CG International |
Education Empowerment Entrepreneurship |
How we work
Global Successes - Local Solutions.
General
Our innovative team of consultants has developed an experiential learning approach designed to foster sustainable skills and capacity. CG International's programs use entrepreneurship as an approach to enhancing access to economic empowerment opportunities, wealth creation and redistribution, poverty alleviation, job creation, self-reliance, and grass roots economic growth.
In our work we make a conscious effort to ensure that the
programs we develop, the training we deliver, and the consultations
we give, are done with two ideas in mind: Global Successes - Local
Solutions.
- The first is to make sure that we use the breadth of our international experience to look at solutions that can provide the framework required. - Global Successes
- The second is to make sure that those frameworks take into account the local solution that will be a success for our client. - Local Solutions
We recognize that no two communities face identical challenges, and, as a result, all of CG International's work is customized through our experiential approach in order to best suit the needs of our clients.
We believe that an inclusive process is essential to fostering
collaboration and building mutual respect, trust and understanding
among all participants. This approach also ensures the building of
local skills and capacity in order to allow individuals and
communities to continue this vital work, free of dependence on
outside support. At CG International we live by our motto, Global Successes
Local Solutions.
How we develop our work
At CG International we customize our products so that they target
the project particulars at hand rather than using the method of
standardizing our programs to fit everyone everywhere. Our goal is
to leave capacity in country, and we achieve this by engaging local
stakeholders at every stage of the process. This process begins with
the capacity and assets of individuals and communities.
We use global best practices to produce customized local solutions by infusing entrepreneurship for job creation in the following areas:
- Youth Empowerment
- Private Sector Development
- Enterprise & Entrepreneurship Education
- Poverty Alleviation
- Community development
- Social Integration and ReIntegration
Participation is key to the successful
development of our projects, and is the key to all interventions
done by CG International. The concept develops from
participating in seeing challenges, and opportunities, to
participation in brainstorming, designing plans, establishing
partnerships, mobilizing resources, and working out ways to achieve
goals and realize success. We use a variety of tools to
enhance participation potentials and make any intervention as
effective as possible.
There are three important legs on the stool which are projects stand on. They are information, local partners, and capacity building. Each of these is used to build knowledge and to start the process of community engagement.
How we work with our clients
CG International's approach to working with individuals, organizations, and governments is built on the following Foundation Principles:
1. We Commit to Ongoing, Intensive
and Meaningful Consultation
At each stage of the project cycle, we engage stakeholders in a scheduled and sequenced process. This process begins with research and clarification as to the context and human dimensions of the project during the inception phase. Then we ensure stakeholder ongoing engagement regarding the development and refinement of the work plan based on the stakeholders' analyses of the actions and indicators within the work plan.
2. We Commit to a Participatory Partnership
Each project is designed to be a participatory learning enterprise. We start with your vision, your situations and your needs and build solutions through teamwork, continuous exchange of information, and joint design of innovations designed for success. We take the role of partnership seriously by working towards collaborative solutions.
3. We Commit to Using Data to Make Recommendations
We rely upon up-to-date information on international trends, national and local priorities, and logic based decision-making models to support the planning process. Using the analytical model, Logical Framework Approach (LFA), data is collected from organizations, local partners, stakeholders, the community, surveys and/or documents, and on-site visits. This data is then analyzed and applied to ensure the project's objectives meet client specifications.
4. We Commit to Building Institutional Capacity
We design our projects to ensure that knowledge, skills, and
applications competencies will be transferred in a cooperative
learning environment. At each stage, we are actively engaged with
our partners in problem solving teams that value building capacity.
Throughout each stage of the project cycle, learning opportunities, with an emphasis on increasing leadership capacity, will be designed into the work plan based on needs identified both by the institutions and the individuals participating in the project. Our measures of success are based not just on the achievement of specific project goals but, more importantly, on the development of a robust and sustainable system that has the capacity for continuous improvement.
5. We Commit to the Joint Design of an Implementation Plan That Focuses on Action and Results
We devote significant attention to the development of an implementation plan that is synchronized to the objectives of the project. The prime emphasis is on the development and delivery of targeted and timed actions that garner both short-term and medium-term results and are aligned with the project's objectives. The implementation management plans are designed to respond to the changing dynamics of the project.
6. We Commit to Ensuring Coordination and Synergy
We understand that communities may be actively involved in the development and delivery of a number of other important projects and initiatives. As each of these innovations requires significant implementation efforts and often relies upon coordination for success, we focus on a strategy that ensures the project objectives are met through synergy and sharing.