Archive
Project Management for NGOs: Lecture Given to PMI Lebanon Chapter
Last month I’ve given a lecture/session titled “Project Management for NGOs” to the PMI Lebanon Chapter as part of their monthly lectures.
In this context, I thought of sharing it with you. So below you’ll find the session description, learning outcomes and the link to download the presentation for your own knowledge and entertainment…. let me know what you think! 
Session Description/Summary:
The world today has hundreds of thousands of active NGOs majority of which are project and program based and depend on ongoing grants and funding to secure resources for their projects. With grants and funding summing up to hundreds of millions of dollars annually, the amounts being lost on failed projects, unmet objectives and re-work is counting up to tens of millions of dollars.
Many leaders of NGOs consider this as a reasonable and un-escapable price to pay due to the fact that it is hard to recruit enough qualified project and program managers in the NGO field due to the short period of engagement, low wages with respect to private sector and lack of well identified project management training, tools and techniques.
With thousands of program managers, program coordinators, project managers, project coordinators, assistant program and project managers and so on and so forth, there is a huge gap to be filled for both the organizations and the individuals working in them.
What many don’t realize is that PMP standard can apply to NGOs by simply matching many of the terminology that is used by PMP with those present in NGOs. This lecture will help you understand how.
Lecture Learning Objectives:
- Understand and Define an NGO
- Identify the Numerous Types and Fields of Work of NGOs
- Understand the NGO Project Life Cycle in Most NGOs
- Map NGO Project Related Terminology with PMI’s Terminology
Link to Presentation in PDF: PMI Leb Chapter – PM for NGOs Presentation by Afif Tabsh – April 2012
Other Posts Worth Reading:
Awarded the Ambassador for Peace Certificate by UPF
I have recently been awarded the Ambassador for Peace certificate by the Universal Peace Federation and so it was a delightful surprise to know that I joined a network of leaders from all walks of life all around the world in further promoting Peace, Inter-religious and human development.
Consequently many started asking me, “So what does it really mean? What do you do?” …so here’s a small briefing about it hoping it will quench your curiosity
What is an Ambassador for Peace?
Ambassadors for Peace are part of a global network of leaders representing thereligious, racial and ethnic diversity of the human family, as well as all disciplines of human endeavor. They stand on the common ground of shared principles and arecommitted to the path of promoting reconciliation, overcoming barriers, and building peace.
So what is the Ambassador for Peace Award?
The Ambassador for Peace award honors achievement and signifies a new appointment to a mission to serve the common good.
What do Ambassadors for Peace do?
- Exemplify the ideal of living for the sake of others.
- Promote universal moral values, strong family life,inter-religious cooperation, international harmony, renewalof the United Nations, responsible mass media, and the establishment of a global culture of peace.
- Transcend racial, national and religious barriers.
- Contribute to the fulfillment of the hope of all ages, a unified world of peace, wherein the spiritual and material dimensions of life are harmonized.
- Serve as members on national, regional and global peace councils promoting and safeguarding world peace.
- Develop a broad strategic alliance of partnerships among individuals, educational institutions, organizations, reli-gions, corporations, the media and governments.
So I hope you all join me in this life long journey of serving the community, being at peace with ourselves, families and community and further promoting ethical values.
International Labour Organization
Name of the Organization: International Labour Organization
Motto: Promoting Jobs, Protecting People
Mission:
To promote opportunities for women and men to obtain decent and productive work, in conditions of freedom, equity, security and human dignity.
Objectives:
- Promote and realize standards and fundamental principles and rights at work
- Create greater opportunities for women and men to decent employment and income
- Enhance the coverage and effectiveness of social protection for all
- Strengthen tripartism and social dialogue
Field of Interest:
- Global jobs crisis
- Social protection floor initiative
- Realizing the Millennium Development Goals
- Social Justice and a Fair Globalization
Date of Origin: April 1919
History:
The ILO was created in 1919, as part of the Treaty of Versailles that ended World War I, to reflect the belief that universal and lasting peace can be accomplished only if it is based on social justice.
The Constitution was drafted between January and April, 1919, by the Labour Commission set up by the Peace Conference, which first met in Paris and then in Versailles. The Commission, chaired by Samuel Gompers, head of the American Federation of Labour (AFL) in the United States, was composed of representatives from nine countries: Belgium, Cuba, Czechoslovakia, France, Italy, Japan, Poland, the United Kingdom and the United States. It resulted in a tripartite organization, the only one of its kind bringing together representatives of governments, employers and workers in its executive bodies.
Website: www.ILO.org
International Organizations: A Series of Posts
Hello my dearest readers,
It has been a while since I took the time to sit and write something for my blog, but I promise you that 2011 will be more abundant in posts than 2010 and I will do my best to keep the posts at as good a quality as they have been and better!
After asking around and checking the posts I have on my blog, I realized there has been a good vibe in general towards the series of posts on “International Clubs & Secret Societies” and many raised questions to know better about those clubs and societies.
In this context, and to take things one step further, I will be posting a series of posts on International Organizations. I will be selecting those that have been affecting our lives more than others, in one way or another. From UN related organizations (being a majority) to health organizations to Human Rights Organizations to Technical/IT/Engineering/Education…etc.
My aim in doing research and preparing for those posts is to provide an easy and quick way for people to get to know better about International Organizations all in one place without having to do much readying or researching. Yet by far it wont be a comprehensive list of organizations so your input and requests are highly welcomed if you would like me to post about any specific organization of interest.
Some of the organizations I have already in mind are World Bank, IMF, FCC, IEEE, FAO, ILO, Amnesty International, International Red Cross, UNDP, ITU, ESCWA, UNRWA…etc
Stay tuned for those quick-bite posts and I’m looking forward for your feedback, just tell me when you like’m and tell me when you don’t! 
Afif
