Together with the state of Vorarlberg, the LED organized and funded a workshop on “Impact and sustainability for non-profit organizations” on 6 May. 17 volunteer participants from various organizations took part.
Speaker Friedbert Ottacher conveyed in a practical and understandable way how projects can be designed to be sustainable and effective in the long term.
Thinking sustainability holistically
The workshop showed that sustainability today encompasses various areas: financial, institutional, social, political and ecological sustainability. Projects should exist in the long term and be able to be continued by local partners.
Impact instead of pure performance
Another focus was on impact orientation. The decisive factor is not only what is implemented, but also the changes it brings about in people’s lives. Examples were used to explain how impact can be made visible and monitored in the long term.
Practical methods for organizations
Finally, methods such as MAPP, Most Significant Change and Outcome Mapping were presented. These help organizations to record changes and progress in a practical way. The participants made intensive use of the workshop to exchange ideas and took away many specific ideas for their own voluntary work.
