At NCSS, we are committed to strengthening the capabilities of our member social service agencies. This commitment is vital to enhance their productivity and the quality of service delivery, ultimately benefiting our service users.
Organisational Health Framework for Social Services (OHFSS)
In 2022, NCSS introduced the Organisational Health Framework for Social Services (OHFSS) along with its Assessment Tool. This comprehensive framework empowers social service agencies (SSAs) to identify their strengths and areas for development. By taking a holistic view of their organisational health, SSAs can strategically plan their capability-building efforts to achieve sustainable outcomes.
We strongly encourage SSAs to conduct the OHFSS Assessment before applying for the Community Capability Trust (CCT) funding. OHFSS findings help articulate organisational health gaps and targets for capability building. SSAs are encouraged to repeat the assessment annually to track progress and refine their efforts.
Please refer to the OHFSS Assessment Toolkit for detailed instructions on how to complete the assessment. SSAs can also sign up for the monthly OHFSS workshop for guidance on the Assessment Tool, and to hear learnings and best practices from other SSAs who have completed the Assessment.
Step 01. Assign a Diagnostic Lead (DL): Choose a Diagnostic Lead (DL), who will gain understanding of the structure and questionnaire of OHFSS.
Step 02. Plan with Your DL: The Diagnostic Lead and Agency Head should discuss your agency's approach and select participants for the assessment.
Step 03. Register Selected Participants: Your Diagnostic Lead will register. You will receive a confirmation email from NCSS.
Step 04. Complete the Online Form: Each participant will receive email instructions to fill in the online form. Please note that participants will not be able to save their responses as draft and will need to complete the form in one sitting. The estimated time taken to complete the form is between 45 minutes to an hour. Participants are strongly encouraged to run through the assessment questions in the OHFSS Assessment Toolkit before filling in their responses on the online form.
Step 05. Receive a Report: Once all participants finish the form, your Diagnostic Lead will receive the Organisational Health Report.
Organisational Health Diagnostic Scheme (OHDS): SSAs who have completed the OHFSS Assessment can leverage the Organisational Health Diagnostic Scheme (OHDS) to plan their capability building efforts. Led by Korn Ferry, a global organisational consulting firm, your organisation will gain an in-depth diagnostic assessment of your organisational health using the OHFSS. SSAs will receive the diagnostics findings and a 3-year strategy document, with recommendations to strengthen their organisational health across all OHFSS domains.
Organisational Health Guidebook for Social Services (OHGSS): SSAs can also refer to the OHGSS, a knowledge resource on strengthening each OHFSS domain and a collection of good practices observed in other SSAs.
Community Capability Trust (CCT): Finally, SSAs who have identified areas for development from their OHFSS results can tap on the CCT to fund their capability building projects.
To find out more about the OHFSS and OHDS, contact us at Organisation_Development@ncss.gov.sg. You may also refer to the Likely Asked Questions (LAQs) for more information.
Technical Assistance
At NCSS, we are dedicated to partnering with member social service agencies to foster strong relationships and pave the way for innovative community solutions. Through these partnerships, we aim to elevate the quality and effectiveness of your programmes, resulting in outcomes that meet your objectives and create better experiences for service users.
Manpower is a vital resource, enabling us to effectively carry out our work for the benefit of our clients. Nurturing and developing our professionals is crucial in our ever-evolving landscape. Our goal is to develop competent individuals who possess qualities such as compassion, empathy, and resilience. These qualities enable us to provide the support our service users truly need.
As a part of NCSS's Sector Capability & Transformation Group (SCTG), Social Service Institute (SSI) is a SkillsFuture-accredited Continuing Education and Training (CET) centre. Aligned with the Social Service Sector Strategic Thrust (4ST), SSI focuses on developing skilled professionals in the social service sector through leadership, stakeholder partnerships, innovative and entrepreneurial spirit in providing relevant and quality training.
Initiatives and Schemes
At NCSS, we have implemented various initiatives and schemes to provide additional resources aimed at improving and enhancing the quality of professionals within the social service sector:
Social Service Careers
The social service sector is a dynamic field that requires competent professionals to make a real impact in our society. To excel, one must possess a strong commitment to community service and adopt a client-centric approach to providing professional help. Above all, these qualities must be balanced with compassion, empathy, and resilience to overcome the challenges of our sector.
Find out more on Social Service Careers.
Training Programmes
The Social service Institute (SSI) is evolving into the go-to hub for social service agencies (SSAs) and professionals (SSPs) by adopting the 70-20-10 Learning Approach. This model prioritises knowledge and skills from job-related experiences (70%), interactions with others (20%), and formal learning (10%). Through regular Training Needs Analyses (TNA), we proactively address evolving learning needs in the sector.
As a sector developer, SSI collaborates with 7 SSAs through the Training Network Model (TNM), guiding the development of 54 new courses for basic and intermediate level training across subsectors. We plan to expand this partnership with more SSAs, fostering a collaborative learning environment.
Additionally, SSI will offer complimentary bite-sized e-courses and e-resources are available from April 2024 to March 2028, providing just-in-time learning for SSPs to stay updated with the latest developments. With 50 hours of existing e-learning resources, SSI aims to exceed 100 hours beyond FY2024, providing extensive learning opportunities for professionals in the social service sector.
Explore our training programmes.
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