11 years of history in PMEAL implementations
The other day, we sat down with our team of specialists in implementing Programme Management, Evaluation and Learning (PMEAL). PMEAL is the collective name for Programme Management, Project Monitoring Evaluation & Learning and Grant Management. My colleague Gerard had made an overview of all the non-profit organisations where we have had the privilege of implementing these processes, with at the top Mama Cash, our very first Salesforce implementation, 11 years ago, and at the bottom Oxfam Novib, our most recent project currently underway.
Looking for the decision-makers, the 'persona'
The aim of our working session was to explore who is actually 'our persona'. Can we find a common thread from this rich history of projects: who actually decides and determines when choosing a solution? I like to know such things because I like to organise roundtables where nonprofits learn from each other. Now that we had all our projects listed, it was a breeze to put the names of our contacts back there with their functions. It was a surprising insight that in 62% of the cases, the contact person and client was a board member, and in a quarter, the IT Manager, with mandate from the board. Only in 13% of cases was it the programme manager himself, in scrum terms the 'Business Product Owner'.
PMEAL is chefsache!
Our conclusion is that PMEAL is apparently 'chefsache'. This is not really surprising. After all, it is all about target spending, managing projects and measuring impact - in other words, the core business of most non-profits.
What are the business drivers?
A next step we took was to analyse the business drivers. We chose to name the main reason why organisations arrive at the choice of Salesforce implementation. This yielded the following insight:
- Accountability is the number one reason for implementing a transparent platform. Being able to account for spending, and clearly report whether the work is being spent effectively.
- Continuity is the second reason and almost in shared first place. Many of our customers were sitting with an outdated system that needed replacing, for example Wilde Ganzen, with at the time a 25-year-old customised solution built by a conscientious objector who was still maintaining it. It was a real headache for the then managing director, who was very happy with the choice of Salesforce.
- Flexibility stands at three. The adaptability of the Salesforce platform is greatly appreciated by some organisations. The Challenge Fund for Youth Employment is a good example of this
- Security turns out to be an important aspect. Salesforce is extremely secure, I personally know of no situations where Salesforce was hacked. Oxfam Novib attaches great importance to this. For COC International it is a key driver, human lives depend on discretion in some countries.
- Scalability is the fifth reason why organisations choose the Salesforce platform. The very fast-growing High Carbon Stock Exchange is a good example.
And impact?
It is striking that "Measuring Impact" is not among the top five business drivers, even though it is vital for almost every non-profit. Demonstrating the impact of your work is essential to ensure continued support from your supporters, donors, grant makers, you name it. We often see, during our PMEAL implementations, the realisation that Salesforce has an enormous amount to offer in this very area. Measuring impact goes much further than just checking whether the goals of your programme have been achieved. Salesforce makes it possible.
Finally
We regularly organise circular tables on this topic, e.g. 11 June. Further discussion is also possible, I am always interested in reactions! My email address is balt.leenman@twopurpose.com.
