Organisational Development Community of Practice – Learning from Across the Atlantic
The Organisational Development Community of Practice will host an online session “Learning from Across the Atlantic” on 1 December as a part of the learning series “Building Resilience in Times of Crisis”.
This year’s events and the USAID funding freeze have highlighted how unprepared we are when a crisis strikes. Partners suddenly lose resources they depend upon, and the issues they address are quickly labelled as controversial, placing them at risk of backlash. As contexts rapidly change, funders’ strategies and tools must adapt in real time.
Addressing these challenges requires not only immediate financial relief but also specialised skills and strong support infrastructures that go beyond traditional project funding. This is where Organisational Development (OD) and flexible funding become essential, helping grantees build resilience and adapt to changing circumstances.
Although the new reality has affected philanthropy all over the world, the reactions and adjustment of the US-based funders has been the most remarkable. As months have passed, new support mechanisms have been developed and a lot of intra-philanthropic organising has occurred, which the European counterparts could learn from.
We have invited several US-based philanthropic practitioners to share with us how they have navigated this year’s challenges and what role the OD support played in it.
The key questions we would like to explore are:
- What OD approaches and flexible funding models have US-based funders developed to support grantees in times of crisis?
- How has the sector managed the rapid change, what kind of collaboration and organising has taken place?
- What lessons can European funders learn from these experiences? How could we anticipate and prepare for similar circumstances in Europe?
The OD Community of Practice offers a safe space where philanthropy professionals can learn and explore the challenges of providing Organisational Development support in an effective manner; and where they can discuss challenges internal to their own organisations. Since its establishment the community aims to advance the practice of organisational development in the philanthropic sector more broadly.
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