Monthly Report #15: January 2021

The team conducted all meetings and outreach virtually to ensure continuity of services to the client and its stakeholders. The TCMST provides regular updates to the Bureau for Development, Democracy, and Innovation (DDI) Change Management (CM) Working Group Lead and plans to continue to coordinate with her on DDI's CM-related activities and needs. On January 26, 2021, the TCMST conducted a "Demystifying Change Management for Champions" training for DDI's Operating Unit (OU) Directors and Deputy Directors. This 1.5-hour session included a brief background on change management and the ADKAR model before leading participants through an interactive discussion of the various strategies associated with ADKAR and how directors may apply them to their OUs. The TCMST has continued to support DDI OUs with OU Formation through the Nine-Step Team Building Process. The team conducted pre-retreat interviews with the leadership of the Innovation, Technology, and Research Hub (ITR) and Program Office (PO) to gather data that will help inform the design of their team building retreats and plan next steps. With new leadership in the Inclusive Development Hub (ID), the TCMST reestablished contact with the acting director and deputy director to plan next steps to design a retreat that addresses ID's CM needs. The TCMST has engaged two expert facilitators for the next few months to help design and execute the retreats. The TCMST's activities in January with each Center/Hub/Office are described in more detail below. The team reengaged with the former director and now DAA of the PO on January 12, 2021, to discuss updates on the Program Office and next steps to prepare for a PO retreat, starting with interviews with PO team leads. Between January 14 and 27, 2021, the TCMST interviewed the five team leads and assessed that prior to bringing the entire office together for a retreat, there was a need for a separate PO leadership retreat to clarify the goals, roles, and responsibilities of each of the five teams, as well as the PO's strategy to support DDI hubs and centers. In addition, the team lead for the Client Service Operations team reached out to the TCMST at the beginning of the year to discuss designing a retreat for her team. The TCMST has continued to support DDI OUs with OU Formation through the Nine-Step Team Building Process. The TCMST conducted a "Demystifying Change Management for Champions" training for DDI's Operating Unit (OU) Directors and Deputy Directors on January 26, 2021. The team conducted pre-retreat interviews with the leadership of the Innovation, Technology, and Research Hub (ITR) and Program Office (PO) to gather data that will help inform the design of their team building retreats and plan next steps. The TCMST has engaged two expert facilitators for the next few months to help design and execute the retreats. The team reengaged with the former director and now DAA of the PO on January 12, 2021, to discuss updates on the Program Office and next steps to prepare for a PO retreat, starting with interviews with PO team leads. The TCMST interviewed the five team leads and assessed that prior to bringing the entire office together for a retreat, there was a need for a separate PO leadership retreat to clarify the goals, roles, and responsibilities of each of the five teams, as well as the PO's strategy to support DDI hubs and centers. The team lead for the Client Service Operations team reached out to the TCMST at the beginning of the year to discuss designing a retreat for her team. The TCMST conducted a series of interviews with the acting director and deputy directors of the ITR Hub to gather data that would inform the design of the ITR retreat. This information was summarized into a document that was shared with the DAA of ITR. On January 15, 2021, the TCMST met with the DAA to plan next steps. To help ensure that the content of the retreat met the interest of ITR staff, the TCMST and DAA decided to send out a staff survey with multiple choice questions asking for preferences on retreat topics and activities. The TCMST and DAA sent out the staff survey to ITR staff on January 25, 2021, with a close date of February 1, 2021. The retreat is expected to be divided into three parts. The first session will bring together all staff and include presentations by the DAA, director, and deputy directors to familiarize everyone with the mission, goals, and activities of the Hub. The second part of the retreat will divide staff into three mixed groups and place them in separate retreat sessions to discuss opportunities and challenges, as well as potential actions to take advantage of the