National Center for Civil and Human Rights
“[Amy’s] focus on iteration made sure our entire staff and board had a say in the process. She allowed us to be comfortable making tweaks and amendments as we moved toward a clear final strategic roadmap.”
NCCHR launched six years ago and has remained a thriving, vibrant part of Atlanta culture. In recent years, the Center has weathered a host of transitions and leadership changes. The COVID pandemic required a sharp pivot to shift museum and staff operations and stand up new, revenue-generating programs to offset the loss of visitor admissions.
In the wake of COVID new CEO, Jill Savitt, wanted to build a cohesive plan to clarify vision, set strategy, position the Center and review and reset the portfolio of programs. In short, to make the choices and tradeoffs that would best drive the Center's future impact.
The Challenge
Time for a Bold new Vision: Within the context of COVID, Black Lives Matter, and the heightened racial reckoning in our city and world, CEO, Jill Savitt, wanted to take this moment to build a bold new vision for the Center: to evolve from an Atlanta attraction to a nationally recognized human rights institution.
Why, What and How? To bring this vision to life as a new team, NCCHR needed a refined compass and operating roadmap - built and vetted with and by leadership, board and staff. They needed a plan to support operations, attract funding and new revenue and clarify their unique positioning.
Deciding what not to do: Over six years, the Center had amassed a broad portfolio of programs and initiatives sponsored by various stakeholders. NCCHR needed to reset its programs strategy, build decision criteria of what to say yes and no to, and divest some work to invest in mission-centric, high-impact projects.
Inclusion and hearing all voices: NCCHR has a highly engaged board and staff. The whole organization had the opportunity to participate, weigh in, and build the future Center together through interviews and workshops.
How Did We Do It?
Springboard Strategy believes that strategy should be done with organizations, not to them. We use a three-step process to co-create a plan with the team.
Our approach was unique and custom to NCCHR's needs. In this project, we struck a careful balance of inclusion, collaboration, and decision-making at moments along the journey.
Seasoned in operations, strategy, and facilitation, we rely heavily on interactive workshops to build plans with all organization levels. In our opinion, investing in a strategic plan without alignment and buy-in throughout the experience is a waste of time and money.
What Did It Take?
Coalescing as a team: The CEO was eager for involvement, engagement, and feedback from all levels of the organization. As part of this work, we convened and collaborated with a board committee, senior leaders, and the entire staff to iterate and improve the strategy.
Pulling the camera back and charting a course: The operating team continued to manage the fast pace of day-to-day operations while at the same time investing time and energy to build the future of The Center. They recognized the value of strategy work and the need to "go slow to go fast."
Making tough choices: With a new vision and fresh perspective, the leadership team diligently debated and created a suitable slate of programs - that supported the mission and garnered a high return on investment. One output was a set of decision criteria to help score and filter incoming opportunities. The team will use this as a tool for debate, decision-making, and accountability.
Where are they Now?
The NCCHR team recently received Board approval and support for their strategic plan. The team is implementing and actively building new programs, exhibits and training to drive the Center to National awareness.
Learn more about the National Center for Civil and Human Rights at civilandhumanrights.org