As the existing strategic plan’s term neared closure in 2015, the AADL Board of Trustees issued a competitive Request for Proposals that resulted in the engagement of Bridgeport Consulting beginning in December 2015. Over the following six months, Bridgeport consultants Kerry Sheldon and Griffin Reames:
1. Conducted individual interviews with each trustee to learn his/her particular interests and aspirations for the strategic plan;
2. Facilitated a half-day retreat with the Board of Trustees to develop a shared understanding of high-value topics to be explored;
3. Developed, deployed, and synthesized results from an online survey distributed to all AADL staff in the interest of broadening the field of suggestions and ideas that could inform the strategic plan’s contents;
4. Synthesized internal data in order better to understand the demographics of AADL’s existing cardholder population;
5. Compared cardholder demographics with community-level demographic data as published by the U.S. Census and Southeast Michigan Council of Governments (SEMCOG); and
6. Engaged a broad range of stakeholders, including current and prospective community partners, to brainstorm specific strategies and tactics for consideration by AADL Board of Trustees and staff in populating this plan.
Outcomes from the above activities provided a platform for discussion at the March, April, and May meetings of the Board of Trustees.