Reimagining Organizational Strategy Through Inclusive Engagement
Overview
Our client has been pillar in the community since 1890 and evolved its programming and location to meet changing community needs. The COVID-19 pandemic presented unprecedented challenges, particularly for youth serving organizations. The past may not be a reliable predictor of the future so they engaged Back of the Napkin to explore opportunities - to reinvent/refine programming, re-calibrate operations, and redefine systems and operations to meet evolving community needs.
Project Objectives
Understand the organization's operational landscape by integrating existing organizational information with data collected through interviews and focus groups with community leaders, funders, caregivers, and young people, to develop a holistic perspective.
Determine a strategic path forward by prioritizing key objectives through collaborative, participatory workshops involving staff and stakeholders.
Design a comprehensive organizational plan aligned with core values and technical feasibility, including:
Strategic goals with implementation timelines
Staffing strategy and position descriptions
Budget framework
Program development considerations
Implementation communication and board training plan
Define success criteria and required steps for key goals, including specific roles and responsibilities for staff and board members.
Timeline
May
Project Kick off
June
Data Collection & Situational Analysis
October
Situational analysis design thinking retreat
November
January
Strategic plan design
Implementation retreat
The Solution
The collaboration-focused and results-driven process engaged staff, young people, caregivers, board, and community members through a collaborative, three-phase approach focused on envisioning transformative possibilities.
Our approach (below) ensured that participants felt genuinely heard and that the resulting strategic outputs were directly informed by those who would implement and benefit from the plan.
Co-creating interview and focus group questions with Club staff and members.
Using empathy mapping to help strategic planning committee members understand stakeholder perspectives and experiences.
Empowering organizational leadership to facilitate the process, enhancing result ownership.
Applying design thinking to encourage creative exploration beyond current realities.
The Result
The strategic planning process yielded a robust plan rooted in organizational accomplishment and collective commitment. By employing participatory processes, Back of the Napkin mobilized a diverse coalition—including leadership, board members, staff, supporters, young people and community partners—to collaboratively develop a shared vision. The process not only generated a strategic blueprint but also cultivated an engaged community energized by a unified future-oriented perspective.
