As seems to be the case in many programs, there is a tendency to only plan to do what you've already done. Often the purpose or reason behind activities gets lost. Even when working at the grass-roots level, local NGOs can be tempted to do only what their donors want, or more precisely, what they think their donors want them to do. This is why projects can continue on for years aimlessly, doing the same failed activities that didn't help the community the last time they were done.
During the training, we started by looking at our mission. What is it that we do? Who do we serve? Why do we do our work? How is our work going to be completed? After they address those questions as an organization, are partners able to look at the needs and resources of the community and see where they can fit in. From there we talked about our goals for the year, what do we want to see in 12 months' time? This led to planning activities, which would then all be turned into a one-year plan.
This may all sound very artificial, and can certainly be done just for the sake of doing it. I think our work is to really help our partners understand its value and benefit from the planning. For years, people have been submitting one-year plans, but never have they served any practical purpose. Hopefully after this weekend, our staff are seeing more of how donor requirements can be used for their own benefit.
