Building the Change Puzzle: A Toolkit for Organizational Change

Created by the Bangladesh arm of the international humanitarian organisation CARE, this toolkit for organisational change sets out the major aspects of the change process, provides tools for implementing the desired changes, and shares lessons learned from a CARE country office that is in the process of undergoing a major organisational transformation. Its premise is that organisational change is difficult - both because most people find change scary and confusing, and it doesn't happen in a vacuum - but it is not impossible.

Editor's Note: Communication elements are addressed directly starting on page 19 of the resource.

An excerpt from the Introduction follows:

"The toolkit begins with an introduction to CARE Bangladesh and sets the scene for the change programme embarked on by the Country Office. The description and analysis of the change is structured around the three key components of a change journey (as defined by change theory) namely Understanding the Change Context, Defining the Change and Implementing the Change. Each section commences with an overview of the CARE Bangladesh experience and is followed with a short theoretical overview to see the degree of alignment between what change theory suggests and what happened in reality.

Under the section on Implementing the Change, the change interventions are described under the headings of Change Communication, Change Enablement, Change Navigation and Change Leadership. The interventions are shown in a number of ways namely text/narrative, visually in the form of the various pieces of a change puzzle, chronologically and in a series of toolkit tables.

The main body of the toolkit ends with a "mini case study" which pulls together all the key change implementation components in the story of CARE Bangladesh's success in the gender arena.

The Appendix contains additional theoretical frameworks for each of the change components, stories of personal experience with the change from CARE Bangladesh employees, and more detail around the work done in the areas of Rights and Social Justice, Governance and Education.

...While this toolkit is aimed at assisting you in your change management efforts, the frameworks, tools and practical examples provided here should be a supplement to, not a replacement for, your own understanding. Use what works for you, and see the rest as part of a broader learning experience."