CHAPTER 10 Implementing Achievable Plans

ANTICIPATING UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES  Human service organizations inadvertently experience unintended consequences because: members do not sufficiently do their homework situations arise that nobody could have predicted.  You can do little about unforeseen events, but: with a little extra effort and disci­plined thinking, you can identify potential trouble spots.  Iatrogenic outcomes: inadvertent problems caused by the “treatment”

INITIATING PILOT PROJECTS  Agencies must maintain current programs but also be willing to consider making significant changes.  Social agencies must determine how to generate projects without creating resistance and conflict that are doomed before being started  One way to deal with this is to create ad hoc, temporary staff teams to work on pilot projects. Pilot project teams try out new ideas and work through project glitches before implementation throughout organization.

Initiating Pilot Projects  Through pilot projects, staff develop flexibility to experiment with new ventures. If the pilots fail, they can be aborted without serious consequence to the rest of the organization If they succeed, they can be expanded.  Pilot projects need to be short term and achievable  What pilot projects has your agency undertaken?

CONTINGENCY PLANNING  EXAMPLE: Ways to manage potential obstacles  Plan A: If you receive less funds than hoped for, you could consider hiring para-professionals working under close super­vision.  Plan B: If the funding request is rejected, you could determine the reasons and be prepared to reapply.  Plan C: If expanded funding continues to be unavailable from this one source, you could consider an aggressive fund raising campaign.  Plan D: If, after reapplying, you are again rejected, you could consider either cutting staff or reducing salaries.  Plan E: If no funding is available, you could restrict the number of clients and redirect unserved persons to other agencies.  Plan F: If new funding is not possible, you could consider an innovative way of working with clients that achieves results at lower costs, such as group counseling sessions or tele­phone conferences.  Failsafe analysis: giving attention to areas that could interfere

APPLYING CRITICAL CRITERIA TO ALTERNATIVES  EXAMPLE: Expanding options for mentally ill clients Alternative A: Request that the county commissioners seek voter approval for a $2 million facility for mentally challenged offenders. Alternative B: Request an existing children’s institution to reserve thirty juvenile mentally challenged offender spaces. Alternative C: Create three group homes that would house mentally challenged offenders. Provide necessary support services.

Apply Six Critical Questions to the Alternatives  Based on experience elsewhere, how successful is this alternative likely to be?  What resources are available? (personnel, money, time, equipment, skill, energy, importance to others)  Is the action plan keeping with the style of the organization?  Does the action plan deal adequately with the scope of the problem? Are enough clients going to be affected given the number needing the services?

Apply Six Critical Questions to the Alternatives  How efficient is the action plan? How do costs relate to potential benefits? How do costs relate to costs of other programs?)  What negative side effects or new demands could occur from the action plan?  RANK EACH ALTERNATIVE (High, Medium, Low) BASED ON RESPONSE TO EACH OF ABOVE QUESTIONS

OBTAINING ACCEPTANCE OF AN ACTION PLAN  Involve those who will be implementing the action plan in its creation  Because nothing succeeds like success, action plan advocates should consider proposals that have a high chance of achieving results  Anticipate controversial situations Work out details, know costs Present visual aids to present to people Delineate action steps

IMPLEMENTING A PLAN:  Think through Goals, Objectives and Action steps  Carrying Out Task Assignments Reverse-order planning Forward-sequence planning  Time line chart The use of the time line chart tells the organization whether it is on schedule in achieving all it must do to carry out successfully its objectives

SUMMARY  Implementing plans requires attention to detail related to not only what must be done to accomplish objectives but also what must be avoided.  By anticipating problems an organization can often circumvent them.  Pilot programs provide an agency with a way of experimenting with new ideas before they are fully carried out in the rest of the organization.  Preparing a time line chart helps anticipate when the organization may experience un­usual pressures so that it is in a better position to make appropriate prepa­rations.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION  1)What pilot projects have been (or could be) implemented in your agency?  2)In regards to a possible project, what kind of “what if…” questions might you consider?  3)Consider a past or potential project. What major activities and tasks could be prepared in a time line chart?