How NEAR unified strategy and execution in Asana with the right setup from day one
- Richard Sather
- May 30
- 3 min read
NEAR is a Global South–led network of local and national civil society organisations, working to transform the global aid system through locally led solutions, knowledge sharing, and advocacy. With teams operating across regions and programs, NEAR adopted Asana with tailored setup and onboarding support to move from siloed workflows to a unified, learning-driven platform.
1: A single workflow for events—from proposal to execution
NEAR runs events that involve logistics, advocacy, stakeholder outreach, and content planning. Previously, these elements were managed separately, with documents scattered and decisions getting lost in meetings.
Now, every event starts with a simple request form. Based on just a few key fields like event type and delivery format, that request flows into a shared planning workflow with built-in approvals, key milestones, and a live portfolio for oversight. Teams collaborate in one place and always know what’s next.
“Before Asana, coordinating different aspects of our events—from logistics to advocacy priorities and stakeholder engagement—was complex. We now have a central platform where teams can track tasks, share documents, and update progress in one place.”
2: Automation rules keep the process flowing smoothly
To streamline event coordination, a custom rule was created to automate the handover process. As soon as an event is approved, it’s converted from a task into a dedicated project, added to the Events portfolio, and synced to Outlook as a calendar event. This ensures that every approved event follows the same structured workflow—without anyone needing to do it manually.
3: Grant-making made clear and trackable
Managing subgrants and grantee reports used to involve dozens of files and back-and-forth messages. NEAR replaced that with two connected projects: one for tracking each subgrant, and another for associated reporting milestones.
Grants can now be filtered by region, donor, or amount, and deadlines are easy to see and update. Everyone—from finance to MEL—works from the same up-to-date system.
“This has created much clearer visibility across teams, strengthened reporting for Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL), and allowed us to connect day-to-day activities to long-term outcomes.”
4: Goals and strategy aligned in one shared system
One of the most valuable shifts for NEAR has been mapping organisational strategy directly into Asana’s Goals feature. Projects, milestones, and tasks now roll up into strategic objectives, offering clear visibility and alignment across teams.
This helped reduce the disconnect between operational work and longer-term vision—especially useful in a fast-moving, agile sector.
“Implementing Asana with Richard’s support has fundamentally improved how we structure, track, and learn from our work across the Secretariat. One of the most valuable shifts has been aligning our strategic goals and objectives directly in Asana’s Goals feature, and building a shared understanding of how projects, milestones, and tasks map onto those goals.”
5: Learning and adaptation built in from the start
Beyond tracking work, NEAR wanted a system that would help them reflect, adapt, and improve. Custom fields were added to capture not just task status, but learning outcomes and impact insights—transforming the project tracker into a tool for organisational learning.
This simple shift supported evidence-based decision-making and made progress easier to reflect on, report, and discuss across teams.
6: Tailored onboarding that set the right foundation
NEAR’s team was new to Asana and needed a setup that matched how they worked. Onboarding included customised sessions, support for team Champions, and solutions designed around real workflows.
What began as a tool to improve coordination is now part of how NEAR runs—from planning and MEL reporting to daily execution.
“Richard's expertise was crucial in helping us navigate this process. Through tailored onboarding sessions and dedicated support for our Champions, he ensured we were able to leverage Asana’s full potential, setting it up in a way that perfectly matched our workflow. What really stood out was Richard’s incredible responsiveness to the many questions our team had throughout the process. With his support, Asana has become a central part of our operations, streamlining processes, improving communication, and centralising tasks across teams.”
