THE BIG PROCESS

The process outlined below is designed for mission-driven organizations (nonprofits, collectives, collaboratives, and foundations) who have knowledge, data, and information needs. If these data and knowledge woes sound familiar, this process may be useful to you:

  • ”We have a lot of data, but no idea what to do with it.”

  • ”We think our programs are great - in fact we know they’re working! How do we collect the right data to get our funders to see it too, without reducing the people we work with to mere numbers?”

  • ”We need a database…We think. We need something!”

  • “We know we need to get our data act together - we just don’t know where to start.”

    This process was co-developed with Gabi Fitz of Think Twice.

This process can get us to a number of different outcomes, some of which include:

  • Data Strategy

  • Adaptive Strategic Plan and Implementation Guidance

  • Knowledge Management Strategy

  • Theory of Change

  • Learning Agenda

  • Program Lifecycle Toolkits & Operational Guidance

    …and other outcomes or deliverables we identify together along the way.

  • This phase is exactly what it sounds like! This usually includes a document and systems review, staff interviews and workshops, and brainstorming. During this phase, I ‘discover’ information about your organization’s data and knowledge ecosystem, and we work together to co-develop the next phase.

    I used to start projects with questions already in hand - they were never the right ones. Discovery is an opportunity for us to build these questions together, to be sure we’re starting in the right place for your team and organization.

  • Now that we’ve got a good idea of the ‘right’ questions, we begin the work of asking. This can look like workshops, design sprints, asynchronous coworking, and facilitated off-sites. During this phase, we start to imagine how we can get to solutions and shared practices.

  • During the third and final phase, we work to begin implementing the solutions we imagined in the prior phase. I like to combine implementation and action learning because solutions tend to look more straightforward on paper than in reality. We usually need some time to try, learn, and adjust—this phase is where we shift from Consultant-Client to Collaborators. My hope is that you and your staff feel comfortable and confident designing and implementing some solutions without external support, which takes time and practice!

Though these practices often show up in my project-based work, sometimes organizations need a one-off! I also offer more bespoke work to meet these needs.

Click the link below to for a selection of “a la carte services”