Why Use G&A Services

Why Use G&A Planning, Research and Evaluation Services

Do you know your agency/school could produce better results if only it could stop for a moment and consider alternative approaches? Or, do you know your program is having an important impact, but have no time to collect the data to demonstrate this to potential funders?

While your agency may have little time for data collection, research, quiet thinking and collegial planning, that is all we do. And we have developed a method for integrating the benefits of our research and reflection into the fabric of your program, staff and fund development efforts at a cost that you can afford. Over the past fifteen years, G&A has tested this method in over 100 public schools and community agencies and our clients have expressed their strong appreciation.

Most of our clients are consumed with trying to do their work. They have very little time for reflection or research and their commitment to evaluation and data collection falls somewhere after their need to address the latest crisis. In this context, it is very difficult for many clients to see clearly what is working and what is not. Despite most clients recognizing that they could probably have a more positive impact, it is still more difficult for these clients to think objectively on what to change and how to change it. There is so little time to examine methodically and precisely how they are doing your work and then to take the time to research alternatives thoroughly, to reflect with colleagues, to exchange ideas, to consider alternatives. In this context, many programs simply continue to use the strategies that they have utilized for years or grab on to the reform that is available through grant funding or some administratively directed caveat. If this sounds at all like your situation, we may be able to help.

Over time, we recognized that the conditions under which grants are developed are not conducive to system change. With 6-8 weeks to develop, most grant processes impose an intense, but all too brief period in which an outside firm or a program administrator largely marshals an approach that to too great a degree is dictated by the priorities and funding limits of the grantor. There is very little time for serious reflection about what the program actually is trying to do, what it needs, the strengths that it can best leverage and what research tells us about the strategies that would be most.

Over the last five years, G&A has expanded from grant work to research and evaluation and devoted itself to developing another approach to system improvement/reform. G&As staff of committed associates bring with them a wealth of experience in varied settings from academia, public agencies, schools and school-boards, to non-profits, and businesses.

G&As approach is quite simple:

• Diagnosis-We begin by conducting interviews to understand your perspective on your situation. What are you trying to accomplish? What is working? What is not? What barriers impede your progress? What approaches appear to be working? What strengths exist? We expand this understanding with surveys of your staff and clients, with observation of your program in operation and with a review of existing plans, proposals, and available data. The data collected during the diagnosis serves as important baseline data through which we can measure growth over time.
• Partnership Development-G&A wants to be a partner in your evolution and growth. While early in our relationship, G&A may meet mostly with your leadership, it is vital that a transition occur through which staff understand our role and become aware of how they can be involved in the process. We need to be viewed as allies or as is described below, coaches. We are only there to make all of your work easier, more satisfying and more productive. As a result, part of our approach involves being present at key staff meetings, leadership planning sessions and other functions,
• Identification of High Impact Leverage Points-Most clients dont need to change. And change is more likely to occur if the client experiences either immediate relief from a pressing and persistent problem or sees immediate growth in an important area. This can generate momentum and confidence that more positive change can occur. Predicated upon the thinking of Malcolm Gladwell, The Tipping Point, initially G&A looks for just 2-3 areas where relatively simple changes can have a highly visible and immediate impact. This is the starting point to our collaboration,
• Applied Research & Planning-At the same time, G&A will use the initial diagnosis and several meetings with your staff as the basis for a preliminary understanding of your program and approach. Our Associates then conduct research and internal discussions to identify other more long-term reforms that could help generate sustainable program improvement. In most cases, this research and planning results in a brief document designed to present to the client a short and long-term vision of reform. This document provides the framework for both G&As work and the clients. and
• Systemic Approach-The plan G&A produces views your program from a systemic perspective. The report will identify both key research-based strategies that could be implemented, as well as systemic tools, structures and approaches that will help you restructure how you meet, plan and communicate. Structured agenda, work plan templates, easily understood budgets in a format that can be manipulated, reorganized filing systems, simple to implement data collection procedures, and revamped internal communication systems can vastly improve the efficiency and effectiveness of your hard work. Not all organizations need all these kin organizational tools, but most need some. The organizational tools and meeting procedures create improved efficiency and effectiveness, make leadership more effective, and help create a greater sense of order. Furthermore, they foster ongoing reflection, generate a historic record of organizational planning and thinking, and very importantly provide data upon which to gauge how well you are doing.
• Coaching-Reports, evaluations, and grants are easy to review and still easier to ignore and forget when the day-to-day crises intervene. And the organizational tools we recommend are new and often require support to be implemented. G&As approach to coaching is designed to foster a sustained commitment to systemic change. Having identified research-based strategies that can improve client outcomes as well as staff satisfaction and growth, it is essential that a systematic schedule of leadership and program staff coaching be utilized to help programs fully embrace the new strategies, approaches and tools. Reading a report that describes clearly how to improve your approach, doesnt change the non-stop, Monday through Friday crises that confront most programs. G&As coaching system keeps you focused on implementing the approach to which you are committed and provides one-to-one and small group coaching sessions to help implement new, sometimes challenging approaches.
• Assessment-Throughout the coaching relationship, data will be collected to demonstrate the impact of new strategies. Data will be collected to assess changes in staff perceptions, attitudes, satisfaction, and growth. Client-level data will be collected to measure changes in client outcomes. Observational data will be collected to identify changes in practice.
• Reflection-Reflection occurs throughout the coaching process, but annually it is important to celebrate what you have accomplished and to acknowledge how you might need to adjust your approaches and realign your resources. This process fits most appropriately when your program reconsiders its annual budget. Budget decisions often dictate program strategies and personnel assignments. A thorough assessment of data provides a solid basis for making these critical decisions.