Allied Media Projects recently developed a "Strategy Screen" to help us evaluate opportunities. On a consistent basis, AMP is presented with opportunities for funding, partnerships, public presentations and outreach, program expansion, and consulting others on their initiatives, campaigns, and ventures. It was not enough for us to just follow our instincts as we evaluated these opportunities.
We needed criteria to support us in making decisions that made the most accountable, efficient, and effective use of AMP's resources.
We have been working with consultant Ginny Belden-Charles on a number of AMP organizational development priorities. Ginny facilitated us through the challenge of creating an AMP Strategy Screen, the framework of which was inspired by the "real-time strategic planning" ideas of David La Piana. The goal of the AMP Strategy Screen is help us make time-sensitive and important decisions whose results impact the health of the AMP Network and its social ecosystem.
As opportunities arise, we "screen" these within working groups or as a full staff by asking:
Does this opportunity...
- fit with our mission to "create media strategies for a more just and creative world"?
- build upon or grow out of what is already happening within our organization or the AMP network?
- drive innovation and evolution in our field?
- lead to relevant and useful solutions for our local and/or national network?
- lead to a diversified revenue stream that supports AMP’s agility and autonomy?
- support, offer, or build relationships of trust, mutual respect and mutual transformation?
- fit to our current organizational capacity or grow our organizational capacity?
Based on our responses to the above, we ask:
Is AMP the right organization to take advantage of this opportunity?
If an opportunity passes these Strategy Screen questions, and we answer "Yes," then we discuss implementation.
How will AMP take advantage of this opportunity and deliver results?
If an opportunity fails the AMP Strategy Screen then we ask,
Is there another group to whom we could pass this opportunity?
And:
If we don't take advantage of this opportunity and it goes to an organization with a mission antithetical to our own, what is our harm reduction strategy?
We will continue to refine our Strategy Screen as we put it into practice.