SERVICES WE OFFER
Strategic Planning
No ship can navigate without a chart.
Strategic Planning is one of the most critical tools in any organization’s arsenal. A well-conceived, practical plan, not only defines your overall strategic goals, but also creates a shared understanding that gets everyone in the boat pulling their oars in the same direction. Not only does it chart out the upcoming goals and objectives, it creates a list of tasks and tactics that provide a detailed chart of your immediate future. Every organization, no matter what the size, should have strategic planning as a part of their permanent work cycle.
Our planning processes will always be tailored to your needs, and unlike most other consulting firms, we will have a process that will fit even the smallest budgets. All plans are customized in size and scope to your institution.
Interim Management
We provide highly experienced interim management for non-profits in leadership transition. When your chief executive leaves, that vacancy is disruptive, but that moment also offers a unique opportunity for the organization. Outside interim management can be a crucial strategy in the following ways:
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Providing reassurance that a steady hand is at the helm.
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Experienced decision making at a time of organizational ambiguity.
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Assessing the current state of the organization, recognizing opportunities, and offering perspective for both the board and the search firm on strengths and weaknesses of the operation.
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Maintaining normal operations, as well as donated and earned revenue.
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Resolving old challenges that pave the way for new permanent management.
The majority of leadership transitions are a surprise, and organizations rarely have a viable and up-to-date succession plan in place at a time that is both unsettling and a crucial opportunity for self-examination. Interim management is the ideal solution.
Climate Change at Historic Sites
Climate change is the most impactful problem facing our planet today. While it is often thought of as a coastal problem in the Northeast, our inland areas face numerous challenges as well. Southern New England has experienced 74% increase in major rain events in just the last thirty years. Riverine flooding has decimated historic communities around the region, and all of the time this is impacting historic structures that were never built to weather this storm.
While at the Newport Restoration Foundation, Pieter was the original creator of the Keeping History Above Water Conferences. He has been thinking about climate change and historic sites for a long time. We can assess your problems, build strategies, create solutions, and recommend contractors.
Bricks & Mortar Preservation
Over 80% of all museum professionals will either work in or have charge of a historic structure at some point during their career, and most of those buildings will be old enough that modern construction techniques are dissonant with their repair and mainetenance. Very few museum professionals have appreciable experience in diagnosing or creating an action plan to maintain or solve building issues as they occur. Even fewer contractors have experience with historic buildings and are willing to make sympathetic repairs that are consistent with traditional building practices and materials. The resulting product can be repairs that are at best in disharmony with the historic structure and at worst cause even larger problems. With over 30 years of bricks & mortar experience we can be your first resource and lead you to superior solutions.
Organizational Development and Restructuring
The world has changed rapidly in the last ten years, our social institutions, our social media, and much of our way of life have shifted substantially. We tend to fall back on the inertia of our traditions when all around us is changing. An objective and experienced eye can make practical suggestions about how to streamline your organization or move the pieces around the board to accomplish your mission more efficiently in a transforming world.
Accreditation/Re-accreditation
Many museums believe AAM accreditation can be a critical tool for their organization. The accreditation process is time-consuming. We have completed accreditation both as applicant and reviewer. Guidance and assistance can smooth the path to accreditation, and often makes the difference between success and failure.
Earned Income Assessment & Growth
Every organization looks to two basic forms of income, donated and earned. As non-profits we spend anxious waking moments and sleepless nights trying to discover strategies that will increase donations and often overlook that we have hidden assets that might create earned income. This can be a steady and powerful source of revenue. Through my career, I have developed expertise in finding and developing earned income. I believe that almost every organization has unique properties that can be developed into important earned revenue streams, often increasing earned income by 10-20% or more. Frequently the income is central to your mission and may feed the donated income side of the organization.
Meeting Facilitation
Having a facilitator at a critical meeting can not only keep the meeting on track, but an experienced and objective outsider can offer a new perspective and fresh ideas.
Advocacy Strategy
Every organization faces challenges within its community, its state, or from some other entity. Useful advocacy strategy can often successfully address those challenges. We have extensive
experience in advocacy, both in museums and historic preservation. Whether it is through government, local associations, or at the grass roots level, we can help you formulate and execute an advocacy strategy that will achieve your goals.
Core Document Development & Review
By-laws, employee manuals, ethics statements, and other core documents are the documentary foundation on which your organization sits, but all too frequently they are out of date, often by many years. Your current staff may not have the time or expertise to write/rewrite, or review them. We can undertake this vital service and bring you back into the
present.