What does an organisation need in order to thrive in constant change – and fully face the future, with all its uncertainty and unknowability?
Migrant Action is an organisation in change, seeking strategies of transformation that enable them to be sustainable, reflective, and adaptive – living and working in a present that welcomes the future and what it may hold. Their Strategic Thinking Framework was developed over a year-long collaboration between Fidelis Chebe and Mike Winter from Migrant Action and experienced facilitator and Oasis Foundation Trustee Rick Trask.
Fidelis and Mike spoke evocatively about how they see the significance of the framework:
“One of the things that we were very intentional about in this process was that it has to translate into the lives of people and the life of the organisation. We wanted to challenge the orthodoxy of a ‘one-size-fits-all’ strategic plan document. Instead, our approach was very ‘culture change’, where people are at the heart of it. It recognises that we are in a world post-Covid where we have to constantly navigate uncertainty – but with hope. And to have the confidence to look into the future as long and hard as possible – with ongoing points to reflect and review.
We have developed frames of reference, with which we can challenge ourselves and say ‘How are we doing at the moment, and what do we need to do? How do we adapt? How do we flex?’ It becomes an organisational culture of continuous reflexivity, from which we can build resilience, and stay current. If we do this, we are in a much better place than just having a text of prescribed values and things that we need to do – and somebody is there with the responsibility to ‘do it’ and then report somewhere.”
With the Framework in hand and the habits of strategic thinking they’ve developed, Migrant Action now have a bespoke ‘compass’ – an evolving guide for a constantly changing future that is in line with their vision/values and sits within a network of interdependencies.
If you’re curious to learn more about the Strategic Thinking Process, and why it was important to Migrant Action, read the article written by Oasis Foundation’s Narrator of Social Change Laurie Spafford, who interviewed Fidelis and Mike towards the close of the process.
