Does Your NGO Need an Educational Strategy? Six Reasons For and One Against
Most NGOs include educational programs as part of their activities. Even young initiatives without courses or educational products often consider this direction at the next stage of growth. After all, it’s not just about doing something great yourself but also involving others through events and education.
This raises the question: do we need an educational strategy? Or is general strategic planning enough? Maybe it’s something entirely unnecessary for our organization?
What educational strategy defines?
🟣 target audiences the organization wants to reach,
🟣 changes it aims to see among these people,
🟣 products allowing this change,
🟣 the entire product lineup and user journey,
🟣 indicators to measure success.
🟣 changes it aims to see among these people,
🟣 products allowing this change,
🟣 the entire product lineup and user journey,
🟣 indicators to measure success.
When is an educational strategy needed?
Here are a few indicators that suggest a strategy is necessary. We’ll also consider when it might not be required.
🟪 You aim for long-term behavioral changes in your audience.
For instance, a human rights organization may want different target groups (officials, law enforcement, teachers, doctors, etc.) not just to know what human rights are but to incorporate these principles into their daily work. Behavioral changes take time and often face natural resistance. Not because people are flawed or uninformed but because their prior experiences were fundamentally different. In such cases, the organization needs to plan both broad educational products and deeper programs for key opinion leaders in specific fields. To achieve this, you need a strategic view, a well-thought-out product lineup, and a roadmap.
🟪 Your initiative is growing and wants to expand its audience.
Perhaps your organization is just starting to explore the educational direction. Or it already exists, but you want to develop it further and expand your impact. For example, an environmental organization has run several courses based on the core team’s expertise, and they went well. But now, there’s a desire for more—to attract new people. A strategy helps explore different growth options and focus on the target groups most likely to engage at the next stage. It also allows you to identify their problems and adapt your product lineup accordingly.
🟪 You have educational products, but they’re not as popular as you’d like.
It’s common for an initiative to create a high-quality, in-depth course that only appeals to a small, already loyal audience. For example, a feminist organization launches a product on the history of feminism, but it remains under the radar. In such cases, a strategic approach helps structure target groups, understand their needs, and adapt the product lineup to include something appealing for both beginners and advanced users. It might reveal that some courses, like the history of feminism, are already well-covered elsewhere, allowing your initiative to focus on more niche products.
🟪 You’re doing too much in education, and your team is burning out.
Burnout isn’t only about educational products. It often stems from poorly designed processes, miscalculated costs, or uneven workload distribution. However, a lack of strategy in launching products can lead to the team doing extra work, wearing themselves out without visible impact. For instance, an NGO in civic education keeps launching new products, striving to make each better than the last, but instead of changes, burnout accumulates. A strategy helps prioritize key products, focus on their improvement and promotion, and reduce unnecessary steps. It ensures new courses aren’t created just for the sake of it.
🟪 You’re planning a major program.
Say your initiative wants to launch a large grant-funded project in media education. For the proposal to be well-structured and effective, a strategic approach allows you to create a cohesive plan, account for various audiences, and design both small-scale products and long-term programs. This ensures the project remains sustainable and impactful beyond its funding period.
🟪 Your organization has strong strategic planning overall but needs to operationalize the educational direction.
For instance, a youth organization may have clear processes, a solid vision, and regular strategy sessions—not just for show, but genuinely. However, planning in the educational sphere requires specific methodological skills: understanding what educational products exist, their limitations, and implementation methods. In such cases, a professional external perspective can help operationalize the educational direction, improve planning, and integrate it more seamlessly into the overall strategy.
🟪 You aim for long-term behavioral changes in your audience.
For instance, a human rights organization may want different target groups (officials, law enforcement, teachers, doctors, etc.) not just to know what human rights are but to incorporate these principles into their daily work. Behavioral changes take time and often face natural resistance. Not because people are flawed or uninformed but because their prior experiences were fundamentally different. In such cases, the organization needs to plan both broad educational products and deeper programs for key opinion leaders in specific fields. To achieve this, you need a strategic view, a well-thought-out product lineup, and a roadmap.
🟪 Your initiative is growing and wants to expand its audience.
Perhaps your organization is just starting to explore the educational direction. Or it already exists, but you want to develop it further and expand your impact. For example, an environmental organization has run several courses based on the core team’s expertise, and they went well. But now, there’s a desire for more—to attract new people. A strategy helps explore different growth options and focus on the target groups most likely to engage at the next stage. It also allows you to identify their problems and adapt your product lineup accordingly.
🟪 You have educational products, but they’re not as popular as you’d like.
It’s common for an initiative to create a high-quality, in-depth course that only appeals to a small, already loyal audience. For example, a feminist organization launches a product on the history of feminism, but it remains under the radar. In such cases, a strategic approach helps structure target groups, understand their needs, and adapt the product lineup to include something appealing for both beginners and advanced users. It might reveal that some courses, like the history of feminism, are already well-covered elsewhere, allowing your initiative to focus on more niche products.
🟪 You’re doing too much in education, and your team is burning out.
Burnout isn’t only about educational products. It often stems from poorly designed processes, miscalculated costs, or uneven workload distribution. However, a lack of strategy in launching products can lead to the team doing extra work, wearing themselves out without visible impact. For instance, an NGO in civic education keeps launching new products, striving to make each better than the last, but instead of changes, burnout accumulates. A strategy helps prioritize key products, focus on their improvement and promotion, and reduce unnecessary steps. It ensures new courses aren’t created just for the sake of it.
🟪 You’re planning a major program.
Say your initiative wants to launch a large grant-funded project in media education. For the proposal to be well-structured and effective, a strategic approach allows you to create a cohesive plan, account for various audiences, and design both small-scale products and long-term programs. This ensures the project remains sustainable and impactful beyond its funding period.
🟪 Your organization has strong strategic planning overall but needs to operationalize the educational direction.
For instance, a youth organization may have clear processes, a solid vision, and regular strategy sessions—not just for show, but genuinely. However, planning in the educational sphere requires specific methodological skills: understanding what educational products exist, their limitations, and implementation methods. In such cases, a professional external perspective can help operationalize the educational direction, improve planning, and integrate it more seamlessly into the overall strategy.
When might an educational strategy be unnecessary?
Sometimes, one or two educational products can be created based on a deep understanding of the audience, awe, and the desire to test a bold hypothesis. For young teams, diving too deeply into strategy can sometimes result in building castles in the air that never materialize. When launching initial products, boldness, basic audience analysis, and good project management are often enough.
In conclusion
Developing an educational strategy takes time, energy, and a willingness to be honest with yourself. It’s best done with an external specialist skilled in methodology who can help keep the project team focused and guide attention where it’s most needed.
A strategy might be too resource-intensive (and therefore unnecessary) at certain stages—for example, when an initiative is testing hypotheses or creating its first products fueled by the awe of creation. But as soon as multiple products emerge, the team faces burnout or a loss of audience, or wants to grow more efficiently, investing in a strategy helps use resources more effectively.