Recently, ECA’s President, Dr. Linda Warren, facilitated a 2 day strategic planning sessions to increase the operating efficiencies of the Northwest Michigan Community Action Agency (NMCAA) Head Start and Early Head Start programs and to develop a sustainable plan for the future. NMCAA plays a pivotal role in designing and providing support and services for young children and their families at the district, state and federal levels. The Agency operates in a dynamic environment where change is necessary due to changes in state and federal regulations and policies and in response to the economic recession and sequestration.
Faced with a half a million dollars in funding reductions in Fiscal Year 2013, the agency brought together 34 key stakeholders and program administrators to examine a new service framework and to create strategic plans for moving forward with the plan. The 2-day meeting offered opportunities for people to network with each other, both formally and informally, to share ideas about change and change management, to review the proposed service revisions and the data used to craft the new model, to brainstorm potential impacts and ways to address potential barriers and resistance to the changes. Central to the work was a focus on developing a communication plan. At the session, participants decided on the key messages that needed to be shared about the service change, identified which stakeholders needed what kinds of information, how to communicate the messages, and the timing of the communication. The result was a proactive plan that effectively builds a story about what inspired the change decision, the key features of the new service model, why it will work and how it will ultimately improve the agency. Recognizing that true communication is essentially a “conversation,” the plan provides opportunities to communicate interactively, consistently, frequently, and through multiple channels, including speaking, writing, training, focus groups, social media and more about the change. For more information, please contact Lisa Sullivan in our Framingham office.