Organizational Transitions
Learn about some of our organizational transitions projects, the services we provided, and their impact.
Crafting a field-minded strategic sunset for a five-year initiative
A five-year, $50M limited duration initiative sought a sunset strategy that would endow a strong future for their emergent field. They wanted a plan for their final year for how to use their remaining funds, assess their impact, and engage in strategic communications. They also sought advice on retaining and supporting staff through the ending.
Services provided
Advising
Focused Sprint
Advising and thought partnership with senior leadership
Field needs synthesis and mapping to organizational assets
Scenario development
Benchmarking
Staff transition coaching
Fiscal sponsor engagement
Impact
The organization turned its ending into a strategic opportunity to leave their field stronger by understanding how their assets mapped to field needs and focusing their final efforts on a small set of high-priority projects. They explored multiple scenarios for how they could fund the next generation of work and selected options that maximized practicality and impact. The team prioritized the knowledge that was worth documenting and sharing by getting clearer on their core audiences and use cases. They successfully negotiated with their fiscal sponsor for support that made it more likely staff would stay and finish the important work of the sunset.
Preparing for the dormancy and acquisition of valuable field-level infrastructure
A long-standing, nationally and internationally renowned resource housed within a large public institution had recently lost its primary donor. The organization’s leadership sought to find a way to preserve their core assets through a period of dormancy with the goal of a TBD new institution acquiring the assets and core staff in the future.
Services provided
Advising
Focused Sprint
Advising and coaching for the organization’s leader
Stakeholder engagement strategy and messaging, including public announcements and internal and external talking points
Development of an advance directive for the organization as it went dormant, including criteria and governance for decision-making regarding an acquisition
Impact
We equipped the organization’s leader with clear communication and a decision-making plan for transitioning to the right institutional home in the future, which allowed them to move forward with confidence. This included a detailed stakeholder engagement plan and tailored messaging about the dormancy that was well-received and endorsed by the board. It also included an advance directive that covered the asset’s history, future impact potential, resource requirements, and detailed criteria for evaluating prospective institutional homes and governance plans for making the decision.
Assessing and mitigating risks during a high-profile organizational transition
A high-profile board had made the decision to close their organization in response to multiple internal and external factors. They sought advice about how to do so responsibly and how to communicate about the decision.
Services provided
Sustained Support
Board consultation
Risk assessment and process recommendations and examples
Asynchronous feedback on documents
Impact
We advised the board on how to wind down the organization’s work in a way that protected the organization’s reputation and helped its field navigate the transition more successfully by identifying potential risks to the organization, its leaders, and the overall field. The board integrated recommendations and feedback that gave the organization’s leadership more time to plan a thoughtful ending and helped the board and staff tell a clear, consistent story that could help their broader field during a difficult time.
Managing the behind-the-scenes operational implementation of a strategic sunset
An organization needed fractional staff capacity to lead the operational components of a strategic sunset. They sought an experienced leader who could manage multiple projects, interface with the board and other key stakeholders, and manage consultants to complete the final stage of the strategic sunset.
Services provided
Sustained Support
Board management
Grants management and reporting
Managing grants and asset transfers to other organizations
Website archival management
Contractor management
Impact
We led all aspects of the final stage of a strategic sunset to complete successful operational closure on budget and on time. This included conducting final reporting on all grants; providing the board with updates and securing their approvals as needed; overseeing the final budget spend down and assets transfer to other organizations in the field; completing final website updates and archival to ensure permanent access by the field; and managing consultants working to complete all remaining regranting, accounts management, and knowledge capture projects.