When Planets Become Stars: How to Set Up, Operate and Position an NGO in a World of Shifting Perceptions

By Hylke Vinkeles Melchers and Marina Vinkeles Melchers

This is a “Self-help workbook” providing a guideline of how to set up, operate, or position a non-governmental organization (NGO) with an idealistic mission. This is set in the context of rising global complexity in economic, political and social issues that has left governments with challenges limiting their regulatory capacity. In a concise language the authors describe the spheres of (inter-)national governance, including the application of three interrelated disciplines Public Affairs (PA), Diplomacy and Marketing, illustrating these areas with practical examples. 
The book highlights a new type of non-governmental organization, the New Era NGO (NENGO), as leaders and influencers that are setting the tone in the current transformation process, due to their unique competencies, global reach and the congruency of their ways. 
In fulfilling their objectives authentic NGOs may patch system-gaps and in doing so get exposed to certain pitfalls of cooperating with traditional partners. Therefore they need to understand the multiple aspects of decision making when dealing with issues of their concern.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Troubador Publishing Ltd
• Release date: Sep 29, 2020
• ISBN: 9781800467743

Hylke Vinkeles Melchers

Hylke & Marina Vinkeles Melchers are experienced ex-pats with a multi-cultural and multi-disciplinary background, and have specialized in economic affairs, diplomacy, international business; and in inter-cultural training. After having settled in the Netherlands, this happily married couple set up and managed their own NGO.

Book preview

About the Authors

Hylke & Marina Vinkeles Melchers are experienced ex-pats with a multi-cultural and multi-disciplinary background, and have specialized in economic affairs, diplomacy, international business; and in inter-cultural training. After having settled in the Netherlands, this happily married couple set up and managed their own NGO.

Copyright © 2020 Hylke Vinkeles Melchers & Marina Vinkeles Melchers

The moral right of the author has been asserted.

Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research or private study, or criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, this publication may only be reproduced, stored or transmitted, in any form or by any means, with the prior permission in writing of the publishers, or in the case of reprographic reproduction in accordance with the terms of licences issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside those terms should be sent to the publishers.

Matador

9 Priory Business Park,

Wistow Road, Kibworth Beauchamp,

Leicestershire. LE8 0RX

Tel: [phone]

Email: [e-mail]

Web: www.troubador.co.uk/matador

Twitter: @matadorbooks

ISBN 9781800467743

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data.

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Matador® is an imprint of Troubador Publishing Ltd

To all we encountered on the way…

Table of Contents

Part I

The way of the possible: The KIT A self-help workbook

I.1. Introduction

I.2. Phase I Your concern

I.2.1. First steps

I.2.2. Start-up/preparation/widening a spectrum of views

I.2.3. Initial draft plan

I.3. Phase II Shaping & initiating a service, product or feature

I.3.1. Structuring an organization (1)

I.3.2. Expressing organizational identity (1)

I.3.3. Initiating a pilot

I.3.4. Kaizen: running continuous trial & error

I.3.5. Manage your reputation, personal branding

I.3.6. !!!Go or no-go/Enter the twilight zone!!!

I.4. Phase III Building a visionary organization

I.4.1. Considerations of a wider strategic nature

I.4.2. Awareness and daily practices

I.4.3. The art of niche marketing

I.4.4. The never-ending strategic story

I.4.5. Structuring an organization (2), and organization behavior

I.4.6. Expressing organizational identity (2)

I.4.7. The road map to a project proposal

I.5. Phase IV Collogue

I.5.1. Growth & maturity: a path to follow…

I.5.2.Transition and grey areas

I.5.3. Sphere of influence & ripple effect

I.5.4. Spiraling dynamics of complexities

I.5.5. New Era thinking

I.5.6. Leadership prospects

Part II

Chapter I Characteristics of being non-governmental The internal organization structure

I.1. Introduction

I.2. Language considerations

I.3. Origins, definitions & characteristics of NGOs

I.3.1. The ‘I’ from Independence and the‘N’ from Non-governmental

I.3.2.Differentiation by type and degree of organization

I.3.3. New Era NGOs (NENGOs) and differentiation by type of activity

I.3.4.The societal interface triangle

I.4.0. Blocks for organization building

I.4.1. Organization Structure

I.4.2.Strategy, mission statement

I.4.3. Human Resources Management (HRM)

I.4.3.1. Level-headed

I.4.4. Management style(s) & entrepreneurship

I.4.5. Systems & procedures as supportive tools

I.4.6. Guiding concepts

I.4.7. Shared Values & Philosophy

I.4.8.Setting the tone

I.5.Summing up/rounding off

Chapter II: The Great Hallprocesses in the public arena External relations and profiling

II.1. Introduction

II.1.2. The Great Hall of Co-creation

II.3. Public Affairs (PA)

II.4. Traditional and non-traditional diplomacy

II.5. (Inter-)national profiling & branding

II.6. Reputation management & nation branding

II.7. Dealing with recurring issues, the organic option

II.8. Summing up/rounding off

Chapter III: Shifting Perceptions

III.1. Introduction

III.2. Shift of world moods

III.2.1. On the planet, from inside out

III.2.2. In space, from outside in

III.2.3. Getting out of the money trap

III.2.4. digitalization and perception shifts

III.2.5. Sustainability and global warming

III.3. Dynamics of international relations

III.4. International governance & proliferation

III.5. National governance & crumbling bureaucracies

III.6. NGOs growing into star status

III.7. Summing up/rounding off

Epilogue

Annex I

Prologue

A bleeb into partnership, a personal story

This prologue was given shape in response to a continued interest of people in our working environment, who wondered how we managed to translate the intensive cooperation and dynamics to which a couple in business is exposed into a mutual and smooth mode of operation. Here you will find some of our personal experience as authors, as partners and as a couple engaged in mutual cooperation.

The choice of our partnership was aimed at realizing an undertaking based on a commonly held belief. Being husband and wife, we had at the time different occupations, and crucial to the success of our joint effort was the willingness to engage more deeply with each other’s interests and merge our views. Underlying was the acknowledgement of each other’s complementarity, and a belief that either party brings an idea that the other party brings to fruition by a creative force, the result of which is then conjointly implemented. Our focuses were constructing shared approaches, foregoing personal preferences for the benefit of the project at hand, and last but not least, not forgetting to celebrate achievements.

Today we see in Western cultures an effort to reestablish the balance between the masculine and feminine and to have both sexes participate equally in various areas of life, yet for ages the leading concept was exclusively masculine, reflecting the rule of the pater familias. In view of this long historical tradition, it seems unavoidable that any shift to a more balanced approach is an arduous process that will take time, reaching a situation in which each party will safeguard his/hers own unique integrity, and thus valorize the mutual complementarity. It opens the potential to experience the two different energies as an essential part of the creative equation, allowing a fruitful intertwining of the feminine element – standing for intuition, feeling and creation – and the masculine element – standing for logic (ratio) and consciousness. Already more people are making this transition and our venture represents the shared advantage of that.

Once upon a time we read an ancient story about two dragons crossing, creating a common energy field more vibrant and intense than the separate individual ones. This story tells about a combination of the water dragon (yin), or female element, and the fire dragon (yang), or male element. It is not just a myth, but occurs in nature, in any landscape, or in any home, to which the Chinese apply the balancing art of feng shui. The crossing of the energies of both dragons – provided that care is taken to prevent short circuits – may deliver wonderful results, and can constitute the world. We initially smiled, but we did not know that later on the story would prove to become an inspiring philosophical guidance in synchronizing the different energies emanating from two individuals. Even if it seems to be quite a demanding process, it impacted both our working styles, and the integrated outcome of that proved to be beneficial.

Shifts took place not only in our minds, but also in our lifestyle: it evolved from a 9–5 into a 24/7 working schedule, including a gamma of different roles to play in a rapidly alternating sequence. It became an important issue to safeguard a healthy regime, and to consciously manage a separation between working hours and private (or homely) moments, providing personal space. This we found testing as well as supportive, especially when working from a home office, as we did. However, we should also admit that a very strict separation may not under all circumstances serve the purpose. Instead, it is a process of ‘give and take’ based on loving relationships and mutual respect. Beneficial was the interweaving of ancient practices, such as contemplation and meditation, within our quite intensive lifestyle.

Throughout the book you may perceive somewhat different styles emerging here and there in dealing with the materials. These will slowly intertwine in one stream and then spread again in different ways, expressing themselves individually. This derives from our intention to elaborate on the materials from each side of the couple, while at the same time maintaining the common and guiding storyline. Also, we have added in boxes some reflections from our private diary that we kept throughout the process.

What we went through during a twelve-year period as partners can be described as the collision of a joint effort, taking responsibility for a process of compressed learning. Moreover, working together we developed a more subtle understanding of each other’s modes of operation, resulting in an increased joy and thankfulness for the experience. Certainly, each day we are discovering new dimensions as part of the path that we have chosen, on our way of continuously ‘becoming’.

Introduction

Our personal views on the world are colored by the fact that we have lived in an international environment (as expats) for a number of years. From this exposure we have gained a particular way of looking at the globe and its events. Living in this present era makes you wonder about the long-term relevance of the major happenings that are passing by and the value historians will later attach to them. Evidently, the mental modes that we as humans unavoidably work with are the product of our society and reflect – but also limit – the way we see the world. When, by occurring dissonance, we decide to question those mental patterns openly, then the variety of new views that offers itself is stunning, quite beyond prior accepted realities. Consequently, it becomes testing to make sense of the fast-changing hallmarks of the times, which we call ‘shifting perceptions’.

Out of a wave of images that stood out before our eyes in the beginning of the millennium, the most intriguing ones were the following: the landscape of international affairs was booming with an expansion of complex issues, more plural in their dimensions than ever, occurring with a speed that few can comprehend with ease; governments in transition searching for new ideas in an effort to find different ways of doing things; the shift in the service concept of public-private domains was lacking flexible and personal ways of communication and a freshness of approach, where authoritarian distance and bureaucratic tendencies were not helpful in delivering a tailored approach to individual needs; technological growth liquidized the notions of its natural limits and left even more challenges in its tracks than expected. These add to the flashing slides of inconsistency, such as the fact that a strictly local event (for instance, 9/11) caused a worldwide ripple effect, deeply affecting international policies; that there was an overflow of information and yet a creeping lack of transparency. All the above left us pondering what was going on and where it was leading, and made us question the nature of overall complexity. These and similar observations and phenomena were at the root of our motivation, from where we derived our concern(s) and which we translated into the mission and vision of our initiative.

About paradoxes

As soon as we got into the field as a new initiative – that only in its later phase became registered as a non-governmental organization (NGO) with the UN – we experienced a number of fringes. It is a recurrent public phenomenon to notice that the intentions written on paper turn out differently in practice. During our activities we encountered situations in which there was a striking difference between the perception from the outside and the inside look of it; we discovered that for traditional players, the worth of innovation is purely seen as a technical asset, and not as a contribution to the human evolutionary process. Evidently the industrialized society has succeeded in classifying – and rewarding – the technical outcome as the master, instead of its origin, the source of creativity itself. It is therefore no surprise that administrations have often taken possession of ideas proprietary to the owners of projects that they are funding. All this was not a reason to get disappointed, but rather a reason to press on with our search for answers and insights.

We confirm that it is crucial for the success of the mission of any (newly established) non-governmental organization that it positions itself well among the multitude of players operating in the international arena, and above all that it distinguishes itself from lookalike NGOs. As far as New Era NGOs (NENGOs) – as defined by us – are concerned international profiling comes more naturally to them due to their global reach – operating outside the institutionalized frameworks – and the congruency of their ways. Yet paradoxically enough, they are well perceived by all players in the field without too much promotional effort, due to their unique approach, and the dynamic level and texture of their operations.

The way of our endeavor

Like so many other NGOs, we were also pioneers in our chosen area, as they have been in theirs, and the service concept that we ended up with proved multifaceted. Maybe due to the fact that we got engaged in the field of national and international governance, we also got entangled to a certain extent in its successes and pitfalls, and had to deal with them both top-down and bottom-up. One way to go about it was the creation of a geopolitical platform for influencers and decision-makers, expats and officials, on which we organized numerous brainstorming sessions. The basic driver was our conviction that professionals stand to benefit from an exposure to traditional as well as non-traditional views, freeing the mind of a scarcity of perspectives. The themes of discussion were chosen from current tension areas and issues related to the broader area of governance, focusing in particular on political and economic matters, and financial affairs. In the realization we made use of national and international interfaces, which we integrated as part of our service concept. The idea was to explore the various colors of governance and cooperation modes, catalyzed by the involvement of (us as) a non-governmental entity, as a New Era entrant and player on the public stage.

Since national affairs and global processes are interrelated and impact each other considerably, discussions explored the underlying factors. Our sessions took place on municipal, provincial and (inter-)national levels, and in governmental institutions, ministries and international and intergovernmental organizations and companies, as well as in neutral locations. During the programs we experimented with tabling different parties, which otherwise would hardly meet, and stimulating an open exchange of views under Chatham House Rules. Those interactive sessions reflected various interests and angles on opinions and policies, which made them really diverse. We also organized dedicated workshops for sourcing possible fresh approaches. Note: the content of our discussions and working sessions is not part of this book, but the experience we have gained in positioning a non-governmental organization is.

For easy reference we divided the multipolarity of attendees into three groups: on the one side, expats interested in a glimpse behind the scenes concerning recent developments, designated to their home departments; on another side, national and international decision-makers and influencers sharing their expertise; and later on, a third category was added, composed of inter-governmental and supra-national organizations, and internationally operating companies. The initial approach was formulated in the footnote of our letterhead: "to get exposure to an array of developments taking place in their host country with regard to worldwide developments, enhancing the understanding of our international audience, and thus the effectiveness of their reporting duties and networking. The program served as a kaleidoscope for gaining insights on the covered issues, and to get in touch more intimately with the influencers and decision-makers on national and international levels." By a later development we added an extra floor of Q&A sessions intended to look beyond the accepted parameters of the current paradigm. Against the backdrop of the above activities, we were to reassess the usual perceptions of NGOs and to redefine its conceptual framework, first of all to ourselves. By means of ongoing brainstorming sessions, our organization became a kind of testing ground for developing a clearer understanding of the constructive role that NGOs might play. We ended up by appreciating and recognizing them as the shakers and movers of a new world order to be. As far as we could conclude from feedbacks, there was an unintended impact on the participating parties (state and private), in the way of their thinking about the management of international relations. It widened their perspectives and resulted in a reassessment of the importance of international relations and in some cases led to the opening of international sections.

The ‘how’ of the process

When one enters the public arena as a free agent – not as a paycheck employee – it really opens incredible views. So we followed the stream of possibilities with an open mind, eventually finding ourselves in a dynamic vortex, allowing us to explore public opportunities. In our good faith we had not anticipated its outcome, and we can admit that it was a formidable personal and professional challenge that turned our life into an interesting adventure. To consider the highlights of a twelve-year endeavor, they would reflect the intensity and the heartbeat of the experiences on which this book is based, which can be discerned between the lines. With regard to ‘how’ exactly we went through this process, we can say that we favored in all our approaches the practice of an ancient philosophy of continuous improvement (Kaizen). This ‘how’ is used as a basis for the parts of the book on ‘how to proceed’, which is spread through all the chapters.

The inspiration for this book: ‘When planets become stars’

The inspiration for this book came from numerous questions posed by members of our audience: "I would like to do the same in my country, so what shall I start with? or, frequently, How will it be possible for me to do the same, how exactly do you do what you do? or You should provide some framework to other organizations that are looking for clarity on what you seem to have". Initially we responded by giving in-house explanatory talks, under the title ‘the way of the possible’. Soon, however, it became clear to us that this gesture – which started long ago as a simple effort – had outgrown its confines. So, we set up a presentation providing a kind of summary guideline in several steps on how to set up and run an NGO under the current global conditions. Initially the approach was very practical, but upon careful consideration, there was no escaping adding a bit of theoretical background as well. Halfway through we came to realize that we spent hours commenting on additional information – however fruitfully – but that there should be a more effective way to deal with it. This became the pulse that made us decide to put it all on paper, in this publication.

The structure of the book

The contextual guideline of how ‘to set up and operate’ a New Era Non-Governmental Organization (NENGO) is explained in the chapters. That is to say that the first Part, the KIT which has as a title ‘the way of the possible’, is the central part of the book, with a step-by-step approach further on supported with explanatory chapters in the second Part on: I) organizational matters and building blocks, specifications of non-governmental organizations; II) public affairs and positioning, reflecting the challenges and opportunities of an NGO in the public arena; and III) shifting perceptions, highlighting the role of a redefined NGO type in the scheme of things. In the Prologue you have found some of our personal experiences as authors and partners, and as a couple engaged in mutual cooperation. We hope that all this together makes it instructive reading to assist ambitious operators wishing to become more effective, and for those working with NGOs, or just exploring the possibilities of mutual cooperation. To put the content of the book together in one sentence, we would call it a reference framework on what the potential of an NGO is all about, in view of the state of affairs of the world we are living in today.

Thankfulness/gratitude

We experienced this process as enriching, and discovered that an ever-expanding awareness is at the core of the beneficial merits of all processes. Through this exposure we