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CISVInternational

Organizational Review

Created for CISV USA chapter development weekend

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The Approach

•Put the Chapters at the heart of the Review

•Worked with external consultants•Consulted with every layer of the organization•Included feedback from NAs, Chapters, RTFs, Regional Meetings and IO, and AIM

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Background

•Conducted by BlueSpark Consulting

•Work was extensive and has taken more than a year

•The review has required a major investment of time and money from CISV International

•Commitment from NA’s was a signal that there were problems and it was time to take a look at how we work and organize ourselves

•Done by outside professionals who could take an objective approach

•This is the first time external professionals have made an independent examination of our organizational structure and working practices

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Findings

• BlueSpark’s findings are highly critical

• Indicate an organization that has:

• long outgrown its structure

• is ineffective in its operations

• appears unsure of its mission and values

• Determined that the working culture of CISV is making problems worse in many ways

• Many of our 212 chapters are under severe strain

• Growth is becoming harder

• Our organizational structure is too complex to provide clarity and accountability

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Key Findings

• The roles of the International Board, IEC, EEC, Committees and IO are confused, overly complex and therefore lead to systematic dysfunction

• CISV’s current strategy is lacking in purpose and clarity, including its approach to growth

• The vision, values and mission of CISV are not viewed or treated as the guiding principles of everything that CISV does - or the way it does it

• The existing organizational culture of CISV is a significant barrier to change and improvement

• With an unclear core purpose, too many objectives and poor evaluation, CISV’s flagship meeting, AIM, in its current form provides poor value for time and money.

•The organization pays ‘lip service’ to the mantra of ‘Chapters being at the heard of everything we do’.

•A vital part of the ‘heart’ of CISV is the Junior Branch, which is treated as a separate organization.

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Organizational Culture

• Overall: An organization that seems to be allowing its culture to be a barrier to achieving its Mission

• Unless CISV International wants to change its culture and the behaviors that underlie it, any changes rising from the Organization Review will not achieve desired results

• Though it may not be comfortable, frank and open discussion will be necessary to address which parts of the organizational culture help and which ones hold CISV back, and those involved will need to confront the feelings that underlie the culture.

www.cisv.org

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“CISV has a large number of closely inter-related problem areas that will only be successfully addressed if we adopt a clean sheet of paper approach to its structure and operations. In virtually everything it does, CISV should adopt a less is more approach. This means less words, less paper, less committees, less meetings, less objectives, less initiatives/projects - and move its focus to doing the important things well.”

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Recommendations of the IEC

• The International Executive Committee, using the results from BlueSpark’s Report, has put forth suggestions for action

•They address 5 sections, those being:

• New Board and Committee Structure

• Role of our International Office

• International Meetings

• Chapters

• Junior Branch

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A. New Board & Committee Structure

“We support BlueSpark’s suggestion that we take a ‘clean sheet’ approach, that we disband all current structures and start afresh.

The recommended structure, summarised below, is in line with those adopted by other, successful, international organizations"

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BoardFindings

• Lack of clarity as to what the board does

• EEC is failing to a significant degree in successfully meeting responsibilities

• Function as a collection of individuals

• Operates in a leadership vacuum with little central guidance

• Most members act in interest of own Committee

• No unified vision or direction

• Meets only once a year and is too big to have effective virtual meetings

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BoardProposal

• A Governing Board of 9 members, elected for three year terms

• First GB would be elected at AIM 2013, after which it would be done annually by electionic ballot

• Recommend that one of the members be elected by Juniors

• Remaining members be elected for terms that will be staggered, to provide continuity

• Chief Executive (current Secretary General) be an ex-officio member

• GB meet 3 times each year

• over weekends in cost efficient locations

• when possible, meet at Regional Meeting or Training Forum

• every third year, larger meeting would occur

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Findings:

• 21 Committees governing an organization of CISV’s size is too many

• Generally, committees are not managed by IEC and lack guidance and control

• There is little understanding or agreement among Committees or EEC or who does what and who has what authority

Committees

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Proposal

• GB will have 4 specialist Standing Committees which advise and do work on behalf of the Board

• Include an Educational Programmes Department and Chapter Development Department, which will concentrate on education Programmes and Chapters

• both of these departments would require two or more working teams and possibly more thatn one staff Officer

• GB will have 4 specialist Standing Committees which advise and do work on behalf of the Board

Committees

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B. Role of International Office (IO)

Findings:

• It is impossible to measure its performance with any confidence

• the role of the IO needs to be clearly understood throughout CISV

• IO seems “frightened” to assert itself

• CISV needs to be clear about why it has an IO, what the responsibilities of the IEC, Board, EEC and Committees are in respect to the IO, and how it needs to be used to maximize its contribution to CISV’s mission

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Role of International Office (IO)

Proposal:

• The nature of the IO work will change and the working relationship with international volunteers will be better defined

• A recognized Senior Management Team will be well placed to take on the role of managing the work in their areas

• The GB, in cooperation with the SMT will provide clear directions and priorities for staff and volunteers

• The recommendations will necessitate the revision of job profiles and an assessment of skills and training needs may result in a new staffing structure

• Discussion over the relocation of the IO will be left for over the next year in order to retain continuity during a time of change

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C. International MeetingsFindings

• AIM has no agreed core purpose: Conference, or Business meeting?

• Tries to be ‘all things to all people’

• Largely disconnected with the parallel IJBC

• The “Process” appears to be more important than the outcomes

• Too much time and cost for the outcomes produced

• Too large a task for the IEC to plan, manage, and execute

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International MeetingsProposal:

• An Advisory Conference should be established

• This conference will meet every 3 years and be aimed at all CISV Chapters

• All chapters will be entitled & encouraged to attend and take full part in consultations, discussions, voting on overall vision, mission and direction of the organization

• This conference should be held in the most cost effective location

• A system to ‘equalize’ travel costs for the official representative of each Chapter will be established.

• Regional Meetings will continue and grow in importance in a way that will complement the triennial Advisory Conference

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D. ChaptersProposal:

• Chapters be placed at the ‘heart’ of our organization where they belong

• AIM will be restructured into a triennial meeting aimed at gathering representatives from every Chapter

• Chapters will be asked to consider & support the three year strategic plan of the organization, as well as consider & advise on major policy issues

• Content of this triennial meeting will aim to support and inspire the work of the Chapters

• It is hoped that, with this shift in focus to the chapters, the communication between Chapter volunteers and CISV International will improve.

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E. Junior BranchFindings:

• Appears to be an organization within an organization

• IJB is a resource ‘goldmine’ and a very fertile ground for leadership development training

• Given the size of IJB and potential future contribution to the organization, there seems to be little connection with IJB except on a project bias

• Chapters and NA produced very low level of unprompted feedback on JBs

• Appears to be little reason why two organizations can’t work more closely together

• CISV needs to be clear about why it has JBs, and understand the support that JBs/IJB need to maximize their contribution to achieving CISV’s mission

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Junior BranchProposal:

• JB should be more fully integrated into the work of CISV at all levels

• The IEC will continue to work with the IJRs to develop more specific recommendations in this area

• “We believe it is time to emphasize the quality of the multicultural leadership training that our Junior Branch provides at the local, national, and international level.

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Conclusions

• International Board will be asked to approve a direction in principle at AIM

• IEC and IO members will be attending all Regional meetings and will facilitate sessions on the Review

• “We urge everyone in CISV to be open and candid in discussing these very important issues and decisions. Each of us is committed to the mission of CISV and has the passion and desire to work effectively to became a larger and more successful force for a more just and peaceful world.”

This is an opportunity to make changes that will help CISV move forward with the confidence for the next 60 years and beyond.

www.cisv.org

The changes arising from the Organizational Review will help us shape the future of

CISV and help us to continue to educate and inspire

action for a more just and peaceful world