The Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), in collaboration with the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) and the Tourism and Hospitality Association of Guyana (THAG), will host a three-day workshop to enhance decision-making skills among organisations.
THAG Executive Director Treina Butts, former GCCI President Lance Hinds and new GCCI President Vishnu Doerga at the opening ceremony of the MfDR workshop
The workshop is being held at Cara Lodge, Georgetown, under the theme “Managing for Development Results (MfDR) for Business Support Organisations in Guyana”.
MfDR is a management strategy that focuses on using performance information to improve decision-making. The MfDR strategy involves using practical tools for strategic planning, risk management, process monitoring, and outcome evaluation.
Representatives from various local businesses and Business Support Organisations (BSOs) who are involved in coordinating and facilitating technical assistance to Micro, Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (MSMEs) are participating in the intensive three-day workshop.
The sessions will see participants being trained in MfDR strategy that will empower local BSOs to improve their chances of garnering funding from international donors for developmental projects because MfDR tools are internationally recognised as the standard.
In addition, the workshop will enable the participants to design quality proposals which will display a response to the needs and priorities of the community and key stakeholders. BSOs are being held accountable by international donors to demonstrate results, and they must prove that they are providing value for money.
One of the facilitators will be Executive Director of THAG, Treina Butts, who had participated in a Training/Facilitator support workshop in Barbados last year.
Speaking at the opening ceremony on Thursday, Butts said during the three-day session she will enlighten the participants on MfDR. She noted that MfDR goals were clear and measurable, limited in number and concrete with time-bound targets.
“MfDR is more than a methodology, it is a way of thinking and acting built on practical toolbox for improved public management,” she stated.
According to Butts, the MfDR cycle involves five core stages: setting goals and agreeing on targets and strategies, allocating the available resources to activities that will contribute to achievement of the desired results, monitoring and evaluating whether resources allocated are making the intended difference, reporting on performance to the public and feeding that information back into the decision-making process.
Meanwhile, GCCI President Vishnu Doerga encouraged the participants to share the knowledge they gained from the workshop with their respective colleagues to spread MfDR practices.
“The only way to know if you really understand something is to teach it. So I’d urge you to get back into your organisations and teach your colleagues the things you have learnt… It’s very frustrating to push organisations forward when nobody understands what you are talking about,” he stated.
