Synthesis Partnership

The National Trust for Historic Preservation

Washington DC

Strategy   Capacity

Recognizing that its ability to maintain its leadership of the preservation movement is predicated on effective communication with the public, and that a younger public communicates in new ways, the National Trust transformed its website into PreservationNation.org. PreservationNation.org is built on social media principles of open, interactive communications inviting users to participate through blogs, wikis, and other online tools. It is “a virtual town square where people share proven tools, make connections, and get inspired to save historic places.”

As a large, mature organization with a high proportion of long-serving staff and a membership highly tilted toward people of retirement age, the Trust knew it was taking a bold leap into unknown territory. No other organization of the size and maturity of the Trust had made this kind of commitment.

The Trust selected Synthesis Partnership to guide them through a process of organizational change management, “to assist NTHP in assessing needed change and developing a roadmap to implement those changes necessary for the effective use and support of PreservationNation.org”.

The scope of work included:

• Helping to define goals and expectations
• Engaging key stakeholders in the PreservationNation assessment process
• Recommending other areas of potential change and implementation plans as needed
• Identifying recommended priorities for structural and cultural change

The National Inventors Hall of Fame

Akron OH

Strategy   Capacity

Over the previous decade the National Inventors Hall of Fame had generated four operating subsidiaries, transformed itself in numerous ways into a complex organization with a presence in 46 states, and developed new approaches to management and governance more adapted to its situation and needs. NIHF asked Synthesis Partnership to guide the transition to a new board structure, which involved working with two established boards, composed primarily of intellectual property lawyers and eminent research scientists. The objective was to make dramatic changes in their responsibilities to respond to new conditions and to the vision of a new CEO.

The scope of work included:

• Facilitating discussion of mission, strategy and governance.
• Creating an implementation plan for the new boards.
• Developing consensus among members of both expiring boards.
• Identifying and resolving impediments to a smooth transition.
• Channeling existing board members to new effective roles.