Strategic Opportunity for NGOs in Cape Town

The study programme is aimed at assisting organisations to strengthen their reputation by improving the relationships they have with their stakeholders. In both the corporate and civil sectors, an organisation’s reputation is determined by how its stakeholders experience the organisation. This experience will determine how the stakeholder behaves towards the organisation; positive experiences result in stakeholders being supportive and saying good things, negative experiences result in the opposite, stakeholders are not supportive and share their negative experiences. Strong positive relationships have a tremendous impact on the sustainability of an organisation.

The programme is an opportunity for NGOs to engage strategically with their stakeholders, both internal - staff, volunteers, the Board and external – for example, beneficiaries, funders, donors, partners and caregivers, to get a sense of how they are perceived by their stakeholders and what their reputation is. Engaging strategically enables the NGOs to develop strategies to leverage their positive relationships and to improve on relationships that may need bolstering. 

The NGO chooses the focus of the project so that it is of real value to them. Each NGO is allocated a team of executive managers who are in the final year of their MBA studies. The student team is tasked with assisting the NGO to explore the stakeholder relationships they would like to improve or strengthen. The objective is to help the organisation with any challenging relationships they are having and recommend strategic steps they can take to improve and develop those relationships because strong stakeholder relationships lead to organisational sustainability.

This programme provides numerous opportunities for the NGO

• An opportunity for the NGO to delve into a pressing issue or challenge that they are struggling with.
• An opportunity for the NGO to engage with their stakeholders at a strategic level.
• Henley Business School (UK), a world-leader in this subject field, offers your staff free exposure to the theoretical frameworks of Reputation and Relationships through a one-day workshop, as well as opportunities to network with other participating NGOs.  
• An opportunity to tap into and draw from the resources of a diversely experienced executive team.
• The project offers the NGO practical information with real, implementable recommendations to help strengthen current strategic relationships with internal and external stakeholders.
• An opportunity to be part of and connect with the Henley Alumni network.
• An opportunity to be a centre of learning for a team of dynamic executive students who are eager and keen to learn and share what they know.

Programme overview

• The programme spans six months and is not overly demanding on the Organisation. The project process commences in January 2024 with the selection and development of the project brief, and culminates in May 2024.
• The programme will take place as an in-person event with the students coming to Cape Town.
• There is a 4-week pre-project research stage that the students will undertake in March 2024 and an intensive one-week engagement from 14 – 19 April 2024, when the students will come to Cape Town.
• The project includes time spent engaging with the students, email correspondence and on-line meetings as well as face-to-face time when they are in Cape Town.
• The students are mature, aged 35+ years and will work in teams with the support of a dedicated course tutor.
• The international students come from a variety of countries and professional backgrounds, therefore offering your organisation access to diverse viewpoints, expertise and experience.
• The project work will be presented to the organisation on the final day of the study programme, where the NGO will receive slides and recommendations, followed up by a detailed Management Report.