The constant worry of every investor and/or business leaders is the assurance that the organization is functioning properly. Mentor has developed the tools and models needed to helps organization reflect on its processes and functions, and score itself against benchmarks. Based on the discussions and the scoring, the organization shapes and sets priorities for actions it can take to strengthen its capacity for the best returns of investment possible.

We have an array of OCA tools we use; these include; The McKinsey & Company – Organizational Capacity Assessment Tool (OCAT), The Marguerite Casey Foundation – Organizational Capacity Assessment Tool, The TCC Group – Core Capacity Assessment Tool (CCAT), The Social Venture Partners – Organizational Capacity Assessment Tool, The PACT – Organizational Capacity Assessment, and the Venture Philanthropy Partners – McKinsey Capacity Assessment Grid. Choosing the right organizational assessment tool depends on understanding the organization’s context and then selecting a tool to match. A good match of tool with organization can make the difference between just eliciting information about the organization and actually using it as a lever for change. With the right OCA report/score an organization is made able to define a capacity-building improvement plan based on actual data/information derived from a realistic self-assessed need.

Our selected OCA tool assesses technical capacity in the following seven domains; with each having a number of sub-areas:

1. Governance
2. Administration
3. Human Resources Management
4. Financial Management
5. Organizational Management
6. Program Management
7. Project Performance Management

The above domains may change depending on the industry. In some industries Operations take the place for Programs Management. And in specialized sectors like Banking we use tools such as the CAMEL Model (Capital Adequacy, Asset Quality, Management Efficiency, Earnings, and Liquidity), and for Tier 4 Microfinance Institutions we use the GIRAFFE Model (Governance, Information, Risk, Activities & Loan Portfolio, Funding, and Efficiency)

However, one assurance we need to give our clients is that we customize our tools depending on your needs. By the end of the exercise you are fully equipped with knowledge of what is working and what is not working and the extent of the same. All our customers testify that an OCA exercise is indeed an essential undertaking each organization must do as reasonably frequent as possible.