Case Studies

SEED is adding significant value to programs of all sizes and focus areas. These case studies illustrate how modest investments in systematic assessment, planning, and coaching can lead a range of different programs, quickly and organically, to fresh and highly desired results.

• We invite you to track SEED’s current work-in-progress with the AIDS Leadership Coalition (ALC). Funded by the AIDS Institute, this 60-member coalition is led by Esther Lok, a senior policy analyst at the Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies. SEED is coaching Esther to shift the coalition from its current culture in which one leader does most of the work, and the main outcome is that information gets shared. With SEED’s help, Esther is eliciting a distributive leadership model that taps the creative energies, talents, ideas and resources of all 60 member agencies. In the first two meetings of a newly formed steering committee (eight member agencies represented), we guided the team through the two-part SEED Diagnostic. We drew attention to many strengths of the group, identified more than 20 promising opportunities for greater impact, and generated fresh enthusiasm to activate the latent potential of the coalition. We can anticipate that this coalition is going to significantly raise its performance and impacts over the next year.
  
  
• SEED's work with seven youth development programs illustrates how much creativity and impact can be generated with relatively little investment of time and funding. Over a six-month period, SEED guided these seven Chicago-based programs to realize new possibilities, as they made full use of the SEED Diagnostic, the creative stretch workshop, and monthly coaching sessions. Each program stretched its work in exciting directions and quickly realized some impressive results. Have a look at the case study results. (pdf)
  
  
• The national office of Summer Search signed on with SEED for a six-month team-building process to deepen collaboration across its operations in seven cities. Following the SEED Diagnostic with the executive team, we guided an expanded team of 21 Summer Search leaders to frame opportunities. Then ten implementation teams began meeting monthly for one-hour Intention-Tracking sessions. These SEED-facilitated conference calls provided opportunities to renew excitement, share and record progress, identify obstacles, and reach consensus on creative next steps that were implemented between monthly meetings. What Summer Search achieved exceeded everyone's expectations. Read all about it. (pdf)
  
  
• SEED was invited to serve as the external evaluator for a unique partnership of five education-focused organizations in New Orleans, post-Katrina. A primary purpose for the evaluation was to determine how well their ad hoc collaborative framework was working. The SEED Diagnostic was used in two ways. First, it was used to assess the impacts and interactions of the collaborative as a whole. Second, the independent work of each of the five partners was separately assessed; the intent being to determine what additional areas of talent and expertise they might bring to the collaboration. Read more. (pdf)
  
  
• For several years, SEED has offered workshops, strategic guidance and evaluation supports to the Trinity Boston Foundation. The focus has been on two programs: the Trinity Boston Counseling Center (TBCC) which offers mental health services for caregivers and clergy, and its model youth leadership program, Trinity for Excellence in Education (TEEP). A variety of SEED tools were piloted during this process. Read more. (pdf)
  
  
• The Illinois Department of Human Services contracted with SEED to guide 71 youth development program grantees through the three-hour SEED Diagnostic process. Each received a report assessing their impacts and their use of best practices that support growth. The composite results pointed to areas of strength as well as opportunities for State-supported technical assistance to increase impact. This comprehensive report shows the findings. (pdf)
  
  
• SEED's work with the IL Division of Community Health and Prevention guided 25 senior staff through a series of workshops to improve communications and creativity essential to scale up their work. Several exciting action items resulted. Read more.
  
  
• A quick 2-hour workshop for New York's Welfare Reform Network sparked profound shifts in thinking and planning for their future. Prompted by the immediate need to sustain this large, loosely connected network, SEED provided facilitation that assisted the steering committee to address urgent concerns and look forward with new energy and intentionality. Read more.
  
  
• Sustainable Tucson is a volunteer-driven initiative focused on the long-term vitality of this unique region of the country. Over a six-month period, SEED is guiding the strategic planning committee to prioritize a series of projects aimed to establish the initiative as the "go-to" group for issues related to environmental protection and long-term sustainability. Read about how they used SEEDing the Vision to clarify a common agenda and flesh out short and long term success markers. (pdf)
  
  
• SEED provides ongoing meeting facilitation and process design to support New York's Education Task Force in its strategic expansion, cross-jurisdictional dialogue, and creative collaboration. SEED assisted formation of a high performance core team that began working in synch to design and implement short term action projects to advance educational opportunities for students supported by public assistance and others. Read more.
  
  
• SEED provided three unique teambuilding activities for use by a group of energetic, young adult leaders from seven countries. The youth had gathered for a ten-week, cross-country U.S. tour, sponsored by Initiatives of Change. They visited schools and community organizations, with a programmatic focus on spiritual and ethical development, leadership skills, cross cultural awareness and social responsibility. Read about our results here. (pdf)
  
  
• SEED provided a full-day retreat for a grassroots, community-based organization poised for growth. The intentions were to shift to a more collaborative organization structure that would enable future growth. The team wanted assistance to develop and integrate practices that would foster shared leadership and utilize the fullness of individual talents, capacities and resources the organization was attracting. Read more. (pdf)
  
  
• SEED helped a statewide anti-hunger membership organization that had recently completed a strategic planning process to better align its work with its mission. A half-day retreat refocused retreat participants on priorities for advocacy. Three activities from SEED's teambuilding toolkit were customized and facilitated to achieve the group's stated goals, as well as further clarify the group's vision so that collaboration would increase within and across program areas. Read more. (pdf)
  
  
• The Youth Development Practitioner Certification Program of the Chicago Area Project (CAP) provides structured training and career development opportunities for youth development practitioners. SEED's internet-based tool, Journey-Mapping is utilized as a critical form of feedback to the program and as a unique form of self-reflection for participants. Students are required to report and assess their own progress. Twenty four classes averaging 25 students each have benefited from this process. Read more. (pdf)