BGSU’s Executive Master of Organization Development – Mastering Change Class (ORGD 6070X)

Request for Proposals, Due May 8, 2013

The Bowling Green State University’s Executive Master of Organization Development (EMOD) program culminates in an applied field experience for the students during their capstone class on Mastering Change which takes place June-August. The program seeks projects for this field experience from the nonprofit or public sector as a way to support the community and to augment the client’s often limited resources by providing specialized expertise that might otherwise be unavailable to a nonprofit or public sector organization. Through such projects, organizations have had the opportunity to work with our experienced executive students on issues related to organization development and change.

Below are examples of the types of organization development related issues with which the students can assist:

Organization mission/vision development / Board development/governance
Organization design and structure / Succession planning
Workflow/job redesign / Community engagement
Leadership development / Strategic planning
Integration of policies, procedures, and work activities / Education and training strategies

Our executive students do not function as interns or part-time employees. They serve in a consulting capacity with the client organization. Their expertise is in organization development and change, and therefore projects such as developing marketing campaigns, performing financial analysis, and conducting fundraising are not appropriate to their role or expertise. If your organization is selected you will have a dedicated team of professionals working with you during the course of the program.

Past Client Projects:

Ø  The Padua Center of Toledo is a Christian community-based organization dedicated to empowering people at all stages of life to achieve their maximum potential through education, support, and community involvement. They envision a neighborhood free of commercial sex trafficking and drugs, beautified by people actively engaged in community and self growth. The EMOD students provided the Center with a comprehensive plan to address issues of succession planning, board recruitment and development, community engagement and funding, program structure and marketing for Padua Possibilities, the alternative to school suspension program run by the Center.

Ø  Crime Victim Services of Allen and Putnam Counties helps victims by assisting and advocating for their safety, healing, justice and restitution. The EMOD students provided recommendations to better align CVS’s goals with measurable outcomes including areas of funding, human resource development, dashboard metrics, board recruitment and community awareness.

Ø  Patrick Henry Local School District, a small, consolidated NW Ohio school system. The EMOD students conducted an operational, financial, and community impact study to determine opportunities for growth, promotion of unity and enrichment among district constituents, and strategies for designing the optimum future for the school system.

Ø  Neighborhood Properties, Inc., a NW Ohio organization that provides housing and supportive services for individuals with mental illness and addition disorders. The EMOD students formulated a comprehensive plan for NPI to better integrate their strategic plan with their day to day operations and board governance.

Ø  Parents Helping Parents, a NW Ohio/SE MI parental support organization. The EMOD students assisted the organization with succession planning, and strategies for board development/governance.

Ø  Community Connections, a group of BGSU individuals, departments, and organizations whose purpose is to develop a strong network to support campus-community engagement. The EMOD students designed and facilitated a retreat and prepared recommendations to assist Community Connections in creating an organizational purpose and structure to optimize campus-community partnerships.

Although the late June-early August timeframe limits the scope of the project that can be undertaken (e.g., typically through needs analysis, diagnosis, planning, and recommendations, but not implementation and evaluation), the students can make a significant contribution to project development and provide client organizations with clear direction for continuing the work after the student-client project has concluded.

The on-campus dates for the 2013 program are June 22-23, and August 2-4, with much of the course work done “virtually” in-between. Relevant members of the selected organization will need to be available to meet in person with the students from 3-4:30 pm on Saturday, June 22 and again for 1.5-2 hours on August 3 (exact time TBD). Communications technology allows flexibility in how the client(s) and students interact between class weekends, and for conducting additional meetings, interviewing stakeholders, etc., as deemed necessary.

Proposal Application Process

Interested organizations should email their proposals by May 8, 2013 to Dr. Deb O’Neil. Students will review the proposals and choose one organization as their client for this summer. All applicant organizations will be notified of the status of their proposals by June 8.

Contents of a Proposal

  1. Objectives – Description of the current issue(s) facing your organization with which you would like assistance.
  2. Outcomes – Description of the final outcomes you would like to see as a result of working with the EMOD class.
  3. Brief background/history of your organization including: When and how the organization was established; its mission/purpose; accomplishments to date; and a listing of current programs, services and stakeholders. A web site link for additional data would be most welcome.

For additional information or with any questions, please contact:

Deborah A. O’Neil, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

Dept. of Management, College of Business Administration

Bowling Green State University

419-372-5222

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