Long-term Objective Strategy
Although it is difficult at this moment to ascertain the effectiveness of the Hillsborough County school’s current prevention resources or the exact amount of money that has been spent on resources from outside vendors like Sunburst Video anecdotal evidence would suggest that the school system could benefit from producing and supporting the production of in-house media that is reflective of the areas problems, demographics, and needs. This is the basic assumption of the program and its vision to work within the Hillsborough County Schools.
Y2Y’s standing objective is to become self-sufficient after two years and be reliant on generated revenue and not local, state, or federal funding. This will be accomplished by producing a sample product and virtual prototype during the pilot program and within the first year to be used and tested by selected groups. A finished product is more marketable than a concept or a proposal. By the second school year Y2Y will begin to mass produce its product and market the product within the local community and statewide school system. This will require training professionals and teachers to become program facilitators. In contrast, teachers, volunteers, and facilitators who use video-based prevention curriculum often complain about the lack of training they receive or the perceived irrelevancy (e.g. cultural, social, et cetera) of certain prevention media and resources.
Y2Y’s vision is to reach a financial break-even point each year and focus on producing a marketable product instead of spending its human resources and time seeking external sources of funding, weaving through the inherit bureaucracy, and worrying about the management that is required to maintain separate sources of funding. It is estimated that the program can operate with a volunteer core on less than $3,000 per year without the typical overhead of a for-profit business. This can be accomplished if the program succeeds in being adopted by a specific school and operates strictly as an after school program fully sponsored by a host site. However, Y2Y’s long-term goal is to operate as a separate entity that works in tandem with several different entities, community groups and school systems.
Y2Y’s, its creator and its students will seek to patent, copyright and protect its intellectual property legally. The program participants will have the right to freely create and explore their arts and entertainment endeavors with the support of the Y2Y program. Y2Y will seek to help at least 90% of its students acquire the needed resources to fully explore their interest; obtain major music and recording deals for 50% of its music artist; have 2 professionally organized and advertised art shows and openings per year for its students; create the opportunity for at least 60% of its students to sell and market their own products; and distribute videos to 80% of the residential and non-residential youth treatment facilitates in the State of Florida.
Y2Y is initially seeking to be the soul provider of prevention material for the Hillsborough County and Pinellas County school systems within three years and the Florida Department of Education by the 5th year and a national distributor of prevention material by its tenth year.
Short-term Objectives
Y2Y’s immediate objective is to complete its strategic management plan, project management plan, proposal and product sample to present to potential customers like East Bay High School and the Hillsborough County School Board. After the completion of the planning material and a sample product Y2Y’s short-term objectives are to present its plan to identified consumers to obtain at least $10,000 in starter capital. Additionally Y2Y will seek to find a fully supportive host site by February 2006 that will operate a pilot program that can serve as a test program and source of supportive data. During this period Y2Y creator will work with students and adult volunteers to create the base curriculum and design of the program for future use. The program will be created in Spanish and English to better serve the local demographic. Consequently, Y2y will recruit, interview and train at least 20 student and adult volunteers with 30% of the first group of trainees being bi-lingual English and Spanish speakers. Y2Y is interested in having a representative group that is reflective of the local demographic. Through research and training these students will learn how to run the program; learn about theory and effective prevention practices; complete a three phase, four week personal workshop and training period. Additionally, prior to the 2006-2007 school year, Y2Y will seek to develop an effective delivery model that is relevant to the local area but based on research and proven effective prevention methods for each of its selected areas of interest. Y2Y will seek to collect and process data from several pre-test/post-test, assessments, surveys, and other data generating methodologies through its program, using data collected from each training group. Y2Y will train 20 to 40 students and adult volunteers during the summer months of 2006 at East Bay High School to help run the program during the proceeding school year. During this time Y2Y and its participants will create, develop and refine its basic products and curriculum.
The program seeks to train at least 48 students each school year (12 students in each of the four areas of interest). Y2Y will seek to measure the changes in program participant’s attitude towards different subjects like conflict resolution, gangs, violence, self-esteem, goal setting et cetera through training, education, and research. What the students learn will in turn be reflected in their creative talents and respective artistic endeavors and contributions. Youth will communicate to other youth what they have learned so that the message and delivery of the message is effective and socially responsible; socially and culturally relevant; and age and area appropriate.
Analysis Overview
A Y2Y policy manual has been created to mitigate risk, assign responsibility, and communicate the overall agency and programs mission, objectives, and goals. This policy manual also outlines the general operations, functioning and processes of the program. In summary, the general strategy and tactics of the program are to promote a duplicable program with low cost leadership, whose product is differentiated through its processes of production and the fact that the program is local. Y2Y will benefit from the fact that initially, because of technological advances, it can produce a comparable product first to be used as a marketing tool. A generalized SWOT analysis points out the following variables:
Strength
- Y2Y and its creator have the experience, ability and capability to successfully run the program.
- Technological advances enable Y2Y to produce computer based music, movies and other forms of media.
- Y2Y possesses the basic resources to accomplish its mission.
- There is a need for the program and its products.
Weaknesses
- Lack of capital to cover overhead expenses.
- Unfamiliarity with the local and state politics, bureaucracy and communities.
- Needs a lot of human resources to be fully functional.
- The Y2Y plan seems to be abstract and idealistic without a sample product.
- Potential resistance from key people can affect the critical success factors.
- The program is potentially needed.
Opportunity
- Needs for services locally and nationally to address juvenile crime, violence, and related academic issues.
- Community support in local area.
- The creation of a new market or in-house produced media in English and Spanish for the benefit of the respective communities.
- The potential for widespread support once the initial mission is accomplished.
Threat
- Bureaucracy and its affect on planning and timing
- Timing is crucial because it is based on the school’s calendar.
- Human error and misinterpretation of the mission and purpose.
- The potential for scope creep is great given the nature of arts and entertainment.
- Lack of volunteerism and human resources can affect program and create stress amongst its operators.
- Hard to access funding and grants.
- Too many critical success factors and variables that can impact the success of the program.
An additional analysis of the program and a through examination of its past functioning show that the remote environmental factors are the most important factors to consider. They include social, political, economical, ecological, and technological factors. Social factors include the rise and fall in juvenile crime, violence, gangs, conflict, academic success and failures et cetera. Generally speaking, the immediate areas demographics and cultural influences are primary factors influencing the creation and development of this program. Additionally, the demographics demand that the program be inclusive of culturally relevant material for both the English and Spanish speaking communities. Consequently, Y2Y will have to navigate through the politics and bureaucracy on all levels (local, state and federal) in order for the program to become effective. This navigation will encompass Y2Y’s attempts to access and manage funding from different sources.
Conclusion
According to Goodstein, Nolan and Pfeiffer strategic planning is the process by which the guiding members of an organization envision its future and develop the necessary procedures and operations to achieve that future (http://www2.fhs.usyd.edu.au/arow/o/m05/stratplanning1.htm). A strategic plan for Y2Y must incorporate a number of factors and variables while trying to create a functional and effective programming solution for East Bay High School. As the plan is developed, many of the external and internal environmental factors will become clearer as well as some clarity gained concerning the planning process as well. An analysis, as reflected in this paper explores and identifies certain critical success factors and risks that that need to be addressed in the final plan. Moreover, access to information from the targeted consumers and other related entities will help create a more comprehensive and complete strategic plan.
Strategic Plan Overview
According to sources cited in this paper the definition of a strategic plan is: a document used by an organization to align its organization and budget structure with organizational priorities, missions, and objectives. According to requirements of GPRA, a strategic plan should include a mission statement, a description of the agency's long-term goals and objectives, and strategies or means the agency plans to use to achieve these general goals and objectives. The strategic plan may also identify external factors that could affect achievement of long-term goals
(). Consequently, the purpose of this paper is to serve as a general overview for the developing of a strategic plan for the Sankofa Youth to Youth Entertainment Project. For the sake of brevity, and to keep with the parameters of this assignment the following information will offer a brief and generalized overview of the strategic plan.
Sankofa Youth to Youth Entertainment Project
The Sankofa Youth to Youth Entertainment Project (Y2Y) is an Ohio-based non-profit organization with a unique youth-based prevention program that integrates structured arts and entertainment activities with a personal development workshop. The program and the agency are designed to eventually become a self-sufficient, youth operated after school initiative that focuses on producing quality prevention media. In essence, the creative talents, skills, and aspirations of young adults are enhanced through a unique learning and mentoring process and then utilized to produce comprehensive curriculum-based media on selected topics such as conflict resolution, violence prevention, goal setting et cetera. Since its inception in 1999 the organization has had most of its success in developing strategic partnerships with other agencies to promote its mission, objectives and goals. Currently the agency is seeking to partner with the Hillsborough County school system to create and implement a pilot program tailored for Hillsborough County.
The agency has had its successes and its failures, with the most successful initiatives being part of a strategic partnership where the fiscal stability of all parties is present. However, coupled with its motto: “Working today for better tomorrow” Y2Y’s mission statement highlights this organization as a community-based service organization and requires community participation and support. Its mission states that Y2Y exist to promote and enhance the overall spiritual, moral, intellectual and social development of individuals, families and communities. With established, measurable objectives, Y2Y’s primary objectives are to provide services to students that are realistic, effective and achieve a measurable level of change. With its own 501c-3 Y2Y is currently seeking to work with Hillsborough County’s East Bay High School to launch a functional pilot program in May 2006. Consequently, the focus of this paper and the future strategic plan will be to develop a comprehensive strategic plan for the Y2Y.
The strategic plan for Y2Y will be research based, focusing on the needs of this community and the surrounding area and will ultimately include a project management plan; an agency and program policy and procedural manual; an agency and program management and marketing plan; and a fiscal management plan. In addition to integrating the various planning components the strategic management plan will help to address external and internal environmental factors and variables. Likewise a general strategic management plan will include a detailed management structure, asset management plan, and a post-business plan in case of agency or program dissolution.
Conclusion
According to Goodstein, Nolan and Pfeiffer strategic planning is the process by which the guiding members of an organization envision its future and develop the necessary procedures and operations to achieve that future (http://www2.fhs.usyd.edu.au/arow/o/m05/stratplanning1.htm). A strategic plan for Y2Y must incorporate a number of factors and variables while trying to create a functional and effective programming solution for East Bay High School. As the plan is developed ,many of the external and internal environmental factors will become clearer as well as some clarity gained concerning the planning process as well.
References
(http://www2.fhs.usyd.edu.au/arow/o/m05/stratplanning1.htm
