Exploring the impact of Lean methodologies in the charity sector with case-based support

Abstract

The implementation of Lean methodologies in the charity sector is still an underdeveloped topic with little literature. The purpose of this research is to gain a deeper understanding of its challenges and benefits by responding to the areas of interest and difficulties experienced by a focus group. A literature review was carried out of 34 articles from 3 databases–Web of Science, Scopus and Emerald Insight, from 2000 to 2024. Other Continuous Improvement (CI) methodologies were also examined to broaden the findings. The results of 9 exploratory questionnaires in charities provided evidence that the implementation of Lean, Lean Six Sigma or other CI methodologies improves the operational and strategic outcomes of charities. Key benefits include clarifying staff responsibilities, improving overall efficiency, eliminating non-value-added processes and reducing time. Organisations see the benefits of implementation mainly in terms of time and cost savings. The main challenges are lack of senior management interest, time, investment, knowledge and embedding Lean principles in the culture. This paper also provides an understanding of what the Critical Success Factors (CSFs) are. After conducting semi-structured interviews, the research concludes with a case study of a charity organisation, explaining how they address each of the CSFs when implementing Lean.