Organizational Development (OD)

Overview

The Organisational Development Department was established in March 2006 as one of the core programme Departments within the management structure of the Sri Lanka Red Cross Society (SLRCS) with the goal of developing capacity at all levels of the national society.

Objective

SLRCS has the organisational systems, structures, capacities, skills, and shared values to carry out service delivery projects that improve the lives of Sri Lanka’s most vulnerable people.

Strategic objectives

SLRCS cultivates highly committed, competent, and well-informed governance and professional management leadership at the national headquarters and branch levels in order to provide effective humanitarian services.

Introduce appropriate and well-written policies, procedures, and guidelines in core programme areas for management and facilitation of their implementation.

Strengthen the SLRCS’s NHQ, branch, and divisional level structures so that they can meet the needs of the vulnerable communities they serve.

Develops a diverse resource base and manages these resources efficiently in order to sustain and improve the mission.

Develop operational alliances in service delivery by strengthening your network with other stakeholders.

Governance, Management and Systems Development

This programme aims to improve the SLRCS systems from the national headquarters level down to the community level structures by focusing on areas such as finance and logistics development, as well as HR management. This will result in more streamlined, efficient, and effective community service delivery. Furthermore, this programme emphasises the importance of developing and adhering to internationally recognised transparency and accountability standards as an organisation in providing services to communities.

Community Infrastructure and Capacity Building

This programme emphasises a bottom-up approach. Aiming to build stronger communities that are more resilient and capable of withstanding or dealing with a disaster by developing the capacity of the SLRCS’s community-level structures as well as the capacity of volunteer and youth members. Activities in this area are always designed with gender and diversity in mind. The SLRCS community structures (divisions and units) are expected to become self-sustaining entities that run service delivery for their communities using their own funds and built-in capacity as a result of building the capacity of local communities.

Strengthening and repositioning of SLRCS

The context in Sri Lanka is constantly changing, so it is critical that the SLRCS remain relevant and up to date. The use of multi-media technology to communicate and advocate, strengthen partnership relationships with donors, the government, and other stakeholders, and increase credibility on the ground with communities is critical to the sustainability of the SLRCS. This programme focuses on a combination of communications, resource mobilisation, and active partnership engagement to ensure that the SLRCS is ultimately better positioned to provide much-needed community services.