Getting closer to the client

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Map One common complaint lodged against aid organizations is that they are too distant from local contexts. Staff housed in distant headquarters in the capitals of rich countries are not able to gain detailed knowledge of complex local social and political circumstances, and so deliver 'cookie-cutter' solutions that don't serve the recipients of aid very well. But there is at least a partial solution to this: get closer to the client.

Let's say -- just for theory's sake -- that you are a senior manager within a large, complex aid organization with its headquarters in an OECD country capital. Let's also say -- again, just for the sake of theory -- that you have to figure out a way to decentralize the organization to get staff closer to clients. Your organization serves countries in all regions of the world and at many income levels across multiple sectors.  

One potential model is to pick three or four "global hubs" to help bridge the distance between the organization's headquarters and its country-level presence. So, which cities do you pick?

But before you decide on your list of cities, remember that you've got a lot of tricky issues to consider:

  • Although your staff are highly dedicated to their work, they are still human beings and not a perfect model of homo economicus. Many are raising families, so they can't simply be moved around like cogs in a machine. They will also be looking for a modicum of stability, decent living standards, etc.
  • On top of this, you have to consider both the staff you have and the staff you will recruit in the future. It may be tough to get current staff to move out of headquarters, but you may be able to recuit highly talented new staff depending on the location of these hubs. 
  • You need to pick cities that are geographically diverse, which probably means one hub per region.
  • The cities will have to be in countries that are reasonably politically stable since the costs of relocation/closure of the office at short notice would be prohibitive. 
  • The structure of the world economy is changing, although in ways that are quite unpredictable. You need to choose cities that will maximize the chances that you are close not only to your current clients but also to the countries where you will be doing much of your work in the medium and long term. 
  • It would be helpful -- although perhaps not essential -- if the denizens of the city spoke a major world language.

I am sure there are other criteria that I haven't listed, but these strike me as the most important. If I had to make a choice, I might go with (1) Singapore; (2) Johannesburg; and (3) Istanbul. I would add Brasilia to the list if I also wanted a South American city. But I am curious what cities readers might pick, and for what reasons.

(Photo credit: Norman B. Leventhal Map Center)

Nick gogerty
June 22, 2010

Capetown, Dubai (for transport), Buenos Aires.

Peta
June 22, 2010

(1) New Delhi; (2) Johannesburg; and (3) Prague (for high quality life, staff, stability)

GS RADJOU
June 23, 2010

Hi! Getting closer to customers. I think we have never been so close to them with the dematerialzation society. E. F. Schumacher would be happy to see modern Hi-Tech at work helping unfavoured people to re-connect with their daily concern of lived. Perhaps, few year ago, we could go in 4 -5 days to Nairobi in kenya by boat coming from a modern cities. Today, we just need 4-hours to do the same. Not too bad isn't?

Rob
June 25, 2010

Hmmm... I think there's more to "getting closer" to beneficiaries than simply moving to a city in the same continent. Do you really think it would help agency staff to understand the "local social and political circumstances" in Nairobi or Bamako if they were based in Singapore or Johannesburg, rather than New York or Geneva?

I suspect that complaints about aid organizations being too "distant" are using that word in a more metaphorical sense. I've seen plenty of NGO and IGO offices in developing country capitals (and even in provincial towns) where the employees inside seem to have little understanding of how those around them live their lives. Physical proximity doesn't count for much.

Ryan Hahn
June 25, 2010

@Rob

I agree - there is certainly more to getting closer to the client than creating these hubs. However, I see this as a necessary rather than a sufficient condition - it will provide the foundation for aid organizations to take additional steps to get closer to the client. Btw, I would welcome any other suggestions you would have for achieving this goal.

roma
June 25, 2010

* Hyderabad (better airport than Delhi)
* Nairobi
* Ho Chi Min
are great cities to live with good transportation and where one also get exposed to what life is in a developing country (as opposed to Singapore)

* Istanbul
* Sao Paulo

Rob
June 25, 2010

Learning local languages would be a good start. From what I've seen in Africa, language is the biggest barrier to international staff being able to interact properly with local people. There is normally an attitude that knowing French, English or Portuguese (whichever is the official language) is enough: but of course in many places that means you can only talk to an educated minority - probably the agency's own staff, but not normal people in the street.

Spending a few weeks doing a language course wouldn't add hugely to the cost of a two-year job posting, but would significantly improve the ability of international staff to understand local people and their situation.

GS RADJOU
June 27, 2010

I am agree with you guys. It is better to be in the country either as an exotic person, for business purpose or helping people. But, you have to recognised that with all technology that have been involved in the past 50 years ro make people closer is virtual communication and transport. (telephones, internet, airplanes) all these means have cut cost and helped to find ourselves nearer to people we like to see and to be. The world became smaller since Christopher Colombus discover America. Both systems of approaching clients real and virtual, I think should work hand by hand if we don't want to live in an administrative society or totally business orientate sooiety. If, it is not by boat or airplane, it can be by bicycle. OK! But how many people can take time to live their country to see you by bicycle for whatever the reason?

GS RADJOU
October 04, 2011

There is a feel we are getting closer. However, I have no evidence of this. it is the matter of jugement-related to-

For example, if it is true that using mobile phone, internet, ICT,....does it make you closer than someone- If I can explain, it is like using a computer laptops as a type writer- most of us until today, is using a sophisticated tool called a computer, but using it as a type writer, or the tool has 1000s potentialities. (it is debatable)-

Coming to these information technologies- Are we closer -maybe we are? There is more than just one alternative to the handwriting letter or the landline, or the telex,...but, at the contrary- we can be with heart and mind 1000s miles away with people connected to us while ignoring our closest friends-our neighboors,....

Aslo, another reason to be disconnected is that these technologies that are supposed to help us to communicate are making nuisances- and not helping us to move away- In fact sometimes, there is a feel that the more information systems and telecommunications and the less we are ready to move- Prove is there are more people in cities- and also, most of the planet has not been colonized -becuase humanity is leaving by the coastal line- Or in fact, the 1rst principle of these tool is to communciate and get rid of the distance- It is confusing, is not it?

So, if there is a trend with globalization to think we are closer with mass communication, we should not forget that there are good means of communications still unchallenged to me -in the communication quality and not the communication batching-
For example, face to face,...handwriting-

Today, we are talking about blogs for statistics is it effective compared to traditional statistics? There are ways to improve and this is great during a crisis to deepen the ICT for better outputs