Background

POC Collaborative is a Nebraska-based nonprofit organization dedicated to connecting local entrepreneurs and businesses with capacity-building resources. As a new and innovative organization, the Executive Director recognized the importance of aligning all service offerings with a broader strategic goal to ensure the organization’s long-term success and impact in the community.

APPROACH

To kick off the project, we began by developing a logic model that mapped out inputs and activities connected to short-, intermediate-, and long-term outcomes. This process allowed us to clearly illustrate the resources needed for each program and how those activities linked to the desired outcomes.

Throughout the project, I met weekly with the Executive Director to discuss business objectives, review service offerings, and unpack the intended outcomes. This collaborative approach ensured that every aspect of the service design was thoughtful and aligned with POC Collaborative’s mission.

deliverable

DEVELOPING A THEORY OF CHANGE

Using the logic model, we created an initial overview of POC Collaborative's current and future service offerings. This overview included a brief description of each program and how they contributed to the organization’s broader strategic goal.

We then mapped the overview onto a more detailed, comprehensive, multi-year theory of change. This theory not only provided clarity to the staff about how activities connected to the strategic goal but also served as a communication tool for funders. It helped illustrate the wider impact of their support on both grantees and the community.

CREATING A ROADMAP FOR EVALUATION

Recognizing that evaluation is crucial for a successful theory of change, I developed a roadmap for impact evaluation as a supplementary deliverable. This roadmap outlined the evaluation process, ensuring that POC Collaborative could effectively assess its impact over time and make data-informed decisions.

By applying a human-centered design approach to the strategic planning process, we successfully created a blueprint for POC Collaborative that aligned its service offerings with its mission and community needs.