ECNGOC has initiated its own asset survey amongst its membership. It is important to know what expertise, skills and resources exist so that ECNGOC can maximise the use of the collective assets. If you are an ECNGOC member, find out about the ECNGOC Member Asset Questionnaire.

“Walking together to influence change” was the theme of ECNGOC’s Biennial General Meeting held last October. However, “walking together” requires that ECNGOC knows all about those they are walking with. Documenting assets or asset-mapping will allow the ECNGOC to walk together more strongly because the ECNGOC will better understand what the organisation’s collective contribution adds up to and what it can influence.

The ECNGOC is working with ECSECC to assess the strength and capacity of a sample of Eastern Cape NGO’s. Approximately 120 Non Government Organizations (NGO’s) will be surveyed about their strength and capacity through a questionnaire process from mid-February to mid-March, 2010. The targeted NGO’s will be Members of the ECNGOC, spread throughout all seven Districts of the Eastern Cape. The questionnaires will be collated and analyzed by ECSECC and the ECNGOC, and the results shared with ECSECC, the ECNGOC and the NGO’s themselves.

The survey will be conducted in two phases. Firstly, fieldworkers drawn from ECNGOC Members will conduct 3 regional workshops attended by a senior staff member from each ECNGOC member organization, where they will complete the questionnaires using an  Assets Based Community Development (ABCD) methodology. The one-day workshops will also provide ECNGOC members with an opportunity to experience the ABCD approach. Secondly, the same fieldworkers will separately contact those ECNGOC member organizations who do not attend the regional workshops and ensure that their questionnaires are completed and returned.

ECNGOC expects the survey will help it to:

• Understand the diversity and collective size or quantum of our assets.
• Link members with similar interests, work, size, location etc for mutual benefit.
• Plan future activities to the maximum benefit of members.
• Promote the ECNGOC (which includes its members) and interests to Local Government, potential donors and sponsors and other relevant groups.
• Maximise the use of member assets already known to the ECNGOC (such as trainers, expertise, networks etc).
• Promote the ECNGOC and its members to people with an interest outside the organization.
• Maximise our collective contribution to the benefit of all.