Capacity Development of Indian Mid-Level Professionals from Environmental Non-governmental Organizations (ENGOs) as Master Trainers through Management Workshops: An innovative project by BNHS

SUMMARY: Ten Indian Fulbright Fellows from different parts of the country have come together to formulate a unique project which has been funded by the U.S. Government.This page includes information related to AEIF 2012 Project: Capacity Development of Indian Mid-Level Professionals from Environmental Non-governmental Organizations (ENGOs) as Master Trainers through Management Workshops. Our project has been part of 50 winning teams all over world after competing with 685 submissions in the first level and then 154 in second level, and finally made it one from 8 finalist projects of South and Central Asia and one of the two finalist from India. The team members are from Mumbai,Bangalore, Chennai, New Delhi, Imphal and Bhubaneshwar. As part of the project 3-day management workshops will be held for 250 professionals from 125 environmental NGOs from four different regions (Western, Southern, Northern and Eastern). The idea is to provide the participants with professional development aiding the sustainability of their respective organizations. They will trained into master trainers for fundraising, project management, grant writing, team building, networking, marketing management and leadership styles. The project will work with local American Centers and other regional organizations. BNHS is the host organization for the project and the project leader is Dr.V.Shubhalaxmi. As the project will establish a network of environmental NGOs from India, therefore the entity- eNGOsIndia has been formed,so that this grows into a professional association for nonprofits by the end of the project and continue to be functional. All those who work with an Environmental NGO are encouraged to be part of this community.

INTRODUCTION: There are 3.3 million NGOs in India of which 2342 are ENGOs. As ENGOs work with wildlife and environment, most of the times it becomes difficult for them to provide a human face for their work which does not appeal the donors, leading to paucity of funds. Moreover in this sector, ENGOs are least funded as their work is not directly related to human beings. Therefore these organizations constantly grapple with sustainability issues. As a result the staff is under-paid and most of the ENGOs suffer from brain-drain as they are unable to retain young talent. The financial instability spirals down to mismanagement in the organization. While people who work in non-profit sector are full of passion and dedication, however they lack important job skills which are important for their profession. 

 There are four important management factors that limit an ENGO from becoming financially sustainable; Fiscal Management, Human Resource Management, Marketing Management and Networking and Public Relations (PR). If the mid-level professionals of an ENGO are equipped with skills related to fund raising, grant writing, project management, team management, volunteer management, networking and PR, marketing management, leadership styles, developing business plans and Strategic Planning, the ENGO can aim to become sustainable and grow progressively. These skills are however not easily available for ENGOs as they cannot afford management professionals. Nor an MBA graduate will ever think of working for a nonprofit sector, therefore there is need to develop master trainers among the ENGOs who will conduct these management trainings on regular basis within as well as outside their organizations. The project leader who studied Non-profit management courses at Boston University, realized these gaps and understood the importance of having such training for Indian ENGOs. 

The project has identified these gaps and understood the importance of having such training for Indian ENGOs. The project therefore aims to fill in the above gap and train mid-level staff of ENGOs in the above areas and mentor them into master trainers. It will also identify networking areas for participating ENGOs. The project aims to provide management training to 250 mid-level professionals of 125 ENGOs and mentor them into master trainers which in turn will help them to make their organizations sustainable. At the end of the project an entity-eNGOsIndia will be established which will be a network of all participating environmental NGOs and will remain to be functional beyodn the project period and attract more NGOs under its network. The UNEP has declared 2013 as year of Green Economies, this is perfect time for BNHS to empower other ENGOs for greater impact. 

 MAIN GOAL: To empower Indian ENGOs with management skills to achieve financial sustainability by developing master trainers within the organizations.

 OBJECTIVES: 

(1) To provide management training to 250 mid-level professionals of 125 ENGOs

(2) To encourage sharing of resources and expertise among the ENGOs and strengthening networking.

(3) To provide a platform for like-minded ENGOs to come together and carry out collaborative projects.

(4) To mentor master trainers beyond the project period.

PROJECT LOCATION: The project will be implemented in four regions of India as mentioned below:

Western zone: Mumbai, Maharashtra 

Southern Zone : Chennai, Tamil Nadu

Northern Zone : New Delhi

Eastern Zone : Imphal, Manipur

PROJECT TEAM: The team includes 10 fellows, one fellow from each region will act as a regional co-ordinator. The regional co-ordinators will work with their local ENGOs as part of the project. We have following team members:

Western zone (Mumbai): 

1. Dr. V.Shubhalaxmi (Project Leader) works as General Manager (Education), BNHS, Conservation Education Centre. Holds a Ph.D (Zoology). Secured Fulbright Nehru Environmental Leadership Programme (2003), Hubert Humphrey Programme (2009-2010). Specializes in Conservation Education, Entomology and nonprofit management.

2. Mr. Isaac Kehimkar (Regional Co-ordinator) works as General Manager (Programmes), Bombay Natural History Society. Holds M A. Secured Fulbright Nehru Environmental Leadership program 2006 -2007. Specializes in Nature Conservation, Public Relations of NGOs, Natural History Specialist.

3. Dr.Bala Krishnamoorthy (Team member) works as consultant for sustainability projects, trainer for corporate social responsibility, environmental management and publish case studies on best practices, Senior Professor at School of Business Management, NMIMS, Mumbai. Holds a Ph.D Management JBIMS. Secured a Fulbright -Nehru Environmental Leadership program 2004 -2005. Specializes in training, institutional development and consultancy for sustainability reports and social development

Southern Zone (Chennai): 

4. Dr.Raju Arumugham (Regional Co-ordinator) works as Executive Director , InvesT HOPE Workforce Institute, No 3 23rd Street Padmavathy Nagar Extension, Selaiyur, Chennai. Holds a MSW, DLL. Secured Hubert H Humphrey Fellow 2010-2011. Specializes in Psychoprofiling, Behavioral Training.

5. Dr.Snehalata Nadiger works as Consultant to environmental based projects , Bangalore. Holds Ph.D (Biotechnology). Secured Fulbright-Nehru Environmental Leadership Program fellowship 2011, Endeavour Research Fellowship, 2010. .Specializes in Environmental Biotechnology

6. Dr S.Armstrong (Team member) works as Associate Prof & Head, Department of English, University of Madras,Chennai. Holds MA,M.Phil. PGCTE and PHD. Secured Fulbright-Nehru Visiting Professor at UC Davis,2009-2010. Specializes in Indigenous Knowledge System,literatures of indigenous social groups around the world, ecoliterature.

 Northern Zone (Delhi):

7.Dr. Ms. Swayamprabha Das (Regional Co-ordinator) works UNDP, New Delhi. Holds a Ph.D in InternationalRelations. Secured Hubert H Humphrey Fellow 2007-08. Specializes in natural resources management- programme specialist, environment policy analyst; communication; conflict resolution & community engagement (NRM).

8.Dr. Vandana Tyagi (Team member) works as Senior Scientist, National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources, Pusa Campus, New Delhi. Holds a Ph.D. Botany. Secured Hubert H Humphrey Fellow 2007-2008. Specializes in Plant Genetic Resources (PGR) Management and PGR Policy Issues.

Eastern Zone (Imphal) : 

9. Dr. Rajkumari Sunita Devi (Regional Co-ordinator) works at State Level Nodal Agency for Integrated Watershed Management Programme, Department of Planning, Imphal, Manipur. Holds a PhD Limnology (awaiting declaration). Secured Hubert Humphrey Fellow, 2008-09. Specializes in Remote Sensing and GIS for Natural Resources with focus on Wetlands

10. Mr. Shouvik Mitra (Team member) works as Resident Consultant - World Bank/ Community Development Specialist ( National Consultant) - FAO of United Nations India office based out of Bhubaneswar, Odisha. Holds B. Arch and secured Hubert Humphrey Fellow, 2009-10. Specializes in Rural Development, Institution Development and Capacity Building of Community Institutions, Rural Livelihoods, Financial Inclusion, Social Development.

Team Role: The management professionals from the team will form the core team which will travel different regions to conduct workshops while the regional co-ordinators will work in their own regions alongwith other fellow partners and help in execution of the workshops. They will also bring in local support from their immediate organizations, Fulbright Associations, Government agencies and U.S. Consulates wherever possible. The periodic team meetings will be held on Skype/Google Talk to reduce carbon footprint of the project. All project resources will be shared through Google Docs. All project support to all teams will be provided by the Project Leader.

We also have following supporters and mentors on our team:

U.S. Consulate (Mumbai): Ms. Angela Gemza, Acting Director, Mr. M.Janardhanan, Programmes Manager, Public Affairs Department

U.S. Citizens (Mentors): Dr. Ksenya Khinchuk, Director of Humphrey Programmes, Boston University,Prof. Jack McCarthy and Dr. Richard Malcony, Boston University.

HOST INSTITUTION AND PARTNERS:  The Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) will launch the project under its banner wherein it will also provide venue, publicity, reporting and accounting services for the project.

The partner institutions will be associated through cost sharing in kind, providing venue, publicity and equipment or lending their support and providing visibility to the project within their network. Following are our local partners:

1. U.S. Consulate, Mumbai, Chennai, Delhi and USIEF

2. Bombay Chartered Accountants Society, Mumbai

4. World Wild Fund, Delhi

5. University of Madras

6. State Nodal Agency-Integrated Watershed Management Programme & NERCOMP, Manipur

7. NMIMS, Mumbai

8. PUSA, New Delhi.

9. Central Himalayan Environment Association, Nainital

PROJECT ACTIVITIES:

1)Activities for Objective 1:

 - To identify 125 ENGOs from 4 regional areas (western, eastern, northern and southern), 30 from each region.

 - To announce workshops through print and electronic media.

 - To select 250 mid-level professionals from ENGOs (60/workshop)

 -To design 3-day management workshop and training manual.

 -To conduct 4 management workshops and 4 follow up workshops 

 -To collect and analyze feedback from the participants

 -To evaluate the workshops, write monthly blogs and final report at the end of the project.

(2) Activities for Objective 2: During the workshop, each participating ENGO will identify their services and products which will be offered to other ENGOs on voluntary/collaborative basis. At the end of the workshop, a list of such complementing competencies and resources will be made. This will be the first step towards networking among the organizations. They will be also provided the list of potential funding agencies both national and international.

(3) Activities for Objective 3: At the end of the workshop, a Google/Facebook Group- engosindia will be formed. This group will ensure that the organizations remain connected to each other through mutual exchanges beyond the workshop. 

(4) Activities for Objective 4: The project team through their regional co-ordinators will continue to mentor the local participants and help them to become master trainers. BNHS will play an active role for this activity.

The workshop format will be brainstorming sessions, group work and presentations. Following topics will be covered :

Day 1: Introduction, Brainstorming on management issues within each ENGO, Fund raising, Grant Writing, Project Management. 

Day 2: Leadership Challenges, Strategic Planning, Team Development, Volunteer Management

Day 3: Marketing Management, Business Plan development, Networking and PR,Match-making of competencies and resources.

The format for follow up workshop will be largely presentations and discussions:

Day 1: Organizational representation on progress after the first workshop following by discussion on challenges and hurdles

Day 2: Mentoring support and resources available to the participants. Identifying leaders within the organization taking the lead to bring about developmental changes within their departments/organizations. Follow up on collaborative initiatives within the participants

PROJECT TIME LINE: There are five project phases;

[A] PREPARATORY PHASE (15 June'12-30 June'12=15 days )

1. Regional Co-ordinators (RC) Meet in Mumbai: All 4 RC will meet up with the Project Leader (PL) to develop project outlay. They will finalize the project calendar and scope of work document so that roles, responsibilities and deliverables are well defined.The RCs will go back to their respective zones and co-ordinate with their team members and develop their own action plans.

2. Finalization of project partners' support: Each RC will officially finalize the project partners support

3. Developing project communication materials: The Mumbai team will develop materials such as press releases, application form,brochures and posters which will be disseminated to respective zones

[B] DEVELOPMENT PHASE (1 Jul'12-31 Aug'12= Two months) 

1. Announcement of workshops: Each RC will call for applications for the workshops. BNHS/WWF NGO database will be used. The announcement will be largely done through electronic media.

2. Identifying 125 ENGOs from four zones: Each RCs will shortlist ENGOs from their region

3. Selecting 250 mid-level professionals: Each RCs will screen the applications and recommend their applicants to PL , who will endorse their selections.

4. Developing training module and manual: The management team members from Mumbai and Chennai will develop the module in consultation with other members. The final module and training manual will be done by the management team members, however the finalization and printing will be carried out by Mumbai team.

5. Establishing Google Group/Facebook Group on" engosindia": The Mumbai team will develop Google Group on engosindia. Each RC will enroll their selected participants to the group. The PL will moderate the group. This communication portal will be used from the day one of the workshop by the members as well as participants.

[C] IMPLEMENTATION PHASE (1 Sep'12-31 Dec'12= 4 months)

1. Conduct first workshop in Mumbai in September'12: The workshop will be held at BNHS's Conservation Education Centre. It will be conducted by the PL,Mumbai member and Chennai RC. 

2. Conduct first workshop in Chennai in October '12: The workshop will be held at University of Madras. The workshop will be conducted by PL, Mumbai member and Chennai RC. 

3. Conduct first workshop in Delhi in November'12: The workshop will be held in WWF-Delhi office. The workshop will be conducted by PL, Mumbai member and Delhi RC.

4. Conduct first workshop in Manipur in December'12: The workshop for Imphal will be held at premises of State Nodal Agency of Integrated Watershed Management of Manipur. The workshop will be conducted by PL, Mumbai Member and Manipur member. 

[D] FOLLOW UP AND MENTORING PHASE (1 Jan'13-30 April'13= 4 months)

Two-day follow up workshops will be held to study the progress of the participants since their last training.The dates are given below:

1. Conduct follow up workshop in Mumbai in January'13: 

2. Conduct follow up workshop in Chennai in February'13

3. Conduct follow up workshop in Delhi in Mar'13

4. Conduct follow up workshop in Manipur in Apr'13

[E] FEEDBACK AND EVALUATION PHASE ( 1 May'13- 15 Jun'13= 45 days): This will be concluding stage where all RCs will help PL with following activities:

1. Collate feedback and evaluate the activities

2. Collate monthly project blogs

3. Report writing

4. Team get together in Mumbai to develop future plans.

PROJECT INNOVATION: The project is innovative for following reasons:

-First time ENGOs are targeted for free management training including a mentoring component to ensure project lessons are implemented by the ENGOs.

-First time a large scale training for 125 ENGOs and 250 professionals across India is planned by professionals from nonprofit sector.

-The concept of developing management master trainers within ENGOs is a new concept in nonprofit sector.

-The project team members are a mix of Hubert H.Humphrey Programme and Fulbright Nehru Environmental Leadership Programme Fellows from different regions of India. This ensures national representation as well as synergies among the Alumni.

- The project model is replicable as well as scale-able for different sectors/regions with help of corporations/foundations support.

PROJECT OUTCOMES: The project will have impact in following three categories:

[A] Participating Organizations

1. For first time 250 management master trainers from 125 ENGOs across the country will be available. These master trainers will not only play an important role in their own organizations but will also help other NGOs from their region. BNHS will be able to steer this movement beyond the project period.

2. Networking among like-minded ENGOs is still a rare phenomenon, however the project will bridge this gap and make ENGOs to leverage on each other's strengths. There are strong chances of NGOs from same region working together for common goals.

3. Volunteers will gain a prominent space in the operations of ENGOs as the participants will be exposed to volunteer power and will learn ways to attract, engage and retain volunteers. This will reduce the work burden on regular staff and help in savings on human resources. BNHS will act as resource organization to promote volunteer engagement and development.

4. First time a social media network for ENGOs of India will be established. The network through Facebook/Google Group will keep everyone connected to each other beyond the project period. The project team will ensure that they continue to add new ENGOs to the group so that there is exchange of knowledge, leading to collaborations, opportunities, staff training, fellowships and more

 5. For first time BNHS will play a crucial role in capacity development of ENGOs in India. Till now it was providing training in the field of environment and wildlife but after this project it will be known for management training as well.

[B] Participating Professionals 

6. As take away from the workshops, participants will be able to sharpen their grant writing skills, prepare fund raising calendar for their respective organizations, learn efficient ways of project management, develop marketing strategy for their services and products, understand and improvise their leadership styles, develop better teams, acquire skills of networking, develop a business plan and finally learn smarter and quicker ways of working by using online tools. 

[C] Project Team 

7. This will be the first alumni project for the team within their own country. After their fellowships, this is first time the fellows are working in a cohort.

8. This association will open up more collaborative opportunities for the team members in near future

9. As a team they will gain recognition within their organizations for demonstrating community engagement and developmental works through the project.

10. The team will be in better position to promote Fulbright Fellowships and mentor new fellows from their network.

.......Dr.V.Shubhalaxmi, General Manager (Education)/Project Leader, BNHS-India.