Essex Community Advice
Essex Community Advice - formally the NGO Clinic - is a not-for-profit social
enterprise based at the University of Essex.
What We Do:
We offer professional advice and support on strategic development,
organisational change and capacity-building to non-government, voluntary and
other not-for-profit organisations both locally and globally. These services are
provided free of charge to clients and Essex Business School, which houses the
clinic, covers staff costs, however expense for travel and subsistence may need
to be covered by client organisations. This pro bono service is part of the
University of Essex's broader commitment to social justice, equality and
socially responsible professional development.
Why We Do It:
The Clinic is modelled on the established tradition of University legal
clinics, which have a tradition of making available the best professional legal
expertise who could not normally afford such advice. In the same manner Essex
Community Advice targets those small non-governmental, and not-for-profit
organisations that cannot pay high fees for commercial consultancy advice.
How We Do It:
Although our members have academic knowledge of many organisational issues,
and experience of working with many different organisations, we do not believe
that there is a single ‘best-way' to organise. Unlike many commercial
consultancies we do not have pre-packaged organisational solutions but work with
clients to facilitate their own organisational development and learning, helping
them to find the best solution to their problems and, where necessary, helping
them to develop the skills necessary to find those solutions. Unlike commercial
consultancies, we have no economic interest in developing a long-term dependency
relationship with our clients. Our aim is to help organisations to solve their
own problems and develop sustainably. This means working together with clients
on home-grown solutions. It is our firm conviction that the people working in an
organisation are the ones who are best placed, and have the necessary knowledge,
to identify and solve their own problems. We work to facilitate and support
client organizations' autonomous development and, where possible, to foster
links with other organizations to further develop mutual aid, knowledge sharing
and competence within sustainable inter-organizational networks.
Further Information