21 Century INGO - 2020 and beyond

International NGOs face many challenges as they work towards their vision for a just, equitable and sustainable world. Successive governments worldwide have stated their commitment to similar goals. Yet it is an indictment of our times that there is so much need and limited resource to meet it. There are many challenges but opportunities also

NGOs will continue to face growing pressure from increasing public and regulatory expectation and scrutiny together with a more difficult funding environment and increased need. There is heightened public awareness about appropriate culture and behaviour, conflicts of interest and the need for transparency and the highest standards of governance and stewardship are expected. INGOs have to ensure best practice in all they do – in their governance, management, their relationship with those they serve, supporters, funders, affiliates, other partners as well as regulatory bodies and governments worldwide. There is also the longer-term perspective to consider – codes of practice, guidance and systems of monitoring and evaluation are constantly evolving. 

There are many challenges but opportunities also. Some of the challenges include:

• How can INGOs remain nimble and receptive to the impacts of a new uncertain environment where regulatory pressures and change requires them to proactively identify and respond to challenges and also new opportunities?
• How can INGOs shape and ensure they have the right culture and behaviour at all locations doing more than ticking boxes on policies and procedures
• How can INGOs build capacity and sustain procedures and operations worldwide that will meet best practice principles, and comply with increasingly difficult requirements yet not create unnecessary bureaucracies as stakeholders and regulators shift their priorities and agendas?
• How can INGOs properly align organisational priorities to resource mobilisation strategies and target new and sustainable forms of income generation to bridge funding gaps and future investment?
• How can INGOs ensure that they are responding to key risks and opportunities recognsising that they have to take risks for value creation, understanding their risk appetite and ability to manage risk ?
• How can INGOs manage technology and information to generate useful knowledge that adds value in decision making and enhances mission critical activities, resource mobilisation, governance and stewardship?
• What are the newer skill sets, procedures, methodologies and structures required to deliver on objectives and manage relationships with new donors, regulators, partners and other stakeholders in a digital age?
• How can INGOs operate efficiently and effectively, monitoring and evaluating impact and ensuring accountability to supporters and other stakeholders?

Wealth and patterns of influence and power are shifting. New income streams and new relationships need to be developed and an understanding of the impact of digitalisation and social media on resource mobilisation and influence will be important

There are many new paradigms and it has become self-evident that plans for future strategic development will have to take into account not only all of these factors, but also a very different environment from that of the last decade. The coming years will be challenging, exciting ones for INGOs as they continue to respond to the changing external and internal environment.

Over the years these and many other areas have been discussed at the Annual INGO conference that Crowe holds in London. This is a free event with many expert presenters covering interesting and relevant topics. Our 11th INGO conference '21st Century INGOs: 2020 and beyond' is being held on 28 November 2018. For more information see https://www.crowe.com/uk/croweuk/events/ingo---28-november-2018