Business partnerships scheme > Some VBP case studies

Providing business advice to health organisations in Zambia

• assisting with organisation restructure
• developing an organisational manual
• developing monitoring and evaluation processes and systems
• assisting with donor policy and relationship building    

From a personal perspective, this placement has been very different from my first placement. This placement has been more focussed and oriented around my role and the work that I have done rather than serving as a personal experience of a different culture and country.

As such, this placement has been excellent for developing me professionally in terms of my own experience, exposure and ability to work in a development context. I have been far more aware of my own performance and approach and recognizing areas where I am both suited and also where I need to improve or receive training in.

This placement has also been excellent at furthering the breadth of my experience and understanding of Zambia. 

Supporting youth development in Mongolia

• participatory planning
• development of new projects and programmes
• proposals and report writing
• fundraising from international donors
• monitoring and evaluation   

Over the last six months I have been tasked with training colleagues in MYDC in the areas of fundraising, project management, changing IT systems, sharing ideas on how to run their programmes more efficiently and helping them to network and form partnerships with international organisations in order to solicit funding and other support.

The entire placement is geared at sharing and empowering colleagues with new knowledge - knowledge of working with the international community, knowledge of managing internal communication processes, knowledge of running projects and programmes in a more efficient manner, knowledge of how to raise funds from donor organisations and forming sustainable partnerships with other international NGOs. Through the sharing of knowledge, they are therefore able to better manage the NGO's operation, which ultimately will benefit the Mongolian society - the young people especially.

As someone new in the 'development' world, I am extremely pleased to have participated in VSO Business Partnerships. It has opened my eyes to the world of development and the importance of skill sharing with people in developing countries. I have also gained a much better understanding of civil society organisations and NGOs in general, as well as the working of multilateral organisations such as UN agencies, the World Bank etc.

Working in a developing country has also helped me to be more empathetic towards people from the developing world. It has helped me to gain a deeper understanding that people are all similar, with the same basic needs and to appreciate my own background a lot more.

I have made many valuable and solid friendships with the local people and this in itself has brought enormous satisfaction. It has helped me to appreciate the Mongolian culture and to look at the larger world with a more balanced perspective.

As an employee of Shell, I am happy to have flown the 'sustainable development' flag. I would like to urge other colleagues to take up the opportunity of becoming a volunteer and to make a difference to our intrinsically related world.

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