Increasing the Capacity of Individuals, Families and Communities

Technical Assistance

Providing Technical Assistance Overview | Summary

Developing a Comprehensive Plan

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You may have years of experience as an intermediary, or you may be new to this work. You may already know exactly what organizations want, or you may be wondering where to start. No matter how much experience you have, you will benefit by writing a comprehensive plan for training and technical assistance.

For any organization applying to be an intermediary in the Compassion Capital Fund (CCF) Demonstration Program, this is more than just a good idea. Developing a comprehensive plan is a requirement for your proposal.

"Applicants must coherently describe their plan both for providing technical assistance and sub-awards. In providing technical assistance and in making sub-awards, these plans must provide for the establishment of ongoing supportive relationships with those faith-based and community organizations served, rather than single or short-term interactions. Technical assistance conferences and workshops may be parts of an applicant's plan, but they must not be its sole focus of the plan. The plan must also describe how applicants will develop and build upon existing long-term supportive relationships with the faith-based and community organizations within their communities."²

Here are the steps to developing a comprehensive plan:

1. Review your proposal
2. Conduct an assessment
3. Complete a SWOT analysis
4. Develop a training plan
5. Develop a TA plan
6. Develop a communication plan
7. Seek feedback and adjust

1. Review Your Proposal
If you are a grant recipient and are about to refine and complete your plan, the first step is to review what you wrote in your proposal. Your comprehensive plan must be in line with what you were funded to do. If you are getting ready to write a proposal, then the first step is to review the Request for Proposals (RFP).

Here is the relevant section from the 2003 Compassion Capital Fund (CCF) Demonstration Program RFP. Technical Assistance Strategy, as used here, refers to both training and TA.

Technical Assistance Strategy (15 points). The application should describe how the intermediary's assistance to faith-based and community groups will achieve the broad CCF goals of helping these organizations improve efficiency and broaden their funding base. Applications should describe a plan for delivering capacity-building assistance to smaller organizations in the following areas:

• Strategic planning;
• Financial management;
• Board development;
• Fund-raising;
• Outcome measurement.

Applications should also describe any additional activities that will serve to meet other needs of smaller organizations. Additional activities may include (but are not limited to) the following:

• Legal assistance in various areas such as the process of incorporation and obtaining tax-exempt status;
• Needs assessments to identify internal areas needing improvement or areas in which to develop or expand community services to address service gaps;
• Development of internal operating controls and procedures related to all aspects of business management;
• Facilitation of networks, service coordination and resource sharing among organizations;
• Incorporation of "best practices";
• Expanding outreach and client screening, intake or tracking methods;
• Volunteer management;
• Human resources development.

Applications should reflect the following additional considerations:

• An applicant's strategy should not focus on any single technical-assistance activity, such as grants writing. The applicant should instead describe how it will offer a range of technical assistance services. Ideal approaches will be multi-tiered and focus on as many areas of need as is logical and achievable.
• Technical assistance should be provided on a long-term, on-going basis to smaller organizations, rather than through single or short-term contacts (such as a nationwide series of seminars or conferences).
• The application should describe the approach the intermediary will employ to reach out to a diverse range of faith-based and community organizations needing assistance.
• Particular attention should be given to including groups that address priority social service needs, such as the homeless, prisoners reentering the community, children of prisoners, at-risk youth, addicts, elders in need, families moving from welfare to work and groups that help couples who choose marriage for themselves, to develop the skills and knowledge to form and sustain healthy marriages.
• If you are a grant recipient and are about to refine and complete your plan, the first step is to review what you wrote in your proposal. Your comprehensive plan must be in line with what you were funded to do. If you are getting ready to write a proposal, then the first step is to review the Request for Proposals (RFP).
• The application should provide a proposed schedule for accomplishing the activities planned.
• The application should discuss factors that may negatively affect the project and how those factors will be addressed. Technical assistance activities funded under the CCF are to be conducted at no cost to interested faith-based and community organizations.³

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Providing Technical Assistance Overview | Summary