04
Apr 2020
Doing Good Can Be Done Better: Making a Greener World by Calculating and Offsetting MzN’s operational Carbon Footprint. For our first year, here’s how we did it! In a recent company meeting, the assembled staff discussed MzN’s commitment to going “carbon neutral” (or possibly even “carbon positive”) and how to develop a credible estimate of our own Greenhouse......
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Leading through the ‘New World Disorder’
by Christian Meyer zu Natrup, February 2020 We now have less than 10 years to keep humanity’s promise to itself, but achieving the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030 still seems distant and elusive. Many of my...
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From NGO to social business : why and how
How does one go from being a traditionally funded development organization to a sustainable social enterprise? Leaders of development and aid organizations talk a lot about changing donor models, value for money, operational efficiency,...
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Catalyst 2030: Collaborating to achieve the SDGs
We’re a founder member of @Catalyst_2030, a collaborative movement launched at #WEF20 to accelerate progress toward the @UN’s #SustainableDevelopmentGoals through scalable solutions on the ground. Learn more: bit.ly/2FRKBND #Catalyst2030 #SDGs #SocEnt
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No more restructuring! Please.
How non-profit organisations can keep up with change without change projects by Christian Meyer zu Natrup, October 2018 The need to change an organisation is constant. Non-profit organisations should beat the permanent catch up...
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Write your thesis with us
You: are a postgraduate or PhD candidate at a University wishing to research pertinent issues in the area of international development and aid and/or management and business studies. Us: A social enterprise, who think...
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Commercial Contracting
Our FAQs on Commercial Contracting Commercial contracts are buzzwords in today’s non-profit world. Everyone is talking about their potential to fund programmes, most seem to agree that they are a useful addition to the...
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Do only what matters
To do better, do only what matters! I started MzN nearly 10 years ago and a lot of things changed since then. What hasn’t changed is the fact that I see way too many...
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Unlocking the potential of the global compact for migration
A Milestone…but not enough by Christian Meyer zu Natrup, Dec 2018 Whilst I am proud that Germany signed the compact for migration, in itself this is not enough. Together with my colleagues at MzN...
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Is there a better way?
A question that really drives great aid organisations Great innovators, from all walks of life, in every corner of the earth have build their impact on the world by relentlessly asking if there is...
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10 Tips for writing better project proposals
The ability to write winning proposals is essential for all development and aid organisations. Despite the success of some organisations in exploring alternative funding streams, the capacity for attracting donor funds by winning bids...
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Top Tips for Impact Evaluation
International development is complex; it involves multiple stakeholders with different interests, goals and capacities. Within this pandemonium, there is a need to demonstrate the impact of what we do and how our interventions changed...
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Five tips for NGOs aiming at commercial contracts
Commercial contracts are a real source of income for many NGOs, yet they also remain a major challenge. Pursuing these opportunities is often viewed with skepticism about the impact on an organisation’s nonprofit mandate,...
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The development sector is in crisis, and that’s a good thing.
The development sector is in crisis, and that’s a good thing. Christian Meyer zu Natrup Director of MzN International The criticism of the development and aid sector isn’t as constructive as it could be....
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Beyond ‘ticking the box’: How can evaluation and impact assessments be done better?
Dr. Alexandra Yannias Walker, Project Manager at MzN International, provides expert advice on what current Monitoring and Evaluation practices lacks and what could be done to make them better. Why is Monitoring and Evaluation...
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Smart NGOs
It is one of the oldest and somewhat worn debates in the sector: how to make my NGO more efficient and effective for more impact? However, the drive for more bang for each charitable...
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NGO Financial Sustainability
The way we think about charities is fundamentally torn between two ideals. On the one side we want non-profit organisations to strive for high-end efficiency, professionally running campaigns and programmes, squeezing costs, and increasing...
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Beneficiary-led aid
Dr Adrian Flint and I here make the case for a development paradigm shaped and determined by the people affected directly by aid and assistance programmes. It is a call for aid programming and...
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How an NGO turned into a social enterprise
The story of Cordaid’s Transformation Questions and narrative by Christian Meyer zu Natrup, Director, MzN International (www.mzninternational.com) Answers by Henri van Eeghen, COO, Cordaid Many talk about the benefits of operating as a social...
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Develop without growth
Answers to the question of how best to help the world’s poor out of poverty and bring opportunity and development to a country usually include some of the familiar buzzwords: economic growth, political stability...
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