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Welcome to our new symbol holder – SIAA
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The Scottish Independent Advocacy Alliance (SIAA) are the latest organisation to have been awarded the Lasting Difference Symbol. SIAA joined us for our programme of online Lasting Difference workshops in 2020. The team have been...
NEW: Sustainable impact guide
Your time and resources are scarce. You want to use them wisely. Focus on what makes an impact. Covid increases the urgency of building capacity, increasing resilience and expanding your reach with limited resources. This is sustainable impact. It's the heart of your...
The seventh domain of lasting impact:
Communities being better informed, connected and equipped Are the people and issues you support visible and involved in community life? Do awareness raising campaigns have to be done by you alone? What does prevention look like? The six previous domains come together...
Working with funders
We're often asked if funders recognise and support the core messages in The Lasting Difference. The short answer is: mostly! But it might depend where you work. If you get funding in Scotland - you are definitely funded by organisations that use and support the...
The year for Lasting Leadership
Well if there was ever a year for a sustainable leadership guide, it was this one! When we launched the Lasting Leadership® guide in February, we knew it was timely. But we couldn't have known how big its themes would become in 2020. It focuses on succession....
7 Domains of Sustainable Impact: Part 6
This is Part 6 in a series of 7. Part One is here. Policy and policy makers respond to evidence of changing needs Where did the policies (and funding) you are working to today come from? What do you do with the privileged access to information that you have? Do you...
7 Domains of Sustainable Impact: Part 5
This is part 5 of a 7-part series on the Domains of Sustainable Impact. You can start the full series here. 5. Other organisations are more able to respond and take a lead. Provocations: If your aims are achieved, does it matter who achieves them? Are there parts of...
The 7 Domains of Sustainable Impact – Part 4
This article is part 4 in a series of 7. Read parts one, two and three here. Our organisations won’t be around for ever - start planning for that. Why was your organisation set up? Why does it still exist? How long does it plan to be around? What would happen if it...
The 7 domains of sustainable impact Part 3
This article continues our series on sustainable impact - how to make a lasting difference that continues even after your work stops. Discover Parts One and Two by following the links. This third domain may be most relevant to organisations that work directly with...
Mission invisible: the value of single focused goals
Imagine if there were a simple way to make decisions in a complex world. Imagine being able to manage your limited capacity. And wouldn't it be great if your whole team focused on the same thing? The good news You already have all this. The bad news Is it working? The...
The 7 domains of sustainable impact: Part 2
In the first article of this series, we identified the 'seven domains' of sustainable impact - the different ways in which you can make a lasting difference. The first domain is about you as an individual - being valuable but not precious. Today, Graeme introduces the...
Being valuable but not precious
Until now, the Lasting Difference has addressed sustainable impact by focusing on three clear principles: Encouraging independence and ownership Increasing influence and capacity Generating and sharing learning. Today I'm starting the first of seven articles to expand...
Supporting survival and sustainability – new masterclasses for autumn
We've updated our core Lasting Difference workshops, packaging them into three online masterclasses. They're about supporting charities and social enterprises to survive and be sustainable in a post-pandemic world, so it's only right that we're including a range of...
Recent workshop learning
As any fan of the BBC’s Repair Shop knows, the things that stand the test of time aren’t those that are the most solidly built. They’re those that have been cared for. The same goes for our charities. In our recent online workshop series, participants described...
Updated Lasting Difference toolkit! New content. New look. Still free. Still vital.
We’ve got just one goal for the year ahead: supporting charities, social enterpries and public bodies to survive. Please help by sharing the updated Lasting Difference toolkit – it’s available as a hassle-free direct download right here! The first edition launched...
Who knew? Your guide to managing knowledge better
You know when you study something because it's interesting, but you're not sure how relevant it will be? That's how I felt about knowledge management when I did it as a postgrad back in 2010. At the same time, I had seen that management school fashions tend to take...
Newsletter – April 2020
Our Spring newsletter, with free and reduced rate learning opportunities and resources, a sneak peak at the updated Lasting Difference guide - and celebrating 500 book sales with 500p off! Manic, mothballing or managing? Chances are, you've experienced all of...
March Newsletter
Our March newsletter shares news of our newly launched Lasting Leadership guide and opportunities to explore its concepts. What's new? Our world needs healthy non-profit organisations and leaders Read on for opportunities to value and sustain yours and our FREE...
A short film – sustainable leadership
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]I should have been in London yesterday with the good people at Directory of Social Change. They run a great event - very welcoming and with an ever-diverse and interesting range of participants. So I'd been looking forward to their...
Pandemic but no panic
As a small business with a super-committed team, we are lucky. We have worked out ways to survive while the economy is on hold and ‘business as usual’ is far from usual. We will be here. Which is just as well, since organisational sustainability is our bread and...
e-learning open for enrolment – starts May 2020!
e-learning: Enrol now to start in May! After successful pilots last year, our shiny new e-learning programme Introduction to Organisational Sustainability is open for bookings. Starting on 4th May, the course focuses on the paradoxes, myths and challenges...
Leadership – an equalities issue
One day soon, we may look back on practices that are considered normal and be appalled at what was acceptable in early 21st century nonprofit workplaces. This article, the last in our series introducing the principles of sustainable leadership, explores the urgent...
Lateral leadership
One person alone cannot deliver an organisation’s strategic plan, but strategies are often seen as ‘belonging’ to the Chief Officer or senior team. Lateral leadership involves people taking ownership, autonomy, and accountability regardless of their role or place in...
Lasting Leadership lifts off!
This week we launched the Lasting Leadership guide to a full-house at the Gathering. It was fitting that its core messages about managers letting go of control and empowering their colleagues were delivered by Jen. Apart from anything, this let me listen and learn,...
Fit for the next generation
In previous articles, I introduced the principles of sustainable leadership and the first two areas to address: succession planning and lateral leadership. this article, a preview of our new Lasting Leadership guide, is about ensuring our organisations attract and...
Succession is inevitable – success isn’t
Around a fifth of voluntary sector leaders are currently seeking a new opportunity. Three quarters of non-profit organisations do not have a succession plan in place[1]. In this blog we share the principles and practices of succession planning, one of the four key...
Principles of sustainable leadership
Next month we'll share a free new resource to help nonprofit leaders and their organisations. 'Lasting Leadership' builds on some simple principles, set out below. It features four capabilities, introduced at the foot of this page. We'll feature each in a weekly...
Lasting Leadership launch
There is no sustainability without sustainable leadership. We've been researching the topic for the last 12 months and will be launching our inspirational new 'Lasting Leadership' guide with a one-off workshop at this year's Gathering (19th Feb 2020). Join us to...
Lasting Leadership programme opens for applications
We're offering 10 subsidised places on a transformational Lasting Leadership programme focused on our soon-to-be published sustainable leadership guide. It will help participants to: Plan succession and capacity building in their organisations Develop their own and...
Our latest Lasting Difference Symbol holder announced!
Congratulations to Stop It Now! Scotland for becoming the latest organisation to receive the Lasting Difference Symbol in recognition of their commitment to organisational sustainability. Stop It Now! Scotland were part of a programme in 2017 which developed the...