Over the recent holiday break, and decided to step back and think about strategic pillars for Science is Elemental. Recently, I provided pro bono support to a strategic planning project under the auspices of Compass Pro Bono1, and I realized SIE could use some strategic thinking as well. SIE is too new to require a full-blown strategic plan, however, thinking through what the nonprofit was really aiming for seemed a good idea.
Process for figuring out the strategic pillars
To some degree, I determined the strategic pillars for Science is Elemental based on what I already understood about the organization through its development, described in three earlier posts. However, it didn’t take much time to realize that a collection of activities does not mean the same thing as the key pillars. In fact, I needed to figure out the strategic pillars to ensure that SIE is engaging in activities that will achieve the organization’s goals.
I needed to understand the why behind the activities. What was driving me to say “yes” to each of them, and how could I articulate those drivers as organizational goals. I spent some time answering the first question for each activity. The essential “whys” I found were all about ensuring that all kids receive science education that serves them well. I then used the answers to choose the strategic pillars.
The four strategic pillars for SIE
These are the four strategic pillars are:
- Increasing access to science education
- Bringing science education to where kids are
- Supporting science teachers to enable them to successfully reach all students
- Providing a means to influence science education decisions at the district level
They could probably use better wording. However, I think these represent why Science is Elemental exists.
I welcome all comments from blog readers. Thanks in advance for your input!
