Project
The course comprises an intensive 11 day programme with your allocated Shell mentor followed by a twelve month mentoring relationship.
Part 1: Business Skills Transfer Programme
An 11 day residential field programme, where the Shell mentors will train you in the various elements of Business Planning using the Business Planning Toolkit:
- Institutional analysis: your vision, stakeholder analysis, analysing the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats for your organisation, how to set effective objectives
- Market Analysis: identifying your customers and competitors
- Marketing Planning: how to best market your organisation's products and services
- Risk analysis: how to identify risks and plan mitigation measures
- Financial Planning: how to construct budgets and analyse your finances
- Human Resources: how to create an effective organisation structure, and identify required skills and current gaps to best plan for effectiveness
- Operational and Activity Planning: how to create an activity plan and effective operational processes
- Action Planning: how to structure implementing what you have learned on the training back in your workplace
Place: Mpala, Kenya
Date: Team 1: 8-18 October 2013 or
Team 2: 20-30 October 2013
Part 2: twelve-month mentoring
On your return, your mentor will continue to support you remotely for up to twelve months as you develop or revise your business plan and then implement it. A commitment by your participants and/or other staff integral to your organisation’s planning and management is essential to this twelve-month mentoring relationship proving effective. During this year you will also be expected to submit a progress report to Earthwatch both six and twelve months after the end of the project to show how the business planning elements are being applied to your organisation and what results they are producing. Also over the twelve month period you will be expected to take part in a follow up teleconference with the mentors and other participants on your programme to share best practice and lessons learned.
"In an environment of scarce financial resources, it is always very important to make sure you’re doing the most with what you’ve got, so that even with a little, you can make a difference in helping conserve the world’s most outstanding natural areas. This unique programme helps natural World Heritage staff strengthen their business planning skills to do just that. It’s a wonderful opportunity not only to consolidate management skills, but also to expand professional networks and develop leadership and team working skills." Marc Patry – Programme Specialist UNESCO World Heritage Centre
The programme, step by step
"The skills that I have obtained here are numerous. These are among others: communication, organisation and making business plan skills" - 2012 World Heritage Site participant
What's in it for you? This programme is an opportunity for you to:
- Access a fully-funded, in-depth training programme in business planning and effective management practices
- Receive mentoring from an expert with significant business experience in an international organisation, and put in place a mentoring contract for the following twelve months to support you in implementing your business plan
- To build your knowledge and capabilities to apply business plan elements as relevant to your Site
- To build an action plan which you and your Site peers are motivated and committed to, and which identifies how you will transfer and act upon what you have learnt to embed business planning at your Site
- To increase your leadership capabilities, including self confidence, team working and your ability to share what you have learnt
- To gain a better understanding of the UNESCO World Heritage Convention and the resources available to your Site
- To spend time sharing experiences with other Sites.
100% of the 2012 World Heritage Site participants felt their Site would be better managed as an impact of this programme.
100% of the 2012 World Heritage Site participants agreed their knowledge and capabilities to write and deliver a 3-5 year business plan had increased as a result of this programme.
94% of the 2012 World Heritage Site participants felt that their performance in their own work would improve as a result of this programme.
"This program has not only empowered me by improving my capacity as a manager, it has motivated me to a proactive approach as a key stakeholder in the development and implementation of a business plan as well as [an] improved network to share ideas, challenges and solutions." - 2012 World Heritage Site participant
What's included
- Travel between your home base and the 11 day residential programme (direct flight, economy class)
- 9 nights accommodation at the residential field programme in The Mpala Research Centre, Kenya, and one night's accommodation in Nairobi, Kenya beforehand
- All food and drinks for the duration of your stay at the 11 day residential programme
- Each participant will receive a £100 (Sterling) expenses allowance to be used for travel, hotel and food if required (and not covered above) before and after the training
- Comprehensive travel and medical evacuation insurance for the duration of the 11 day residential programme.
What's not
- Staff salaries – it is fully expected that the staff members attending this training will continue to have their salary fully funded by your organisation
- Travel, hotel, food and miscellaneous expenses (e.g. clothing, any other equipment) outside the £100 (Sterling) expenses allowance provided by Earthwatch.