informal peer networks. The characteristics of each method are outlined, followed by its uses and the support and resources the method needs. This tool would be useful for anyone trying to decide on the best method for building different types of capacity.
A tool to support reflection on internal capacity and processes, identify strengths as an organisation and identify and prioritise areas that may need particular attention.
Participatory exercise for use with a group to help understand how Organisational Development or Capacity Building interventions have contributed to changes in their organisation.
Table for considering what kind of approach to take in assesing organisational capacity: whether to do it internally, what the role of an external facilitator would be, and how much of a challenge is wanted.
Overview of how to improve your reflective practice and become a reflective practictioner. Gives great advice for individual and teams to reflect effectively on their work and learn from their experience in a structured way.
This resource helps think through the design of a Capacity Development programme for partner organisations. It introduces different areas of consideration when designing the programme including: tools, methods, choices, roles and linkages.
A detailed guide to how to develop and use learning questions, how to test them, and how to embed them in the project cycle so that you are planning for learning. Goes well with 'Reflective Practice'.
A short prompt sheet of questions to help your reflections on how your organisation is learning from its experiences.
Overview of how to improve your reflective practice and become a reflective practictioner. Gives great advice for individual and teams to reflect effectively on their work and learn from their experience in a structured way.
A tool to help shape a learning or evaluation initiative. This grid presents questions for reflection about the results of capacity development work at different levels of change.
Bruce Briton & Olivier Serrat
We like to write but don’t always find enough time for it! Here are some things written by current and former Framework members that explain our thinking on issues that matter to us.
Lipson, B. (2015, )commissioned by WWF UK
Lipson, B. & Hunt, M. (2008). Availalble from: https://tinyurl.com/Capacitybuildingframework
Howard, J., Grimshaw, L., Lipson, B., Taylor, M. and Wilson, M. (2009) Project Report. Cities Research Centre, University of the West of England. Commissioned by Capacity Builders.
Bruce Britton, Rod Sterne and Debbie Heaney (undated)
Bruce Britton and Liz Goold (2001 Stockholm), Swedish Mission Council.
Bruce Britton (2005), Oxford: INTRAC
Bruce Britton (2002), Stockholm: Swedish Mission Council
Bruce Britton (1998), Oxford: INTRAC
Britton, B., Lipson, B. & Cronin, O. (2015). A “think piece” commissioned by WWF UK
Britton, B., Lipson, B. & Cronin, O. (2015). For WWF
Bruce Briton & Olivier Serrat
Bruce Britton (2010), Ubels, Jan, Naa-Aku Acquaye-Badoo and Alan Fowler (eds). London: Earthscan and SNV Netherlands Development Organisation
Cronin, O. and Institute of Development Studies Training toolkit
Cronin, O. (2011). Report prepared for Comic Relief
Lipson, B. (undated) Common Ground Initiative and Intrac
Bill Sterland (2005) Oxford: INTRAC
This guide explains what good project cycle management (PCM) looks like and gives practical tools and scenario-based examples for applying PCM principles in each phase of the project cycle.
Sometimes we come across outstandingly useful resources that have influenced our thinking or that we use regularly in our consultancy practice. Here are some of them:
Organization Development: A practitioner’s guide for OD and HR
Mee-Yan Cheung-Judge and Linda Holbeche (2011), Kogan Page.
One of the best introductions to OD around. Practical and easy to understand.
Growing Wings on the Way – Systems Thinking for Messy Situations
Rosalind Armson (2011), Triarchy Press.
The best and most practical book on applying systems thinking in practice we have found – brilliant!
Polarity Management: Identifying and Managing Unsolvable Problems
Barry Johnson (2006), Amherst, Ma: HRD Press.
Sometimes an idea comes along that is so deceptively simple you ask yourself ‘Why didn’t I think of that?” Johnson’s book is based on one simple idea for exploring complex problems as dilemmas but its power is in how he helps us to do this in a practical yet profound way. You can find out more at Johnson’s website.
Gamestorming: A Playbook for Innovators, Rulebreakers and Changemakers
Dave Gray, Sunni Brown and James Macanufo (2010). Sebastopol, CA: O’Reilly
Full of practical activities this book is an essential part of every facilitator’s toolkit.
The Barefoot Guide to Working with Organizations and Social Change
A great free (downloadable) resource for stories, pictures, strategies and some deep thinking on the values and practice of OD.
The Barefoot Guide to Learning Practices in Organisations and Social Change
More excellent free resources from the Barefoot Guide Collective, with lots of additional materials, exercises etc. available on the website.
Solving Tough Problems: An Open Way of Talking, Listening and Creating New Realities
Adam Kahane, (2004) Berrett Koehler
A personal account of Kahane’s involvement in negotiations such as South Africa’s transition from apartheid. Inspiring stories (and lessons learnt from) profound personal and systemic change.
Business Model Generation
Alexander Osterwalder and Yves Pigneur (2010), Wiley
A brilliant graphical guide to designing enterprises and rethinking outdated business models.
Adrian Cho (2010), Addison Wesley
“What can our organisations learn from jazz musicians?” is a question that Bruce has been interested to explore. There are lots of answers in this fascinating book!
Facilitator’s Guide to Participatory Decision-Making
Sam Kaner, et al (2007), Wiley
A classic that provides not just hundreds of tools but a thoughtful and detailed approach for building a lasting consensus in a group.
Participatory Workshops
Robert Chambers (2002), Earthscan.
A laugh out loud guide to ideas and activities for workshops including the classic chapter “21 Horrors in Participatory Workshops”.
I’m sure many of you are seeing your newsfeeds full of discussion about what is happening in Ukraine, and how best to help. That desire to help is a basic human instinct, and the reason why many of our current
