Review and Refresh: A Strategy for Moving Ahead in Times of Uncertainty
As the global pandemic enters its third year, many organizations, small and large, have been doing what many of us as individuals have been doing: hunkering down, trying to stay safe and waiting for an end to uncertainty. This is particularly true for the field of global exchange. Mobility goals have been trimmed and year-over-year success metrics carry an asterisk. And long-term strategic planning has been put on hold during the collective wait to “return to normal.”
But is this disruption a challenge to be waited out or an inflection point that signals new institutional opportunities?
It is tempting for an organization to look for the next bright, shiny object in searching for new goals or paths. But frequently the biggest pay-off, both in terms of cost and resource allocation, comes from leveraging current strengths and pushing them more boldly, sometimes in new directions. To this end, Open World Solutions has been supporting our NGO and university clients through what we call our Review and Refresh protocol. Through this process, adapted from the well-known After Action Review (AAR) protocol, we assist organizations to re-inventory institutional assets and resources and reroute their strategic roadmap for the changing world.
The Review process is centered on four action items:
Review previous strategic goals and objectives; outcomes and results; operational structures;
Document…factually and with data…the reality of the last two years and the outcomes of that period;
Reflect on what went well institutionally: How and where did the organization display nimbleness, resilience and creativity in the face of change? What new services or products emerged from the changed environment? What operational or process improvements arose from moving to a virtual environment?
Consider what did not go so well: How and where did the organization not adapt well? What services and strategies proved outdated in the changed environment? And what processes and systems were strained, perhaps irrevocably?
The Refresh process focuses exclusively on one question: Based on insights gained in the Review, what should be refreshed for the organization to move confidently into the future, both strategically and operationally? Specifically, our work with clients generally focuses on three strategic areas:
Expanding and Diversifying Programming
OWS assists organizations to think creatively and strategically about how they can expand and diversify their programming. In some cases, we support an organization moving into the international market. In other cases, they already have a significant international portfolio, but are looking to expand to a new geographic area or implement new programs through their global networks. Organizations also come to OWS to expand and diversify their funding base or programmatic reach with new public and private sector partners.
The Review process often exposes institutional hesitancies to think big and bold, particularly in the past years of unprecedented challenges. Clients can admit to concerns that a particular product or service has a shelf-life, or simply cannot be pushed further than it already has. Similarly, they overlook the significance of long-standing networks and partnerships as an avenue for programmatic expansion.
The Refresh process involves brainstorming the possibility of expansion and scaling up: new donors, broader outreach, larger audiences…followed often by landscape analyses and then road-mapping the way ahead. It also can focus on re-energizing/re-channeling past collaborative efforts in new and exciting directions.
Building Leadership in the Field
We assist organizations examine the areas in which they can build their leadership in the field and get ahead of the pack in concrete ways.
The Review process often serves to remind them of how their particular expertise distinguishes them from the competition, underscoring the critical role of developing and showcasing thought leadership.
In the Refresh process, we determine how the value proposition can and should be promoted in new ways, often using new technologies. An organization with a successful track record of delivering in-person cultural competency training exclusively to their program participants, for example, can consider repurposing their curriculum design and staff talent towards delivering online programming to expanded audiences.
Strengthening Operations and Business Continuity
Many OWS organizations concentrate on operational advancements, particularly those that amplify trust and transparency per Third Bottom Line principles. Common areas of focus among our clients include:
Knowledge Transfer:
The Review process typically revolves around how the organization is succeeding in capturing and transferring knowledge laterally, with staff departures and the Great Resignation, as well as vertically, especially with the retirement bulge of the Baby Boomers.
The Refresh process looks at how to update processes and optimize platform use to facilitate ease (and security) of file sharing in today’s work-from-home world, but also how to manage and make accessible institutional history, policies and standards to all staff. A component of the Refresh process may be to ensure these policies and standards are appropriately infused with DEI principles, reflecting that the organization is not just “woke” but has embedded DEI in its internal culture.
Data Privacy and Security:
The Review process examines whether staff and systems are equipped to manage sensitive personal data in accordance with the highest standards of data protection. It also examines institutional habits in data retention: what information is kept, and why?
The Refresh process often involves developing processes and data protection systems that work for both IT staff/appointed data stewards and front-line staff as well as offer adaptability to ever-changing sensitive data management demands (think of ubiquitously shared, but perhaps not so well protected, vaccination documentation!). The Refresh process can also lead to new understandings on how to appropriately use historical data to “tell the story” of the institution and create an archival strategy that protects invaluable legacy data in a way that is compliant with today’s stringent data protection regulations.
If you have questions about Open World Solutions’ Review and Refresh protocol, or wish to learn more about the work we do with our clients, please contact: