Describe your assessment of the organization’s key strengths. Refer to and use specific data/examples you gathered for the Agency Assessment Tool to support your critique of the agency’s core strengths.
Assignment Question
The 7-8 page SWOT analysis should follow the outline below using the following subheadings:
a) Introduction
• Provide a brief introduction to the agency, summarizing its history, mission, staffing and services. (This should be 1 page maximum)
b) Strengths
• Describe your assessment of the organization’s key strengths. Refer to and use specific data/examples you gathered for the Agency Assessment Tool to support your critique of the agency’s core strengths.
• Strengths might include: strong leadership and planning, fundraising or staff leadership development etc. (1 page)
c) Weaknesses
• Describe your assessment of the key weaknesses and areas for organizational improvement. Refer to the Agency Assessment Tool and use specific data/examples you gathered to support your critique of the agency’s core weaknesses.
• Weaknesses might include: minimal performance measurement systems, limited Board engagement, or room for moving the agency toward being an anti-racist multicultural organization. (1 page)
d) Opportunities and Threats
• Identify and describe key aspects of the agency’s external environment (e.g., funding sources, public policies, inter-organizational relationships) that have already or have potential to significantly impact the agency’s everyday operations.
• What should the organization’s leadership and staff keep in mind as they think about new client needs, strategic planning and programming, fundraising goals, new technology needs etc? (1 – 2 pages)
e) Proposed Actions
• Propose a few core goals/action steps the agency can take that build on the agency’s strengths/opportunities and address challenges/threats faced by the agency. These actions should include specific recommendations and concrete steps that the earlier sections of your analysis inform and support.
• Identify the barriers you perceive that may resits or hinder the organization’s ability to implement the action steps for improvement you have identified. (About 2 pages)
f) Conclusion
• Provide a brief (approximately 1 paragraph)summary of the main points of the paper to wrap up the paper. g) Appendix
• Attach the completed Agency Assessment Tool as an appendix
