Program Management Training Program (2010)

Summary

HasNa’s Program Management Training Program seeks to equip socially conscious leaders in the nonprofit sector with the tools and knowledge to successfully manage and advance their projects and organizations.

Across Turkey, nonprofit organizations work vigorously to meet the needs of individuals and communities in a diverse set of areas. Organizations are promoting human rights, improving access to education and healthcare, addressing environmental damage, promoting gender and ethnic equality, and fostering economic and social development, among other issues. The good intentions underlying these initiatives are undeniably admirable, but the endurance and effectiveness of an organization depends on effective and strategic management.

In 2010, HasNa brought eleven passionate leaders to Washington, DC between April 2nd and 24th to participate in the Program Management Training Program.  During the two-week program, participants developed their skills in strategic planning, collaborative communication, leadership, and conflict resolution. Program management training stresses the importance of managing day-to-day activities – recruiting volunteers, managing employees, fundraising, running payroll, recordkeeping – as well as long-term strategic management to remain effective and flexible in a set of ever-changing environments.

During the program, participants visited a number of nonprofit organizations in the Washington, DC area to learn best practices in running successful organizations.  These site visits included the Latin American Youth Center, DC Central Kitchen, N Street Village, and others. Participants spent two days with Edna Povich from the Center for Dispute Settlement, learning about the differences between collaboration and competition and taking part in realistic simulation scenarios to develop their problem solving and conflict resolution skills. Participants also spent a day at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace to gain in-depth insight into the day-to-day responsibilities of managing a large nonprofit organization.

Participants were continually encouraged to think about how they could apply the tools and knowledge acquired to their current and future work. During the last day of the program, participants presented program action plans that they will implement upon their return to Turkey. Topics ranged from organic beekeeping techniques to helping farmers diversify their income to establishing a women’s development center. The presentation of action plans reflected not only participants’ passion and commitment to their work, but also the valuable skills they developed over the course of the program.

Participants overwhelmingly expressed how beneficial the Program Management Training Program was for their skill development and for their organizations overall. They also expressed that the training had made an immediate impact on how they view their leadership roles in their respective nonprofits.  The ongoing implementation of participants’ action plans along with their continuing work in the nonprofit sector is a testament to the effectiveness such programming.