Do we need a new qualification for NGO managers?
April 29, 2010 by admin
Filed under Career News and Advice
A new qualification for project managers working in the development sector was launched last week, offering a low-cost, web-based exam for global development workers. The team behind it claim that if the new certification leads to a 1% improvement in efficiency, that would result in collective savings to international NGOs of $47m.
The PMD Pro (project management in development for professionals) qualification was developed by Lingos (Learning for International NGOs – a consortium of 45 global agencies that share learning resources and technology), specifically for those working in charities, humanitarian agencies and not-for-profit agencies; while the exam itself is being offered by APMG-International.
The launch made it clear that accessibility and affordability were key factors in the development of the certificate, with the cost of the level 1 entry exam priced at $20 for those working in developing countries, at $50 for those from a developed country working in a developing country and at $120 for people from, and working in, a developed country.
John Cropper, a global project coordinator at Oxfam, who helped develop the new qualification, said that initial meetings in 2007 concluded that many projects suffered from overspending, underspending and a lot of ineffectiveness. “We saw this not as a negative, but as an opportunity to offer something that will ultimately result in extra funds for NGOs,” he said. “Everything the NGO sector does is a project – that’s how important this is. It’s the most exciting thing I have seen in …
Read the original article at Guardian
This is welcome development. When will this web-based exam be available in a developing country in Southeast Asia?