Planning is a fundamental purpose of Strategic Initiatives
Our work begins with you. We come together to understand your specific needs, craft custom approaches tailored to your project using proven models and techniques including Compression Planning®, Focus Groups, World Café, and more.
Throughout the process we work with you to ensure your solutions are outcome-based, actionable and speak to your audience. We support your work by facilitating in-person and virtual guided planning, convening and development sessions.
We create custom planning reports, presentations, visuals, and action plans for you and your team.
Rapidly explores solutions to a specific problem.
Engage targeted stakeholders and work groups.
An effective, engaging format, emphasizing interactive dialogue.
Integration of multiple planning models and processes.
Compression Planning®
Compression Planning® rapidly explores solutions to a specific problem. A planning session can accomplish in a few hours what can take months of unstructured effort. The process determines consensus and often includes creating an Action Plan with agreed deadlines, and a Communication Plan to share outcomes.
Compression Planning® is ideal to help small to medium size groups of 6-12 participants focus on solutions to a specific problem in a highly visual and verbally engaging process.
Focus Groups
Focus Groups are a proven model to engage targeted stakeholders and work groups. By limiting topics and group size, Focus Groups can explore ideas in more depth than other models. A moderator ensures all participants engage in a list of prepared questions and are encouraged to provide cross feedback and dialogue to further explore the topic.
Focus Groups are typically small groups of less than 6-8 participants. This model works well for gathering information during the initiation and monitoring project stages.
World Cafés
The World Café is a highly visual and creative process with considerable range and flexibility in topic and scale. Questions and ideas can be posted in a variety of ways, and participants can respond openly and through a range of mediums. The review of ideas becomes an interactive gallery walk with opportunities for additional comments and feedback for all.
The World Café is ideal for large groups of 20 or more. It is an excellent activity to foster participant engagement and creativity. Preferably with crayons. Breakout rooms are encouraged!
Hybrid Planning
Hybrid Planning is the creative and deliberate integration of multiple planning models and processes to address our most complex problems. Features and tools from Compression Planning®, Focus Groups and World Cafes are combined with resources from the Convening Center and Webex to create completely customized planning solutions.
Hybrid Planning solutions can serve all group sizes, both in-person and virtually.