| Please register to receive the benefits of our network-wide features. | Register (free) | Sign In |
The main challenge of nonprofit organizations consists of the conversion of limited resources into the maximum possible social impact. Identifying the most efficient course of action to meet this goal is the essence of strategic planning and at the core of Bridgespan's expertise.
For Susan Colby, partner and head of the Bridgespan's San Francisco office, consulting with her nonprofit clients will not suffice to build capacity around nonprofit strategic planning in the sector. Addressing a group of high-level executives convened at Stanford by the Center for Social Innovation's publication, the Stanford Social Innovation Review, she intends to pass on methodology principles to nonprofit leaders.
Colby invites nonprofit leaders to fight the overhead stigma—the plague of the nonprofit sector—that prevents nonprofits from building robust organizations. Taking the example of one of her clients, the Harlem Children's Zone, Colby explains how a clearly defined mission statement can be translated into a course of action by defining the organizational intended impact, specifying the benefits and the beneficiaries of the organization's programs, and affirming its theory of change.
Solid data about the cost to deliver a program, and good program-performance metrics, are key to map the organization's programs according to their contribution to the intended impact and to their resource intensity. This exercise informs the reflexion about what the organization should be doing and supports go/no-go decisions about existing and new programs for the community.
Susan Colby is a partner and head of Bridgespan's San Francisco office. She works with foundations and has consulted for a variety of nonprofit organizations, from smaller, local community-based organizations to large national agencies. Through this work, she has developed strong expertise in K-12 education.
Colby serves on Bridgespan's editorial board, which guides the firm's knowledge strategy, and has coauthored several articles based on her consulting work, including “Zeroing In on Impact,” with Nan Stone and Paul Carttar, which appeared in the fall 2004 edition of the Stanford Social Innovation Review, and “The Strategic Value of a Shared Understanding of Costs,” based on “Costs Are Cool,” (Strategy and Leadership 2005 special report on nonprofit leadership).
She joined the Bridgespan Group from Pharmacia (previously Monsanto), where she served as co-president of the Sustainable Development Sector, a for-profit business development initiative that developed economically, environmentally, and socially viable solutions to promote agricultural sustainability. In particular, she worked to develop businesses and distribution channels to help small farmers in the developing world enhance their productivity and protect the environment. Prior to Monsanto, Colby spent 10 years at McKinsey & Company, where she cofounded and co-led the North American Environment Practice, serving clients in the areas of environmental management and strategy. At McKinsey, she also served foundations and environmental nonprofits on a pro bono basis and worked with clients in the financial, consumer goods, and energy industries.
Colby has served as an advisor and board member for several nonprofits. She most recently served on the board of Earth Force, a nonprofit that works with youth to create and implement lasting solutions to environmental issues through civic engagement in their communities.
Colby began her consulting career at Bain & Company, after receiving her BA from American University cum laude. She then went on to earn her MBA from Stanford University's Graduate School of Business.
Resources
This program is from our Stanford Discussions series.
For The Conversations Network:
Play