Tools, Techniques and Tightropes: the art of walking and talking private sector management in non-profit organisations

The focus of this paper, first presented at a European Institute for Advanced Studies in Management workshop on challenges of managing in the third sector, is the experiences of small to medium non–profit organisations and their relationship with management tools and techniques. It seeks to raise debate around implications for the creative use of private sector management tools and to contribute to understanding of non–profit management practice. While lessons may be learned from business techniques and processes, the paper contends that execution of business enhancing tools needs to be considered in contexts relevant to the sector's interests and primary aims.