Impact Alliance Press Launches First Title

On Wednesday, January 12, Pact launched the Impact Alliance Press and its first title, Understanding Organizational Sustainability through African Proverbs by Chiku Malunga of Capacity Development Consultants (CADECO) in Malawi.

The evening reception, held at Pact's offices, provided those in attendance with a exciting example of how traditional culture can inform modern development activities. The event generated awareness of a culturally-informed approach to organizational development and introduced guests to Pact's Impact Alliance, a Pact-hosted global network of capacity building service providers. More than fifty people attended the launch event, including representatives of USAID, the Malawian Embassy ,and numerous peer NGOs, as well as Pact staff and board members.

Author and CADECO co-founder Chiku Malunga spoke of how lessons from traditional African social institutions, such as village, marriage and church, can inform the sustainability and management of modern organizations. When consulting with the staff of modern organizations, Mr. Malunga found that simple proverbs can more effectively convey a complex management concept than an entire chapter of a leading management science text. He explained that traditional African institutions are sustainable because of their inextricable links with culture. Proverbs ensure this sustainability by enabling wisdom to be packaged and communicated across generations and contexts.

Mr. Malunga's organization, Capacity Development Consultants (CADECO), is an Impact Alliance partner and the leading and most sought after provider of organizational development services in Malawi and is extending to other countries in Southern and Eastern Africa. CADECO (www.cadeco.mw) helps organizations to cope, adapt, survive and prosper by helping them to build their capacities of visioning, empowerment, problem-solving and learning. The organization also works to heighten awareness among development stakeholders, including NGOs and donors, of the importance of organizational consciousness and the need for holistic organizational improvement.

Mr. Malunga's book, Understanding Organizational Sustainability through African Proverbs: Insights for Leaders and Facilitators, draws on the wisdom gained by CADEO from facilitating a wide range of OD interventions in Malawi. The book harnesses the power of the traditional wisdom found in African proverbs and directs it at organizational development and change. As a result, it provides the development and OD community with a fresh new perspective, describing how African proverbs can be used to understand the challenges faced by modern organizations. The book specifically addresses the role of leaders and consultants implementing performance improvement and organizational change initiatives.

The Impact Alliance (www.impactalliance.org) is a global marketplace for capacity building service providers and those seeking their services. Through the Impact Alliance, organizations find high quality local and international talent to meet their institutional development needs and capacity building service providers find space to speak as peers, share ideas, and set new standards for innovation, excellence and effectiveness in organizational performance.

The larger implication of the book launch event can best be summarized in a proverb taken from the book: "When cobwebs unite, they can tie up a lion." The event was a manifestation of the Impact Alliance's promise to bring together a wide range of people and organizations committed to excellence in capacity building. The human webs that are forged from such interaction are already beginning to show great results in the form of strengthened communities, shared experience and collaborative delivery of services. It is truly exciting to imagine what we will continue to capture as the Impact Alliance web continues to grow.