To live up to its slogan of ‘Giving Hope, Improving Life’, the Non-Profit Management Programme for the 21st Century (NPM21 Programme) was developed in collaboration with the Tote Board and the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy. Image: LKYSPP
As the non-profit sector becomes larger and more complex globally, Singapore in particular, is not immune to these global changes. While functions and methods differ, non-profit organisations share the common mission of making the world a better place
such as providing social services to the less fortunate, offering arts and sports programmes, and promoting public health and education.
To succeed, the non-profit sector must also ensure that their leaders are well-trained; this allows them to overcome adversities, through acquiring the necessary professional skills while at the same time maintaining a critical relationship with all stakeholders.
The Singapore Totalisator Board (Tote Board) believes prudent asset management and building a stronger community, through providing support for projects which deliver upstream solutions for the benefit of a significant portion of the community. To live
up to its slogan of ‘Giving Hope, Improving Life’, the Non-Profit Management Programme for the 21st Century (NPM21 Programme) was developed in collaboration with the Tote Board and the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy. The NPM21 Programme is designed
for senior management leaders of non-profit organisations within and outside of Singapore, to expose participants to practical insights about management and leadership in the non-profit organisational setting.
The 15-day programme highlighted some major challenges and key issues facing the nonprofit sector both within Singapore and globally. The programme focused on developing an understanding and the competencies required to effectively engage with the external
environment of the external environment of non-profit organisations. Core competencies of the participants were further enhanced with great emphasis on managing human resources, financial management, impact assessment, as well as applications of social
media.
The NPM21 Programme is designed for senior management leaders of non-profit organisations within and outside of Singapore, to expose participants to practical insights about management and leadership in the non-profit organisational setting.
To ensure diversity in the class, participants were selected from a wide range of nonprofit organisations, ranging from social service, healthcare, sports, education, to arts and culture. Selection was based on years of experience in the non-profit sector,
job scopes and their outreach to clients or beneficiaries of their organisation. Thirty-nine participants attended the NPM21 Programme, including three international participants from Malaysia, India and South Africa.
We were honoured to have a number of distinguished speakers to share their strengths and personal experiences. Founder of the World Toilet Organisation (WTO), a non-profit committed to improving toilet and sanitation conditions worldwide, Jack Sim, shared
his stories behind the success of the WTO brand. He also highlighted branding strategies that the participants could consider for their organisations. Associate Professor Albert Teo, whose key interests lie in voluntarism, organisational ecology and
social network, was invited to cover the module on Social Entrepreneurship. Renowned practitioners such as Usha Menon and Normala Manap also agreed to be part of the programme to share with the class their valuable insights from years of experience
in the non-profit sector.
NPM21 Programme ended with a closing lunch and certificate presentation ceremony at the LKY School campus. The certificates were presented to the participants by the Chief Executive of Tote Board, Tan Soo Nan and Lead Faculty of the NPM21 Programme, Professor
Jeffrey D. Straussman, Visiting Professor and Faculty Director of Executive Education.
The first run of the NPM21 Programme was a huge success as observed from the many positive responses garnered. As the non-profit sector continue to serve the community and causes with passion, the need for more competent leadership will grow. To meet
this demand of capable leaders, the Tote Board and the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy aim to conduct the second run of the NPM21 Programme in April 2013.
Gan Heyi is an Executive at Executive Education. His email is sppgh@nus.edu.sg. To read more about Executive Education programs by the LKY
School, please visit our website.