Source

Source
Since 2006, IVAR has worked with five funders to offer strategic reviews to their grantees. The content of this page is drawn from these programmes and the extensive experience of our team and associates:
- The Esmée Fairbairn Foundation
- Lankelly Chase Foundation
- Locality
- Travellers Aid Trust
- The Tudor Trust
- Anchors Programme (2010 – 2012)
A strategic review helps organisations to take stock and work through change by focusing on the big external and internal challenges. There is an explicit focus upon the whole organisation and its wider context, rather than pressing day-to-day operational issues.
Reviews support organisations to look to the future, assess changes in the external environment and find their own responses to problems and opportunities. They are a chance to step back and to reflect upon a series of fundamental questions about the organisation’s purpose and values.

Drawn from our experience of strategic reviews with many small organisations, directly and through our work with funders.
A strategic review is a way of identifying big problems as opposed to day-to-day operational ones, and dealing with them using the experience and skills of people within the organisation.
What do organisations get out of a strategic review?
In our experience, organisations see substantial and tangible benefits from this process. These might include new mission statements and organisational objectives; support going through change processes; more effective leadership; more cohesive staff and trustees; and greater clarity about what the organisation stands for. Overall, our experience is that organisations experience a sense of renewed purpose and focus as a result of the process.
When is the best time to have a strategic review?
There is no perfect time. However, it is important to make sure that there is sufficient energy and time for the process, and that trustees and senior staff are committed to it. Times of crisis can prompt discussions about strategic reviews; our experience suggests that they can usefully follow on from a difficult period, but that immediate crises need to be addressed first.
What are the challenges?
Strategic reviews can be complex, and often difficult, processes. Our experience suggests that even carefully managed strategic reviews can be challenging for organisations and individuals. Making sure that staff and trustees support the process and have enough time and capacity to engage certainly helps reviews run smoothly and work effectively.
However, even the best run process can at times feel overwhelming to staff. Common challenges thrown up during strategic reviews include concerns about how to resource new approaches; how to continue to make time for strategy when delivering services is so pressing; and how the outcome fits into operational and business planning. It can also be difficult to discuss change and improvement without staff feeling understandably defensive.
Every organisation is unique –
timing, content & approach varies considerably.

The IVAR review process – 5 key stages

Agreeing the purpose & terms of reference for the review
The review process typically starts with a face-to-face meeting with an IVAR facilitator to explore:
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The organisation’s history and roots
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Main strategic challenges
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Main organisational concerns
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Scope and process of the review
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Issues to be covered
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The expectations on both sides
How long a review takes and how much time people need to commit varies between organisations. Stage one is an opportunity to discuss and agree process and time commitment. By the end of stage one there will be:
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An overall aim for the review
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An agreed process and timescale
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Arrangements for coordination and decision making

Clarifying organisational mandates
The main task for stage two is to search internal documents to clarify and establish what the organisation is legally and formally allowed and expected to do in relation to possible change.
This process helps identify:
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The organisation’s current mission
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The organisation’s core services and how they are carried out
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The implicit principles which man be driving or shaping the organisation’s core business
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The constraints or boundaries for change

Identifying & defining core values & aspirations
During stage three we hold meetings and focus groups to discuss a series of key questions. Questions might include:
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What is it that brought you here to be part of this organisation?
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What are the central distinctive features of this organisation? What is its ethos?
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What the key challenges in your external environment?
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What would help your organisation move forward to the next phase of development?
By the end of stage three, organisations have a defined and agreed set of principles on which to base the next stage of work and thinking.

Identifying the way ahead
During this stage, IVAR helps organisations to think about how to move ahead and make their vision a reality. This involves looking at how services might be developed, how internal challenges can be dealt with and what activities might need to stop or change.
By the end of stage four, organisations will have a set of options for the future that reflect areas of consensus.

To agree future options & explore the implications of change
During this stage, the Board and senior staff work together to identify changes that need to take place, supported by IVAR’s facilitators. We have found that it is helpful to address three key areas:
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Agreeing the organisational principles
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Agreeing strategic objectives
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Identifying what changes are needed
By the end of the process, organisations will typically have:
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Widespread support for, and ownership of, the necessary changes
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A new statement of organisational principles
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A new set of strategic objectives
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An agreed plan to manage the change
Know how non profit: Read more about the strategic process and how to do it well.
Know how non profit: More about organisational values.
ICSA: Read about governance and compliance.
ICAEW: More about strategic review.
Directory of Social change: For training and short courses.
Talk action: For more on consensus decision making.
Learn more about IVAR