Working with Barriers to Organisational Learning

If you enter a room full of NGO staff, and ask them, 'hands up, who thinks organisational learning is important?' you are likely to be greeted by a sea of raised hands. But, if you ask for practical examples of organisational learning, the response would be significantly different you are likely to be met by a sea of blank faces and a sense of jadedness: 'Does it make any difference anyway; is it just a fad?' There is a lot of discussion about the need for organisational learning in the NGO sector, but this has not necessarily led to improved practice. Indeed, there appears to be a growing sense of weariness about it. According to a recent BOND survey, over 50 per cent of NGOs/donors interviewed stated that a ‘radically different approach’ to organisational learning was needed but, solutions proposed seem to offer few alternatives. [1]