jdcPartnership’s support in this project really helped establish my value to the organization, my credibility to the staff and board, and my ability to manage a change process.
— Adriana Rocha, Practice Director, Compass Point

CompassPoint:
How do we articulate our “value add”?

The Challenge: CompassPoint (CP) needed a new direction. Adriana Rocha, as Practice Director, was tasked with creating an evaluation culture focusing on impact and bringing a holistic sense to their work. “We knew our programs were having impact, intellectually, and we could see it in our clients.” Adriana remembers, “but we weren’t able to tell that story for a given program or across the board. We couldn’t say what our work all added up to.”

Adriana knew this was very important work and was excited to lead CP to a new place. She reflects, “It was a fundamental project for the organization. I have no doubt it was a turning point for CP and a defining moment in our leadership.”

The Background: CompassPoint is a 35-year old nationally recognized capacity building organization with a range of programs and initiatives in addition to research and publication. They were looking to bring stronger direction to the organization, better articulate what they were known for and, as market competition increased, clearly identify their “value-add.” They engaged jdcPartnerships to guide them in this process.

The Work: After working with Adriana and other leadership to understand the underlying needs and organizational culture, jdcPartnerships designed a process to re-vision CompassPoints’ work and develop a Theory of Change (TOC) that would address fundamental questions about organizational identity and the change they sought to affect through their work. Steps in the process included designing and facilitating board and staff retreat as well as follow-up internal sessions that Adriana led with jdcPartnerships guidance. She reports, “the thoughtfulness behind the process really made a difference. jdcPartnerships was there to guide us through the sprocess, providing context, expertise, and design. They also helped me work with staff efficiently and engage them so there was ownership.”

The Result: The results of developing and adopting an organization-wide TOC included strengthened leadership and organizational functioning.

  1. Adriana’s leadership developed throughout the process. “My ability to be successful, with jdcP’s support in this project really helped establish my value to the organization, my credibility to the staff and board, and my ability to manage a change process.”
  2. CP adopted and implemented a Theory of Change that makes more explicit the ways in which they will be accountable to the organizations and communities they serve. Adriana explains, “The impact of our work with jdcP has been tremendous. We can articulate why we do our work and our “value add” — not just to the market, but more broadly to people who work here, our board, volunteers, etc.” Additional benefits to CP resulting from the process include:
    • Stronger design and evaluation of programs
    • Engaging conversations with clients and funders about the work they do and enthusiastic response to the Theory of Change
    • A guiding framework for decision making at all levels
    • Increased staff cohesion and focus
    • Better articulation of their “value-add” and ability to explain why potential funders and clients should choose them over other consultants