Graphic that includes a headshot of Marsha Base and the title of the article: "Coaching for Growth and Development: Supporting a culture of feedback"
March 29, 2022 - 9:14am

Hi, I am Marsha Base, and I have the best job at IG, at least I think so. My primary role is to support the growth and development of our powerhouse consulting team. This is an occasional series about my passion—coaching for growth and development.

A graphic that lists actions you can take for planning for uncertainty: 1. Set directions rather than goals and targets; 2. Be grounded in principles; 3. Allow new ideas to emerge; 4. Engage those who will be impacted by the outcomes of the plan.
January 13, 2022 - 11:58am

How do you plan for uncertainty?

Instead of planning goals, action steps, and targets, you set directions and determine principles (see more on how we did this with a client in this article) that will guide your decisions.

That is exactly what The Improve Group did when, several months into the pandemic, we began to think about our physical office space.

Image of the new Peris Hill housing that recently opened up in Minneapolis
January 7, 2022 - 12:27pm

Have you heard the news? The new PERIS Hill in Minneapolis’ Lowry Hill neighborhood has opened! As an organization with a portfolio of work supporting youth aging out of foster care, we were excited to see this development open—the first of its kind, PERIS Hill offers an innovative, affordable housing model that includes and supports young people who are aging out of foster care.

Graphic of text that includes the title of the article "Coaching for Growth and Development: In-service to the long term"
November 30, 2021 - 4:52pm

Hi, I am Marsha Base, and I have the best job at IG, at least I think so. My primary role is to support the growth and development of our powerhouse consulting team. I am excited to share with you the first part of an occasional series about my passion—coaching for growth and development.

A table that describes the differences between a strategic framework and strategic plan. The framework: explores emerging factors and their meaning, sets the organization in a powerful direction, is a decision-making tool, and measures success by progress and evolution over time. A strategic plan focused on strengths and weaknesses, sets goals for the org., Acts as an action plan, and measures success by achieving goals.
October 25, 2021 - 5:15pm

As 2021 began, Greater Minneapolis Crisis Nursery was ready to revisit the direction and focus of its work through a strategic planning process. Like many organizations, the Nursery made major changes to respond to the pandemic and was evolving to find new ways to center equity in its work. The Nursery turned to IG as a partner because we’ve built a strong baseline of trust through our long working relationship.

The Nursery had two key priorities going into the process:

Graphic that includes Karissa Propson's headshot and the title of the article: "Using data for good: How we support clients to act on findings"
October 25, 2021 - 4:16pm

Hi, I’m Karissa Propson, a Senior Consultant at The Improve Group. In my role, I often bring a fresh perspective to the organizations we serve. I want to share some themes I’ve noticed from recent experiences of supporting clients to think deeply about evaluation and use results.

An image graphic that features two women raising their fists and features the article title: "Internship at IG: Learning how evaluation strengthens advocacy"
September 1, 2021 - 4:09pm

Hi—I’m Angel Velazquez Olmedo, and I’ve been an intern at The Improve Group this summer! As I wrap up my time at IG, I just wanted to share a little bit about what I’ve learned through my work. I’m particularly interested in immigration advocacy as a potential career path, and I took this chance to learn more about how evaluation can be a tool to advocate for communities.

An image graphic that features a headshot of Kia Her and the title of the article: "5 Takeaways From workshop on using a culturally responsive and racial equity lens"
September 1, 2021 - 4:00pm

Equity is a personal value of mine, and I am always looking for ways to apply it more at work. The Improve Group is also committed to equity. My colleagues and I know that this requires continued learning, application, and reflection.

A graphic image that says "6 Learnings from an equity-focused study of Jesuit Volunteer Corps Northwest"
April 30, 2021 - 11:52am

Hi! I’m Becky Stewart, Chief Practice Officer at The Improve Group. It was our joy to collaborate recently with Dr. Nicky Bowman (Waapalaneexkweew, Lunaape/Mohican), President and Founder of Bowman Performance Consulting, on an equity-focused assessment of Jesuit Volunteer Corps Northwest’s service model.

4 evaluation tips for busy people
April 29, 2021 - 3:38pm

Over the past year, many of us have been busier than ever. A lack of time is not a new barrier to evaluation, so we wanted to share some ever-helpful strategies to make evaluation realistic for clients and their stakeholders to participate. They might be helpful for anyone working to fit evaluation into busy schedules.

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