social sector not-for-profit organisational health check

Situation

A significant and well regarded not-for-profit (NFP) provider of social services for youth was experiencing some organisational changes:

• A longstanding CEO had resigned, and an acting CEO was in place
• Constitutional changes had resulted in changes to the board composition, including representatives of shareholders
• Shareholders were considering their future role in the organisation
   

At this junction the NFP's board commissioned dandolo to provide an organisational ‘health check’ that would consider the NFP from a governance, financial and organisational perspective. The purpose of the ‘health check’ was to equip the board, including its new members, with a rounded understanding of the organisation that would help them make decisions about its future, including its future CEO.

Approach

dandolo conducted a broad brush review that drew on existing documentation and select consultations. The review included:

• Analysis of internal documents including: financials, board reporting, policies and previous external reports and surveys of management performance and culture.
• Group interviews with senior management and groups of directors.
• A confidential and anonymous survey of the board.
• Consultation with a select number of external stakeholders, including the NFP’s major government funder.

The dandolo team included Dan Norton and Bronte Adams, both of whom have considerable experience as directors of NFPs and major government funded organisations.

Result

dandolo’s report provided some immediate ‘quick win’ actions that the NFP could make, and positioned its board to make informed decisions for appointing a future Chief Executive supported by considerations of governance issues.

strategy for supporting start-ups and entrepreneurship

Situation

A new state government had made an election commitment to invest $60m to support the development of startups and entrepreneurship. The proposed startup initiative was a cornerstone of the government’s plan for economic transformation and development, and dandolo was commissioned to identify how it could maximise the value of the government’s investment.

We looked at the particular strengths and limitations of the state, assessed what the government could do to support the initiative and what changes might need to eventuate to match the unique culture of the startup ecosystem.

Approach

• We collaborated on a co-design process with the startup community, including holding an unconference.
• We drew on our international networks to engage thought leaders from Israel, the UK and Australia to identify the best practices in a fast-moving and innovation driven field.
• We conducted 40 interviews with specialists as part of fieldwork.
• We analysed unconventional and inventive options for government, settling on a strategy going forward that included a staged response and initiatives tailored to the specific state context.

RESULTS

dandolo’s recommendations resulted in:

• The establishment of a new government entity, at ‘arm’s length’ from government and embedded in the startup ecosystem;
• A suite of recommended and tailored interventions which the entity could deploy; and,
• A mandate for government to take new and alternative approaches to encouraging entrepreneurship.

implementation options for language learning technology in preschools

Situation

The Australian government funded a significant pilot of an online application that allowed early childhood centres around Australia to expose children to language learning experiences. As the pilot drew to a conclusion, the government wanted to know what it would take to roll out the application successfully.

Approach

• We engaged people and departments across the childhood education sector to understand how the technology was being used.
• We collaborated with experts in early childhood pedagogy to clearly understand the benefits of similar technology.
• We engaged technology experts to identify the technology roadmap and identified demand within early childhood centres.
• We undertook detailed cost modelling across a range of implementation scenarios.

With a best practice perspective, we designed an implementation plan for a national roll out of the application.

Results

The final report equipped government to make decisions about the value of a range of scenarios. The Australian Government chose to pursue one of the scenarios which was reflected in a 2016 budget announcement and is due for implementation.