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Description
"The "CIT_otimiza" project aims to strengthen the sustainability and capacity building of Caritas da Ilha Terceira through the creation of a strategic plan to improve leadership and teamwork and promote a more robust communication strategy and management of operations and projects, using information and communication technologies. Thus, the objectives of the project are the training of the organisation through the development and implementation of a Strategic Plan; the training of the person responsible for Quality, Planning and Communication for the monitoring of the Strategic Plan and its autonomous realisation in future years; the training of coordinators for team management; and empowering Human Resources to make more effective use of information and communication technologies."
Summary of project results
As part of a previous EEAGrants project, a diagnosis of the organisation''s capacity was drawn up, which concluded that 7 of the 11 domains assessed needed improvement/capacity building, namely impact assessment; strategy; partnerships; marketing, communication and fundraising; structure, governance and leadership; human resources (HR) and information technology. Out of these, 3 areas were identified as priorities:
1. Strategy, the institution does not have an up-to-date strategic plan, limiting planning and, as a result, the effectiveness and articulation of actions and their coherence within the institutional mission. It was recommended to use an external organisation to support the implementation and training for the development of future plans and their articulation with the annual activity plans.
2. Human Resources (HR) - Strengthen HR with competences, particularly in the area of leadership and team management for the coordinators of the different areas/services. During the external evaluation, the lack of motivation of some employees was detected, so investing in training for these coordinators in this area could also have an impact on this factor.
3. Marketing, Communication and Fundraising - there was a need for CIT to improve the dissemination of its activities and projects on current networks and other channels, as well as a lack of internal skills/resources to do so; there is a need to improve communication in order to make it more appealing to young people.
Within the Strategy priority area, the Strategic Plan was drawn up, starting with a specific 4-hour training course for two internal employees to prepare them for the autonomous management of the Strategic Plan and the development of future plans. This training and the entire development of the plan was carried out by an external organisation. Documentary analysis and the application of questionnaires to employees, volunteers and partners were carried out by the external consultants, providing a solid basis for the subsequent work.
Both online and face-to-face meetings and asynchronous collaborative work were held to develop the ‘Theory of Change’ and establish the objectives for 2024-26, culminating in the delivery of the Strategic Plan and its approval by the Board of Directors. The stage ended with the development of the Operational Plan for 2024, conducted internally, followed by the presentation of the Strategic Plan 2024-26 and the Operational Plan 2024 to all employees.
The second component, focussed on Information and Communication Technology (ICT) training, began with intensive face-to-face training in Microsoft 365, also provided by an external organisation. This training was essential for the subsequent development of an Internal Communication and Task Management Procedure, reflecting Management Procedure, reflecting the skills acquired and aimed at greater operational efficiency.
With regard to the third and final area (Leadership and Team Management Training), the training organisation provided an initial theoretical session, followed by practical face-to-face sessions. These activities were designed to strengthen employees'' leadership skills and with each participant developing Improvement Plans for their areas. The training concluded with an online feedback session, allowing reflection on the progress made and the challenges faced. Through this collaborative approach to developing our internal human resources, we were able not only strengthen organisational capabilities, but also promote a culture of effective strategic management, innovation and continuous improvement.
The project succeeded in achieving most of the general objectives initially proposed, particularly the organisational capacity building through the development and implementation of a robust Strategic Plan.
In addition to the Head of Quality, Planning and Communication, another employee was also trained to monitor and lead the plan autonomously in future years.
Among the objectives were to train Coordinators in team management and Human Resources in the effective use of information and communication technologies (ICT).
At the end of the project, it was confirmed that the effective training of Coordinators and Human Resources, although with the caveat that the target of training 14 professionals was not reached, only 13 were certified. In detail, 8 professionals were certified in ICT and 10 in Leadership and team management and 1 professional received a declaration for having completed 50% of the leadership training. It should be noted that 5 coordinators took part in both training programmes. Participation in the training activities not only promoted a deeper understanding of the institution and its future strategy, but also enhanced the use of ICT for more effective internal communication and more efficient task management.
Adding up, the coordinators'' leadership skills were significantly strengthened, allowing for more dynamic and effective team management. The participation of 9 professionals in the development of the Strategic Plan, the presence of 29 professionals at the sessions to present this plan and the collaboration of 11 professionals and the Chair of the Board in the creation of the Communication and Task Management procedure, are testimony to the wide-ranging involvement and impact of the project.
This involvement not only contributed to individual and collective empowerment, but also to a more informed, collaborative and future-oriented organisational culture.