Organizational Effectiveness

ERG helps environmental, resource management, and public health clients build robust and resilient organizations and programs; fulfill their vision, mission, and goals; and achieve lasting outcomes. Our services, including those of ERG’s Blue Earth Team, span the full continuous improvement cycle—from planning and implementation to evaluation and learning. Through our work over the past 20+ years, we have increased the effectiveness and capacity of over 100 organizations—including federal and state agencies, nonprofit organizations, foundations, universities, and research institutions. In all our projects, we collaborate with our clients—and where appropriate engage their stakeholders and partners—to develop strategies and systems for enhancing effectiveness, durability, and impact. For example, we facilitate visioning and planning processes, and equip clients with knowledge and tools for strategic decision-making and transformation. We design and strengthen governance structures, institutional arrangements, and operational strategies. To provide a foundation for improvement, we facilitate development of monitoring, evaluation, and learning plans and conduct neutral, valid, and reliable evaluations to assess effectiveness and impact. Then we facilitate organizational learning and support clients in developing strategies to improve future performance.

Strategic Planning

Systems and network mapping and landscape assessments
Needs assessments
Market assessments
SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analyses
Political and demographic trend analyses, including power mapping
Design and facilitation of strategic planning meetings and retreats
Development of comprehensive strategic plans
Programmatic exit strategies

Lean and Six Sigma Process Analyses

Process mapping, including developing swim lane diagrams
Value stream mapping
Cause-and-effect analyses, including fishbone diagramming and "5 whys"
Failure mode effects analyses
House of quality/quality function deployment analyses
Statistical process control analyses
Voice of customer surveys

Operations and Governance

Feasibility and alignment of new organizational and corporate structures and institutional arrangements
Design of governance structures and organizational frameworks based on best practice models
Operational plans to facilitate growth, enhance capacity, and prioritize needs
Analysis and tools to support strategic data-based decision-making
Executive and board transitions
Assessment of performance and workflow to improve efficiency and effectiveness
Training, tools, and systems to build human resource capacity
Staff recruitment support and due diligence
Mergers and restructuring, including for-profit and nonprofit corporate structures and hybrids
Communication strategies, branding, and products to support organizational effectiveness

Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning

Developmental, formative, real-time, and summative evaluations of organizations, portfolios, programs, and projects
Development of SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely) metrics
Frameworks and tools to assess and measure contribution, causality, and success/impact
Program evaluation and performance measurement
- Effectiveness studies
- Systems change
- Customer satisfaction studies
- Feasibility studies and pilot programs
- Impact analyses
- Network and contribution analyses
- Return on investment and financial and benefit-cost analyses
- Budget and performance integration studies
- Lookback reviews and retrospective analyses
Learning sessions for staff and partners on progress, best practices, and lessons learned
Methods for improving performance and enhancing success through adaptive management

Stakeholder and Partner Support

Partner identification and recruitment
Development of strategies to build buy-in and foster productive relationships
Meeting design and facilitation
Consensus building, including development of consensus documents
Development of partnership strategies and agreements
Development of public-private partnerships
Comprehensive support for federal and state partnership programs
Design and production of branding and communication materials

Funding and Long-Term Financing

Identification of potential new funding sources
Design of sustainable financing mechanisms
Analysis and tools to guide strategic data-based investments
Feasibility analyses of potential alternative revenue streams
Fundraising strategies (including donor databases, donor capacity and prioritization, target ask amounts, timelines, and logistics)
Concept documents and cultivation strategies for approaching new donors and funding streams
Training and technical assistance to enhance funding and financing strategies
Institutional arrangements, effective governance models, and operating procedures for ensuring proper management and delivery of funds

Digital Transformation

Business process mapping
Alignment of systems to optimize delivery of organizational objectives
Digital products and services to support organizational effectiveness
Design and implementation of advanced data analytics systems

Projects

ERG/PG team site visit photo in grassy field with mountains in the distant background

Evaluation of the National Coastal Resilience Fund and Hurricane Sandy Coastal Resiliency Program

National Fish and Wildlife Foundation

Market Analysis for Oregon’s Ocean Resources and Blue Economy Sector

Oregon Business Development Department

Photo of a native bird flying over ocean of Hawaii and across the Pacific region.

Strategic Business Plan Update

Pacific Rim Conservation

Photo of diversified team of people around a table in an office setting

Development of a Roadmap for Equity-Centered Data Strategic Planning

Massachusetts Department of Public Health

Photo of a river viewed from a distance with a lighted roadway bridge passing over it.

Comprehensive Update of Massachusetts “State Hazard Mitigation and Climate Adaptation Plan”

Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency

Graphic showing 3 post-it notes that read. DEI Principles and Vocabulary, Applying DEI Principles, and Envisioning a DEI

Workshops for Organizational Integration of DEI Principles and Practice

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Photo of a school of silvery fish in a deep blue water

Retrospective Evaluation of Oceans and Fisheries Work in Mexico

Walton Family Foundation

photo of fish in water surrounded by seaweed

Capacity-Building and Grants Administration for California Marine Protected Area Collaboratives

California Ocean Protection Council, Coastal Quest

Aerial photo of the coast of a Caribbean island

Caribbean Regional Coastal Integrated Information Management System

Pilot Program for Climate Resilience at the University of West Indies, Mona

Aerial view of houses, shoreline, and ocean along the U.S. coast.

Evaluating the NOAA Coastal Services Center’s Stakeholder Services

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

African child in a rural African setting, holding a bagged plant ready for planting.

Partnership Strategy for a Sustainable African Forestry Fund

Global Environment Fund

Male veteran on a phone at a work desk with an American flag in the background.

Using Lean Six Sigma to Improve Support for U.S. Veterans

U.S. Department of Labor

Miner drilling into rock face in a mine.

Using Lean Six Sigma to Protect Miner Health and Safety

U.S. Department of Labor

View from the rear of a seated group in a large room where a presentation with slides is being delivered by a speaker at a podium.

Support for Organizational Climate Survey

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Woman facilitating a meeting, with a whiteboard in the background

Stakeholder Facilitation for California’s Wildlife Action Plan

California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Coastal Quest

Drenched walkway with palm trees with fronds blown sideways by wind at a Gulf Coast beachside area during a substantial storm.

Evaluating NOAA’s Coastal Storms Program in the Gulf of Mexico

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Two men standing side by side over an office table carefully examine the contents of a document open on the table.

FDA Data Analysis and Search Host (DASH)

U.S. Food and Drug Administration

Aerial view of rocky California coastline

Enhancing Management of California’s Marine Protected Area Network

California Department of Fish and Wildlife, California Ocean Protection Council, Coastal Quest, Resources Legacy Fund

Commercial fishing boats moored in an Alaskan harbor

Ocean Conservation Strategic Funding Initiatives: A Study of Successes and Lessons Learned

The David and Lucile Packard Foundation

Close-up showing the hands of a person inspecting a netted ocean fish catch

Evaluating the Effectiveness of a Marine Conservation Program in Belize

The Wildlife Conservation Society

Aerial view of four freight trucks on a highway and off-ramp

Strategic Plan to Guide the SmartWay Transport Partnership

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Aerial view of a lagoon in the Caribbean Sea

Sustainable Financing and Operations to Conserve Caribbean Marine and Coastal Environments

Anonymous International Nonprofit Organization, Coastal Quest, Henry Foundation, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation

Close-up of FDA-regulated medication pills on a mirror

Assessing the Effectiveness of an Innovative FDA Drug Review Program

U.S. Food and Drug Administration

Small group wading in and examining shallow coastal water with ring nets

Strategic Business Plan and Revenue Model for a New Marine Sciences Initiative

University of California, Davis, Coastal and Marine Sciences Institute and Bodega Marine Laboratory

View from a path in Lands End park in San Francisco, looking over coastal water with the Golden Gate Bridge in the distance

Evaluating the Effectiveness of a Regional Conservation Program

Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation

Service Area Leads

I feel profoundly fortunate to have been with ERG throughout our journey from a handful of employees in 1984 to several hundred today. I couldn’t be more proud of the work we’ve done these past 30+ years or more inspired to work every day with such great colleagues and clients. My work is just as fulfilling and vibrant to me now as the day I started.

Jan Connery

My greatest professional satisfaction has been working with tremendously dedicated colleagues and clients to design, develop, and implement technology solutions for some of our most pressing environmental, health, and safety challenges.

Linda Diamond

The most rewarding part of my work is being able to help our clients and communities from behind the scenes, reflect on their impact, and find ways to become more effective and accessible in improving community conditions for all.

Jennifer Lam

My favorite problems are the difficult ones—those sticky, multi-jurisdictional, multi-sector problems that require us to find new partners, develop new frameworks for working together, and be brave, humble, and kind. I love building frameworks that enable the person with the least amount of power and the person with the most amount of power to share their perspectives and contribute to solutions. Whatever the issue, my goals are to develop transparent, equitable, and effective solutions and to have fun along the way!

Lindy Lowe

Agencies tend to manage what can be readily measured, but with a large toolbox of analytical and data collection techniques and some creativity, so much more is possible! I am proud and inspired to apply my program evaluation and economic valuation expertise to help agencies manage better—by providing them with valid, reliable data to enhance decision-making and by effectively communicating this information to my clients, their stakeholders, and upper management.

Lou Nadeau

In today’s world, pioneering innovative solutions requires collaboration between all of us: the people, interested parties, subject experts, information technologists, communicators, and others. I’m proud to be part of an organization that is built around an inclusive approach to progress. ERG empowers us to conceive forward-looking ideas and develop new solutions to meet our present and future needs.

Valerie Overton

Designing equitable solutions for sustainable environmental conservation and management efforts is a constantly challenging, rewarding endeavor. I love collaborating closely with our clients to develop strategies that promote environmental and climate resilience and justice—including evaluating environmental program effectiveness and identifying innovative best practices for coastal and ocean planning.

Diana Pietri