It may be summer, but we’re keeping busy! We’re excited to announce that we’ve brought on three full-time interns for the summer. They’re jumping right in and lending their talents and expertise to various projects, and they are already making great contributions. Read on to meet our new interns! Ryan Carlino Ryan is thrilled […]
Introducing our Summer Interns Read More »
I have been facilitating a lot of strategic discussions lately, and it’s been a great opportunity to put pen to paper on our theory for designing strategic conversations. I created the graphic above as a way to think about our approach to facilitating strategic conversations as an ongoing cycle. In each phase of the cycle,
Our Approach to Strategic Decision Making Read More »
We recently completed a Needs Assessment for the Austin/Travis County Health and Human Services Department Community Services Block Grant Program. The report highlights what many social sector leaders in the region are experiencing first-hand:
Why Strategic Planning is Especially Important When You’re Swimming Upstream Read More »
With the summer heat starting to bear down on us, it is hard to remember what it was like to put on a sweater or turn on the heater. But before we know it, fall will be here with its cooler temperatures and falling leaves. For many organizations and collaborations, fall means the beginning of
Don’t Leaf for Summer Vacation Without Making Plans for the Fall! Read More »
Here at WNA, we like coffee. We spend a significant amount of time at Austin coffee shops (our favorite is Bennu on E. MLK). In fact, if you’re reading this in Central Texas, it’s likely that you’ve had coffee with us at one time or another. Coffee fuels our work. Bennu also serves as a
Meet our New Team Members (and a Love Letter to Bennu Coffee) Read More »
I attended the Collective Impact Forum‘s Champions for Change workshop last month, and it got me thinking about how we structure collaborative social sector initiatives, especially here in Texas. Wait, buzzword alert. Surely you’ve heard this term, collective impact, right? Everyone’s throwing it around lately. John Kania and Mark Kramer with FSG wrote a landmark
What's a Backbone, Anyway? Read More »
It’s been one year since Woollard Nichols & Associates officially launched, and we’ve been reflecting on the work that we’ve done over the last year. It was a great year – we supported almost twenty clients including coalitions and collaborations, membership associations, non-profit organizations, city departments and divisions of school districts. We facilitated community planning
Happy Birthday to Us… But the Gifts are For You! Read More »
We are supporting an effort led by Austin-Travis County Integral Care to coordinate community mental health services for children and create a community plan to improve the mental health of youth throughout the county. As part of this, we participated in planning and facilitating the Austin Community Conversation on Teen and Young Adult Mental Health
Sometimes it's Just about Sitting Down to Talk Read More »
Establishing and maintaining effective coalitions is no easy feat. Through our experience working with coalitions of various sizes, structures, and purposes, we have found that there are some common ingredients that are necessary in order for coalitions to thrive. Like a cake, coalitions will sink (or even collapse!) if essential ingredients are missing from the
Essential Ingredients for Effective Coalitions Read More »
We love communications and PR folks. They are amazingly creative professionals who can offer value-added services to promote your mission by helping you craft your message to the media, by designing impactful collateral that supports strategic fundraising, by creating infographics that demonstrate complex concepts at a glance, and more. But – and I think my