Tortoise or Hare? Fundación Carvajal and Buenaventura

This case brings readers into the world of nonprofit social development. Fundación Carvajal (FC) decides in 2011 to expand operations beyond familiar territory to the port city of Buenaventura, Colombia. FC has developed over decades an integrated approach to social development which it is confident will be effective in Buenaventura. Central to its strategy is building trust with the target community and involving locals in devising their own solutions to problems. As the program director prepares the ground for this new project, however, he is asked to accelerate a baseline survey, short-cutting trust-building activities. He has to decide: hurry the process for valid strategic reasons at the risk of provoking local mistrust, or stick to the tested timetable.