Think strategically and take action
When you work for social change, there is a lot you could do. Too much, in fact.
The needs of the people you work with are changing. Funding is shifting. Legislation is evolving. Your sector is moving. Your team senses that old ways of working no longer fit. Yet the question remains: where should you invest your limited time, people and resources?
For us, strategy is not about weighty plans that disappear into a drawer. It means making clear choices, setting a shared direction and turning that direction into practical steps.
What will you achieve?
By the end of the process, you will have far more than another multi-year strategic plan:
- a clear strategic direction for your organisation, sector or funding proposal;
- clarity about what you will and will not prioritise;
- insight into your social context, audiences, partners and relevant trends;
- strategic options for responding to uncertainty, funding cuts or new legislation;
- a concrete annual action plan that guides your work;
- a shared language and the buy-in to bring your team, board, partners or funders with you;
- greater agility to adapt as you go.
When do you need to think strategically?
Your organisation needs more focus. There are plenty of ideas, but they do not add up to a coherent whole. Your current strategy is outdated, too broad or lacks direction. Or perhaps you face a specific challenge: a new strategic plan, changes to your funding arrangements, budget cuts, growth, contraction, new legislation or a rapidly shifting social context.
You do not need an abstract strategy document.
You need a process that helps you explore, together:
- What is changing around us?
- What does that mean for our mission?
- What choices do we need to make?
- What will we do — and stop doing?
- How will we turn those choices into action?
“We support you in three ways: We do it together. We do it for you. Or you do it yourself.”
We do it with you
Facilitating the process
We guide your organisation through the process of making strategic choices. We work alongside you, your team, executive team, board and other relevant stakeholders.
A new strategy to achieve greater impact
We help you develop a new strategy grounded in your mission, your social context and the impact you want to achieve.
Together, we explore:
- the social issue you want to address;
- the change you want to achieve;
- the audiences and stakeholders who are crucial to your work;
- the trends and external developments affecting your strategy;
- what makes your organisation distinctive;
- the choices needed to increase your impact.
The result is a clear strategic direction that helps your organisation focus.
Strategy for your organisation, sector or funding proposal
Sometimes you need an organisation-wide strategy. Sometimes you need a strategy for a specific programme, network, sector or coalition. And sometimes your priority is a compelling funding proposal that is both substantively sound and strategically convincing.
We help you build a clear strategic line of reasoning: from social need to ambition, from ambition to choices, and from choices to action and results.
Adapt your strategy quickly in uncertain times
Not every strategic challenge requires a full process.
Sometimes the context changes suddenly. Funding cuts loom. New legislation changes your operating environment. Your income is under pressure. The people you work with have different needs. Or you realise that your current strategy is no longer working.
We guide you through a short, focused review.
Together, we quickly determine:
- what has changed;
- how this affects your organisation;
- which options are available;
- what action to take now;
- what to postpone or let go.
Turn your strategy into an annual action plan
Strategy only has value when it guides your day-to-day work.
That is why we turn your strategic choices into a concrete annual action plan. Together, we set priorities, actions, timings, responsibilities and indicators.
Not everything at once. The right steps, in the right order.
Navigate complex times strategically
In complex situations, you cannot plan everything in advance. You do not always know which approach will work. You need a sound way to navigate, not a conventional step-by-step plan.
We help you work with strategic options, scenarios, experiments and regular adjustments. This keeps your organisation moving in a clear direction without pretending that the future is predictable.
We do it for you
Research, preparation and delivery
You save time. We do the groundwork. You make the decisions.
Sometimes you do not need a full process. What you need is sound analysis, preparation or strategic thinking. We take that work off your hands.
Evaluation and research to inform your strategy
A strong strategy starts with a clear understanding of what is happening now.
We carry out research and analysis to inform your strategic process:
- qualitative interviews;
- quantitative surveys;
- analysis of existing plans, reports and data;
- audience and stakeholder research;
- horizon scanning;
- context and trend analysis;
- monitoring and evaluation;
- analysis of results, operations and positioning.
This means you start not just with intuition, but with a sound understanding of your organisation and its environment.
Future scenarios and strategic options
When the future is uncertain, it helps to explore several possible scenarios.
We develop future scenarios for your organisation, sector or programme. What if funding falls? What if demand rises? What if legislation changes? What if the needs of the people you work with shift? What if collaboration becomes essential?
We then translate those scenarios into strategic options you can act on today.
You receive concrete choices to discuss with your team, executive team or board — not an abstract story about the future.
Strategic sparring for directors and senior leaders
Sometimes you simply need someone to think alongside you.
We offer hands-on strategic sparring for directors, co-ordinators and senior leaders. Across a series of, say, five sessions, we work through your strategic choices, strategic plan, positioning, organisational development or a difficult decision.
You bring the challenge. We bring clarity, structure, experience and critical questions.
You do it yourself
Tools and methods
You have time but a limited budget. Or perhaps you want to stay firmly in the driving seat.
We support you with coaching, templates and practical methods you can use independently.
Coaching throughout your strategy process
We coach the director, co-ordinator or project lead responsible for the strategy process internally.
This may include:
- designing the process;
- preparing workshops;
- making strategic choices;
- responding to resistance;
- involving your board, team or stakeholders;
- writing and refining the final document.
You do the work. We help you keep it focused, feasible and strategic.
Coaching while writing your strategic plan
Writing a strategic plan involves more than producing text. It requires a clear line of reasoning: where are you now, where do you want to go, why is change needed and how will you make it happen?
We help you structure your strategic plan, express your choices clearly and build a compelling narrative.
Explore your strategic options
We also develop accessible tools that organisations can use to explore strategic options themselves.
For example, a digital sounding board that helps you unpack a strategic challenge, develop options and prepare your first decisions.
Our approach
Strategic thinking is never an off-the-shelf exercise. That is why we always start with your question.
We listen to what is happening, examine the pressures facing your organisation and decide together what kind of support you need. That might be a full strategy process, a short strategic sprint, research, strategic sparring or a combination.
We go into depth, but always keep practical use in sight.
No strategy for strategy’s sake.
Choices that give direction.
No plan detached from day-to-day work.
A strategy that gets your organisation moving.
Want to know more or schedule a meeting? Have a question?
Don't hesitate and let us know.
