Narrative essay based on uploaded source material

.....trategic goal for the organization that reflects its "main thing."

The primary focus of Protect Me (PM) -- it's "main thing"-- is to provide a safe haven for women who have experienced domestic abuse. After 27 years of serving women in the community, PM needs to boost its brand and profile in order to attract more funding and more reliable long-term sources of funding. Moreover, Protect Me serves an already underprivileged community. If PM positions itself as a community hub, the organization might be able to reach its strategic goals more effectively. In other words, domestic violence cannot necessarily be separated from other issues like homelessness and drug abuse but outreach services cannot continue to be diverted away from the primary population. Women seeking PM's services might themselves be addicts, and might be homeless after leaving their abusive partner. Therefore, the major strategic goal for Protect Me should be to provide women with access to career building and personal development so that they can envision and act on a new life that centers on self-sufficiency, self-reliance, and self-care.

2. Develop three strategies for the goal that will be pursued in order to achieve the goal over the next 3-to-5 years.

Over the next three to five years, the management of PM will work towards its strategic goals by focusing on three specific strategies. The first will be partnering with other organizations. This is the most important strategy for PM because partnering with other organizations will enable shared resources. Also, women who need specialized services can have immediate access to those services. Second, the management of PM needs to be more actively engaged in ongoing events and fundraising opportunities. This will entail hiring a social media manager to coordinate PM's events, and it will also mean sponsoring local events and strategically linking the PM brand with corporate sponsors too. Third, PM will need to hire volunteer and/or paid career counselors and life coaches for the women seeking our services. With access to the right services, the women in the community will be able to create a new vision for their future and pursue a new life.

3. For each strategy, develop 3 outcome performance measures and 3 output performance measures using a table like the one presented below. Include narrative discussing each measure and explaining its relationship to the strategy.

Outputs Table:

Measure

Indicator

Baseline

2018 Target

2019 Target

2020 Target

Number of women using the PM counseling services

Raw data

25

40 women

30 women

25 women

Number of first time women admitted

Raw data

10 per month

20 per month

15 per month

10 per month

Number of women using childcare services

Raw data

25 per week

30 per week

30 per week

30 per week

Outcomes Table:

Measure

Satisfaction ratings

Survey

65%

70%

80%

85%

Women accessing career options

Raw data

45%

55%

65%

80%

Women achieved self-established goals

Survey

40%

50%

65%

80%

The output and outcome measures for a women's shelter show that the goal is to have an initial spike in service use. An initial spike in service use will reflect the attempts at better outreach and branding in the community. Partnering with local organizations will help women in the community become more aware of the services. However, Protect Me has long-term goals of reducing the need for the shelter due to increased awareness and reduced legitimacy of patriarchal social systems. The most important service that the shelter can provide over the long-term for women is childcare because any woman who finds that childcare is cost prohibitive will opt out of legitimate career development. Career counseling is also critical because helping women achieve financial independence and to set and reach career goals will help them release dependency on domestic partners.

4. Discuss how you will collect the performance data for each measure and how often it will be collected.

The performance data will be collected primarily through raw data collection -- formal intake forms provide the data for actual numbers of women using each service PM provides. However, the survey data will also be taken by asking each woman who is registered with PM to participate in an anonymous survey. Confidentiality and anonymity are critical in encouraging women to register as well as to participate in programs and services.

5. Discuss how the strategies and performance measures will influence the budget process and budget decision-making.

Budget process and decision-making are critical for the success of the organization (Woodhouse, 2007). The strategies chosen for the three to five-year plan for Protect Me reflect the need for the organization to work more closely with other community groups to recognize systemic problems and the intersections between race, class, gender, and power. Both the formal outputs and the less formal outcomes measures will inform budgetary decisions ("Overview of Performance Measures: Outputs versus Outcomes," (n.d.). Budgetary decisions will also depend on the level of participation in corporate events and fundraisers in the community.

6. Discuss how often performance data will be reviewed and how it will be used for non-budget decisions.

Performance data will be reviewed by the executive committee at Protect Me, with the goal of improving evidence-based interventions for the women in the community. All non-budget decisions should be based on outcomes measures. However, survey data will also be critical for gathering information related to the women's perceptions of the services and what other needs have yet to be addressed. For example, PM might find that a large number of women are not receiving services due to language barriers. Volunteer translators and cultural competency reviews may be necessary to improve service access. Performance data will also help the organization to refine the type of counseling provided, and help partner with organizations that can stimulate career options for the women in the community.

References

"Overview of Performance Measures: Outputs versus Outcomes," (n.d.). Retrieved online: http://ocjs.ohio.gov/2013grants-performance-measures.pdf

Woodhouse, L.D. (2007). Outcome measures for assessing progress of meeting PHP or SPH goals. Retrieved online: https://ceph.org/assets/OutcomeMeasures_pres.pdf