Strategic Planning

How Logic Modeling Can Guide Strategic Planning: A Case Study

Not all strategic contracts start the same. When the Campaign for Youth Justice (CFYJ) approached Onward, the initial objective was to help articulate its logic model, focusing on policy, research, advocacy, and boots-on-the-ground campaign organizing. What began as a straightforward task evolved into a transformational engagement that reset CFYJ’s strategic direction.

CFYJ, a national initiative dedicated to ending the prosecution, sentencing, and incarceration of youth under 18 in the adult criminal justice system, needed a clear logic model to distill its impact and articulate measures of effect. CFYJ hired Onward LLC to develop a logic model to clarify its programs and ensure alignment with its mission and goals.

Onward commenced with a thorough review of CFYJ’s materials, including contracts, grants, evaluation rubrics, strategic documents, and communication collateral. This was complemented by interviews with key staff across various areas, including advocacy, policy, research, and communications.

Onward facilitated staff training sessions on logic models and conducted a two-day staff retreat to draft and prioritize elements of the logic model. This process surfaced a fundamental question: Is CFYJ an actual campaign, and thus time-bound, or has it evolved into an ongoing organization?

Next, Onward facilitated an inclusive board retreat designed to answer this pivotal question. Utilizing various tools to remove power dynamics and ensure equitable voice, it was determined that CFYJ was a campaign. Onward then helped operationalize this decision into a 3-4 year plan and individual workplans, clearly defining “the CFYJ win.”

Four years after that board retreat, the campaign ended achieving much:

• A 70% reduction in youth prosecuted as adults, from 250,000 annually to 76,000.
• A decrease from 10,000 to 3,500 youth residing in adult facilities.
• Legislative changes in 40 states and DC, resulting in over 100 laws making it harder to send children to adult court.
• Raising the age of criminal responsibility to 18 in 11 states, thereby permanently closing the door to the adult system for over 100,000 children annually.
• 22 states narrowed or ended automatic transfer laws, preventing children from being treated as adults.

Onward’s thoughtful and nimble approach was instrumental in CFYJ’s success. The process of developing a logic model not only clarified CFYJ’s mission but also highlighted incongruencies that led to a board-led transformation. This engagement required Onward adapt its contract to meet the evolving needs of its client, driving impactful change and achieving significant legislative victories for youth justice.

FROM ASSESSMENT TO DIRECTION: CENTER FOR ADOPTION SUPPORT & EDUCATION

It was in the middle of COVID and The Center for Adoption Support and Education (C.A.S.E.) was nearing 25 years of operation. It sought a new strategic direction.

Onward initiated a comprehensive review, meticulously analyzing hundreds of documents across finance, human resources, development, communication, and programmatic outcomes to gain deep insights into C.A.S.E.’s model & operations. This was complemented by 10+ staff director interviews, employing the McKinsey Seven-S diagnostic framework, and 25 external interviews with diverse stakeholders, including clients, donors, critics, experts, and partners-in-practice, to capture a panoramic view of C.A.S.E.’s ecosystem. A thorough, confidential all-staff survey was conducted to gather operational insights and ideas, which were then categorized to identify areas of agreement and conflict. Working in partnership with a steering committee, Onward presented the organizational health assessment to the board and facilitated their discussion asking & answering several strategic questions.

Onward’s strategic guidance facilitated C.A.S.E.’s transformative shift from an agency that provides mental health therapy and training –into a national demonstration teaching clinic comprising: 6 mental health clinics, an expansion of its multi-leveled workforce training model, and research and advocacy efforts to change laws.  The application of strategic tools, scope management, advanced data collection and visualization, and facilitated board and staff discussion; informed the C.A.S.E. model, promoted organizational learning, and built internal capacity. As a result, C.A.S.E. was able to chart a revised strategic direction, positioning itself for greater impact and sustainability in the future.