Blog Author: Salman Jaffer

Today, many of our clients come to us with a simple request—how can we function better as an organization? What seems like a simple question often reveals deeper organizational challenges.

Leaders often ask, ‘’how can we bring our people, programs, and processes together to drive performance or navigate change?”. These ‘’Ps’’ are more than just buzzwords. They are essential levers for change in a world marked by rapid technological advancement and expectations from leaders (and the public) for organizations to deliver strong performance and impact.

Intensifying global and local pressures have pushed our clients to consider people and processes as critical levers toward performance and adaptive management. Both organizational development and change management solutions are pivotal in enabling public institutions and the private sector to navigate these challenges effectively.

Understanding Organizational Development and Change Management

There are many definitions of organizational development. We define it as the complex art and science of diagnosing, aligning, and improving an organization’s capabilities through:

• Leadership
• Strategy
• Culture
• Structure
• Processes
• Talent management
• Knowledge management

With the improvement of these capabilities, we then institutionalize change processes for higher performance.

Change management involves structured strategies to guide organizations through structural, cultural, or technological shifts. Social Impact has supported many organizations in designing and implementing change smoothly and sustainably.

Our approach couples change management with organizational development interventions to address the human side of change, helping people transition into new roles, align with new organizational goals, or shape their shared journey.

Change management and organizational development create a framework for shaping organizational growth, innovation, and operational excellence, which are vital for any organization navigating complex change within the development sector.

Why Organizational Development and Change Management Matter within the Development Sector

Delivering against new mandates and expectations

Public organizations (i.e., government agencies) must constantly respond to political transitions, new administration priorities, shifting leadership imperatives, policy changes, and emerging public concerns. Organizational development provides the tools to assess and realign strategies, while change management ensures smooth execution, minimizing disruption to critical services. Social Impact has facilitated large-scale and small-scale changes for clients like USAID and the Department of State, where administration priorities have led to drastic restructuring efforts or focus on key efficiencies.

Improve performance and accountability

Taxpayers expect efficiency, accountability, and a productive public sector. Often, leaders are held accountable for driving change or installing new ways of doing business to improve transparency and performance. Public organizations can improve performance by streamlining processes and empowering employees through organizational development interventions like leadership development, workforce planning, business process mapping, and efficiency reviews. Change management ensures that these new systems, cultural practices, and nascent processes are accepted and utilized effectively, leading to better outcomes for staff and the taxpayer.

Social Impact has supported to develop leadership competencies, align strategic goals, and execute against emerging priorities through results-based management practices. A recent example has been our work with where we supported the design and execution of change management efforts to shape the establishment of new teams and bureaus during administration changes.

Generating more with less

With limited budgets and increasing demands, public sector organizations need to do more with less. Organizational development identifies inefficiencies and areas for improvement, while change management ensures cost-saving measures are implemented without compromising service quality.

A great example is when Social Impact worked with one of our to identify cost savings that could be generated when implementing partners collaborate and develop a set of coordinated efforts. We identified an instant savings of at least $50,000 based on simple coordination solutions in Nigeria.

Building Employee Resilience and Morale

Change can often bring feelings of uncertainty and resistance. Organizational development fosters a supportive environment, cultivating trust and collaboration, while change management provides clear communication and capacity strengthening, reducing anxiety and building employee buy-in. This dual approach enhances employee morale and productivity.

During times of change, Social Impact has developed surveys and assessment approaches (i.e., pulse checks) for multiple public and private clients. We have conducted action planning to support leaders in implementing the change in a way that builds trust, collaboration, and clarity—leading with practical and employee-owned solutions.

Organizational Development and Change Management is an Essential Investment

Organizational Development and Change Management are not just corporate buzzwords but essential investment levers for the development sector to thrive in a dynamic world. By fostering adaptability, improving processes, and building a culture that embraces change, development organizations can meet and exceed the expectations of the stakeholders they serve—be it the public, beneficiaries, or internal sponsors of change. In doing so, leaders can ensure resilience, relevance, and a lasting positive impact on society.