1. Building Changes’ Strategic Business Planning Process
Executive Committee
April 10, 2015

2. Decision-making roadmap for the strategic business planning process – board engagement
Board retreat March 20
Board meeting April 24th
Board meeting June 26th
Develop a common understanding of Building Changes’ current situation, context, results to date, assets, development areas, opportunities and threats
Achieve clarity around the options Building Changes is considering for its ultimate goal and an understanding of the implications of these options
Make progress on coming to a decision on which of these options to pursue
Further strengthen of relationships among board members and staff
Desired Result: Movement towards a decision on the ultimate goal Building Changes should align on for this strategic planning process
Discuss and decide on the Executive Committee’s recommendation on the ultimate goal Building Changes should pursue (based on the board retreat discussion and subsequent staff recommendation)
Share and discuss lessons learned from external research (i.e. other intermediaries and communities, systems research), and implications for Building Changes
Based on this ultimate goal, start to discuss a high-level set of strategic activities that Building Changes should pursue
Desired Result: Decision on the ultimate goal for Building Changes, and initial thinking on the strategic activities that will help Building Changes to achieve this goal
Share and discuss the full strategic business plan, including:
Strategic activities
Priority activities on which to focus
Funding scenarios (e.g., revenue projections) and related variations in activities that may be pursued
Strategic and organizational shifts that will be required
Identification of risks and risk mitigation
High-level communications
Key milestones to assess progress and course-correct as needed
Desired result: Revise and approve Building Changes’ strategic business plan

3. Agenda and desired result for today’s meeting
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Agenda and desired result for today’s meeting
Reflect on outcomes of the board retreat and subsequent leadership team meetings
Share starting point for a theory of changes based on the decided ultimate goal statement
Get input on the best way to use the board’s time on 4/24 to push forward the planning process
Desired result: Continued movement towards alignment on an ultimate goal for Building Changes and what will need to be done to push forward the planning process over the next few months

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At the retreat, the board discussed the elements of an ultimate goal, which the leadership later refined
All youth and families in Washington State, with particular focus on racial disparities and other disproportionalities, are stably housed, supported by systems that are effective, just, and equitable…
…and Building Changes work and experience actively influences national dialogue and policy, and best practices in select additional geographies
What is different about this ultimate goal statement?
The shift to “stably housed” as the goal moves Building Changes’ work upstream, beyond homeless youth and families to those at risk of housing instability. This implies more of a focus on prevention vs crisis management.
We need to get more clear on what we mean by “youth and families at risk of housing instability”
This goal statement also explicitly states families and youth as the target beneficiary (while this had practically been the focus before, it was not a stated focus)
This statement emphasizes and explicitly includes a systems focus (although this focus is in service of the population-level goal of stably housed youth and families)
In this ultimate goal statement, there is a stated focus on Washington State as the primary geographic focus, but an explicit statement that Building Changes seeks to influence other geographies and at the national level (which might include actively working in select other communities – and Building Changes needs to get more clear on this)

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We can start to draft a high-level theory of change anchored on this ultimate goal statement
Draft
A just, equitable, and effective system
Building Changes’ ultimate goal for youth and families
Data, research and knowledge about what works
Strong and adaptive institutions and organizations
Coordinated systems
Engaged, informed, and empowered communities
Supportive and aligned policies and funding (public and private)
All youth and families in Washington State, are stably housed, with particular focus on racial disparities and other dis-proportionalities
and Building Changes work and experience actively influences national dialogue and policy, and best practices in select additional geographies
As measured by:
Incidence, duration, and frequency of homelessness in WA (with the goal of homelessness being rare, brief, and one-time)
Indicators of housing stability in WA (TBD, e.g., frequency of housing transitions, rent burden, employment rates, frequency of school transitions, Multi-Indicator market Index)
Within and across key systems:
Homelessness crisis management
Health Care / Public Health
Employment
Education

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This theory of change has a clear systems focus – so we need to articulate what “systems change” means
Draft
Within and across the Homelessness / Crisis management , Health Care / Public Health, Employment, and Education systems in Washington state
Supportive and aligned policies and funding (public and private)
Legislation and regulations that promote the implementation of effective solutions, and public and private funding that financially supports effective solutions
Strong and adaptive institutions and organizations
Governments and service providers with strong leaders, staff, practices, and programs, with the ability and willingness to improve and innovate over time
Coordinated systems
Organizations and agencies that are communicating effectively with one another, aligned around common goals and working together towards those goals
Engaged, informed, and empowered communities
Beneficiaries and community members who have the will and skill to act and advocate in support of effective solutions for themselves and others
Data, research and knowledge about what works
Data-informed understanding of what works to affect positive change for beneficiaries, and sharing of knowledge that promotes learning and continuous improvement

7. Engaging in policy development / advocacy
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Then, we can start to outline how BC will put this just, equitable, and effective system into place
The work Building Changes does
A just, equitable, and effective system
Building Changes’ ultimate goal for youth and families
Engaging in policy development / advocacy
Data, research and knowledge about what works
Strong and adaptive institutions and organizations
Coordinated systems
Engaged, informed, and empowered communities
Supportive and aligned policies and funding (public and private)
All youth and families in Washington State, are stably housed, with particular focus on racial disparities and other dis-proportionalities
Securing and providing funding
Capacity-building and leadership development
and Building Changes work and experience actively influences national dialogue and policy, and best practices in select additional geographies
Facilitation support and alignment-building
As measured by:
Incidence, duration, and frequency of homelessness in WA (with the goal of homelessness being rare, brief, and one-time)
Indicators of housing stability in WA (TBD, e.g., frequency of housing transitions, rent burden, employment rates, frequency of school transitions, Multi-Indicator market Index)
Within and across key systems:
Homelessness crisis management
Health Care / Public Health
Employment
Education
Conducting evaluations and supporting learning and improvement
Gathering research and data

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Next steps
Over the next month, we plan to gain clarity on how Building Changes will pursue its ultimate goal by developing and prioritizing a set of strategic activities and then starting to think about organizational and financial implications of these strategic activities
Specifically, we will be outlining:
The set of strategic activities that BC needs to pursue in order to achieve its ultimate goal
A prioritization of these strategic activities, based on a handful of funding scenarios
An initial perspective on the organizational model that will be required to pursue these strategic activities (e.g., staffing requirements, organizational structure)
High-level financial projections (e.g., both cost and revenue)