Civil Society Development
PDS is an organization for organizations, sharing the belief that the very development of non–governmental organizations is an indicator of the progress of communities and citizens.
Our vision is to see a world in which civil society contributes actively, effectively and efficiently to achieve peaceful, democratic, green and fair communities. PDS therefore aims to help civil society organize in order to achieve greater impact. We do this through our four areas of practice: Organizational Development, Monitoring & Evaluation, Strategy, and Tool kits & Facilitation.
At PDS we take a comprehensive approach to organizational effectiveness because in an organization, all parts are connected and important to achieve impact. At the same time, budgets are limited, everyone is busy and there is often a fear of being too inward looking, instead of focusing on external impact. This means that organizations often need to choose from which angle it approaches their organizational strengthening. PDS have divided our work into four main practice areas in which we can support non-profit organizations, networks and donors: Organizational Development – everything to strengthen or change an organization; Monitoring & Evaluation – incorporate learning from planning to reporting phase; Strategy, strategic planning as well as strategic intelligence; Tools & Facilitation – standalone products as well as the facilitation or organization of processes and meetings.
Organizational Development
We are well aware of the most important feature social profit organizations have in common: the incredible commitment of their people and the effort they put in to further their mission. We are inspired to support these people, their organizations and the causes they promote, and to contribute to their success by helping them achieve greater impact.
Organizational development can start with different aspects of an organization – governance, management, structure, processes, funding, strategy, HR, culture, systems, etc. – and PDS can support CSOs in one or more of these specific areas. But whichever sequence or focus is chosen, the objective is to make the work of the people in the organization easier, more effective & efficient and thereby in the end also more rewarding and enjoyable.
Monitoring & Evaluation
Is an integral part of that change process, enabling organizations and Donors to identify success and best practices, and make use of evidence to measure and map progress.
We employ a combination of qualitative and quantitative methodologies such as desk research, site visits, interviews and focus groups. Through linking evaluations with organizational scans, context analysis and the possibility of developing custom M&E frameworks and monitoring tools, we strive to organically embed M&E in the context of each organization that we support.
Our services include program evaluations for service delivery and advocacy; designing and implementing M&E frameworks; and building the capacity of civil society actors to plan, monitor, evaluate and learn.
Strategy & Research
PDS is skilled in supporting organizations in assessing and articulating their strategies. Our understanding of our client’s needs is rooted in careful analysis and an awareness of the socio-cultural context of their work. We work together with our clients in participative processes to help them think through longer-term objectives and plan for resilient programming despite a changing environment.
Furthermore, as we work with clients engaged in a wide variety of policy processes and have staff with strong previous experience in policy, PDS is able to provide intelligence on trends, effective advocacy strategies, political insights and many other areas relevant to civil society.
Tool kits & Facilitation
Sharing & creating knowledge
In addition to providing advice and direct support, PDS has also developed a range of products and tools which can be offered as a service or as a tool to be used independently of our involvement. These can allow staff, a Board or managers to complement or solidify changes in ways of working, structures or organizational culture after an organizational strengthening process has taken place. The products themselves are thus either part of an organizational strengthening process or as standalone products in the wake of such a process.
The tools include templates for meetings and processes, manuals for projects or teams, trainings and workshop agendas, scans and technological solutions, self-evaluation checklists and surveys, among others.
We Work for :
- Enabling Environment for Vibrant & Active Civil Society through dialogue and advocacy.
- Strengthening the institutional and organizational capacities of NGOs, youth and women groups.
- Strengthening capacities of labor unions and workers’ groups to be more efficient and effective organizations.
- Community development: education, health, housing through partnership with NGOs.
Our publications
Egypt’s Coalition UPR Report of 27 Organizations on the Improvement of Standard of Living; a report focusing on reaching the integral development of all segments of the population , improve the standard of living of its citizens, including vulnerable groups of the population and tackles specifically Social Protection, Right of housing and Access to water and Clean Environment.