Scenarios
After the the 'What Did You Hear? What Does It Mean?' reports concluded, the participants were divided into different random work groups (assigned by the number within the circle on their nametags) and sent to their respective tables to begin a working lunch exercise focusing on the view of 'What Might Be'.
The scenarios were designed and intended to stretch the participant's thinking about possible changes in the project.
Five different scenarios were assigned, with two of the six groups working on one of the same scenarios. The scenarios included:
- Physical Center
- Virtual Center
- Phased approach (two groups)
- Unlimited funds
- Failure
Starting with a blank template (below), each work group convened exploring their assigned scenario.
The results of their exploratory dialogue were captured on their templates (below) for presentation to the rest of the group during the reporting time.
Again, following the work group time, each template was postioned on easels at
the front of the room and presented by the work group's spokesperson.
Common themes emerging from this exercise included:
- collaboration
- other providers
- leadership training
- incubation
- innovative ways to fund: bring in people from out of state to fund
- play on what we do well already
- knowledge management (research, professional svcs, Brookings Institute-type search engine/reporting)
- sharing successes: promotion of good things NPOs are doing in the community—directly impacts the perception of what’s going on in community—different than access to facts...instead, stories with context
The date is January 24th, 2010 and the Center for Excellence is fully functioning and delivering greater value to the community than was originally expected. The key to this success was the decision to create a physical Center For Excellence.
Representatives from another city have come to you and asked you to present to them an overview of your physical center. Your team has been asked to create a model of the physical center as it is today (January 24th, 2010). As you create your model consider the following:
- What services does the center provide and who contributes?
- What services does the center not provide?
- Where is the center located?
- How was it built?
- How is it staffed, managed, and funded?
- What are some key innovative ideas that have proven invaluable?
The date is January 24th, 2010 and the Center for Excellence is fully functioning and delivering greater value to the community than was originally expected. The key to this success was the decision to create a virtual Center For Excellence only, as opposed to a physical brick and mortar center or combination.
Representatives from another city have come to Las Vegas to meet with you and your team. Present to them an overview of your virtual center and its development. As you share your model consider the following:
- What services does the center provide and who contributes?
- What services does the center not provide?
- How was the Center launched?
- How is it staffed, managed, and funded?
- What are some key innovative ideas that have proven invaluable?
The date is January 24th, 2013 and the Center for Excellence is fully functioning and delivering greater value to the community than was originally expected. The key to this success was the decision to develop the Center For Excellence in a structured and methodical approach that was fundable, scalable, and sustainable over a 5 year period.
As you share the phased approach to the establishment of the Center, consider the following and more:
- How were services phased in?
- What services did the Center decide not provide initially?
- How was it staffed, managed, and funded?
- Give specific timelines, target objectives and deliverables
- Talk about the resources you needed along the way and how they were acquired
- What were some early wins and accomplishments?
- How did leadership align and confirm the appetite and threshold required to move forward with a project of this type locally?
- What was particularly innovative?
The date is January 24th, 2013 and the Center for Excellence is fully functional and delivering much greater value to the community than was originally expected. One acknowledged key to this success is the fact that funding has never been an issue.
The Center has become a best practice model for the rest of the country.
What is so special about it? Come up with your own reasons or consider some or all of the following questions in your answer:
- What services does the Center provide?
- Where is the Center located?
- What does the facility look like?
- What does the facility look like?
- How is it staffed, managed, and funded?
- What are some examples of innovation that the rest of the country is now trying to emulate?
Failure
The date is January 24th, 2011. After three years of effort the Center for Excellence has failed and is closing.
Representatives working on a similar project from another city have come to Las Vegas and are asking your team to present them with an overview of several key factors that led to the failure so that they may avoid the same mistakes. What will you tell them? What were the reasons why the project failed? Consider and/or add to the following:
- Lack of commitment and follow through
- Insufficient funding
- Lack of communication
- In-fighting and contradictory agendas
