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Description
The NGO accelerator is a pilot NGO capacity building program based on the best organisational development practices most employed to grow start-ups (young innovative businesses). This is a long-term impact-oriented initiative, the pilot project of which would be implemented in 7 regional municipalities in Lithuania. The accelerator aims to encourage regional NGOs not only to be more creative in their areas of activity, funding sources and community involvement, but also to work based on the principles of a sustainable business model in order to create long-term positive impact in Lithuanian regions.
The proposed accelerator will operate in two stages: the “sprint” and the “marathon.” During the sprint, 10 NGOs will strengthen their basic organizational development skills, culminating in a presentation of the prepared innovative solutions to a panel of experts at the end of the sprint and competing for entry to the second stage - the marathon. The 5 NGOs selected for the marathon stage will grow further through advanced entrepreneurship and organizational sustainability capacity building activities: workshops with experts, one-to-one consultations, prototyping and “live” solution testing, personal mentors from other NGOs and experts from the private and public sectors. Since one of the key ingredients for the success of traditional start-up accelerators is a strong ecosystem of partners, other similar organizations, experts and a knowledge-sharing community, the marathon phase will be accompanied by networking and community introduction events in the newly created collaborative spaces in the regions.
Throughout the accelerator, its impact will be monitored and a final model of an NGO accelerator will be developed for implementation at the national level.
Summary of project results
The long-term goal of the Creating Lithuania alumni network in the NGO sector was for small and regional NGOs to be entrepreneurial, innovative, and actively contribute to the growth and strengthening of Lithuania and the promotion of public welfare, and this project will strengthen the capacity of regional NGOs to act sustainably and innovatively, and to more effectively engage and represent the interests of communities. To create a lasting impact, the training project was run as a pilot, after which the accelerator model could be scaled up nationally
The NGO Accelerator is a 1.5-year unique NGO capacity building program focused on building a long-term impact, based on the best business development practices applied to start-ups. The first stage of the program (Sprint) focused on providing basic entrepreneurial knowledge to the participants. 10 selected NGOs from 7 municipalities participated in the program. The progress demonstrated during the Sprint stage determined the participation of the top 5 participants in the second stage (Marathon), where - with the help of lecturers and mentors - the focus was on the practical implementation of generated ideas.
Accelerator encouraged regional NGOs not only to be more creative in their areas of activity, funding sources and community involvement, but also to work based on the principles of a sustainable business model in order to create long-term positive impact in Lithuanian regions. 3 out of 5 participants created activities that generate income and strengthen the local community