Internal environment analysis and considering risk
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CloseUnderstanding how your non profit organisation thinks and works is vital to improving performance and effectiveness.
There are a whole range of tools available to help you assess key relationships, the culture, your strengths and weaknesses, your portfolio of offerings and your capacity. See Tools to asses the internal environment for examples of these. Once you understand these you can work out what you need to develop as part of your strategy and plan.
Maximising impact is about building on what you do best. Do this by gaining an in-depth understanding of your unique value and internal capabilities against the backdrop of the changing external environment.
A word on risk and healthy risk management
It's important to consider your risk practice when developing strategy:
- What is your attitude to risk?
- What are your risk management practices?
- Do both enable maximisation of impact for your beneficiaries?
- Do you manage or mitigate risks before they pose a significant problem?
Considering risk implications as part of the development of your strategy is vital. This survey by CFDG and PKF "Managing risk – a healthy appetite" (pdf 855.55kb) is designed to help charities refine their risk management processes and help to keep risks under control. Take a look at it as you consider your capacity and the way you respond to changes in the external environment.
(Help with reading PDFs - Adobe conversion tool is a free way to convert PDFs to web pages so you can read them online.)
Useful links
- The New Economics Foundation (NEF) have updated their prove and improve toolkit. It's called Tools for You: Approaches to proving and improving for charities. In addition to the updated toolkit (exploring 20 different approaches to quality and impact) you can also download a tool comparison chart and a tool decider chart, allowing you to find the right tool for you.
Have your say
Have you learnt about best practice in strategy through your own experiences? Could you pass on your knowledge to help others facing similar challenges?
Ask questions and join in discussions on the Strategy forum.
