Focus on Results: Bringing Clarity to Strategic Choices

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Focus on Results Bringing Clarity to Strategic
Choices

• Jeff Bradach
• May 23, 2007

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(No Transcript)
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Company performance

Source www.bain.com
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Nonprofit performance challenge
Challenge
Maximizing impact
Available resources
Maximum social impact
Bad news

• Cant do everything resources are limited
  while social needs seem endless

Good news

• Everything isnt equally worth doing possible
  courses of action yield different levels of
  impact

Imperative

• Achieve tightest fit between actions and impact
  objectives, given key factors
• Magnitude and nature of need
• Relative strengths and capabilities
• Resource requirements and availability

Making choices
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Bridgespans approach to nonprofit strategy
Mission
Intended Impact
Theory of Change
Program/Service Focus
Organization
Economics
Performance Metrics
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Intended Impact Harlem Childrens Zone example

• Improve the lives of poor children in Americas
  most devastated communities

Original statement
Resulting questions

• Which children?
• All residents of target community vs. service
  participants
• What kind of improvement?
• Successful transition to adulthood vs. transition
  to next stage
• Objective achievement vs. relative improvement
• Causalitybetween children and community, what is
  the end and what is the means?

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Harlem Childrens Zones intended impact
Over the next decade, Harlem Childrens Zones
(HCZ) primary focus will be on children aged 0-18
living in the HCZ making a successful transition
to an independent, healthy adulthood, reflected
in demographic and achievement profiles
consistent with those in an average middle-class
community.
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Harlem Childrens Zones theory of change
In the next ten years, HCZ will reach the great
majority of families in the HCZ with a range of
programs carefully calibrated to the needs of
different age groups, placing greatest emphasis
on families with the youngest children, age 0-5.
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Zero in on an anchor
Intended Impact
Theory of Change

Beneficiaries(Who)
Benefits(What)
Methods(How)

• Who you want to serve
• Which beneficiaries
• Age, geographic area, demographic considerations

• The social benefits youre trying to create
• Measurable
• Achievable

• How change happens
• Assumptions for current services
• Assumptions for proposed services
• Logical cause and effect
• Proof?

• Choosing one of these as a starting point will
  help define the other two
• Eventually you must have clarity on each of these
  categories

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Anchoring Craft intended impact and theory of
action/change

• Starting point Beneficiary
• Work with pre-K Latino kids in California
• to increase their literacy when entering
  kindergarten
• through community level family reading programs
• Starting point Method
• Work with model districts to codify their best
  practices
• to increase standardized test scores of all
  students
• in districts that adopt the model practices
• Starting point Benefits
• Close the gap in graduation rates
• for minority and low income students in New York
• by creating small schools where their needs can
  best be met

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HCZ Overall revenues expenses
3M
1M
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HCZ Allocation of discretionary funds
Program focus
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Common Cents Intended Impact and Theory of Change
Example
Current programs
Intended results
Penny Harvest
Among other results
Children learn civic-mindedness and habits of
generosity, cooperation, and democratic action
Youth Philanthropy Roundtables
Student Community Action Fund (SCAF)
Youth Service
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Financial analysis of CCNYs existing efforts to
accomplish its intended impact
Note Data is for FY03 Source Cost allocation
model, Common Cents interviews
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HCZ Making strategic choices
Key evaluation criteria
Program
Intended Impact alignment
Overall
Financial Contribution
Client Sharing (TOC Alignment)
Program 2
Program 3
Program 5
Program 8
High/Positive
Low/Negative
Medium/Neutral
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Strategic clarity allows organization to maximize
impact
High
Requires clarity of intended impact and accurate
financial information
Intended Impact contribution
Low
Positive
Negative
Financial contribution (Revenue Cost)
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Are programs highly aligned?
High
Program 2
Program 3
Intended Impact contribution
Program 5
Program 8
Expenses
Low
Positive
Negative
Financial contribution (Revenue Cost)
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Final thoughts Bringing it together

• Resources are always scarce maximizing impact
  with available resources requires strategic
  clarity
• Intended impact and theory of change development
  and understanding true costs can be painful,
  but its worth it for your organizations ability
  to make the right choices
• The process of developing clarity is as important
  as the result
• Strategy is important and so is building and
  aligning a strong organization to ensure
  implementation

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Appendix
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Bridgespans approach to nonprofit strategy

• Reason for being

Mission

• What are you trying to accomplish?

• How do you make impact happen?

Intended Impact
Theory of Change

• Current services?
• New or discontinued services?

Program/Service Focus

• What processes, skills, staffing, systems, and
  structure are needed?

• What is the economic and financial model?

Organization
Economics
Performance Metrics

• How do you know you are achieving the desired
  results?

• How can you measure performance to drive
  appropriate decision making?

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Discussion topic 1 impact objective

• Sample statement A
• Advance social and economic justice in the
  community so that the diverse array of residents
  will have more equal chances to lead the kind of
  lives they value

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Further reading/resources

• 
  www.bridgespan.org
• Zeroing In On Impact
• Business Planning for Nonprofits
• Costs are Cool
• Other case studies

• 
  www.bridgestar.org
• Provides talent-matching services, content, and
  tools designed to help organizations build strong
  leadership teams and individuals pursue career
  paths as nonprofit leaders
• Leadership Matters monthly newsletter