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Alterna's Theory of Change and Strategic Planning

Sense-Lab



Introduction


Alterna has been working in the entrepreneurial field in Guatemala for more than 10 years, supporting entrepreneurs from lower socioeconomic backgrounds to thrive in a harsh environment, and accelerating impact solutions with sustainable business models for the region. Besides working directly with entrepreneurs, Alterna trains other organizations in its cultivation methodology to expand the reach of its services and be able to indirectly support more businesses. Acknowledging that there is an important investment gap in the ecosystem, Alterna also uses its own funds and calls out other investors to provide adequate resources for entrepreneurs. In summary, Alterna is a growing and bold organization that intends to transform the region and address its most foundational social and environmental problems by working systemically to unleash the power of transformative businesses.


Alterna contends that the most effective way to address the prevailing social and environmental issues in Mesoamerica, in a manner that is sustainable and enduring, is through implementing systemic changes. This means the organization sees the necessity of a fundamental transformation in how the economic system operates and what it is intended to produce. Alterna is actively working towards establishing an inclusive and transformative economy, shifting away from an unfair, fragmented, unconscious, short-sighted, and unjust economic structure to one that benefits all and recognizes nature as a collaborator rather than a limitless resource for extraction.




The Calling


Sense-Lab was called to develop a Theory of Change for Alterna, supporting the organization to create a shared vision of what it wants to achieve and the means to get there, adopting a systemic approach.


Additionally, there was a need to deepen the understanding of the 5 impact systems that Alterna chose to influence: Humans on the Move, Creative Horizons, Climate Action, Conscious Markets and Wellbeing. The idea was to find the acupuncture points in these systems that connect to Alterna’s strategy and vocation and that could have a big influence on the system as a whole, enabling Alterna to direct its energy and resources and be more intentional in its work. There was also the call to spread and deepen systemic thinking and complex problem solving within Alterna's teams through participatory practices that engage the team on thinking and acting differently in order to bring systemic change to all of Alterna strategies and methodologies.


Alterna also needed support in creating a strategic and tactical planning for the organization, starting with long term ambitions connected to the Theory of Change and tracking this back to the organization’s annual planning of results and activities. This should also support Alterna in assessing the evolution of its impact to be able to showcase its results and make adjustments as needed.




Results


For the first time Alterna's team could work under one strategy with all its complexity, showing the organization that it could work towards a common goal, but still keep its innovative and flexible spirit. Besides creating more alignment within the team, the Theory of Change supported Alterna in organizing a narrative around its work and the expected outcomes of it, with indicators, leading to the vision of transformation. This way, Alterna was able to better explain its strategy to funders, investors, partners and others.


As an auxiliary document to address the need of deepening the understanding of the 5 impact systems that Alterna seeks to influence, we developed a systemic map of challenges and possible leverage points for each impact system that is present in Alterna’s Theory of Change. One of the main findings was that at the center of the change that Alterna wants to create in all impact systems is the need to change the mental models towards a more systemic and sustainable paradigm.


Besides that cross-cutting leverage point, working with Climate Action, Wellbeing, Humans on the Move, Conscious Markets and Creative Horizons demands specific interventions to strengthen the impact economy, which were also mapped in the model. As a result of the reflections based on the impact systems mapping, Alterna was able to identify and choose the key leverage points that make more sense for its own strategy, and use that to create meaningful interventions. 






While the Theory of Change and the Impact Systems mapping served the need of the ones craving for a common strategy with a clearer understanding of Alterna’s role in the impact systems, the strategic planning gave concreteness to the strategy, helping people understand what it would mean in practice for Alterna to work towards that aspirational change in the mid and short tem.


The strategic planning process for Alterna, spanning 2024 to 2030, was comprehensive and multi-faceted, focusing on developing a strategic plan aligned with their new Theory of Change. It aimed to establish clear short, mid, and long-term goals, develop a shared vision for 2030, operationalize the impact strategy, review and prioritize strategies and action lines, integrate planning across the organization, and develop performance indicators​. For that, Sense-Lab provided a personalized online framework that can easily be used by all members of the team.


Key insights from the process included recognizing the need to link the Theory of Change with a high-level strategy that is easy to communicate and aligned with Alterna’s identity and vocation. The strategy was then broken down into tactical plans to make it more tangible for the team. Throughout the following years, Alterna will need to actively manage and sustain this strategy, according to the recommendations from Sense-Lab for planning management and governance.





Process and Methodology


The whole process from the development of the Theory of Change and the impact systems mapping to the creation of a strategic and tactical planning for Alterna lasted almost 2 years, and involved a series of activities, here divided into the 3 main products:


Theory of Change

  • Document analysis focused on understanding the previous strategy

  • Interviews with internal and external stakeholders to get different perspectives about the current and future of the organization’s strategy and the 5 impact systems

  • Several workshops with the selected strategic team members to work on various elements of the Theory of Change model, including problems, stakeholders, strategies, results and vision of change

  • Recurring meetings with the focal point to steer the process and work on refining and detailing the new Theory of Change and auxiliary strategic documents


Impact Systems Mapping

  • Desk research focused on deepening understanding of the 5 chosen impact systems

  • Internal and external interviews to deepen understanding of the 5 impact systems

  • Systematization of all the information collected and development of the first version of the mapping, identifying causal loops

  • Small workshops with co-creation team to refine and evolve the mapping based on Alterna’s experience in the field

  • Collective analysis and identification of leverage points in the 5 impact systems connected to Alterna’s strategy and vocation, using concepts from the socio-technical transition theory and other relevant models that support systemic thinking.


Strategic and Tactical Planning


  • Document analysis focused on understanding the previous operational and tactical planning

  • Interviews with internal stakeholders to get different perspectives about the current and future vision of the organization’s work in light of the emerging Theory of Change

  • Several workshops with the selected strategic team members to work on Alterna's identity and vocation, as well as vision and strategic goals for 2030

  • 3 days in person workshop in Guatemala to validate the work done by the strategic team and co-create 3 year objectives connected to the 2030 strategic goals, as well as brainstorm annual results. As this was a rare opportunity for the leadership team to be together in person, we included moments and dynamics for them to (re)connect, enjoy their time together and have fun while working together

  • Several small workshops and asynchronous work with the teams to refine the 3 year objectives, create annual results and action lines and assign responsibilities

  • Recurring meetings with the focal points to steer the process and work on refining and detailing the new Strategic Planning and and Tactical Planning


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