C.A. Friend Consulting also understands that human and social service agencies do a great deal to positively impact the lives of the individuals in our communities. Thus we take a holistic approach in providing a seamless array of capacity building services to help human and social service organizations maximize their efficiency.
Our services can take an organization from conception to evaluation. The major components of our service plan are:
Needs Assessment
- A needs assessment is a process for identifying and prioritizing the needs of a population in order to ensure that services are targeted towards specific needs.
- C.A. Friend Consulting can assist organizations by helping them to identify and prioritize the needs of their client population(s)
Stragetic Planning
- Strategic planning determines where an organization is going over the next year or more, how it's going to get there; and how it'll know if it got there or not.
- This process is about helping organizations to create andor assess organization objectives
- Planning models: goals-based, issues-based, organic (Organic strategic planning might start by articulating the organization's vision and values and then action plans to achieve the vision while adhering to those values), scenario
- C.A. Friend Consulting is well versed in a variety of strategic planning models and processes and is able to assist organizations in developing a comprehensive roadmap to success
Program Development
- A non-profit program is a highly integrated set of resources and activities geared to provide a service or closely related set of services to clients.
- We provide the expertise to help organization move a program from concept to reality.
Program implementation
- Execution of the plan
- This refers to the processes involved in actually doing everything you planned to do in the program. Adhering to the time line, meeting due dates for proposals, and conducting programs are a part of program implementation.
- C.A. Friend Consulting can help your organizationby providing the knowledge and skills to successfully implement one or multiple programs
Program management
- The activities and processes involved in the management of a program can be divided into four categories: human management, task management, fiscal management and risk management.
- Human Management: The number of people needed to carry out program activities can vary from a very few to many volunteers. The people or human management component of program management is essential to effective program implementation and requires planning and preparation.
- Task Management: This category of program management refers to the processes involved in actually doing everything you planned to do in the program. Adhering to the time line, meeting due dates for proposals, and conducting programs are a part of program implementation
- Fiscal Management: The third category of program implementation is the management of fiscal resources. These will vary from program to program. Some may be funded through a grant or gift. Others may be a part of the county budget. In all cases, financial accountability is essential.
- Risk Management: The management of risk is an important category to consider when implementing programs.
- C.A. Friend Consulting utilizes proven program management skills and tools that are customized to meet the needs or your organization and help its programs operate more efficiently.
Program evaluation
- Program evaluation is carefully collecting information about a program or some aspect of a program in order to make necessary decisions about the program.
- Typically, plans about how to deliver services, end up changing substantially as those plans are put into place. Evaluations can verify if the program is really running as originally planned.
- Understand, verify or increase the impact of products or services on customers or clients - These "outcomes" evaluations are increasingly required by nonprofit funders as verification that the nonprofits are indeed helping their constituents.
- Over time, product or service delivery ends up to be an inefficient collection of activities that are less efficient and more costly than need be. Evaluations can identify program strengths and weaknesses to improve the program.
- Types: Goals based, process based, outcomes based
- We have experience in conducting evaluations for a myriad of programs which range greatly in size and purpose. C.A. Friend Consulting can create an implement a program evaluation plan to serve the needs of your organization
