Strategic Planning

A New Way of Life (ANWOL) Reentry Project – Agency-wide vision and mission renewal, extensive board, staff, and stakeholder work for the development of a strategic plan anchored to a robust implementation strategy to ensure the critical work of the organization continues to be impactful, actualizes the strong pathways to resiliency, and effective development of women rebuilding their lives after prison. Deliverables: (1) Board Retreat; (2) Visioning, SWOT & Design Thinking Exercises with full board of directors and entire staff; (3) Key Stakeholder Interviews; (4) Strategy Map; (5) Detailed Framework for each Department linking Strategic Plan to an Implementation Strategy; (6) Board Training; (7) Executive Coaching.   

East End Neighborhood House – Facilitation, research, and assistance with strategic planning for an over 100-year-old Settlement House with a desire to develop a social enterprise strategy to better support the community it serves. Deliverables: (1) Key Stakeholder Interviews; (2) Visioning, Ideation, SWOT & Design Thinking Exercises with board and staff; (3) Research; (4) Fund Development Strategy.   

Cuyahoga County & Office of Early Childhood/Invest In Children (in partnership with Dr. Bob Eckardt, former VP of the Cleveland Foundation) – Robust community planning process to expand the Early Childhood Mental Health (ECMH) Workforce. As the need for ECMH services increase, the county needs to expand the ECMH workforce and create a pipeline to fill vacancies as professionals change jobs or receive promotions. Deliverables: (1) Key Stakeholder Interviews; (2) Focus group facilitation; (3) Research; (4) Workforce Development Plan to: (a) Estimate the size needed to meet community need; (b) Identify reasons for current professionals leaving the field and ways to improve retention; (c) Develop pathways to expand and maintain a pipeline of newly trained professionals; and (d) Practical strategies to attract/maintain a more diverse workforce. 

Magnolia Clubhouse (in partnership with Dr. Bob Eckardt, former VP of the Cleveland Foundation) – Facilitation, research, and assistance with strategic planning for the successful evidence-based clubhouse model for individuals with mental illness. Deliverables: (1) Key Stakeholder Interviews; (2) Focus group facilitation; (3) Research; (4) Strategic Plan. 

North Park University, Axelson Center for Nonprofit Management — Facilitation and strategic planning to improve service delivery and systems. Deliverables: (1) Visioning & SWOT Analysis; (2) Logic Model; (3) Infographic; (4) Report.

National League of Cities & Cleveland Department of Public Health (in partnership with Dr. Bob Eckardt, former VP of the Cleveland Foundation) — Facilitation, research, and assistance with action planning for FamilySpaces. Develop an action team and design neighborhood-based infrastructure for FamilySpaces in four sites neighborhoods in the City of Cleveland to serve as hubs of programming, information-sharing, and network-building for young families, particularly around current health issues facing infants and young children in Cleveland. Deliverables: (1) Build & Facilitate Action Team; (2) Detailed Framework for Action Team including Mission and Visioning; (3) Qualitative and Quantitative research; (4) Determine Locations for FamilySpaces; (5) Project Plan & Strategy.

Economic Action Group – Visioning and situational (SWOT) analysis exercise to envision future of Economic Acton Group (EAG); Identify best practices, outstanding models, collaborative partners for the development of a strategic organization business plan including implementation and funding strategies. Deliverables: (1) Strategic Business Plan; (2) Implementation Strategy/Robust Action Plan in three focus areas of the Strategic Business Plan: (a) Economic Development (Real estate development and redevelopment; creative placemaking; community planning; reporting); (b) Entrepreneur Assistance (Entrepreneur retention, growth and attraction; entrepreneur outreach and engagement; entrepreneur pipeline: neighborhood to Center City; entrepreneur capacity building); and (c) Anchor Partnerships (grant services; experiential learning; talent retention; advocacy, convening, outreach and engagement); (3) Develop metrics and performance evaluation baseline.

First Year Cleveland (in partnership with Dr. Bob Eckardt, former VP of the Cleveland Foundation) — Facilitation, research, and assistance with strategic planning for First Year Cleveland (FYC), a newly formed 501(C) 3, backbone organization with Case Western Reserve University’s School of Medicine as its fiscal agent. FYC is charged with reducing infant mortality to at least the federal and state goals set for Year 2020. Deliverables: (1) Focus group facilitation; (2) Mission and Visioning; (3) Qualitative and Quantitative research; (4) Strategic Plan; (5) Governance Structure; (6) Methodology for Prioritizing Efforts and Grants. 

Stonebrook Montessori — Facilitation and strategic planning for the public charter school. Deliverables: (1) Visioning & SWOT Analysis; (2) Logic Models; (3) Fund Development Strategy; (4) Report.

Sisters of Charity Foundation of Cleveland/Building Healthy Communities — Facilitated the development of a planning process for Building Healthy Communities. Utilized evidence-based tools and resources for team development to build collaboration. The work proposed for this project included three components - key interviews, strategy session with the Sisters of Charity Health System, and program recommendations. Deliverables: (1) Interview protocol/interviews; (2) Human Centered Design Focus Group; (3) Assessment of past and future programming; (4) Recommendations for future development of BHC.

Towards Employment — Community Outreach and Building Partnerships (visioning and situational analysis exercise to envision system design; identify best practices; Identify at least 10 community agencies to include in initial information gathering; Interviews with leadership and front-line staff; Interviews with end-users/clients; Develop, conduct, analyze survey; Recommendations for referral relationship and system design. Assessment tool will identify the optimal set of services and programming for each referral; Develop policies and procedures for information flow. Deliverables: (1) Interview protocol/interviews; (2) survey instrument/delivery; (3) recommendations for community referral and central intake system; (4) system pilot and any necessary redesign; (5) final system design; and (6) any necessary training for system implementation and best delivery.

United Way of Greater Cleveland/Domestic Violence & Child Advocacy Center — This work proposed extensive engagement that not only builds awareness, support, and a shared vision for a Cuyahoga County CAC, but also presents a research-informed, evidenced-based process, as well as reports and implementation plans to develop and support a Cuyahoga County CAC.  Deliverables: (1) Convening of Multiple Community Partners; (2) Needs Assessment; (3) Convening Reports; (4) Summary Documents, Agendas, Minutes; (5) PowerPoint Presentation for Stakeholders; (6) Information on other CACs for understanding approach; (7) Visioning and SWOT Analysis; (8) Infographic.

City of Cleveland (Healthy Cleveland Initiative) — Building Healthy Cleveland Multi-Sector Strategic Framing. Facilitation, interviews and work for the development of a strategic framework for a multi-sector collaboration that will drive the mission and strategies of the Healthy Cleveland Initiative with a focus on building and promoting a “culture of health” in Cleveland. Interviews with key stakeholders in the hospital systems; survey developed, distributed, analyzed and report prepared for the Strategic Retreat. Facilitate retreat; Complete needed research to inform the work of the Healthy Cleveland Steering Committee; Draft implementation strategy based upon the logic model. Identify missing and weak components for discussion at the Steering Committee Meeting. Deliverables: (1) Reports; (2) Presentation Deck; (3) Policies & Procedures Manual; (4) Strategic Planning.

Youngstown Area Goodwill Industries — Re-visioning and strategic planning preparation. Deliverables: Market assessment and research; (2) Survey Instrument; (3) Retreat; (4) Design Thinking Exercises with re-visioning committee and full board of directors.

Cuyahoga County – Facilitation, research, program design and grant writer for federal funding opportunity to address family homelessness and child welfare. Collaborative stakeholders included: Cuyahoga County Invest in Children, Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority, Division of Children and Family Services, Office of Homeless Services, Domestic Violence & Child Advocacy Center, Educational Service Center, Starting Point, Mental Health Services, Center on Urban Poverty & Community Development. Deliverables: (1) Large Group Facilitation for a Co-Created Strategy; (2) Systems Design; and (3) Funding Proposal. 

Sisters of Charity Foundation of Cleveland (Central Promise Neighborhood) — Facilitation created the opportunity for open and authentic discussion about neighborhood engagement strategies and approaches to connect with residents, parents, and youth for civic and social conversations, and public activities. Deliverables: Research and recommendations were included in the final report to inform decisions based upon data. 

Impact by Design — Federal funding leveraged for multiple organizations around healthy food access and economic development utilizing the same design thinking framework - inspiration, ideation, implementation. Deliverables: (1) Organizational assessment; (2) environmental scan; (3) co-created vision; (3) research-informed approach; (4) systems design; (5) logic modeling; (6) funding proposal.  

Ohio Regional Convergence Partnership – ORCP was established to advance the vision of Healthy People in Healthy Places in the state of Ohio.  As a funder collaborative, ORCP sough to supports multi-field partnerships in achieving equitable and sustainable environmental and policy changes specifically around increased access to healthy foods.  Collaborative stakeholders included: Sisters of Charity Foundation of Cleveland, Saint Luke's Foundation of Cleveland, Kaiser Permanente, and the Osteopathic Heritage Foundations. Deliverables: (1) Planning; (2) Co-Created Strategy; (3) Strategic Plan; (4) Funding Proposals.