Implementing Projects

With your team set and your project defined, it’s time to begin the day-to-day work. Having a plan in place and roles assigned for certain tasks is important to make sure everyone is rowing the boat in harmony.

Agree on the coalition’s shared values. 

It is helpful to discuss and define the team’s core values that will guide the day-to-day work. Doing so will help create a strong and adaptable team environment that encourages mutual support and effective problem solving. These values—such as collaboration, respect, responsiveness to change, and flexibility—can also serve as a filter to help determine what to commit to and what to decline.

In an early coalition team meeting we discussed core process values and agreed on those mentioned above. We chose to do a framework rather than a long list, as we wanted to focus on things that would help us make decisions and operate effectively.

Values Framework

A “Values Framework, also called a “Competing Values Framework,” is a structured approach for understanding and quantifying the value of a product, service, or solution provided to a customer or stakeholder.

Leaders of organizations sometimes use this tool to ensure that internal processes and communications align with organizational values and strategies.

Example Framework Diagram (Modify to reflect your own mission and values)

We are uncovering better ways of developing products and services by doing it and helping others do it. Through this work we have come to value:

• • Individuals and Interactions over Process and Tools
  • Working Prototype over Perfection
  • Customer Collaboration over Internal Focus
  • Responding to Change over Wedded to a Plan

Setting Priorities 

Taken together, the need in our community—like most communities—can seem overwhelming. We suggest identifying, discussing and prioritizing specific pockets of need within the community. You can’t accomplish everything at the same time. Some pockets will be easier to find than others. Some will be easier to address than others. You should also factor in your unique set of resources and possibilities.

• Who can you help nourish today? 
• What programs can you improve or begin that will help tomorrow?
• What will be sustainable?  
• What is the most effective use of resources (time, expertise, funding, etc.)? 

Specific Populations

From the outset, we chose to prioritize specific populations that we felt we could address and where we could measure progress. These efforts represented a mix of strengthening existing programs and launching new initiatives:

• Congregate meal users (meals served on-site, in a group setting, often for seniors)
• Specific locations with high senior need and limited pantry access (due to distance or lack of mobility)
• Children at risk of facing food insecurity outside of school hours, during weekends and holidays