Posts By: Raymond Shih

Since monetary compensation in the not-for-profit world generally is less than for comparable roles in private sector, renewing your passion in what you do is key to staying motivated.

Once establishing the values and the boundaries of the sandbox which the organization operates in, it’s important to try new ideas . As long as these ideas align with organizational goals and don’t raise any red flags from the legal department, they can be the brand differentiators that set your team or organization apart.

The other part of deciding what to do is deciding what NOT to do. This is important for any organization to define in order to make tactical decisions. As not-for-profit organization we have to achieve impact with limited resources and therefore, this second half of the equation is especially critical.

Trying to develop and map out an efficient process that still encourages collaboration, was not easy. I wish I could say that we sat in a room until we drafted the perfect process. Instead, it took months of internal discussion, documentation, and most importantly, open engagement with our partners and stakeholders.

I got a taste of case studies in B-school as an exercise to develop creative problem solving skills. I simply couldn’t ignore the chance to live through in the most interesting case study to date.

Grand Challenges Canada is a non-profit organization funded by the Government of Canada and supports innovators in global health with these funds, so it’s not a business in the sense of striving to make profits. However, it is very much a business in the operating model and key principles.