Project
Understanding the drivers of organisational capacity
Mar 29, 2018
This RAND Europe study, conducted in collaboration with the Saatchi Institute, examines organisational capacity assessment. This study explores how organisational capacity is understood and measured in a range of organisations, before analysing how culture and communication drive organisational performance and offering an initial outline of a diagnostic tool for organisational capacity.
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This study aims to improve the ability of organisations to measure their capacity and to harness organisational culture in optimising performance. Organisations worldwide face a profound challenge: they are asked to deliver the same outputs and outcomes while facing budget reductions, technological disruption and political uncertainty. This raises an important question about how public and private sector organisations can develop their capacity to deliver services, products or value, when so much effort has focused on reducing costs rather than improving performance.
RAND Europe, in collaboration with the Saatchi Institute, conducted a study intended to advance current debates on organisational capacity and the role of 'culture' within organisations. Based on interviews and a literature review, the research analyses the dimensions of organisational capacity; explores how organisational culture (collective beliefs, values, behaviours, attitudes, norms, artefacts and symbols) and communication interact with capacity building; and paves the way for future development of a diagnostic tool for organisational capacity assessment.
The main tenet of the report is that better performing organisations have a range of capacities that contribute to better outcomes. Linked to all of these capacities are two critical concepts: culture and communication. Our research shows that organisations can influence their own culture, and that communication can allow organisations to effectively harness culture to manage change, mitigate risk and enhance performance. The report also lays the foundations for the development of a diagnostic tool that can support understanding of organisational capacity and help establish a baseline for assessment.
Chapter One
Introduction
Chapter Two
Assessing organisational capacity
Appendix A
List of interview questions
Appendix B
List of interviewees
The research described in this report was prepared for the Saatchi Institute and conducted by RAND Europe.
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