SPARK and the Institute for Brilliant Mistakes co-hosted an event - ‘Good intentions, brilliant failures’ on 22 October 2009 in Amsterdam.
This initiative, from ABN AMRO Dialogues, focuses not on the best practices from a range of different organisations but on their most brilliant failures, since failure is an option.
"It
is better to aim too high and fail, than to aim too low and succeed". With this
thought in mind, around 30 representatives from the development sector in The
Netherlands gathered on the 22October in the Dialogues House in
Amsterdam. Co-hosted by SPARK and the Institute for Brilliant Mistakes, the
event "Good intentions, Brilliant mistakes", drew attention to the habit of
social entrepreneurs to overlook their failures and instead focus on their
golden successes. Mistakes, however, deliver a valuable contribution to greater transparency in the
development sector. They can emphasize flawed procedures and ensure that the
learning curve of organisations moves upward. Reflection is key in this
process.
This event created a fruitful
start to draw greater attention to transparency and learning in the sector.
Presentations were held by Adri Kemps from quality insurer CBF, Monique
Bijsterveld from sector organisation VFI, Wim Jacobs from the donor Postcode
Loterij and Maarten Brouwer from the Ministry of Development Cooperation. All
participants emphasized the need for greater transparency and quality in the
sector and welcomed the initiative to engage with each other on a more frequent
basis.
In stimulating discussions, the changes needed
on an organisational, governmental and public level were discussed. The result of this engaging afternoon lead to
key guidelines for the future:
Openness and transparency should be key
competence of the non-profit sector, for example through exemplary behavior of
government and an annual "Brilliant Mistakes Award'
Ensure that organisations are aware of the
general public they involve in their mission and aims
Remove the expectation gap between stakeholders
in the non-profit sector
No more fear! Dare to experiment
Distinguish between the communication of an
objective and the instruments for measuring its impact
Make available a budget for innovation and
learning in the development projects
Develop "communities of practice" to be able to
learn from each other's experience
The participants signed a Manifesto at the end of the day incorporating these guidelines. Together they committed to placing transparency and quality higher on the
agenda. The Manifesto can be seen here (in Dutch only).
SPARK and the Institute for Brilliant Mistakes co-hosted an event - ‘Good intentions, brilliant failures’ on 22 October 2009 in Amsterdam.
