My Message: BMFI 3rd Quarter Assessment and Planning
12 October 2020
Pursuing our mission is not a sprint. It is a marathon. It is a journey.
The pandemic has significantly and perhaps irreversibly changed the course of our journey. It may have derailed us from some of our goals.
The rules have changed. Some of the time-tested tools that we have been using in our work of helping build empowered, sustainable, resilient and peaceful communities are of limited use now. In the past, we relied heavily on person to person communication and dialogue, community participation and mobilization, and personal and physical journeying with our partners.
Now, almost everything is virtual especially in communities that are hit hard or threatened by the spread of the virus.
Since March, we have been on a contingency planning mode.
The strategic plan and workplans that we formulated at the start of the year have been significantly altered as we responded to the challenges brought about by Covid-19.
As we enter the last quarter and prepare for 2021, it is now time to go back to strategic thinking and planning.
How do we shift from the contingency framework towards the strategic mindset?
We can begin by accepting that the virus and the limitations it has created could be around for a long time. We must now recognize and accept that there are factors that are beyond our control. However, we do not stop at simply accepting the new normal. We must try to optimize our interventions on those that we could influence, as we ensure that those within our control produce the best possible results.
We may also need to re-visit and re-examine our goals in the light of the lingering Covid crisis. Are they still achievable?
We may also need to seriously re-examine our strategies and approaches. Are they still relevant and appropriate?
We need to identify priorities, realistic goals, attainable targets, and specific and concrete tasks in our action plans.
Most importantly, we are called to commit ourselves to fulfill these tasks.
By the way, we are certainly learning a lot of new things from this crisis. We need to document our experiences. These will be very useful as we face more challenges in the future.
While the current challenges and difficulties may have brought out the worst in others, we continue to strive to give only our best. We have courageously stood our ground and passed the test.
The challenges that we faced in the past seven months have brought out the best in us.
As we look back to the past seven months of COVID-19, let us accept our shortfalls and celebrate our small victories, learn our lessons, and move forward smarter.
As we look forward to and plan for the last quarter of the year, we ask ourselves: Where do we see ourselves (both personally and institutionally) on December 31, 2020 and beyond?
As I said earlier, we are in a journey, a long distance run, and not a sprint. We have to be more patient especially with ourselves.
Padayon sa paglawig. One day at a time
Kaloy Manlupig