Jargon of the week: **Synergy**

Submitted by crinadmin on

Despite what it might sound like, synergy is not a fluorescent, sugary, caffeinated beverage to help you make it through an afternoon of proposal writing.  Disappointingly, a synergy is not something you can buy at all - it is merely a way of describing the successful cooperation between two different groups.  Synergies are frequently discussed in NGO materials, often with the goal of making a publication sound more professional or a charitable organisation sound more like a business. 

In practice, however, the word synergy is often vaguely used and almost always unnecessarily technical.  For these reasons, it should be avoided, and you should try to describe more specifically what you are doing or hoping to do in plain English.

For example:

Instead of saying that you are looking for synergy with a partner organisation, say that you would like to cooperate or work together.  

Organisation: 
Child Rights International Network

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