Achieving Our Goals

In the development world, goals often seem far away, over the horizon at least. Goals frequently seem to recede as we approach and morph into new forms. One reason, of course, is that time and circumstances change goals. Another is that actually achieving a goal requires an extraordinary commitment - to do whatever is necessary to achieve the aim. So goals often remain in a safe zone, where they are aspirational or inspirational but not actually expected to be reached. Recognizing this, it is natural that people make goals in order to bring a group together or motivate a team but not actually - really actually - have a plan to get there. This inconvenient truth is the worm in the apple of many political goals. Wrong turns, however, do not diminish the importance of goals. Being realistic, being clear and being committed is the simple but hard recipe for a goal that counts.

When IREX four years ago articulated its written goals, we took those three standards as our guide. We also devoted months to forming our new goals because we wanted to allow time for thoughts to coalesce around key ideas - where bottom up met top down and where staff could share in the process openly. We wanted goals that were as yet beyond our grasp but within our reach.

Our goals are simple and straightforward, achievable but hard. We aim for thought leadership to shape the ideas that improve development. With our local partners, we want to make a lasting positive difference and sustain the partners’ leadership roles. Our expertise can be applied globally. The wonderful people at IREX make the critical difference in all our work; we want our organization worldwide to be one of the best. To help those who can maximize their potential in their own societies, we need to keep growing to make real what is possible.

In this our 45th year and four years along toward our goals, we’ve made progress. IREX in 2012 was selected as one of the 50 best NonProfits to Work For in the United States; that’s not just a prize we won, it’s a promise we made and still keep. Our Center for Collaborative Technology, our merger of media and civil society expertise, our combination of youth and education are helping to improve the development environment. We emphasize sustainability from day one of projects we implement; the legacy of our work is the expanded power of local citizens and leaders. Our programs now reach more than 125 countries; in Asia, Africa, Middle East and Latin America new IREX projects are beginning.

Of course, we found new challenges we didn’t expect four years ago. One of them is a new strategy by U.S. government agencies to give priority to the role of local players in countries receiving aid. The goal is commendable, and IREX has always prioritized locally developed solutions. The challenge with this model is the importance of building local capacity essential for local actors to take a greater role in aid. This expertise garnered by American NGOs in efficient use of funds and managing contracts for results over nearly a century cannot be abandoned precipitously. There are numbers of ways to improve how we make a better world. IREX will continue to be part of the dialogue that seeks to join the best of the American development experience with the best of local expertise abroad. That’s the kind of goal that is realistic, clear and capable of engendering sustainable progress.