Final Submissions for my 509 organizational experience. They include: a project/process report, a new organizational chart, a stakeholder analysis, a communications plan, a situational analysis report, and a strategic plan.

1. PA 509
Organizational
Experience Report
Amanda Phillips
Summer 2012
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Kaimanu
509 Faculty Advisor: Dr. Gelmon
Field Organization: PATH for women
Field Supervisors: Jamie Ross, PhD and Torrie Fields, MPH

2. Table of Contents
List of Acronyms ................................................................................................................................. ii
Project Overview .................................................................................................................................. 1
Organizational Setting .......................................................................................................................... 1
Learning Objectives and Tasks ............................................................................................................ 3
Work Processes and Outcomes ............................................................................................................ 6
Objective #1: Enhance Stakeholder Identification and Management Skills ........................................ 9
Stakeholder Identification and Information Gathering.................................................................. 10
Stakeholder Categorization and Creation of a Stakeholder Table................................................. 11
Stakeholder Prioritization and Analysis of the Stakeholder Table ................................................ 13
Stakeholder Management: Recommendations/Implications ......................................................... 14
Objective #2: Strengthen Strategic Communication Skills ............................................................... 17
Solicit Internal Buy-in and Communications Audit ...................................................................... 19
Creation of Communication Content, Tools, and Templates ........................................................ 20
Project Coordination...................................................................................................................... 21
Organizational Strategic Communications Plan ............................................................................ 22
Strategic Communication: Outcomes and Recommendations ...................................................... 23
Objectives # 3 & 4: Enhance Applied Skills in Situational Analyses and Develop Competencies in
Strategic Planning .............................................................................................................................. 26
Identify Organizational Mandates ................................................................................................. 26
Assess the External and Internal Environment and Strategic Issues ............................................. 27
Formulate Strategies to Manage the Issues, Review and Adopt a Strategic Plan, and Develop an
Implementation Process ..................................................................................................................... 28
Outcomes and Recommendations ................................................................................................. 29
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................... 30
Bibliography ....................................................................................................................................... 31
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3. List of Acronyms
CWH – Center for Women’s Health
OHSU – Oregon Health and Sciences University
PATH for women – Policy Advisory Toward Health for women
PSU – Portland State University
WGSS – Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Department
Intentionally Blank
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4. Project Overview
Organizational Setting
Policy Advisory Toward Health (PATH) for women is a small non-profit and has three
employees. They are Michelle Berlin M.D., M.P.H. (Director of Research), Jamie Ross, PhD (Co-
Director of Outreach), and Torrie Fields, MPH, Co-Director of Outreach). Michelle Berlin M.D.,
M.P.H. an Oregon Health and Sciences University (OHSU) physician, and researcher, founded
PATH for women in 2004. PATH for women was a response to the critical need for current,
evidence-based information concerning women’s health for use toward policy implementation and
it is now a strategic partnership between the OHSU Center for Women’s Health (CWH) and
Portland State University’s (PSU) Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Department (WGSS).
PATH for women’s revised mission is to provide accurate, high-quality community driven research,
data, and analysis to inform women’s health policy and to serve as an independent source of data,
analysis, and coalition capacity-building for the public, advocates, and policymakers.
PATH for women has expanded from its original emphasis on creating and translating
scientific research to inform women’s health policy to include coalition capacity building and
community outreach. As a result, PATH for women has two divisions (see Appendix A). One
focuses on research and the other focuses on outreach. The outreach division is housed at WGSS
and it aims to develop meaningful relationships with interested community members, community
organizations, public health professionals, educators, and policymakers regarding issues facing
women in Oregon, such as Women with Diabetes and Women with First Trimester Prenatal Care.
The outreach division draws its evidenced-based health related information from the Making the
Grade on Women’s Health: A National and State-by-State Report Card (Report Card).
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5. The Report Card has been published since 2000. The 5th edition, and most current Report Card
evaluates 34 health status and 68 health policy indicators and assesses progress in reaching key
benchmarks and policy objectives for each state and for the nation as a whole. For example,
according to the Report Card Oregon is currently demonstrating a failing grade in two indicators:
Women with Diabetes and Women with First Trimester Prenatal Care.
The research division is housed in CWH where Michelle is a lead author of the
aforementioned Report Card (see http://hrc.nwlc.org/). The research division aims to serve as a
national and regional resource for data analysis, including the provision of accurate and current
research concerning women’s health and evidence-based analysis of key issues that specifically
affect efficiency, cost, and outcomes of the health of women. Since 2004, the outreach division of
PATH for women has:
 Identified key areas in women's health with policy impact and developed materials for
use by community groups, local organizations, and the public to influence policy
development and implementation
 Interpreted the results of health studies for policymakers, the media, and the public
 Analyzed and translated existing evidence-based research for the public and
policymakers
Intentionally Blank
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6. Learning Objectives and Tasks
Objective #1: Enhance stakeholder identification and management skills
 Ensure integrity of the current data on potential stakeholders by querying the database
and cross referencing the data with publicly available information
 Facilitate brainstorming session with staff to identify additional stakeholders
 Perform a literature review to gain a better understanding of feminist stakeholder
prioritization methodologies
 Categorize stakeholders based on their type and interest in health disparities
 Prioritize stakeholders using a unique scorecard that focuses less on power rankings and
resource level and more on relationships and those who are most vulnerable to PATH for
women’s objectives
 Analyze the data and develop recommendations
 Write stakeholder analysis report that synthesizes the literature review, key themes, the
data analysis, and recommendations
 Present report to staff
Evidence: Written stakeholder analysis report
Objective #2: Strengthen strategic communication skills
 Collaborate continuously with key internal stakeholders to determine requirements and
gather past content to develop effective communication materials and strategies
 Create and/or edit content for the web and promotional materials including PATH for
women's story: the history of the program and a narrative that establishes the need for
the program, e-mail communiques, fact sheets, and presentations to help prepare PATH
for women to recruit champions and partners and communicate with external
stakeholders
 Develop a needs assessment and other outreach tools such as invitation letters for an
advisory committee and coalitions around diabetes and first trimester prenatal care
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7.  Establish communication channels and processes by creating an outreach and
communications plan that establishes clear policies on communication practices and
procedures, such as outreach efforts (e.g., goals, target audiences, key messages,
strategies, tools, intended outcomes, and the means to evaluate results), frequency of
communications, brand editorial standards, rules around print and electronic
communications, approval for institutional facts and messaging, and expected response
for internal and external concerns
 Source and manage the efforts of a graphic artist and marketing consultant to design
products such as a logo, graphic standards, stationary templates, and communication
templates, such as project worksheets
 Help facilitate and coordinate PATH for women’s transition to a website dedicated to its
organization
 Write report synthesizing internal stakeholder engagement efforts and recommendations
Evidence: Strategic communications plan and report, including the recommendations, tools,
standards, and a synthesis of internal stakeholder engagement efforts and the website transition
process
Objective #3: Enhance applied skills in situational analyses
 Conduct a literature review and Internet search to find comparable organizations and
determine strategies that have been successful for these organizations
 Review, revise, and/or develop PATH for women's mission, vision, and values
 Facilitate a brainstorming session with PATH for women staff and conduct a SWOT
analysis
 Draft situational analysis report
 Discuss results of SWOT and situational analysis with PATH for women staff and gain
feedback
 Revise and finalize situational analysis
Evidence: The SWOT, situational analysis, and a report summarizing the literature review, and the
process of developing/revising the mission, vision, and values
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8. Objective #4: Develop competencies in strategic planning
 Solicit internal stakeholder input for the strategic planning process through facilitated
meetings, and gather and review past PATH for women communication with external
stakeholders and prior strategic plans
 Synthesize results and draft a report
 Use the report to craft recommendations for revised goals, strategies, and objectives
 Develop a strategic plan and create an action plan including budget, tasks, roles,
scheduling, and metrics to reflect accomplishments and adjustments to the PATH for
women’s priorities
 Solicit additional feedback from PATH for women staff and edit the strategic plan as
necessary
 Present final strategic plan to PATH for women staff
Evidence: Comprehensive strategic plan, including a list of stakeholders, a copy of the presentation
materials used to communicate the results of the project, and the report synthesizing the strategic
planning process
Objective #5: Integrate and apply what has been learned in the curriculum during the
organizational experience, identify future career directions, and articulate potential ongoing
professional development needs.
 Engage in reflection activities through the organizational experience.
 Document personal progress toward both career goals and learning objectives
 Prepare the required reflective papers
Evidence: Reflective paper, portfolio, and presentation slides
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9. Work Processes and Outcomes
My 509 project was to create a strategic plan and an outreach and communications plan to
help these efforts. My supervisors were Dr. Jamie Ross, an assistant professor at PSU, and Torrie
Fields, MPH who are the co- directors and progenitors of PATH for women's outreach and
advocacy division. Therefore, their guidance and input was integral to the success of this 509
project and they were required members of the strategic planning work team. I also worked Dr.
Berlin, the founder of PATH for women and director of its research division. Dr. Berlin offered
insight into the origins of the organization and shared her vision for its future.
As my 509 project progressed, I had to revise my objectives and tasks. For example, as
discussed below, PATH for women requested that I apply feminist methodologies and frameworks
during the stakeholder analysis instead of the traditional approaches that I had anticipated. Another
modification to my initial work occurred after the staff reviewed the drafts of the stakeholder
analysis, strategic plan, and communications plan. They determined that while the analysis and
plans were sound, and reflected their initial goal of forming coalitions, that they did not have the
organizational capacity for successful implementation and that poor implementation would reflect
poorly on the organization. As a result, I shifted my focus to creating a framework that allowed
PATH for women to support existing coalitions. The revised objectives, work processes, and
outcomes associated with them are as follows. In addition, my initial action plan and a detailed
meeting log are included in Appendix B.
At the start of the project, I suggested that we utilize the strategic planning framework
described by John M. Bryson (2004) in Strategic Planning for Public and Nonprofit Organizations.
The work team was amenable so I also adapted the strategic planning worksheets from Bryson’s
(2005) Creating and implementing your strategic plan: a workbook for public and nonprofit
organizations. This process framework is captured in Figure 1.
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10. Figure 1: Ten Step Strategic Planning Process
Source: Bryson, J. M. (2004). Strategic planning for public and nonprofit organizations: a guide to strengthening and
sustaining organizational achievement (3 ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
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11. Figure 1 can be summarized into a 10-step process that helped guide our actions throughout the 509
project. These steps identified by Bryson (2004) are:
1. Initiate and agree on a strategic planning process;
2. Identify organizational mandates;
3. Clarify organizational mission and values;
4. Assess the external and internal environments to identify strengths, weaknesses,
opportunities, and threats;
5. Identify the strategic issues facing the organization;
6. Formulate strategies to manage the issues;
7. Review and adopt the strategies or strategic plan;
8. Establish an effective organizational vision;
9. Develop an effective implementation process; and
10. Reassess the strategies and the strategic planning process (pp. 33-34).
We did not follow these steps verbatim. For example, we believed that it was more beneficial to
establish the vision for PATH for women while we were clarifying its mission and values. In
addition, the first step “initiate and agree” occurred during the drafting of the project contract.
Furthermore, Bryson’s (2004) framework and steps are incredibly dense. I ultimately decided to
create objective friendly process maps that expanded these 10-steps into actionable and
approachable sequences. Nevertheless, this framework shaped our approach to each of the above-
mentioned objectives.
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12. Lastly, while developing my project I realized that facilitating meetings and brainstorming
sessions would be critical to my success. An Institute for Media, Policy and Civil Society
handbook; Strategic Planning for Public and Nonprofit Organizations: A Guide To Strengthening
and Sustaining Organizational Achievement by John Bryson; and Strategic Planning for Public and
Nonprofit Organizations: A Guide to Strengthening and Sustaining Organizational Achievement by
Sally Patterson and Janel Radtke (2009) helped me conduct these sessions effectively.
Objective #1: Enhance Stakeholder Identification and Management
Skills
By third quarter 2013, PATH for women would like to forge strategic partnerships with
coalitions that address two issues: improving the health of women and their children during the first
trimester, and preventing and improving care for women with diabetes. PATH for women will align
with these existing coalitions, and support them by assisting with the recruitment of potential
coalition members, translating research upon request, and training coalition members on how to use
qualitative data to support their policy initiatives.
PATH for women’s staff plan to identify the appropriate coalitions as part of their duties.
Therefore, this stakeholder analysis supports PATH for women’s goal by identifying and
prioritizing potential coalition members that PATH for women can recruit for the existing
coalitions. The narrative below outlines the tasks that each group member completed, and figure 2
contains a process map.
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13. Figure 2: Stakeholder Analysis Process
Stakeholder
Identification
Document and
Monitor and
Categorize
Evaluate
Stakeholders
Analyze and
Engage
Prioritze
Stakeholders
Stakeholders
Develop Strategies
to Manage
Stakeholders
Stakeholder Identification and Information Gathering
The identification and information gathering process was similar to step #2 of the Bryson
(2004) framework and it relied on PATH for women’s prior knowledge and secondary information.
Specifically, PATH for women previously reviewed organizational websites, advocacy reports, and
annual summaries and used the information to create a matrix of organizations that were linked to
the Report Card indicators. I then compiled a list of stakeholders/potential coalition members for
each coalition (see Appendix C) by focusing on organizations that were linked to indicators related
to each issue. For example, organizations that were linked to the nutrition and obesity indicators
were included in the list of stakeholders for the diabetes coalition. Next, I reviewed each
organization’s current strategic objectives and goals to determine if the organization was still
aligned with the issue, and used their website to develop the contact list.
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14. There are some limitations to this method. The websites and reports can be outdated and
organizational interests may have changed, but these sources are excellent for an initial report and
this method was most appropriate for PATH for women’s strategic planning timeline. Nevertheless,
to increase the efficacy of the stakeholder analysis process PATH for women must integrate
additional steps such as a needs assessment. As a result, the work group developed a needs
assessment (see Appendix C) that PATH for women will use in the future to gain primary data on
stakeholder interests. PATH for women will also use this data to revise this report and future
stakeholder analyses.
Stakeholder Categorization and Creation of a Stakeholder Table
First, the work group brainstormed and defined the stakeholder characteristics. Traditional
characteristics include resources, power, leadership, and interests (Bryson, 2004a; Bryson, 2004b;
Schmeer, 1999). Once these characteristics are defined, stakeholders are then ranked in a table
based on their positions within these categories. Analytical tools associated with these
characteristics include the power versus interest grids, numerical rankings e.g., 3, 2 ,1 with 1 being
none and 3 being a lot, or the common rankings yes or no and high, medium, low (Bryson, 2004a;
Bryson, 2004b; Schmeer, 1999).
At this initial work session, PATH for women indicated that such traditional characteristics
were not suitable for its purposes. Instead, PATH for women wanted me to focus on characteristics
that align with its mission and its values, which incorporate feminist ideologies. In other words,
PATH for women wanted a unique scorecard that focuses less on power rankings and resource
levels, and more on relationships, stakeholder needs, and those who would be affected the most by
the coaltions that they support.
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15. As a result, I conducted a literature review (see Appendix C). Based on the literature review
I developed a draft list of characteristics, and created a stakeholder table. I populated the table with
the identified stakeholders, contact information, and the draft characteristics. For example, based on
Schmeer (1999), one of my sources, I categorized the stakeholders into the following sectors
nonprofit (nongovernmental organizations, foundations, grassroots community organizations);
commercial/private for profit organizations; and public or government departments or programs.
In accordance with Schmeer (1999) I also ensured that stakeholders from different
departments/administrative areas and geographic locations were included even if they were from the
same organization. Furthermore, I included sectors research programs and organizations, and trade
associations. Hospital-based research programs and organizational sectors are important because
stakeholders/potential coalition members, such as the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health
Research are neither community organizations, nor direct service providers. The trade associations
sector was important because some nonprofits are uniquely focused on the needs of the
professionals who deliver services. These stakeholders help shape healthcare in Oregon, but they
are not tied primarily to a single issue.
Lobbying capability/intent was important because some organizations may have the
experience with and the resources to create and advocate for policy positions. These organizations
are also important because they can share their experiences and help guide the consensus building
and policy development process. The level of reporting/focus was important because an
organization’s grant funding and mission are strongly linked to improving health outcomes
associated with diabetes or first trimester prenatal care would more than likely show a higher level
of interest in becoming a coalition member.
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16. The group felt that the direct health services providers were of particular importance
because they have access to qualitative data e.g., case studies that would help supplement the
quantitative and research data that PATH for women can access through its connection with CWH.
The size of the organization was important because size affects an organization’s flexibility; it
shapes organizational culture and is often times an adequate predictor of organizational capacity.
Lastly, a focus on socio-demographic issues is important because the Report Card has demonstrated
that states, including Oregon, have significant health disparities and women suffer from these
disparities on multiple levels. Furthermore, the overall U.S. female population suffers from lower
health outcomes, but women of differing racial/ethnic populations, geographic populations, and
socioeconomic class face even more risks to their health. Reducing these gaps and improving the
health of all women aligns with PATH for women’s vision.
PATH for women’s staff then reviewed a final draft of the suggested table, and ultimately
the work group agreed to the stakeholder characteristics that are defined in Appendix C. In addition,
Appendix C includes instructions for completing the stakeholder table and the populated
stakeholder table. Each of the characteristics defined therein reflect the different roles that these
stakeholders play, and the perspectives they can bring to the coalitions.
Stakeholder Prioritization and Analysis of the Stakeholder Table
I identified a list of 68 stakeholders for the diabetes coalition and 31 stakeholders for the first
trimester prenatal care coalition. Each stakeholder was then scored. The characteristics were
assigned a numerical value
 Yes = 1 and No = 01
 High = 3, Medium = 2, and Low = 1
1
Except for the rural versus urban category where Yes = 2 and No = 0.
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17. The total number of indicators that each organization addressed through its strategic plans or current
programming was also added to the individual scores. The sample size was not large enough for
more sophisticated statistical analyses. For example, an attempt to take the top 30% of stakeholders
in each category revealed that there is only one trade association, and that all of the government
organizations are large organizations. Nevertheless, there are steps that PATH for women could take
to ensure that its initial outreach efforts are balanced. For instance, it would make sense for PATH
for women to invite organizations that may not have been in the top 10 for each issue. For example,
stakeholders from rural areas may be of more interest than those from urban areas despite their
score. A complete analysis of the data is available in Appendix C.
Stakeholder Management: Recommendations/Implications
This stakeholder analysis is only valuable if PATH for women leverages the results and creates a
stakeholder management process. Therefore, stakeholder management should be continual, and the
stakeholder analysis should be updated regularly so that PATH for women can continue to identify
new stakeholders, changes to current stakeholders, and new information that current management
efforts produce. The Clarkson Centre for Business Ethics (1999), also outlines seven principles of
stakeholder management that PATH for women should incorporate in its management processes.
(See Appendix C for a detailed discussion of these principles).
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18. The literature review mentioned above (and contained in Appendix C) also provides some
stakeholder management recommendations. A classical view of stakeholder management holds that
it requires “simultaneous attention to the legitimate interests of all appropriate stakeholders, both in
the establishment of organizational structures and general policies and in case-by-case decision
making” (Donaldson & Preston, 1995). From a feminist perspective, however, the stakeholder
management process focusses less on the legitimacy of interest and centralizing authority and
power.
Instead, feminists believe that stakeholder management should be “… about creating value
for an entire network of stakeholders by working to develop effective forms of cooperation,
decentralizing power and authority, and building consensus among stakeholders through
communication to generate strategic direction” (Wicks, Gilbert, & Freeman, 1994). Therefore, if
PATH for women intends to incorporate feminist methodologies in its stakeholder management
process, PATH for women should focus on ensuring that coalition members form a strong and
productive network (McGuire, 2002). PATH for women should also “care enough for the least
advantaged stakeholders that they not be harmed; insofar as they are not harmed, privilege those
stakeholders with whom you have a close relationship” (Burton & Dunn, 1996).
As a result, I recommend that PATH for women quickly conduct the above referenced needs
assessment. This will ensure that PATH for women is aware of, and can attempt to meet the needs
of all of its stakeholders not just those with whom the staff have previously communicated or those
who are selected to become coalition members. PATH for women should also communicate
continuously with its coalition members and other stakeholders. As McGuire 2002, states
“…network management is based on information rather than authority.” Constant communication
will create transparency and give stakeholders the opportunity to learn about PATH for women.
Communication will also ensure that there is a strong relationship among coalition members since
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19. dialogue will foster trust, build credibility, and help clarify the coalition’s goals and expectations.
To start, PATH for women should host the coalition members, and provide a clear description of
their roles and responsibilities, and an overview of PATH for women’s objective and the Report
Card. Communications tools and an organizational strategic communications plan are included in
Appendix D.
PATH for women must also empower its members. PATH for women is uniquely capable of
providing relevant and timely evidenced-based data to its community members. Furthermore,
PATH for women has expertise in translating research into effective programmatic policy, and
bridging the information gap between researchers, service providers, and community organizations.
Empowering coalition members would require PATH for women to provide access to its resources
and skills, and train coalition members so that they can develop the capacity to request research
when needed and incorporate evidenced-based research in their interventions and advocacy efforts.
Additionally, PATH for women should facilitate and promote a shared understanding of the
root causes of the issues and collective approaches to producing efficient and effective policies and
interventions. A coalition, as opposed to individual actors, has a greater chance of creating
sustainable change. Lastly, PATH for women should evaluate its stakeholder engagement and
management processes, as well as the outcomes from this initial effort. Some suggestions on how to
measure the outcomes of communications with stakeholders are in Appendix D. Evaluating the
engagement process will allow PATH for women to improve and/or maintain the quality of both its
relationships with its stakeholders, including coalition leaders.
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20. Objective #2: Strengthen Strategic Communication Skills
PATH for women’s strategic plans include supporting two coalitions, forming an advisory
committee, and increasing public awareness of the organization in order to gain credibility within
the region. Extensive internal and external communication is critical to the attainment of these
goals, but without effective strategic communication, PATH for women will not be able to recruit
coalition members, nor will PATH for women be able to increase its profile.
The term strategic communication “describes the combination of plans, goals, practices, and tools
with which an organization sends consistent messages about its mission, values, and
accomplishments” (Patterson & Radtke, 2009). Therefore, PATH for women needed a
comprehensive organizational strategic communications plan and numerous tools and templates to
prepare the organization to pursue these goals. Unlike an event specific or announcement-specific
plan, an organizational strategic communications plan formalizes PATH for women’s overall policy
for internal and external communication, provides guidance on how to communicate proactively
and reactively with various audiences, and includes instructions on how to develop and maintain
relationships through clear communications. The process for this objective is described below and
shown in Figure 2.
Intentionally Blank
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21. Figure 3: Strategic Communications Plan Process Map
Solicit Internal Buy-in
and Communications
Audit
Revise and Design and Deliver
Needs Assessment
Improve Process Content and Tools
Monitoring
Communications
Plan
Evaluation and
Monitoring
Adapted from Communcation Partners. (n.d.). Strategic Communication: Communication Partners. Retrieved August 12,
2012, from Communications Partners: http://www.communipartners.com/Strategic_Communication.html
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22. Solicit Internal Buy-in and Communications Audit
The creation of the strategic communications plan required constant dialogue with the
PATH for women staff, and initial discussions centered on the scope of the plan. PATH for
women’s strategic initiatives (coalition building, increasing public awareness) required specific
program planning. Nevertheless, as we assessed the current state of PATH for women’s
communication capabilities, we quickly realized that PATH for women could not move forward
until PATH for women had a clear brand. In other words, PATH for women lacked a clear
personality, and the tools such as a logo, mission, vision, graphic standards, and cohesive and
consistent messaging, tone, and communication activities that were necessary to establish a
personality. Therefore, PATH for women agreed that I should focus on creating an organizational
strategic communications plan. Nevertheless, I ensured that the communication products and
templates from this organizational strategic plan included information that could easily be
incorporated into the program specific activities for PATH for women coalition support projects.
Next, I asked PATH for women to give me access to its Dropbox where all of its past
content such as letters to stakeholders, press releases, organizational capacity descriptions that were
used for grants etc., was housed. Upon receipt, I reviewed these materials so that I could gain a
better understanding of PATH for women, its history, its communications culture, specifically its
tone and style, and its past strategies for communicating with the public and stakeholders. This
information provided context and helped shape the communications goals, objectives, and activities
contained in the organizational strategic communications plan (see Appendix D).
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23. I also requested, and received, access to the budgets and financial information for the
outreach division since resource availability determines which communication channels and
strategies are most realistic and appropriate. Lastly, I incorporated portions of the situational
analysis that I conducted for PATH for women’s strategic plan into the communications plan. The
situational analysis (which I discuss in detail below) identified internal and external forces that
affect the overall organization. Therefore, I expanded where necessary, to highlight the forces that
would have the most effect on the communications plan.
Creation of Communication Content, Tools, and Templates
I facilitated a brainstorming session with PATH for women regarding the message that
they would like to convey to key stakeholders. We also discussed how they would like to be
perceived by the public, and encouraged them to think about terms and phrases that they believe
describe the organization and capture their vision. In addition, we brainstormed what success would
mean to the organization. Lastly, we brainstormed the mission, vision, and values for the
organization. (These steps are similar to #3 and # 8 of the Bryson (2004) framework). To help
prepare PATH for women for this part of the meeting, I sent the PATH for women staff samples of
missions, visions, and values, definitions of the terms we would be using, and PATH for women’s
old mission statement, that I found in their paperwork. This mission statement was insufficient
because it focused solely on the research division of the organization. These materials are included
in Appendix D. At the end of the session, we had a revised mission and drafts of the vision and
values that PATH for women felt comfortable with me using as a basis for the next stage.
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24. I then used these drafts and the other information from the brainstorming session to create
tools, templates, and guidelines. I created brand editorial standards (see Appendix D) and as
discussed below the marketing consultant and graphic artist created graphic standards. I also
developed outreach tools such as invitation letters for an advisory committee and coalitions around
diabetes and first trimester prenatal care (see Appendix D) and other content that could easily be
adapted for the PATH for women website.
Project Coordination
Once it became clear that PATH for women needed templates and other
communication materials, I altered my objectives to include sourcing and managing the
efforts of a graphic artist and marketing consultant. I believed that we needed professionals to
design products such as a logo, graphic standards, stationary templates, and communication
templates such as project worksheets. As a result, I approached a contact of mine, a former
marketing executive with extensive experience with academic institutions, and he
recommended a graphic artist. Together we created a scope of work and shared it with PATH
for women. PATH for women agreed to the scope and the nominal fee of $200. The scope of
work and the associated deliverables are included in Appendix E. The marketing consultant
and graphic artist then used my notes and the materials from the above referenced
brainstorming session to create their deliverables.
My analysis of PATH for women’s communications capacity also revealed that the
organization had to increase its web and social media presence. PATH for women only had a small
byline on the CWH’s website. I contacted the person responsible for maintaining this page to
determine what if anything we could do to increase PATH for women’s presence. This individual
responded that OHSU has a very strict policy regarding website content and that it would be an
extensive undertaking to change the CWH page. Consequently, I revised my tasks for this objective
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25. to include facilitating PATH for women’s transition to a website dedicated to its organization. Since
OHSU’s website creation and maintenance process seemed extremely complex, I suggested that we
move the website for the outreach division of PATH for women to the WGSS page at PSU. WGSS
agreed and a link to PATH for women’s page will be housed under a new tab on the WGSS
homepage dedicated to “Activism.” The research division will still have a presence on the CWH
website, but it will now include a link to the new PATH for women webpage, and vice versa.
Organizational Strategic Communications Plan
Organizational communications plans include the strategic goals that the plan will help
achieve. They also include the target audience(s) and specific outcomes that the plan can achieve;
the communication channels, methods, and activities to implement the plans; an exploration of the
resources necessary to implement the plan; and tools to evaluation the effectiveness of the
communications plan (Positioning Public Child Welfare Initiative, 2012; Schwartz, 2010; W.K.
Kellogg Foundation, n.d.). (In addition, this portion of the communications planning process is
similar to steps #4, #5, #6, #7, and # 9 of the Bryson (2004) framework). The goals for the
organizational strategic communications plan are outlined above. They were apparent when we
realized that PATH for women lacked even the most basic communication materials and
communications infrastructure. In addition, PATH for women’s strategic goals, which are discussed
later in this report, also shaped the overall goals for the communications plan. The stakeholder
analysis that I conducted for objective #1 and the situational analysis that I conducted for objective
#3 helped me identify the target audience. Lastly, the aforementioned brainstorming session and
communications audit provided the details for the remaining elements of the plan. Once I completed
a draft of the strategic communications plan, I submitted it to the PATH for women staff for
comments and approval.
Page | 22

26. Strategic Communication: Outcomes and Recommendations
Outcomes
The public will be better informed and educated about PATH for women, and the
organization will increase its public profile. The plan will also improve the quality and effectiveness
of PATH for women’s communications, which will then increase the organization’s profile.
Increased brand awareness may also lead to increased resources, such as PSU and OHSU
departmental support and grants which will extend both the reach of the organization and PATH for
women’s ability to achieve its mission. Also, the plan will facilitate improved allocation of
resources. Furthermore, PATH for women now has enough materials to prepare a press kit, which
usually consists of background material, such as the history of the organization, its mission, vision,
values, current collaborators, and information on past successes. PATH for women will also have a
website that is easy to find and easy to navigate. The website, through Google Analytics will also
provide a way for PATH for women to measure the success of its communication activities.
Recommendations
PATH for women should conduct additional audience definition, segmentation, and
profiling. This exercise will help PATH for women develop messages that will more effectively
compel its target audiences. This information will also help PATH for women identify events,
activities, and communication pathways that the organization can leverage in the future. It may also
ensure that PATH for women efforts to create an advisory committee are successful. PATH for
women should also establish a dedicated e-mail address for announcements. This dedicated e-mail
address will also increase the legitimacy of its communication efforts.2
2
PATH for women has already acted on this recommendation. Its dedicated e-mail address is PATHforwomen@pdx.edu.
Page | 23

27. As the organization grows, it would also be best for PATH for women to hire or select one
person to be the point of contact for media inquiries and become the communications plan manager.
This will allow Torrie Fields to dedicate her time towards direct outreach, program management,
planning, and implementation. Until then it makes sense for all PATH for women staff to become
familiar with marketing strategies and tactics. There are numerous free or low cost sources for
guidance on how to use various communication channels effectively e.g., Guerilla Marketing for
Nonprofits.3 Furthermore, PATH for women should hire a marketing and social media intern who
would report to Torrie. This would ensure that there is timely-follow up and in times when a swift
reaction is necessary someone is prepared and empowered to deal with the situation.
PATH for women should be prepared to allocate about four hours a week, the average
amount time most say they dedicate to marketing and social media (Institute for Media, Policy and
Civil Society, 2005). This will ensure that the staff can easily gather and upload content regularly to
both the website and Facebook page, and perform other communications-related duties. Old and
inaccurate information will reduce the organization’s credibility, and if the organization fails to
produce timely comments or a position on current events, the organization itself becomes less
relevant. Moreover, PATH for women should consider adopting a social media policy.
3
Levinson, J. C., Adkins, F., & Forbes, C. (2010). Guerrilla marketing for nonprofits: 250 tactics to promote, recruit, motivate,
and raise more money. Irvine: Entrepreneur Press.
Page | 24

28. This policy should “outline clear rules around the use of social media… suggested best
practices around privacy and confidentiality issues, and personal vs. professional or official social
media behavior” (Colorado Nonprofit Association, 2011). PATH for women should also develop a
fundraising or development communications plan. This organizational communications plan will
provide the foundation for the fundraising communications plan since “a development
communications strategy starts with the organization’s overall communications plan … and must be
done in the context of how the organization has decided to present itself to the public” (Poderis,
2011). The fundraising communications plan would help PATH for women achieve its strategic
goal of becoming financially sustainable.
In addition, PATH for women should expand its portfolio of materials to support its
communication activities. For example, the staff can convert the new logo and brand statement into
promotional items that the staff can leave behind and giveaway. PATH for women can then test
these new materials with its coalitions and advisory committee. PATH for women could also create
an annual report. The annual report would help publicize significant achievements and events
Another recommendation is that each invitation to the coalition should be followed by a phone call
to verify receipt of the information, answer questions, and if possible arrange an in-person meeting
since in-person meetings increase the chance of successfully gaining support and strengthens
relationships (W.K. Kellogg Foundation, n.d.). Lastly, PATH for women should update its
organizational strategic communications plan annually and conduct quarterly evaluations of the
plan.
Page | 25

29. Objectives # 3 & 4: Enhance Applied Skills in Situational Analyses and
Develop Competencies in Strategic Planning
As mentioned above the strategic planning team mainly utilized the framework described
by John M. Bryson (2004) in Strategic Planning for Public and Nonprofit Organizations and the
strategic planning worksheets from Bryson’s (2005) Creating and implementing your strategic
plan: a workbook for public and nonprofit organizations to guide the strategic planning process.
The process map and the worksheests can be found above, as well as in Appendices F and G.
Specifically, these objectives required us to complete and/or reassess steps #2, #4 – #7, and #9 of
Bryson’s (2004) framework within the context of a strategic plan. The information contained in the
worksheets includes, a SWOT analysis, critical organizational issues, and the underlying
assumptions of the strategic plan development process. This information was then used to
articulate the goals outlined in this plan. Therfore, this plan is a record of the strategic planning
process and the decisions that the strategic planning team made.
Identify Organizational Mandates
Step #2 was already completed during the development of the strategic communications
plan. PATH for women does not have any legislative mandates, but its operations do reflect its
unique history as the result of a strategic partnership between OHSU and PSU. For example,
WGSS’ mission is
To support feminist scholarship throughout the university; foster student learning of the rich
interdisciplinary knowledge within the field of women's studies; develop and implement feminist
pedagogy; and support feminist inspired activism both within the university and in the community at
large. We are committed to scholarship, learning, and activism that promote a critical
understanding of interrelated systems of oppression with the goal of disrupting the resulting
imbalances of power.
As a result, PATH for women ensures that feminist methodologies inform its processes and
procedures e.g., the unique stakeholder scoring process that PATH for women requested during the
stakeholder analysis process.
Page | 26

30. Assess the External and Internal Environment and Strategic Issues
My third objective was to enhance my applied skills in situational analysis. As a result,
fulfilling the requirements of my objective allowed me to complete step #4 of Bryson’s (2004)
strategic planning process. The resulting situational analysis is included in Appendix F. The
process for these objectives is described below and shown in Figure 3 below. Situational analyses
are meant to “provide information on the strengths and weaknesses of [an] organization in relation
to the opportunities and challenges it faces” (Bryson, 2004, p. 124). Therefore, as part of this
process, the strategic planning team met and brainstormed information for a SWOT analysis then
identified and assessed the challenges and opportunities that both the outreach and research
divisions of PATH for women face. I then drafted the situational analysis using the mission, vision,
and values that the strategic planning team had finalized.
The situational analysis informed the above organizational communications plan,
stakeholder analysis, and its 2012-2015 strategic plans. After PATH for women reviewed a draft of
my situational analysis they developed a few underlying assumptions (see Appendix G). These
assumptions are the bridge between the external and internal assessments and the strategic plan. If
one of these assumptions prove false or the situation changes then the strategic plan must be
adjusted to reflect this change.
Page | 27

31. Next, the strategic planning team used the situational analysis and the underlying
assumptions to help guide them as they developed a list of critical strategic issues or questions that
PATH for women must address to be successful within the 2012-2015 planning horizon. Bryson
(2004) defines strategic issues as “fundamental policy questions or critical challenges affecting the
organization’s mandates, mission and values, product or service level and mix, clients, users or
payers, cost, financing, structure, processes, and management” (p. 42). The worksheet that
captured the strategic issues that PATH for women’s staff identified is in Appendix F. At times, it
was difficult to recall that our strategic planning horizon was in the short-to-medium term (3
years), but after a series of e-mails and discussions, we were able to reach a consensus.
Formulate Strategies to Manage the Issues, Review and Adopt a Strategic Plan, and
Develop an Implementation Process
I reviewed notes and documentation from PATH for women’s 2004 strategic planning
workshop and stakeholder interviews, and shared the relevant information that I discovered with
the other members of the strategic planning team. In addition, the team reviewed the situational
analysis, which helped outline what PATH for women does well and the environment in which it
operates; the recent stakeholder analysis; and the organization’s revised mission, and new vision
and value statements. These documents provided context as the team developed the strategic plan.
Due to the time constraints presented by the term of the 509 project, the strategic planning team
created goals, strategies, objectives, tactical activities, and assigned responsibilities for these tasks
in three back-to-back meetings that were dedicated to these steps.
Page | 28

32. During the second meeting the PATH for women staff determined that they did not have the
capacity, financially as well as time, to pursue its initial strategic goal of building coalitions around
the women’s health issues that the Report Card highlights successfully. As a result, the second
meeting was spent revising the critical issue, goals etc., which were associated with that project.
The worksheets, presentations, and templates that were used to facilitate these discussions are
included in Appendices F and G.
Outcomes and Recommendations
The critical issues that the PATH for women strategic planning team identified are
 How do we focus our search for grant funding in order to target "translation" grants and
avoid applying for grants that are predominantly for direct services providers and
researchers?
 How do we gain a foothold in "policy forecasting" for women's health, that is, at the
cutting edge of policy development and become a primary source of research data?
 What can we do now to increase PATH for women’s visibility even more
effectively, beyond the push we made this summer with our website, coalition letters,
and advisory committee letters?
 What can we do to increase our own research base beyond OSHU, the Report Card, and
Healthy People 2020, as well as increase our organizational partnerships?
The strategic plan addresses these critical issues and as part of its strategic plan, PATH for women
shall pursue the following strategic goals:
 Increase financial sustainability
 Become the premier evidenced-based health policy advisory group in Oregon
 Increase and maintain brand awareness
 Increase PATH for women’s ability to respond to the research needs of its stakeholders
Page | 29

33. This strategic plan will be implemented over a three-year period (2012-2015) and successful
implementation will help PATH for women take more of a leadership role in the public health
community, explore additional strategic partnerships, and measure its outcomes. In addition, this
strategic plan will provide a framework by which PATH for women can achieve its mission and
work towards its vision, while embodying its values.
Conclusion
Overall, this project required me to demonstrate knowledge of researching best practices,
organizational development, strategic planning, systems and process creation, collaborative
solutions, economic and financial principles, marketing, community outreach, stakeholder
engagement, and strategic communications. This tremendous opportunity also taught me how to
manage a complex project. As a result, I believe that I am even more prepared for a career in health
administration.
Page | 30

34. Bibliography
Brugha, R., & Varvasovszky, Z. (2000). Stakeholder analysis: a review. Health Policy and
Planning, 15(3), 239-246.
Bryson, J. M. (2004). Strategic planning for public and nonprofit organizations: a guide to
strengthening and sustaining organizational achievement (3 ed.). San Francisco, CA:
Jossey-Bass.
Bryson, J. M. (2004). What to do when stakeholders matter. Public Management Review, 6(1),
21-53.
Burton, B. K., & Dunn, C. P. (1996). Feminist ethics as moral grounding for stakeholder theory.
Business Ethics Quarterly, 6(2), 133-147.
Camillus, J. C. (2008, January 1). Strategy as a wicked problem. Harvard Business Review,
86(5), pp. 98-101.
Communcation Partners. (n.d.). Strategic Communication: Communication Partners. Retrieved
August 12, 2012, from Communications Partners :
http://www.communipartners.com/Strategic_Communication.html
Donaldson, T., & Preston, L. E. (1995). The stakeholder theory of the corporation: concepts,
evidence, and implications. The Academy of Management Review, 20(1), 65-91 .
Levinson, J. C., Adkins, F., & Forbes, C. (2010). Guerrilla marketing for nonprofits: 250 tactics
to promote, recruit, motivate, and raise more money. Irvine: Entrepreneur Press.
McGuire, M. (2002). Managing networks: propositions on what managers do and why they do it.
Public Administration Review, 62(5), 599-609.
Patterson, S. J., & Radtke, J. M. (2009). Strategic communications for nonprofit organization:
seven steps to creating a successful plan (2 ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.
Poderis, J. B. (2011). Fund-raising planning: developing a communications strategy for the
development operation. Retrieved June 13, 2012, from Tony Poderis Raise-funds.com:
http://www.raise-funds.com/2004/developing-a-communications-strategy-for-the-
development-operation/
Positioning Public Child Welfare Initiative. (2012). Communications: Strategy. Retrieved
August 9, 2012, from Positioning Public Child Welfare Guidance:
http://www.ppcwg.org/communications-strategy.html
Schmeer, K. (1999). Policy toolkit for strengthening health sector reform. In Stakeholder
analysis guidelines . Bethesda, MD: Abt Associates, Inc.
Page | 31

35. Schwartz, N. E. (2010). Getting attention nonprofit marketing plan template. Retrieved June 12,
2012, from Getting Attention: http://gettingattention.org/nonprofit-marketing/nonprofit-
marketing-plan-template.html
The Clarkson Centre for Business Ethics. (1999). Principles of stakeholder management.
Retrieved August 12, 2012, from Rotman School of Business Education:
http://www.rotman.utoronto.ca/ccbe/Other/Principles%20of%20Stakeholder%20Manage
ment.pdf
W.K. Kellogg Foundation. (n.d.). Knowledge center: template for strategic communications
plan. Retrieved June 13, 2012, from W.K. Kellogg Foundation:
http://www.wkkf.org/knowledge-center/resources/2006/01/Template-For-Strategic-
Communications-Plan.aspx
Wicks, A. C., Gilbert, D. R., & Freeman, R. E. (1994). A feminist reinterpretation of the
stakeholder concept. Business Ethics Quarterly, 4(4), 475-497.
Page | 32

36. Appendix A
Organizational Framework
PATH for
women
Outreach
Research
Jamie Ross, PhD
Michelle Berlin, MD, MPH
Torrie Fields, MPH

37. Anticipated Action Plan
(first completed on 6/20/12, last revised 7/10/12)
Achieve Learning Objectives and Submit a Stakeholder Analysis; an Outreach and Communications Plan; a Situational
Analysis and A Strategic Plan to PATH For Women in 10 weeks (June 18, 2012 through September 1, 2012)
Action Steps Accountability Schedule
Objective #1: Enhance Stakeholder Identification And
Management Skills
Feedback
Task(s) Primary Other Start Completion
Mechanism
Pre-planning and
Review 509 contract Submit action plan
project management
objectives and discuss project Me PATH for women 6/24/12 6/25/12 that captures
expectations discussion
Stakeholder Submit scrubbed
Ensure data integrity Me 6/25/12 7/5/12
Identification data for review
Stakeholder Create prioritization and Submit template for
Me 6/24/12 6/29/12
Analysis categorization template review/approval
Stakeholder Submit categorized
Prioritize and Categorize
Identification Me 7/2/12 7/5/12 and prioritized data
Stakeholders
for review
1

38. Feedback
Task(s) Primary Other Start Completion
Mechanism
Minutes of Meeting
• Finalize prior submissions to all and if
Process Meeting Me PATH for Women 7/5/12 7/5/12
•Address any concerns necessary revised
action plan
Report and Share report with
Analyze data and make
Recommendation(s) Me 7/5/12 7/20/12 PATH for women
recommendations
staff
Objective #2: Strengthen Stakeholder Engagement Skills
Send drafts for
review/approval to
• Review current materials
PATH for women internal
• Draft revisions and Me 6/18/12 7/31/12
Overview stakeholders
incorporate new material
(PATH for women
staff)
Submit for review
and approval to
•Work with graphic designer to
Communication internal
create templates, a logo and Me 6/25/12 7/31/12
Templates stakeholders
other graphics
(PATH for women
staff)
2

39. Feedback
Task(s) Primary Other Start Completion
Mechanism
•Review/develop Submit for review
communication procedures and approval to
Communication •Create content for website internal
Me 6/25/12 7/31/12
Procedures and other outlets stakeholders
(PATH for women
staff)
Get consensus from
internal and
PATH for women Send finalized
external
Process Meeting(s) Me staff and external 8/1/12 8/10/12 materials to all
stakeholders on
stakeholders participants
communication
templates etc.
• Outreach and
communication
Send report to
plan
Report Me 8/11/12 8/18/12 PATH for women
•Report
staff
synthesizing
engagement efforts
Objective #3: Enhance Applied Skills in Situational Analyses
Share information
with PATH for
Research Conduct literature review Me 6/18/12 6/25/12
women and receive
feedback
3

40. Feedback
Task(s) Primary Other Start Completion
Mechanism
Share information
Conduct internet search for with PATH for
Research Me 6/18/12 6/25/12
analogs women and receive
feedback
Mission, vision Review, revise and/or Send finalized
and values develop PATH for women’s Me PATH for women 7/5/12 7/20/12 materials to all
mission vision and values participants
Revise/update current
SWOT and SWOT and situational
Submit to PATH
situational analysis and incorporate the Me 6/29/12 7/31/12
for women
analysis lit review, mission, vision,
and values
Send revised
Process Meeting Discuss draft Me PATH for women 8/1/12 8/17/12 materials to all
participants
4

41. Feedback
Task(s) Primary Other Start Completion
Mechanism
Objective #4: Develop Competencies in Strategic Planning
Create survey to determine Send survey to
Solicit
internal and external Me 6/25/12 7/5/12 PATH for women
Stakeholder Input
advocacy interests for review
Survey released;
Process Meeting Revise survey Me PATH for women 7/5/12 7/12/12
seek participants
• Analyze and synthesize
Determine Send report to
results Me 7/12/12 7/19/12
Themes PATH for women
• Draft report
Use the report to clarify
Circulate minutes
Process Meeting program goals and Me PATH for women 7/20/12 7/27/12
and decision points
objectives
Incorporate prior materials
Send draft plan to
Strategic Plan and current data into a Me 7/28/12 8/17/12
PATH for women
strategic plan
5

42. Task(s) Primary Other Start Completion Feedback Mechanism
Objective #5: Integrate and Apply What has been Learned, Identify Future Career Directions, and Articulate Ongoing Professional
Development Needs
Present strategic plan
and circulate revised
report to PATH for
Review report and solicit
Process Meeting PATH for women 8/17/12 9/1/12 women staff and send
feedback Me
summary/briefing
points to external
stakeholders
• Reflect and synthesize
Submit reflective
what I learned throughout
paper, portfolio and
process
Reflection Me 6/18/12 9/1/12 presentation slides to
• Document progress
academic advisor for
towards career goals and
review
learning objectives
•Stakeholder analysis
report
• Outreach and
communications plan
• Stakeholder
Complete 509 Assuming completion of all of the objectives Engagement Report
•Situational analysis
• Strategic plan
• Reflective paper,
portfolio &
presentation
Source: Adapted from The Executive Guide to Operational Planning by George L. Morrisay, Patrick J. Bellow, and Betty Acomb.
Copyright 1988.
6

43. Stakeholder Analysis
Assessment and Analysis of Stakeholders for PATH
for women’s Coalition Empowerment and Capacity
Building Program
Written by: Amanda Phillips, JD, MPH
Approved by: Jamie Ross, PhD and Torrie Fields, MPH
August 29, 2012
1633 SW Park Avenue, Suite 221, Portland, OR 97207

44. Table of Contents
Table of Contents ................................................................................................................................................................ i
Introduction ......................................................................................................................................................................... 1
Purpose of the Stakeholder Analysis ............................................................................................................................... 2
Scope of the stakeholder analysis ..................................................................................................................................... 3
Method(s) ............................................................................................................................................................................. 3
Identification and Information Gathering ................................................................................................................. 3
Prioritization and Analysis of the Stakeholder Table ............................................................................................... 4
Results ................................................................................................................................................................................... 5
Identification and Categorization ................................................................................................................................ 5
Figure 1: Stakeholder Map ................................................................................................................................... 5
Diabetes Data Analysis .................................................................................................................................................. 6
Figure 2: Frequency of Stakeholders by Size .................................................................................................... 6
Figure 3: Frequency of Stakeholder Group by Type ....................................................................................... 7
Figure 4: Distribution of Research Capacity ..................................................................................................... 7
Figure 5: Distribution of Legislative Capacity .................................................................................................. 8
First Trimester Prenatal Care Data Analysis .............................................................................................................. 9
Figure 6: Frequency of Stakeholders by Size .................................................................................................... 9
Figure 7: Frequency of Stakeholder Group by Type ....................................................................................... 9
Figure 8: Distribution of Research Capacity ................................................................................................... 10
Figure 9: Distribution of Legislative Capacity ................................................................................................ 10
Prioritization and Analysis of the Stakeholder Table ............................................................................................. 11
Table 1: Potential Diabetes Coalition Members............................................................................................. 12
Table 2: Potential First Trimester Prenatal Care Coalition Members......................................................... 13
Page | i

45. Stakeholder Management: Strategies and Recommendations ................................................................................... 14
Strategies ........................................................................................................................................................................ 14
Engagement and Management .............................................................................................................................. 14
Monitoring and Evaluation .................................................................................................................................... 15
Conclusions, Recommendations, and Implications ................................................................................................ 15
Bibliography ....................................................................................................................................................................... 16
Appendix A ........................................................................................................................................................................ 18
Organizational Framework ......................................................................................................................................... 18
Appendix B ........................................................................................................................................................................ 19
Needs Assessment........................................................................................................................................................ 19
Appendix C ....................................................................................................................................................................... 22
Literature Review: Annotated Bibliography ............................................................................................................. 22
Appendix D ....................................................................................................................................................................... 25
Definitions of Stakeholder Characteristics and Instructions for Filling in Stakeholder Table ........................ 25
Stakeholder Table (Diabetes) ..................................................................................................................................... 27
Stakeholder Table (First Trimester Prenatal Care).................................................................................................. 28
Page | ii

46. Introduction
Michelle Berlin M.D., M.P.H. an Oregon Health and Sciences University (OHSU) physician and researcher,
founded the Policy Advisory Toward Health (PATH) for women for women in 2004. PATH for women was a
response to the critical need for current, evidence-based information concerning women’s health for use
toward policy implementation and it is now a strategic partnership between the OHSU Center for Women’s
Health (CWH) and Portland State University’s (PSU) Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Department
(WGSS). PATH for women’s revised mission is to provide accurate, high-quality community driven research,
data, and analysis to inform women’s health policy and to serve as an independent source of data, analysis,
and coalition capacity-building for the public, advocates, and policymakers.
PATH for women has expanded from its original emphasis on creating and translating scientific research to
inform women’s health policy to include coalition capacity building and community outreach. As a result,
PATH for women has two divisions (see Appendix A). One focuses on research and the other focuses on
outreach. The outreach division is housed at WGSS and it aims to develop meaningful relationships with
interested community members, community organizations, public health professionals, educators, and
policymakers regarding issues facing women in Oregon, such as Women with Diabetes and Women with
First Trimester Prenatal Care. The outreach division draws its evidenced-based health related information
from the Making the Grade on Women’s Health: A National and State-by-State Report Card (Report
Card).
The Report Card has been published since 2000. The 5th edition, and most current Report Card evaluates 34
health status and 68 health policy indicators and assesses progress in reaching key benchmarks and policy
objectives for each state and for the nation as a whole. For example, according to the Report Card Oregon is
currently demonstrating a failing grade in two indicators: Women with Diabetes and Women with First
Trimester Prenatal Care.
The research division is housed in CWH where Michelle is a lead author of the aforementioned Report Card
(see http://hrc.nwlc.org/). The research division aims to serve as a national and regional resource for data
analysis, including the provision of accurate and current research concerning women’s health and evidence-
based analysis of key issues that specifically affect efficiency, cost, and outcomes of the health of women.
Page | 1

47. Since 2004, the outreach arm of PATH for women has:
 Identified key areas in women's health with policy impact and developed materials for use by
community groups, local organizations, and the public to influence policy development and
implementation
 Interpreted the results of health studies for policymakers, the media, and the public
 Analyzed and translated existing evidence-based research for the public and policymakers
Purpose of the Stakeholder Analysis
Traditionally stakeholders are known as “any person, group, or organization that can place a claim on the
organization’s attention, resources, or output, or that is affected by that output” (Bryson, 2004a, p. 35).
Stakeholders are important because social and economic issues are complex problems that have mutiple
causes, are hard to define, have no easy solutions, and attempts to deal with these problems may lead to
unintended consequences (Camillus, 2008). These problems require multiple actors and mutiple strategies to
create sustainable solutions (Bryson, 2004b; Camillus, 2008). Therefore, it is crucial that organizations, such as
PATH for women, take into account all of its stakholders as it attempts to solve the problems highlighted by
the Report Card by building support for coalitions that are organized around these issues.
A stakeholder analysis “is a process of systematically gathering and analyzing qualitative information to
determine whose interests should be taken into account when developing and/or implementing a policy or
program” (Schmeer, 1999). In other words, stakeholder analysis is a tool that allows an organization to
identify key actors, such as decision makers and those affected by an issue, then through stakeholder
management identify opportunities for creative problem solving and gain support for those initiatives.
Stakeholder analyses can also guide an organization’s strategic planning processes (Brugha & Varvasovszky,
2000; Bryson, 2004b). Bryson (2004b) believes “…that strategic management processes that employ a
reasonable number of competently done stakeholder analyses are more likely to be successful – that is, meet
mandates, fulfill missions, and create public value – than those that do not.” PATH for women is in the midst
of creating its 2012-2015 strategic plan and its 2012-2013 organizational strategic communications plan. The
results of this stakeholder analysis will be incorporated into its strategic plan.
Page | 2

48. Scope of the stakeholder analysis
By third quarter 2013, PATH for women would like to forge strategic partnerships with coalitions that address
two issues: improving the health of women and their children during the first trimester, and preventing and
improving care for women with diabetes. PATH for women will align with these existing coalitions, and will
support them by assisting with the recruitment of potential coalition members, translating research upon
request, and training coalition members on how to use qualitative data to support their policy initiatives.
PATH for women’s staff plan to identify the appropriate coalitions as part of their duties. Therefore, this
stakeholder analysis supports PATH for women’s goal by identifying and prioritizing potential coalition
members that PATH for women can recruit for the existing coalitions.
Method(s)
The goal of this stakeholder analysis was primarily to identify stakeholders, gather their contact information,
and prioritize them for PATH for women’s coalition capacity building efforts. Accordingly, the steps followed
included identification of stakeholder, information gathering, categorization of stakeholders, development of
a stakeholder table, analysis of the stakeholder table, and prioritization of stakeholders.
Identification and Information Gathering
The identification and information gathering process of this stakeholder analysis relied on the knowledge of
PATH for women’s staff and secondary information. Specifically, the work group reviewed organizational
websites, advocacy reports, and annual summaries. There are some limitations to this method. The websites
and reports can be outdated and organizational interests may have changed, but these sources are excellent
for an initial report and this method was most appropriate for PATH for women’s strategic planning timeline.
Nevertheless, to increase the efficacy of the stakeholder analysis process PATH for women must integrate
additional steps such as a needs assessment. As a result, the work group developed a questionnaire (see
Appendix B) that PATH for women will use in the future to gain primary data on stakeholder interests. PATH
for women will also use this data to revise this report and future stakeholder analyses.
Lastly, PATH for women wanted a unique stakeholder scorecard that was grounded in feminist prinicples and
focused less on power rankings and resource levels, and more on relationships, stakeholder needs, and those
who would be affected the most by the coaltion. As a result, I conducted a literature review (see Appendix C).
Based on the literature review I developed a list of characteristics and created a stakeholder table.
Page | 3

49. Prioritization and Analysis of the Stakeholder Table
Each stakeholder was scored. The characteristics were assigned a numerical value
 Yes = 1 and No = 01
 High = 3, Medium = 2, and Low = 1
The total number of indicators that each organization addressed through its strategic plans or current
programming was also added to the individual scores.
The data was also analyzed in order to address the following questions:
 Regional representation and balance
 Legislative capacity
 The number of indicators that the organization addresses
 Level of reporting or focus on the issue
 Community organization and nonprofit representation
 Trade association representation
 Research capacity
 Government organization or program representation
 Direct service provider involvement in the issue
 Size of organization or department
 Emphasis on socio-demographic issues
The completed stakeholder tables are included in Appendix D.
1 Except for the rural versus urban category where Yes = 2 and No = 0.
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50. Results
Identification and Categorization
A list of 68 stakeholders for the diabetes coalition and 31 stakeholders for the first trimester prenatal care
coalition (see Appendix D). Stakeholders were then categorized into five sectors. These sectors are shown in
the following figure.
Figure 1: Stakeholder Map
Community
Organizations
and
Nonprofits
Government
Trade
Programs and
Associations
Organizations
Coalitions
Hospitals and
Research
Direct Service
Programs
Providers
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51. Key findings include:
 Many of the target stakeholders for both coalitions are large organizations(diabetes n = 32;
prenatal care n = 18) versus small or medium
 Few of the target stakeholders are trade associations (diabetes n = 1; prenatal care n = 5)
 Most of the target stakeholders are community organizations (diabetes n = 41; prenatal care
n = 12), closely followed by government programs and organizations (diabetes n = 12;
prenatal care n = 9)
 Only 3 target stakeholders are in rural areas
 The target stakeholders have a high level of legislative capacity (diabetes = 94%; prenatal
care = 87%)
Diabetes Data Analysis
Figure 2: Frequency of Stakeholders by Size
35
32
30
25
25
20
15 Total
11
10
5
0
Large Medium Small
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