Case Study: ACTION Housing
“We feel underwater in a sea of big decisions that should have been made yesterday.”
The Challenge
ACTION-Housing—Pittsburgh’s largest affordable housing developer—needed to understand its organizational identity within its community so the team could confidently make decisions about the agency’s future that leveraged its strengths and resources.
In 2020, ACTION-Housing faced the enormous challenge of meeting clients’ unprecedented needs due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The programs and staff had to grow quickly to step up to serve its clients who needed housing and resources more than ever. While the team reacted effectively and quickly, the extent of changes did not allow time to reflect on what this significant growth meant for the organization and how it fit into or would shape the larger identity of ACTION-Housing.
“Our work with Emily not only helped us better understand how our work fits into our community and be more confident about how we present ourselves, she honestly led us through the most interactive conversations the board has had with each other.”
- Lena Andrews, VP of Real Estate Development
What We Accomplished
• Gained confidence in knowing its strengths and weaknesses based on external input
• Understood the leverage it has within its community to ask for support and build a process for saying ‘yes’ to new projects
• Prioritized the big decisions it had ahead to take actionable steps toward challenges that had been building for years - such as leadership transitions, finding unrestricted funding, and offering equitable compensation
“You (teenyBIG) have been the perfect person to lead us through this project.”
- Larry Swanson, Executive Director
The Approach
teenyBIG interviewed more than 25 stakeholders, including funders, partners, and clients to gather input. Stakeholders shared their perceptions and opinions about ACTION-Housing’s reputation, what makes the agency successful, the observable needs for improvement, and what people hope for ACTION-housing’s next 10 years.
Through staff & board workshops, we explored the findings to prioritize the most important lessons and action items to create a new/revised vision of ACTION-housing.