STRATEGIC PLAN

Three–Year Strategic Plan

2021—2024

In January 2021, MICR’s Leadership Team convened to develop a holistic strategic planning process that would engage our staff, students, board and community in charting a course for the future. This strategic plan serves as a foundational document for our organization’s leadership and board to allocate - and extract maximum value from - our resources, remain focused on key priorities over time and energize our staff, donors and community toward our common goals. Additionally, the document provides us with a tool to manage and assess the impact of our growth, while providing consistency, predictability and transparency to our programs and services. 

For six months, an MICR “Working Group” composed of our staff and board worked alongside a “Strategic Planning Committee,” composed of MICR alumni, students, parents, independent professionals in philanthropy, sport-based-youth-development, business and education to craft our plan. Below you can read an outline of our three focus areas, along with the central aims and clear targets we will use to guide our growth over the next three years.

Focus Area 1: Program Design and Implementation

Central Aim

Solidify the design of mission-aligned programs and services that maximize our impact and create replicable, reliable structures and expectations for staff and students.

Clear Targets

  • Establish a concrete framework for all MS and HS core programs that, aligned with coach training, more intentionally supports player and coach development.

  • Implement a reliable and safe transportation system that provides all students with access to MICR events.

  • Pilot distinct full-time and part-time staffing models and evaluate their impact on program quality and sustainability.

  • Develop & implement replicable 5-8 week "Seed Rugby" program model to pilot all future programs and systematize community outreach and growth.

Focus Area 2: Program Style

Central Aim

Increase overall participation and YOY retention through the strategic development of 6 connected MS to HS program pathways

Clear Targets

  • Create 6 connected MS to HS program pathways

  • Reach a target of 350 total participants by Y3

    • 134 HS and 216 MS

  • Maintain 75% YOY retention of committed participants

    • Retain at least 5 eligible students per MS/HS transition point, so that each HS team inherits 5 or more MICR student-athletes per academic vear.

  • Support pathways with geographically aligned elementary programs

  • Continue to scale MICR alumni support to meet the needs of each new class

Focus Area 3: Organizational Infrastructure and Human Capital

Central Aim 1

Build out organizational systems and procedures that improve effectiveness, increase capacity, and support the long-term resilience and sustainability of our mission

Clear Targets

  • Increase annual projection of expected commitments to $486,000 by FY24.

  • Implement a coach training and development system consisting of an annual calendar of content, actionable performance rubrics, and 2 observation-debrief cycles a semester.

  • Transition our data collection and analysis systems into a structure that empowers more proactive and dynamic data-driven decision-making.

Central Aim 2

Recruit, evaluate, develop, and retain high quality human capital - prioritizing program alumni - to guide our organization into the future.

Clear Targets

  • Solidify and commit to a renewed 360 goal-setting, evaluation, and reflection process for all full-time MICR staff.

  • Grow MIC's capacity for impact by identifying and securing new full-time talent

  • Develop responsive management systems, resources and infrastructure that increase clarity, parity and accountability for part-time staff.

MICR Pathways

Our strategy for program scale centers on the development of deep relationships with individual students over time. Our vision is to create accessible and connected program “pathways” from elementary school to and through a students’ enrollment in our post-secondary alumni services, such that a student can join MICR in 3rd grade and see a clear pathway of support, resources and opportunities all the way through their post-secondary choices, pursuit of college-credit internships and professional employment.

Through the research driven benefits of sport, competency building, social-emotional learning, academic mentoring, scholarships, internships, employment and professional development opportunities, MICR aims to surround our participants in a holistic supportive infrastructure and walk alongside them on their individual journeys to their full potential.