Agile successes at Amnesty UK that will intrigue you

At the 2025 Agile in Nonprofits Summit, Carmen Barlow, founder of the Charity Change Collective, shared her compelling story about applying Agile methodologies to the workflows of the Communications & Digital Teams at Amnesty UK. This blog about her presentation, which is titled “From Firefighting to Forward Momentum: Agile Transformation at Amnesty UK,” introduces her insights and recommendations to nonprofits considering Agile for your own teams.

Of note before diving into the workings of Agile, Carmen makes a point of characterizing Agile as an engine for change. Some prospective Agile adopters might fervently wish for instantaneous improvement, but that will not be the case, she advises.

Have your expectations in order before embarking on your Agile journey. It is a journey, and truly cannot be a 100-meter dash.

The story she shares begins with a not-so-ideal “Before” situation within the organization, as most inspiring Agile success stories do. Upon immersing herself in the Amnesty UK team, Carmen observed that they were struggling on several levels: they were missing big goals, morale was low, they were strategically unfocused, and they thought that at least part of the answer was more meetings for more information sharing. And yes, please, more financial resources with a little more time sprinkled on top.

And, to their credit, Carmen observed that they were hugely passionate about their mission.

She shares two thoughts about the perceived roadblocks:

Amnesty’s strong passion for their mission actually had become what she called a “weaponised purpose” (UK spelling on purpose!)—meaning that your drive to achieve your mission can cause you to avoid truly addressing issues and can encourage a mindset that intense busy-ness results in the greatest possible productivity.
You don’t need more meetings for better information sharing (or to feel productive). And more than likely, you don’t need more financial resources and time.

You need Agile.

To satisfy this imperative, Carmen’s presentation addresses the following elements to consider on your journey. Check out her presentation on YouTube to learn more about:

How to frame this new approach. Adopt the mindset that, yes, Agile is the answer—and further, ask the question, “Can we create the environment and conditions in which Agile can succeed?”

How to prepare. A proper foundation for Agile must be laid. Carmen outlines what she calls the “Unsexy Prerequisites” for Agile success.

How to implement Agile. Bring in an outside expert to train the team and guide you as you adopt new practices. Take small steps and work on improving a few prioritized projects.

The process is straightforward, thoughtful, and incredibly worthwhile. You can totally do it, and you do not need to do it alone.

Do you want to learn more? Watch Carmen’s presentation. And check out resources for learning from Agile in Nonprofits, including the Agile journey map, or reach out to us directly.