acy in South Africa in 1994, donors began entering into bilateral agreements with the elected government rather than directly with NGOs, resulting in the folding up of most NGOs. This highlights the centrality of funding to the operations of these NGOs and probably their overdependence on it. Project Literacy however, was able to survive this period by identifying the opportunity in this challenge (Farouk, year unknown). The new Government saw the need to provide sector wide training to meet the education and skill needs of its work force and the unemployed. This was done through the establishment of Sector Education Training Authorities (SETA) e.g. agriculture SETA will attend to needs in agriculture. Project Literacy’s strategy was to build capacity to tender effectively for government contracts, and the organization moved from direct delivery to service delivery. It also restructured its financial management structure, retrained staff, and adopted a robust marketing strategy, all of which were not normal practices in the sector. This sort of bold move required strong leadership able to venture into areas not treaded before. By 1999, the NGO had gained national notoriety, with offices in all of South Africa’s provinces.
然而，大多数南非非政府组织从国际捐助者那里获得的直接资金很快就枯竭了。随着1994年南非的民主，捐助者开始与民选政府签订双边协议，而不是直接与非政府组织签订协议，导致大多数非政府组织解散。这突出了资金对这些非政府组织运作的中心作用，以及它们对资金的过度依赖。然而，扫盲项目通过发现这一挑战中的机遇，得以度过这一时期。新政府认为有必要提供全部门培训，以满足其劳动力和失业者的教育和技能需求。这是通过建立部门教育培训局（SETA）来实现的，例如农业SETA将关注农业需求。扫盲项目的战略是建立有效投标政府合同的能力，该组织从直接交付转向服务交付。它还重组了财务管理结构，重新培训了员工，并采取了强有力的营销策略，所有这些都不是该行业的常规做法。这种大胆的举动需要强有力的领导才能冒险进入以前从未涉足过的领域。到1999年，该非政府组织在南非各省都设有办事处，在全国范围内声名鹊起。
Also critical to Project Literacy’s success was its leadership structure. Unlike most other NGOs that depend on the charisma of the leader and his influence or connections, Project Literacy was able to put in place a standard structure with board of trustees and board of directors, with a management team. By 1995, Jenny Neser the founder resigned and a new CEO was appointed. Continuity was thus ensured.
扫盲项目成功的关键还在于其领导结构。与大多数其他非政府组织不同，扫盲项目依赖于领导者的魅力及其影响力或联系，它能够建立一个由董事会、董事会和管理团队组成的标准结构。到1995年，创始人珍妮·奈瑟辞职，并任命了新的首席执行官。从而确保了连续性。
Growth however has its challenges, and Project Literacy’s biggest challenge ever came in 2010 when it lost a major government contract worth R 90m. By this time the organization spent up to R1.2m monthly to maintain its offices nationally. The loss of this contract resulted in the need for the organization to close all its provincial offices and lay off 47 out of its 78 staff members (Independent online, 2010). This highlights the danger of a growth dependent on government funding, and also the danger of additive scaling up. Politics could play a major role in who gets government’s contract, and a domineering monopoly might not be the best mode for NGOs to adopt in their bid to scale up. Whether or how Project Life will be able to handle the current management challenge remains a question to be answered, but the lessons learnt from it will be invaluable to every aspiring NGO.
然而，增长有其挑战，扫盲项目有史以来最大的挑战发生在2010年，当时它失去了一份价值9000万雷亚尔的重大政府合同。此时，该组织每月花费120万兰特来维护其全国办事处。该合同的签订导致该组织需要关闭其所有省级办事处，并在其78名工作人员中裁员47人。这凸显了增长依赖于政府资金的危险，也凸显了增加规模的危险。政治可以在谁获得政府合同方面发挥主要作用，而霸道的垄断可能不是非政府组织扩大规模的最佳模式。Project Life是否能够或如何应对当前的管理挑战仍然是一个有待回答的问题，但从中吸取的经验教训对每一个有抱负的非政府组织来说都是宝贵的。
In conclusion, this essay has highlighted the importance of management with respect to NGOs and how it differs from management in the public or private sectors. It has also considered the management challenges of leadership, funding, accountability, monitoring & evaluation, and scaling up as the most important management challenges facing NGOs. The case study of Project Life has shown that management in the NGO sector could be likened to a ‘rollercoaster’ ride, monumental success could bear with it seeds for colossal failure. NGOs in the foreseeable future will have to continue to work in a very unpredictable environment, adapting quickly as the need may be in order to su
