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Swot Analysis For Ngos: Strengths Weaknesses

The document discusses using a SWOT analysis to strategically evaluate an NGO's performance and sustainability. It describes SWOT as a tool to analyze an organization's Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. It provides an example SWOT chart for an NGO, noting strengths can include high service demand and major donors, while weaknesses can be a lack of community awareness and an underdeveloped board. Opportunities may include new contracts or business links, while threats could be competition or limited financial reserves. The document advises listing truthful strengths and weaknesses, as well as potential future opportunities and threats, to help craft an effective strategic plan.

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Sakali Ali
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354 views2 pages

Swot Analysis For Ngos: Strengths Weaknesses

The document discusses using a SWOT analysis to strategically evaluate an NGO's performance and sustainability. It describes SWOT as a tool to analyze an organization's Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. It provides an example SWOT chart for an NGO, noting strengths can include high service demand and major donors, while weaknesses can be a lack of community awareness and an underdeveloped board. Opportunities may include new contracts or business links, while threats could be competition or limited financial reserves. The document advises listing truthful strengths and weaknesses, as well as potential future opportunities and threats, to help craft an effective strategic plan.

Uploaded by

Sakali Ali
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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SWOT Analysis for NGOs

Only NGOs that perform well are likely to survive and grow in the long term. Organisation’s that fail
to manage themselves appropriately, struggle to achieve their mission and find it difficult to create
real change are likely to ultimately found themselves cast by the wayside in favor of more efficient
ones. Therefore, the ability to be able to strategically evaluate your organisation’s performance is
crucial to its long term sustainability.

The SWOT analysis is a highly effective tool for understanding and decision making for all businesses
including NGOs. SWOT is an acronym for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. The
tool can be used for business planning, strategic planning, competitor evaluation, marketing,
product development and more.

IFAD (International Fund for Agricultural Development) describes this option as ‘useful when
qualitatively assessing, for example, the services provided by the project, relationships between
project stakeholders and the organisations of the implementing partners, local groups and the
project team itself’ (IFAD Options for Monitoring and Evaluation, Annex D, page D 21).

The SWOT analysis template is normally presented as a grid, comprising four sections, one for each
of the SWOT headings: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. An example SWOT chart
including some example information from an NGO is displayed below:

Strengths Weaknesses

 High Demand for Services  Lack of community awareness

 One major donor  Under developed board of trustees

Opportunities Threats

 Public service contracts soon to be put  Other more established NGOs complete
out to tender similar work

 Developing links with the business  Limited financial reserves


community

Strengths and Weaknesses describe ‘where the project or organisation is now: the existing resources
that can be used immediately and current problems that won’t go away. It can help identify where
new resources, skills or allies will be needed’. Both refer to ‘technical, financial, promotional,
networking, knowledge’ or competency based factors internal to the programme. ‘When thinking of
strengths it is useful to think of real examples of success to ground and clarify the conversation’.

Strengths are ‘those things that are working well in a project or situation. The aspects people are
proud to talk about’ and which differentiate the program from others. Weaknesses are ‘those things
that have not worked well’ or that the program is less efficient in than others.

Opportunities and Threats describe ‘what is going on outside the organisation, or areas which are
not yet affecting the strategy but could do’. Opportunities include ‘ideas on how to overcome
weaknesses and build on strengths’ within the environment the program operates in. Threats are
‘things that constrain or threaten the range of opportunities for change’ in the programme
environment. These external aspects are often related to ‘sociological, political, demographic,
economic, trade-specific’ and environmental factors.

Strengths

This portion of the chart provides the opportunity to list everything that is good about your NGO. As
well as the two example strengths listed above, other common strengths in NGOs are volunteer
manpower which supplies organisation’s with substantial amount of free labour and huge savings on
staff costs. NGOs in many countries are eligible for tax discounts which could be listed as another
strength of your organisation. You should include any assets that your organisation benefits from in
your strengths quadrant of your SWOT analysis.

Weaknesses

The weakness section enables you to list all of the deficiencies of your organisation. Everything that
causes you a problem in the management of your NGO should be included here. The most common
problem for most NGOs, especially ones in their first years, is the lack of financial stability in terms of
income, expenditure and reserve levels. Weaknesses normally focus on internal issues that you can
work to resolve but can also include outside weaknesses beyond your control such as a lack of
institutional funders working in your region or country.

Opportunities

These factors tend to focus on outside opportunities such as new grant availability and the
development of local business relations but can just as well be used to evaluate internal
opportunities including staff that are quickly developing and the contacts of a board of trustees
member. You should try to look towards emerging developments arond your NGO that may provide
new options in the near future as well as opportunities that are immediately available to your
organisation. Many people include potential opportunities that may not be available currently or
may never actually come to fruition but it is important to list them so that your NGO is suitably
prepared if they do.

Threats

NGOs and other similar non-profit organisations are particularly vulnerable to financial threats and
shocks. This is because non-profit organisation’s often have less secure income streams combined
with often just a few months of financial reserves result in NGOs that can be perilously prone to
major economic shifts. Changes in priorities from a major grant provider or local authority could
mean an NGO is suddenly without its major revenue stream with no backup plan. These are the type
of threats that you should use in your threats quadrant, essentially anything that could happen that
could jeopardise the success of your NGO.

Once you have completed your SWOT analysis you will be far better able to produce a strategic plan
that incorporates all of the listed elements and provides a guide for future growth and expansion.
Check back with us later in the week for a guide on how to produce a strategic plan for your
organisation.

Have you used SWOT analysis in your organisation?

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