People find it easiest to remember three things: Three is the smallest number of elements necessary to form a pattern Three elements are more memorable than say, two or four We like to have a choice, but we get confused when we have too many options A selection of memorable patterns formed using three elements… Continue reading The Rule of 3 in your NFP
Tag: communications
Discourse (Rhetoric) at work
Having referred to message, narrative, and political frames in my last post, the theme of good and bad communication (rhetoric) beckoned for this reflection. Institutional Rhetoric How we characterise our nonprofit organisation and our relationship to it is evident in the language we use in our internal communications, and our representation of the entity to… Continue reading Discourse (Rhetoric) at work
The choice between insightful and inciteful words
Civil society and civility Non-profit organisations often characterise themselves as being part of ‘civil society’. Civil society has been defined and redefined over many years, but it broadly refers to “a wide array of organisations: community groups, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), labor unions, indigenous groups, charitable organisations, faith-based organisations, professional associations and foundations” (World Bank). As… Continue reading The choice between insightful and inciteful words
Stakeholder Engagement and Empowerment Options
Policy advocacy In helping my clients to develop advocacy campaign plans and stakeholder engagement strategies, I often find the assumption we start with is that the client has ‘the message’ and everyone else with an interest is seen as ‘the audience’. Discussion inevitably ensues about the focus on ‘public interest’ versus a possible perception of… Continue reading Stakeholder Engagement and Empowerment Options
Risk borders, boundaries, and bridges
Learning from Others’ Mistakes – Part 9: Ruby Princess The Report of the Special Commission of Inquiry into the Ruby Princess (320 pp) offers numerous governance lessons for non-profit organisations as well as its target audiences in government. Notable among these is the heightened risk faced when multiple agencies and governance systems are involved. With… Continue reading Risk borders, boundaries, and bridges
Change resistance and response
Context In my previous post, issues encountered by various of my non-profit clients were identified as catalysts for application of an empathy mapping response, in order to gain greater insight into the underlying causes of resistance to change initiatives. The issues and circumstances were summarised as follows: – a CEO dealing with resistance to cultural… Continue reading Change resistance and response
What? So What? and Now What? – your reflective practice guide
One of the defining characteristics of a profession is that its members commit to reflect on their practice in order to improve it for the benefit of those they serve. This applies to policy and governance professionals as much as to members of any other profession. Various models and frameworks have been developed for different… Continue reading What? So What? and Now What? – your reflective practice guide
FREE Strategy and Policy Toolkit
Most not-for-profit organisations are small-to-medium in size, and have limited resources to do the strategy and policy work they would like to. So simple and effective tools for the job are much sought after, and can be immensely valuable to the staff and volunteers who need them. The DIY toolkit published by Nesta is therefore… Continue reading FREE Strategy and Policy Toolkit