For over 30 years, Family Connections Centers (FCC) has played an essential role in serving low-income, immigrant communities in San Francisco. As the organization grew, both in scope and impact, FCC recognized the need for a strategic plan to ensure its long-term sustainability and ability to continue serving the evolving needs of its community. The result was a powerful collaboration between FCC and Partners in Public Innovation (PPI) to craft a three-year strategic plan that would guide the organization’s future focus and growth.
"This Strategic Plan will be instrumental for Family Connections to better serve our community, staff, and partners," said Yensing Sihapanya, FCC’s Executive Director. The plan, which was developed through a series of remote and collaborative workshops and meetings, lays the groundwork for a future where FCC will strengthen its organizational capacity, foster collaborative partnerships, enhance innovation and impact, and improve fiscal resilience.
Understanding FCC’s Current State: A Deep Dive
PPI began by facilitating an in-depth exploration of FCC’s current state. With a progression of exercises, PPI Principal and Co-founder Justine Hinderliter facilitated FCC’s strategic planning committee to reflect on their past successes and challenges, internal operations, the evolving needs of their community, and the organization's partnerships. This process also allowed FCC to better understand its unique position and strengths within the broader context of similar organizations in San Francisco.
One of the key challenges uncovered was ensuring that FCC’s expanding reach—especially with its entry into Visitacion Valley—was supported by a robust organizational structure. PPI introduced activities designed to help the committee assess FCC’s existing capacity and discover areas for growth, including staff development, data and systems integration, operational effectiveness, and financial management and planning.
Remote Collaboration: Flexible, Effective, and Inclusive
PPI’s remote facilitation ensured the process remained cost effective yet dynamic and productive. Through a combination of video meetings, digital collaboration tools like Miro, and structured exercises, PPI enabled FCC’s team to engage meaningfully with the process, despite physical distances.
The remote nature of the process also meant FCC’s planning committee could take ownership of certain activities after learning them from PPI, ensuring the organization's broader leadership and staff had a voice in shaping the plan. Inclusiveness was key to developing FCC's desired future state and aligning strategic priorities throughout the organization.
Engaging Stakeholders and Community Input
A significant part of the strategic planning process was stakeholder engagement. PPI Director of Operations Melanie Palacios facilitated conversations with a wide range of stakeholders, including FCC Board members, community partners, and FCC's Parent Advisory Board members. This approach ensured that the strategic plan was informed by the perspectives of those who knew the organization best and who have a stake in its success.
"Justine and the team at PPI helped to facilitate conversations with key partners and stakeholders, so we could collect and analyze feedback from our community to create a more informed plan for our future," said Sihapanya. This participatory approach not only validated the direction FCC was heading in, but also built buy-in from staff, the Board, and key partners who all would be instrumental in the plan's implementation.
Creating a Bias Towards Action
In order to translate the vision and planning into measurable action, PPI and FCC co-created an action plan using an OKR (Objectives and Key Results) framework. The OKR method allows organizations to set ambitious objectives while defining clear, measurable key results that indicate progress and assigning responsibility to key leaders and staff to ensure accountability. For FCC, this framework was pivotal in translating their long-term vision into concrete actions.
A Living Document: The Road Ahead
The OKR framework also sets up regular refreshes, to make sure that actions remain relevant to the organization's progress in achieving its strategic goals. While FCC will monitor progress monthly, they will also revisit the plan annually to adjust objectives and key results as they move forward. This layered, flexible approach allows FCC to remain responsive to evolving community needs and organizational changes, refining their strategies to remain well-positioned to serve San Francisco’s diverse communities for years to come!
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