Alfredo Ortiz

GSIPM Adjunct Faculty

Alfredo Ortiz
Tel
(831) 647-4675
Email
aortiz@middlebury.edu

Alfredo Ortiz is an adjunct professor of nonprofit Management and social change in the Development Practice & Policy program. 

Ortiz believes that “Working for social change means being willing to challenge the way things are done and what is perceived as normal by many people, including ourselves. By placing ourselves in the development picture as both agents and subjects of change we can work with others to construct a more meaningful future.”

Courses Taught

Course Description

This course explores a series of pathways for achieving organizational sustainability. Consideration will be given to how organizational practices, procedures and systems (including those related to budgeting, resource generation, resource management, and marketing) influence long-term organizational viability. We will focus on creating business models that contribute to mission achievement and sustainability for organizations that work in complex environments. The use of managerial performance metrics in relation to organizational sustainability will also be explored.

Terms Taught

Spring 2021 - MIIS

View in Course Catalog

Course Description

Proposal Writing for International Development

This course trains participants in the process of developing a proposal, from strategy to writing, toward generating funding for international assistance projects. It asks the core question: what are key elements of proposal development processes in competitive bids for international development funding? In it, students will examine real, existing proposals prepared largely by non-governmental organizations pursuing grants, but also by for-profit development companies bidding on contracts. Proposal writing will be addressed from a strategic perspective—i.e. understanding where funding is (e.g. USAID, foundations, EC) today, and how to position a concept in a competitive environment. Visual presentation skills, charts, budgets, and narrative writing skills will be important. Students will put themselves in the shoes of program development officers soliciting funding in responses to RFAs, RFPs, framework agreements, or other leads with donor organizations.

Terms Taught

Fall 2020 - MIIS, MIIS Workshop, Fall 2021 - MIIS, MIIS Workshop

View in Course Catalog

Areas of Interest

Organizational development and strategy, social change organizations, organizational sustainability.

Academic Degrees

  • PhD in Development Studies, Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, United Kingdom
  • MA in International Relations – Conflict Resolution and Development, St. Mary’s University, San Antonio, Texas
  • BA in Accounting and BA in Spanish, New Mexico State University

Publications

  • ORTIZ ARAGÓN, Capacity building in complex environments—Seeking meaningful methodology for social change. Doctoral dissertation, (May 2013) [May be accessed from: http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/44684]
  • ORTIZ ARAGÓN, Shifting identity from within the conversational flow of organisational complexity IDS Bulletin, 43, 3 (May 2012).
  • BURNS, HARVEY & ORTIZ ARAGÓN, Action Research for development and social change. IDS Bulletin, 43, 3 (May 2012).
  • ORTIZ ARAGÓN, A. 2010a. Capacity development and rural territorial dynamics (RTD): A documentation and interpretation of how capacity building is being understood and shaped within the RTD program. RTD Topical inquiries. Santiago: RIMISP.
  • ORTIZ ARAGÓN, A. 2010b. A Case for Surfacing Theories of Change for Purposeful Organisational Capacity Development. IDS Bulletin, 41, 36-46.
  • ORTIZ ARAGÓN, A. & GILES MACEDO, J. C. 2010. A ‘Systemic Theories of Change’ Approach for Purposeful Capacity Development. IDS Bulletin, 41, 87-99.
  • ORTIZ, A. 2009. Interpreting Worldviews and Theories of Change on Capacity Development of Social Change Organizations Brighton: IDS.
  • ORTIZ ARAGÓN, A. & TAYLOR, P. 2009. Learning purposefully in capacity development: Why, what and when to measure? In: IIEP (ed.) Rethinking capacity development. Paris: IDS.
  • TAYLOR, P. & ORTIZ, A. 2008. Doing things better? How capacity development results help bring about change. IDRC Strategic Evaluation of Capacity Development. Institute of Development Studies (IDS).
  • ORTIZ, A. 2001. Core Costs and NGO Sustainability: Towards a Donor-NGO Consensus on the Importance of Proper Measurement, Control & Recovery of Indirect Costs. Washington, DC: The Nature Conservancy.