Select the most practical initiatives in the light of competing needs and resources

Phase 2

Task 1: Select the most practical initiatives in the light of competing needs and resources

This is a generative process rather than a judgmental one. All of the initiatives should be considered good ideas that are worthy of more study since the implementation of a crazy idea may only be restricted by the existing paradigms and not by what is actually possible.

Columbus’s idea to sail around the world was a crazy idea when it was first proposed. However, given time and the opportunity to develop evidence that the earth was a sphere enabled Columbus to find a sponsor, a ship and a crew, and to discover the New World.

A nonprofit organisation should use the following criteria when evaluating the merits of each creative initiative:

1. To what degree will this initiative close a gap between current results and desired results?
2. How much will it cost to implement in terms of dollars, work, and social capital?
3. What is the risk of not choosing this initiative to close the gap?
4. To what degree will the organisation’s stakeholders embrace this idea?

If it is a good idea that stakeholders may not embrace enthusiastically, then answering the last question may require a team to develop creative initiatives that will help close the gaps between stakeholder fear and stakeholder buy in.

The selection process is an imaginative one in the sense that selecting the best initiatives requires conceptualising the likely responses to action plans aimed at implementing each creative initiative.

Go to Task 2