Building Capability and Implementing Program Policy
A large non-profit organization's key program serving thousands of Canadians across the country was out of date.
The policy library had grown to over 800 pages, across more than 140 documents but was inconsistent, difficult for staff and end-users to access, and many items were no longer reflective of the program strategy and operating principles.
SECTOR
Non-profit health and training organization
Size
300 employees + 3000+ end users impacted
Pathway
Implement → Bringing Decisions to Life
Engagement
12-months; 2024
01
The Situation
Following our initial policy review that identified roughly 85 gaps across the organization's program policy and procedure manuals, the organization now had to actually put the fix into place — across a large, dispersed national network of third-party end users who deliver its services.
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A new set of policies wasn't going to work unless the program leaders were aligned on each policy’s objective and direction, understood the changes, provided end-users with the tools to comply, and had the right supports in place to answer questions.
02
Our Process
We led a 12-month policy drafting and implementation program supporting program leadership, after prioritizing each policy gap based on risk and impact and designing a policy management framework.
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To do that, our team:
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Developed an implementation plan with key deliverables, timelines, internal/external resources, and expected outcomes for leadership alignment.
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Consulted internal and external stakeholders on high-priority policy topics, particularly those related the most important risks and supporting decisions on users in policy scope.
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Drafted a new policy library in stages, and planned the rollout.
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Designed a support function for the internal program to use for end-user support and coordination (e.g. multi-channel communications campaign, individually tailored messages for different stakeholder groups, program dashboards).
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Set up and trained a support network (a resource centre and regional program managers) with FAQs, phone scripts, and a shared chat channel to handle real-time questions consistently
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Supported the internal team by establishing an ongoing monitoring rhythm — daily check-ins in the early weeks, tapering to periodic reviews — so the rollout could be adjusted based on real end-user feedback and emerging needs, rather than a fixed plan.
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We also delivered internal training on implementation readiness, change management, and leadership of transformative projects.
03
The Outcome
The organization didn't just publish new policy documents — it equipped its own network to understand, adopt, and self-manage them, with a working dashboard, a trained support team, and a communication structure it can keep using long after our engagement ended.
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