Professor Noble Kumawu, president of the International Organisation Development Association (IODA), says “organisation development (OD) has the power to transform organisations, but its true value lies in the impact you will have on people — the change you will help create, the lives you will touch, and the organisations you will help to thrive.”

Kumawu, addressing graduates of the Professional Certificate in Organisation Development (PCOD) programme at the University of Technology (UTech) on October 15, reminded graduates of the critical role OD professionals play in today’s complex world.

“The world is noisy. Everyone has a solution, a theory, or an app,” he said. “But who is listening? Who is guiding the human side of progress?”

According to Kumawu, the OD practitioner’s role is not just to solve problems but to create conditions where both people and organisations can flourish together.

The PCOD course is designed and facilitated by the Caribbean Centre for Organisation Development Excellence (CARI-CODE) and is offered in collaboration with the UTech Open School of Lifelong Learning and Professional Development (formerly UTech Academy). Since its inception under a public-private academic agreement in 2019, the partnership has certified over 200 OD process consultants across the island.

OD not a one-size-fits-all solution

Sharing insights from his global OD practice, Kumawu warned that many organisations fail because interventions are often imported from the West without considering local culture, leadership styles, or organisational structures.

“As OD professionals, it is crucial to remember that OD cannot be a one-size-fits-all approach. Each organisation, each culture, each region has its own dynamics,” he said.

He cited examples from African nations such as Ghana, Nigeria, Liberia, Ethiopia and Cameroon, where interventions failed because they overlooked unique cultural and leadership norms.

“OD must be flexible and culturally sensitive. Failure to understand the context of the organisation or country you are working in is a definite formula for failure,” he cautioned.

Kumawu emphasised the importance of grounding OD interventions in a deep understanding of local contexts, including Jamaica’s unique cultural landscape.

“Understanding and respecting the local context is key to ensuring that OD creates meaningful, sustainable change,” he noted. “This is a lesson that applies to every part of the world. OD interventions must be grounded in a deep understanding of the local context. As you proceed with your practice of OD, you will encounter frameworks and methodologies that work universally, but always keep in mind the importance of adapting these tools to fit the cultures and environments you’re working with,” he added.

He urged the graduates to move beyond credentials and become “ambassadors of transformation”, living out OD principles with integrity, compassion, and courage.

“Don’t just hang your certificate on a wall. Live the change. Transformation is timeless — and those who embody it are never irrelevant,” he concluded.

‘Transformation begins with you’

Ilsa duVerney, founder and CEO of CARI-CODE, congratulated the graduates, reminding them that they now possess the tools to be powerful instruments of purposeful change.

“Transformation begins with self-awareness. You are now designers and implementers of the transformation you seek — within your workplaces, in society, and within yourselves,” she said.

The 72-hour PCOD programme welcomes participants from a range of government and professional organisations, including the National Housing Trust; Companies Office of Jamaica; Jamaica Cultural Development Commission; Jamaica Customs Agency; Department of Correctional Services; Ministry of Education and Youth; and ICT Authority (formerly eGov Jamaica); Transformation Implementation Unit; Ministry of Finance and the Public Service, Jamaica National, CariMed and many other entities.

The course is designed to contribute to Jamaica’s readiness for transformation and change, aligning with the Vision 2030 development plan. It equips participants with foundational OD skills to support internal change initiatives and culture transformation—essential for both national and global development.