8/8/2019 1292415453_Leadership.doc

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/1292415453leadershipdoc 1/9

Alternative approaches to capacity building – emerging practices abroad

Case study: Leadership

Section A

Ashoka is a TSO that supports orgs and individuals as social entrepreneurs. Thiscase study focuses on the international work of Ashoka and the work of AshokaBrazil in particular. Ashoka Brazil supports support the social entrepreneurs electedas Ashoka Fellows. It also has a mandate to help "build the citizen sector infrastructure", which extends beyond the one-on-one support to individual socialentrepreneurs.

The Ashoka McKinsey Center for Social Entrepreneurship (CSE) has also recentlybeen launched and is managed in Sao Paulo, Brazil. This Center provides AshokaFellows, the citizen sector and the private sector with a range of opportunities for knowledge and skills-transfer, training, contacts and cross-sectoral understanding.

SECTION B: Logic of the approach

Ashoka1 invests in people. We search the world for leading social entrepreneurs andat the launch stage, provide these entrepreneurs—Ashoka Fellows—a living stipendfor an average of three years, allowing them to focus full-time on building their institutions and spreading their ideas. We also provide our Fellows with a globalsupport network of their peers and partnerships with professional consultants. Onceelected to the Ashoka Fellowship, Fellows benefit from this community for life.

Ashoka Fellows are leading social entrepreneurs who we recognize to haveinnovative solutions to social problems and the potential to change patterns acrosssociety. They demonstrate unrivaled commitment to bold new ideas and prove thatcompassion, creativity, and collaboration are tremendous forces for change. AshokaFellows work in over 60 countries around the globe in every area of human need.

Ashoka Fellows also form networks around the world. Ashoka facilitatescollaborations of Fellows so that they can learn from one another, share valuableknowledge and insights, and leave better equipped to advance their work. Ashokahas bases in various countries and continents including Brazil, Europe, USA andSouth Africa.

Ashoka uses these networks to distill the most effective patterns and unify them intoa “mosaic”— a synthesis of the commonalities and intersections of key principles thatguide Fellows’ individual solutions. These overarching mosaics are thendisseminated globally, and form the basis of our programmatic initiatives specific toeach field of work, such as youth development or the environment. In this way, groupentrepreneurship not only helps Fellows become more successful, but it also helpsAshoka identify cutting edge trends and implement them more broadly.

SECTION C: Processes and methods

There are five types of Fellows – Ashoka Fellows; Senior Fellows; Global Fellows;Social Investment Entreprenuerial Fellows; and Invention and Technology Fellows.

1 http://www.ashoka.org

8/8/2019 1292415453_Leadership.doc

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/1292415453leadershipdoc 2/9

Alternative approaches to capacity building – emerging practices abroad

All Ashoka Fellows must demonstrate that they fully meet Ashoka’s five selectioncriteria

• The Knockout test: a new idea

• Creativity

•Entrepreneurial quality

• Social impact of idea

• Ethical fibre

There are no age, education, class, race, or other such bars to election.

Candidates undergo a rigorous search and selection procedure which starts with anomination and ends with election as a Fellow. Candidates go through an extensiveseries of in-depth interviews, a judging panel, and a final executive board vote.International staff frequently make site visits to evaluate candidates in their workenvironment. Nominees are rigorously questioned about practical implementation—the blueprints that will make their ideas come to life—as well as personalbackground, values, motivations and aspirations.

At then end of the selection process Ashoka considers financial need. It providesfinancial support to those it elects if and to the degree that the person needs suchsupport to be able to pursue his or her vision full-time. As Fellows' ideas take root,their institutions will increasingly be able to pay for their directors—and the level of Ashoka's support typically will decrease.

Ashoka Fellows are supported in their country by Ashoka organisations. For exampleAshoka Brazil is continuously sourcing and bridging connections - pro-bono andotherwise - with people and organisations that can leverage the impact of the

organisations that the fellows have founded or the causes that they champion.Ashoka Brazil also has a mandate to help build the citizen sector infrastructure,which extends beyond the one-on-one support to individual social entrepreneurs.

The Ashoka McKinsey Center for Social Entrepreneurship (CSE) has also recentlybeen launched and is managed in Sao Paulo, Brazil. This Center providesAshoka Fellows, the citizen sector and the private sector with a range of opportunities for knowledge and skills-transfer, training, contacts and cross-sectoral understanding. The aim is to strengthen the profession of socialentrepreneurship and innovation by building a community of cross-sectoralleaders, programs and innovations. The CSE builds a business-social bridgethrough Ashoka programs such as the Citizen Base Initiative2 and the

Entrepreneur to Entrepreneur programme3, as well as the Ashoka-McKinsey andCompany partnership which is a strategic planning initiative carried out inpartnership with McKinsey & Co, the consulting firm, which now has aconsiderable level of expertise in adapting "business solutions" to the third sector and social enterprise.

Ashoka created the Citizen Base Initiative (CBI) in 1997 to help citizen sector organizations diversify their financial base so that they learn to become sustainablyrooted in their local constituency instead of remaining dependent on foundation andgovernment funding. CBI’s mission is to ‘tip’ the thinking and behavior of the citizen

2

 http://www.citizenbase.org/ see also http://www.citizenbase.org/sites/citizenbase.ashoka.org/files/CBI%20White%20Paper.pdf  3 http://www.ashoka.org/e2e 

8/8/2019 1292415453_Leadership.doc

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/1292415453leadershipdoc 3/9

Alternative approaches to capacity building – emerging practices abroad

sector towards innovation in building a broad citizen base of support—people,money, information, and businesses—to achieve sustainability and ensure maximumsocial impact. CBI envisions building a vibrant, self-sufficient global citizen sector thatis as enduring and influential as state, religious, and private institutions. It taps intoAshoka’s network of social entrepreneurs. To accomplish these goals, CBI appliesthree closely interlinked strategies:

Seek innovation: through competitions which identify and invest in innovative ideasfor developing a broad citizen base. Competition winners are awarded with aninvestment to help them refine and deepen their strategy, publicize their success,and empower their organizations to become leaders within the sector.

Support innovators: through capacity building organizations develop the expertiseand confidence to implement their citizen base strategies. Through private and publicsector partnerships, CBI offers workshops and creates learning circles to buildfundamental skill sets in planning, management, and marketing. Practitioner exchanges also play a vital role in increasing practical knowledge and building

professional networks. CBI encourages competition winners to mentor their peersand offer training to other organizations.

Spread innovative ideas: through marketing and communication publicizes themost compelling examples of citizen base strategies. By exposing citizen sector practitioners to inspiring ideas and practical strategies, CBI facilitates andstrengthens the citizen sector worldwide. Multi-lingual websites, publications,multimedia and roadshows are among the many channels used to spread theconcept and practices of citizen base strategies.

SECTION D: Outcomes

The effectiveness and impact of the Ashoka Fellows is evaluated using surveys andin-depth interviews. Results are posted online.4 Fellows are reported to have had animpact in terms of systemic change—shifting societal perceptions, encouraging newbehavior patterns, and revolutionizing entire fields. Proxy indicators for successinclude:

• Are you still working towards your original vision?

• Have others replicated your idea?

• Have you had an impact on public policy?

• What position does your institution currently hold in the field?

Surveys were carried out between 1998 and 2004 and sought to capture theeffectiveness of Fellows five and ten years after they had been elected. The studywas used as a learning tool for Ashoka to understand and communicate its broader impact on civil society worldwide. Case studies of individual Fellows are alsoavailable demonstrating their impact in their particular field.

Evidence of outcomes from the CBI are less clear and further exploration would beneeded to examine this The theory is that in increasing the number of memberssupporting the CSO’s mission the greater the resources generated by the CSO whichimporves the CSO’s ability to expand its efforts within the community and leads toincreased impact which again increases membership.

4 http://www.ashoka.org/impact

8/8/2019 1292415453_Leadership.doc

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/1292415453leadershipdoc 4/9

Alternative approaches to capacity building – emerging practices abroad

SECTION E: Learning

Ashoka’s approach to capacity building programmes appears to meet our goodpractice principles. Ashoka is an international network with a variety of methods for capacity building predominantly by supporting leadership skills and development butalso by supporting sector infrastructure. The CBI For example it aims to supportFellows within their own context and culture through bases in individual countries andcontinents.

Promoting the importance of leadership and supporting innovative socialentrepreneurs might be transferable to the UK. Developing a network of inspirationalleaders who in turn develop and support third sector organisations might be aneffective way of building capacity in the third sector. However it would need to be wellresourced since the Ashoka Fellows are financially supported for three years.

Ashoka has also developed links to the private sector and developed partnershipinitiatives like the Ashoka McKinsey Center for Social Entrepreneurship. These

cross-sectoral activities are said to provide mutual benefits to - and deepen theties between - the social and business sectors may engage the academic andpublic sectors as participants as well.5 In the UK this type of partnership may bepossible with universities and smaller private consultancies who are alreadyworking closely with third sector organisations in their local area/region.

Case II

InterAction Leadership Programme

This is a leadership training programme which was run by the British Council andaimed to support emerging African leaders – dynamic individuals searching for alternatives and want to challenge accepted ways of doing things. It aimed toequip and encourage a new set of community leaders who could transform their country and continent.

Logic of the approach

This is a leadership programme where participants significantly contribute to thecurriculum; learning from each other and learning by doing are built into the design;leaders from all backgrounds, sectors and cultures work together to understand thecomplexity of the leadership challenges they share, as well as the opportunities that

are available to make a positive contribution to society.

According to the Programme Manager 6 the rational behind the programme is that:

• Political actors and other key stakeholders must create environments thatsupport  people in achieving their highest goals and potential, within aframework that makes the most sense to them.

• The role of the leader is to motivate and mobilise people to unleash their truepotential, providing support and the framework to protect and nurture it is therole of a leader.

5

Email correspondence6 SAMANTHA CHUULA, Programme Manager submission to Europafrica.net

http://europafrica.files.wordpress.com/2007/02/submissionbyinteraction.doc 

8/8/2019 1292415453_Leadership.doc

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/1292415453leadershipdoc 5/9

Alternative approaches to capacity building – emerging practices abroad

• A connected Africa sees Africans achieve better life and job opportunities andcreate wealth.  Leaders must be able to develop frameworks to achieve this.Creating environments that are in tune with peoples' aspirations is vital insecuring interest and support for such structures.

• The InterAction programme is based on the mutually beneficial principle of 

developing a modern and forward looking relationship between Africa and therest of the world based on trust, shared values and mutual interest.

A group of leadership training practitioners from Botswana, Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria,Uganda, South Africa, Zimbabwe, and the UK met in March 2004 to begin toarticulate what the principles and process for this unique and innovative programmecould be.

The InterAction Leadership Programme seeks to bring together those with a desire tomake a significant positive contribution to society, who are open to learning, open-minded, curious, willing to share their own experiences and at the same time activelyseeking new perspectives. The programme aims to achieve a balance of diversity in

terms of religion, gender, disability, ethnicity, class, sectors (private/public/civilsociety), and geographical balance (rural/urban and regional/provincial), in order toreflect and impact across society at the country level. People with diverse culturaland historical perspectives are encouraged to become part of the programme.

Methods and processes

The programme was delivered in 19 countries in sub-Saharan Africa. From Senegalto Mauritius, and Sudan to South Africa and it was hoped that 1,500 men and womenwould participate. African leadership professionals will deliver the programme in eachcountry, with support provided by a team of ‘Pan-African’ facilitators.

A diversity of experiences at the regional, national and personal level made up eachindividual’s leadership journey. These experiences, which included 15 contact daysand a number of interim activities, including the following:

• An in-country selection process which determined the year’s class, and alsoidentified potential participants for following years, resource persons, andbrought the whole of the participating group into a community that supportedjoint learning throughout the programme and beyond.

• After the leaders received their confirmation letter, they prepared for their participation in the programme. One of the first steps after receiving their 

information packet was to meet their in-country facilitators for a one-to-onesession, which aimed to help them to better understand the programme andto plan their own participation.

• An initial 2-day workshop was held where participating leaders set their owngoals for the programme and began to develop a network of peers in their own country and to launch the programme at the country level through apublic event.

• A 3-day Pan-African Event, attended by over 100 delegates representing all19 countries, provided participants with the opportunity to share their ownexperiences, to learn from others, and broaden their networks to other Africancountries.

• A 10-day in-country programme made up of three interconnected modules

was delivered including; deepening understanding of Africa and its issues,leadership skills, gender mainstreaming, coaching and experiential learning.

8/8/2019 1292415453_Leadership.doc

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/1292415453leadershipdoc 6/9

Alternative approaches to capacity building – emerging practices abroad

• Community Network/Twinning Activity. Participants work in pairs to engagetheir communities in conversation around identifying success and leadership.3 days in one participant’s community, and 3 days in the second person’scommunity.

• Throughout the programme and beyond, participants will be members of a

network with a dedicated website administered through British Council offices,to stay in touch with fellow participants, share knowledge and accessinformation.

The leadership learning process captured the inspirational stories of these individualsand communities as they continued on their leadership journey.

Outcomes

According to the British Council website InterAction has been one of the BritishCouncil’s most successful programmes. The British Council no longer runsInterAction but is building on its success and widen the InterAction experience acrossthe globe. InterAction has been replaced by the ‘Active Citizens’ programme which

has a broader remit and the new name expresses the main objective of promotingmembers of society to be active in driving social positive change, together.7 

The Programme Manager 8 suggests that through building capacity in leadership,managers and leaders can position themselves as effective change agents inorganisations and companies.  This changes work dynamics and leads to increasedjob satisfaction and better productivity that in turn contribute to growing economies.She quotes two participants who have benefited from their involvement in theprogramme:

“It works because it’s in line with the real issues that leaders in communitiesin Africa deal with now.  It’s ultimately relevant. It isi directed toward the futurein engaging people with shared visions of Africa.  There’ll be differences inemphasis, but that community is being built.” – South Africa Participant 

“Everyday you hear and see the ills and negative parts of life… theprogramme  has forced me to change the way I interact with people and how I do things…I can now do things with the community, with good will and appreciation.”  Senegal Participant 

Each of the events outlined above had outcomes attached. The Programme aimed tobe ‘transformational and respectful of the voices heard’. It was expected that thiswould be achieved at the programme level:

•When there is a sense of ownership of the programme by Africans in differentcountries;

• When Africans speak passionately about the programme;

• When local stakeholders are eager to be a part of it as partners andbeneficiaries;

• When the leaders in the programme have the ability to meet their ownleadership challenges with confidence, and exhibit transformation in their personal lives, in their organisations and in interaction with the wider society.

7 http://www.britishcouncil.org/africa-leadership.htm8

SAMANTHA CHUULA, Programme Manager submission to Europafrica.nethttp://europafrica.files.wordpress.com/2007/02/submissionbyinteraction.doc 

8/8/2019 1292415453_Leadership.doc

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/1292415453leadershipdoc 7/9

8/8/2019 1292415453_Leadership.doc

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/1292415453leadershipdoc 8/9

Alternative approaches to capacity building – emerging practices abroad

According to the Programme Manager key leadership skills among communityleaders and social influencers can facilitate social change in communities veryquickly. There is thus the ambition that building the capacity of leaders will lead tosocietal change. Further development of the programme could also involve supportfor community work by InterAction graduates to complement other work within their countries.

It is not clear how the programme was evaluated. The programme promoted the useof storytelling as a way of evidencing change and although the programme hasended but these stories are still being collected on the British Council website. Moreinformation about the actual outcomes of the programme and the reasons behind theending of the programme and replacement with a wider ‘Active Citizens’ programmewould need to be investigated before a view on transferability could be taken.

III Examples of other organisations focusing on leadership programmes

Synergos Institute

Synergos is headquarterd in New York. It addresses global poverty and socialinjustice by supporting and connecting leaders so they can work in collaboration tochange the systems that keep people in poverty. Bringing together influential peopleand institutions in government, business and civil society, as well as poor andmarginalized communities who are usually left out of the process, Synergos aims tohelp every part of society work together to create long-term progress.

Since 1999 Synergos has had a Senior Fellows scheme. The Senior Fellows are partof an international network of distinguished civil society leaders committedaddressing poverty and inequity. Launched in 1999, the current cadre of more than90 Fellows come from more than 30 countries around the world. The network aims to

enhance their skills, knowledge and experience through peer-to-peer learning,regional gatherings, learning journeys, workshops and contact with influential peopleand institutions.

Synergos launched the Arab World Social Innovators Program (the Program)inOctober 2007  with funding from the US Agency for International Development andother donors. The three-year initiative seeks to identify and support twenty individualsfrom Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco and Palestine who are implementingsuccessful social projects. Social Innovators are pioneers of change within their communities who offer new ideas, creative approaches and promising solutions topressing social, economic and environmental problems.

http://www.synergos.org/socialinnovators/

PRIAPRIA (India) is engaged in strengthening citizen leadership which is seen as avehicles for promoting the capacities of citizen associations and promoting visionaryleadership at the grassroots, primarily to engage with local governance issues and topractice active citizenship including need-based advocacy. To date, more than 5000such Citizen Leaders have been nurtured and groomed for taking up challengingroles for engaging and mobilising civil society on a wide range of development andgovernance issues including deepening local governance, access to information,girl’s education, employment guarantee programmes and livelihood issues.

http://www.pria.org

8/8/2019 1292415453_Leadership.doc

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/1292415453leadershipdoc 9/9

Alternative approaches to capacity building – emerging practices abroad

The Berkana ExchangeThe Berkana Exchange (Public Foundation) connects pioneering leaders throughoutthe globe around their shared commitment to making a difference in and beyond their communities. These leaders are developing the capacity to solve their most pressingproblems—such as community health, ecological sustainability and economic self-reliance—by acting locally, connecting regionally and learning globally.

The Berkana Exchange work with leadership learning centers, places where peoplegather to develop their capacity as leaders in their organizations and communities. Itbelieves substantive change happens locally through the collective actions of ordinary people and that transformation happens globally when local efforts areconnected and people learn together. It is a virtual organisation with workers basedin the US.

Berkana Institute works with pioneering leaders using a four stage approach:

• naming the community – reduce isolation of leaders and find their broader community

• connect the community - develop better relationships between leaders bydesigning gatherings and hosting meetings of people interested inexchanging ideas and resources.  Collaborative technology supportscommunities of practice through dedicated web sites, online conferences,asynchronous conversations and ‘co-created knowledge’

• nourish the community - help communities to fill the gaps in their knowledge,leads them to discover, adapt and use techniques and processes that workwell in multiple settings. Strong, healthy communities emerge as leaders offer one another new approaches to shared challenges.

• illuminate the community – focus on efforts of pioneering leaders and developa high level of public awareness, to attract attention and resources to their efforts, and to encourage others to step forward on behalf of the issues thatmost concern them.

http://www.berkana.org/