A brief program implementation guide : non-Profits

​A Brief Program Implementation Guide : Non-Profits  

A grant has been awarded to your non-profit. Despite the feeling of euphoria, serious decisions have to be made. The die is cast. Now what ? How does your non-profit implement its' program effortlessly ? A great strategy along with financial resources come to naught without a road map for program implementation. This is due to the fact that without the program being implemented, both tangible and non-tangible results will fail to materialize.
 
The first step to ensuring the smooth implementation of a program is to organize the steps needed for implementing the program. Organizing your activities includes creating and reviewing your implementation strategy, assembling team members and regularly evaluating the program's progress.

Create an Implementation Strategy:
Here, it is imperative to review the non-profits strategic document and to create an implementation plan that aligns with this document (strategic document). In order to elevate the interest of stakeholders and implementing partners, a strategy map may be utilized. A strategy map is a great tool that assists team members in visualizing the project in its totality. Through visualization, the desire of team members regarding the success of the project succeed is increased. In essence, the program gathers momentum and has a greater chance of success through the use of a strategy map.

Assemble Team Members:
This is an important step that cannot be overlooked. During this phase, an implementing team comprising individuals who will be playing both direct roles and indirect roles ought to be assembled. Thereafter, schedule a meeting where the roles of individuals can be explained. This step ensures clarity of roles and leads to the avoidance of confusion. Also, information packets indicating the roles of team members and the projects evaluation plan should be disseminated to team members during this meeting. Finally, creating an environment that fosters teamwork will result in the development of positive working relationships.

Evaluate the Programs' Progress:
The creation of an evaluation plan will ensure that the program is implemented in a timely fashion. Also, by following the timeline of activities indicated in the evaluation plan, issues or problems that might otherwise go unnoticed will be detected and resolved in a timely fashion. Thus, the likelihood of unresolved problems metamorphosing into potential nightmares can be avoided.

A non-profit can ensure smooth implementation of programs/projects by staying organized, astutely selecting team members, clarifying their (team members) roles and regularly evaluating the programs' progress through a timeline of activities.

Written By Sherita N Brace
​Sherita N Brace is an International Development Professional. She serves as a Consultant to Non-Profits and provides grant writing services, program planning services and communications services.

Reference: 
.Strategy Maps. Retrieved September 20th from  https://knowhownonprofit.org/organisation/strategy/implement/maps
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