cities of service playbook

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cities of service playbook

how to develop a high-impact service plan

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1 AboutCitiesofService

2 DeclarationofService

3 Developing a high-impact service plan: Six steps

4 Step 1: Invest in leadership

6 Step 2: Identify priority need areas and specific

challenges, resources, and opportunities

10 Step 3:Develop a clear and concrete set

of initiatives

16 Step 4: Define how you will measure the

impact of your service initiatives

20 Step 5: Clarify and agree on next steps

22 Step 6: Publish your plan and prepare for launch

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about cities of service

every day across our country, millions of americans

take time away from their work, their studies, and their

families to give back to their communities. Millions more

americans would like to help solve local problems, but

they are wondering: “How can I get involved? Where

can I make a difference?”

cities of service is a bi-partisan coalition of mayors

from large and small cities across our country who are

working together to engage citizens in addressing the

great challenges of our time. founded in New York city

on september 10, 2009, the coalition and its member

cities are responding to the edward M. Kennedy serve

america act’s historic call to action by finding new and

innovative ways to harness the power of volunteers to

help solve pressing local challenges. the coalition aims

to accelerate the service movement at the most local

level, connecting local needs to the supply of willing

volunteers in innovative and impactful new ways, thus

creating a new chapter in america’s longstanding

history with service.

as of May 2010, roughly 100 mayors across the united

states have joined the cities of service coalition and

signed the Declaration of service, thereby committing to:

• Develop a comprehensive service plan and a

coordinated strategy focused on matching volunteers

and established community partners to the areas

of greatest local need.

• Work with other mayors and elected officials to

advance strategies and best practices that accelerate

the service movement and produce measurable results.

• encourage other mayors to join this national effort

to engage our citizens.

• ensure that the voice of cities is heard in federal

legislative, policy, and program discussions related

to service, which will help the country achieve the

ambitious goals of the serve america act.

cities of service efforts are further characterized by the

concept of “impact volunteering”—volunteer strategies

that target community needs, use best practices, and

set clear outcomes and measures to gauge progress.

in developing impact volunteering strategies, cities will

build on and elevate existing efforts while also developing

new and innovative “Impact Service Initiatives.”

For more information on Cities of Service, visit citiesofservice.org.

hoW to Develop a high-iMpact service plaN 1

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Whereas america has a proud tradition of service and

volunteerism that dates back to the colonial era and

today can be found in communities across the fifty states;

Whereas the bipartisan edward M. Kennedy serve

america act, signed into law by president barack obama

on april 21, 2009 builds on this tradition, encouraging

all americans to serve their communities in new ways;

Whereas cities, home to many of the nation’s most

persistent challenges, are positioned to bring new

leadership, facilitation, and innovation to the service

movement;

Whereas the current need for public-spirited residents

to help address increased hardship resulting from the

global financial and housing crises is clear;

Whereas service enriches the lives of americans of

all ages, and each new generation of young americans

must be engaged to tackle emerging challenges;

Now, therefore, we resolve to develop a coalition

of mayors from cities large and small to work together

to harness and focus the energies of our citizens. cities

of service coalition members will support efforts to

increase service opportunities in our cities by:

Developing a comprehensive service plan and a

coordinated strategy focused on matching volunteers

and established community partners to the areas

of greatest local need;

Working with other mayors and elected officials to

advance strategies and best practices that accelerate

the service movement and produce measurable results;

Encouraging other mayors to join this national effort

to engage our citizens; and

Ensuring that the voice of cities is heard in federal

legislative, policy, and program discussions related

to service, which will help the country achieve the

ambitious goals of the serve america act.

DeclaratioN of service

2 cities of service playbook

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“My hope is that we can spark a new day of activism and service to our City amongst every citizen. It’s going to take people working together not just for their own benefit but also for the good of the whole community.”

Mayor Kevin JohnsonSacramento, ca

DeVeLoPInG a HIGH-ImPact SerVIce PLan

the first commitment in the Declaration of Service is to

develop “a comprehensive service plan and a coordinated

strategy focused on matching volunteers and established

community partners to the areas of greatest local need.”

the aim of the cities of Service Playbook is to provide

cities with initial guidance and support as they embark

on their own individual planning processes.

the intent in writing and sharing the cities of Service

Playbook is not to prescribe one “right” approach to

developing a service plan, but rather to reduce the

planning burden on cities by illustrating an approach

and providing a set of sample tools.

the sample approach provided here draws largely from

new York city’s experience developing nYc Service

(nyc.gov/service), mayor michael r. Bloomberg’s citywide

plan to increase service, which was informed by best

practices in volunteer engagement and input from

hundreds of local and national service experts. as more

coalition members develop, implement, and learn from

their own planning processes, best practices from

additional member cities will be collected and shared.

the cities of Service Playbook references supporting

tools and templates that are included in a separate

resource supplement located on the enclosed cD.

the following material is divided into six sections:

step 1Invest in leadership

step 2 Identify priority need areas and specific challenges,

resources, and opportunities

step 3 Develop a clear and concrete set of initiatives

step 4 Define how you will measure the impact of

your service initiatives

step 5 clarify and agree on next steps

step 6 Publish your plan and prepare for launch

How to DeVeLoP a HIGH-ImPact SerVIce PLan 3

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invest in leadership

1.


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cities of service puts the leadership, resources, convening power, and bully

pulpit of local elected executives into the service of the service movement.

cities across the country have the potential to demonstrate that service

can be a serious municipal strategy with demonstrated impact on pressing

local challenges.

this is why some level of dedicated leadership and accountability for service

efforts within the mayor’s office is critical, though what this looks like will

vary significantly from city to city. some cities will choose to appoint a

chief service officer to lead their service efforts, while others may choose

to assign responsibility to an existing staff role. regardless of who takes

on the leadership role, this individual—or group of individuals—is accountable

for the overall planning and delivery of service initiatives. Developing a

high-impact service plan requires mayoral support, effective outreach and

collaboration, innovative thinking, and strong implementation planning. of

course, cities may choose to designate one individual as the lead for the

planning process with the expectation that responsibility for implementation

may shift to another role.

key questions:

• What is the best structure for the team that will lead this effort?

• Who could effectively lead the process of developing our service plan?

• Where should accountability for the eventual implementation of our

plan reside?

• Which agencies and organizations will be critical partners in developing

and implementing our plan?

the type and number of city agencies, partner organizations, supporters,

and champions that actively engage will also vary from city to city. larger

cities may wish or need to partner with dozens of agencies and external

organizations to achieve their goals, while smaller cities may be able to

focus their energies on a handful of critical partners.

Please view the enclosed CD for resources available for Step 1: Invest in leadership.

• 1a. example job description,

chief service officer

rESoUrCES

Prior to 2009, two states—California and New York—had cabinet level posts dedicated to promoting service. In 2009, New York City was the first locality in the nation to have a Chief Service Officer, and in 2010 New York will be joined by 20 new Chief Service Officers being appointed by Cities of Service coalition members through Cities of Service Leadership Grants. The Cities of Service Leadership Grant program’s original funder was the Rockefeller Foundation. Bloomberg Philanthropies is now also a supporter.

Chief ServiCe OffiCerS

step 1


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identiFY priOritY need areas and speCiFiC ChallenGes, resOUrCes, and OppOrtUnities

2.


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a crucial step in developing a high-impact service plan is the identification

of “priority need areas” and the specific challenges your city faces within

those areas that may be addressed, in part, by citizen service.

once the priority need areas have been selected, it is important to engage

with a range of potential partners in order to identify specific challenges,

resources, opportunities, and areas of collaboration. tapping into the existing

energy, creativity, and volunteer management capacity of nonprofits and

social entrepreneurs is critical to success, and brings work that would

otherwise happen in isolation and without coordination into alignment,

creating opportunities for greater impact.

engaging your colleagues in local government is important. Keep in mind

that service as a serious municipal strategy is a new concept, so you may

need to invest resources to educate your colleagues in other departments

and offices on its potential for impact in order to generate ideas. You can

help them to think creatively about the roles volunteers could play in helping

them get their priority work done. in New York city, for example, conversations

with the Department of health and Mental hygiene generated an innovative

initiative called flu fighters that engaged volunteers to extend the reach

of h1N1 vaccination and education efforts.

colleges and universities can be valuable partners, and should be engaged

early in the process. in addition to being a rich source of volunteers, colleges

and universities can help you design the research and evaluation components

of your service plan. they can provide training and technical assistance to

build the capacity of nonprofits and municipal agencies to use volunteers

more effectively. and in some cases, they can help implement your service

strategies. colleges and universities appreciate the importance of supporting

their host communities and being part of something new. they just need to

be asked.

engaging funders is also key. local philanthropic foundations, individuals,

and corporations in your city can be critical partners in ensuring the viability

and sustainability of your service plan. they can also provide much more than

funding, and including them in the development of your plan will often result

in valuable insight and ensure that they feel a part of the plan as it develops,

all of which can contribute to the long-term success of your program.

this dialogue with potential partners is an opportunity for you to begin

building an engaged network of supporters and champions that will help

shape and implement your service plan. in practice, you may choose to

host roundtables or focus groups, administer surveys or questionnaires,

or simply structure a series of individual interviews in order to gather the

input you need. (for sample worksheets and questionnaires see the resource

supplement.) this process also gives the mayor an opportunity to signal the

city’s increased commitment to and leadership on service.

step 2

Please view the enclosed CD for resources available for Step 2: Identify priority need areas and specific challenges, resources, and opportunities.

• 2a. focus group materials

– Focus group planning worksheet

– suggested focus group questions

– Focus group insights template

• 2b. surveys

– survey for volunteer-using

organizations (nonprofits)

– survey for city agencies

– survey for K-12 schools

• 2c. examples of cross-cutting

service challenges

• 2D. starter list of existing research

on service

• 2e. summary worksheet: step 2

rESoUrCES


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obJECtivE 1:

Agree on which need areas are a priority

this objective can often be answered quickly based

on the administration’s existing priorities. in tight budget

climates, it is particularly important to identify new ways

to advance the city’s work on those priorities; service

presents a practical, tested, and cost-efficient way to do

so. additionally, the federal government is making more

service resources available than ever before, so it pays to

think seriously about service as a key strategy to address

local needs.

there is no ideal number of priority need areas and

the length of the list will likely be different for different

cities. While New York city chose to tackle six separate

priority need areas (strengthening communities, helping

neighbors in need, education, environment, health, and

emergency preparedness), other cities may choose to

focus their efforts on one or two. Narrowing your focus

in the first year may help you to target resources and

meet goals. once your plan and associated infrastructure

are in place, your focus can be continually evaluated and

adjusted to address emerging challenges and those of

widespread public concern.

key questions:

• What need areas are priorities for our city?

• how many priority need areas do we believe

we can effectively manage?

• is this need area one that can be impacted

through service?

– Basic Needs– Community Development– Cultural Education– Early Learning and School Readiness– Economic Recovery– Education– Education and Out-of-School Time– Environment

– Environmental Education and Impact– Homelessness– Neighborhood Development– Neighborhood Restoration– Public Safety– Transit– Youth Development– Youth Mentoring

draft priOrity need areaS frOm CitieS Of ServiCe LeaderShip Grant reCipient CitieS

obJECtivE 2:

Identify specific challenges within each priority need area that are addressable by service

the next objective is to focus your efforts. for example,

if you identified education as a priority need area, are

there specific challenges and goals toward which you

should focus your efforts? in New York city, education

was designated as a priority area. and while there is some

emphasis on increasing volunteerism in schools generally,

there is a more focused effort to increase mentorship. in

particular, NYc service aims to find mentors for high-risk

students in the most challenged middle schools.

by narrowing in on specific challenges, you can develop

a clear benchmark for progress and track results against

these goals.

key questions:

• What is our vision of success in this need area?

• What work is already underway to address this priority?

• What specific challenges are preventing us from

achieving this vision of success?

• how can we use service to address these specific

challenges?

• What existing efforts to address these challenges

could we expand or accelerate? Who is leading these

efforts? how can we use service to expand or

accelerate these efforts?

• What new efforts could be implemented to address

these challenges?

• Who are the critical partners that we need to consult

with to shape and refine our vision of success and

clarify specific challenges? (see resource supplement

for further detail.)


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obJECtivE 3:

Identify cross-cutting challenges

in your discussions with stakeholders you will undoubtedly

identify challenges that impact more than one priority

need area—referred to, here, as cross-cutting challenges.

these challenges generally relate to the infrastructure

that supports and sustains volunteerism in your city. left

unaddressed, these capacity challenges can impact your

ability to recruit, match, and retain sufficient numbers

of volunteers.

in New York, NYc service identified several cross-cutting

challenges. one of the most critical was a lack of

volunteer management capacity in volunteer-using

organizations across the city. because the planning team

in New York city wanted to make sure these groups could

handle more volunteers, and use existing volunteers more

effectively, several strategies were included in their plan

to strengthen capacity.

key questions:

• Which organizations, initiatives, or events do

you believe have most successfully engaged

citizens in service?

• What characteristics of those organizations, initiatives,

or events were responsible for their success?

• What challenges do volunteer-using organizations

and city agencies face when trying to offer more

service opportunities to more people? What existing

programs are in place to help expand volunteer

management capacity?

• What challenges do citizens face when trying to

connect to service opportunities? What existing systems

help make these connections?

• What challenges do organizations that are key

sources of volunteers (e.g., colleges, universities,

local companies) face when trying to connect their

students or employees to service opportunities?

What is working well?

• are there any other cross-cutting challenges

standing in the way of our overall success?

• Who are the critical partners that we need to

consult with in order to address these cross-cutting

challenges? (see resource supplement for

further detail.)

exhibit 1 Select nyc Service priority need areaS and challengeSBelow is an illustration of three NYC priority need areas—education, environment, and health—as well as the specific challenges within each need area and the critical cross-cutting challenges.

providing struggling middle school students with needed support

reducing the city’s carbon footprint

ensuring vulnerable populations get flu shots

expanding and increasing green space throughout the city

securing sufficient numbers of blood donors

reducing obesity levels

ObjeCtive 2 – Identify specific challenges within each priority need area

volunteer-using organizations don’t have the capacity they need to manage volunteers and are forced to turn away volunteers

it is not as easy as it should be for New Yorkers to find a service opportunity

ObjeCtive 3 – Identify cross-cutting challenges

education environment healthObjeCtive 1 –Agree on priority need areas

NYC Service


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develOp a Clear and COnCrete set OF initiatives

3.


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step 3

Please view the enclosed CD for resources available for Step 3: Develop a clear and concrete set of initiatives.

• 3a. initiative proposal template

• 3b. sample criteria and

assessment matrix

• 3c. initiative plan template

• 3D. information on state service

commissions and corporation

state offices

• 3e. summary worksheet: step 3

rESoUrCES Now that you have engaged a range of stakeholders and identified priority

need areas and challenges, the next step is to start the process of deciding

on service initiatives to address these challenges. these service initiatives

will form the heart of your service plan. Most likely, existing initiatives and

new ideas will have started to surface during step 2.

each city will likely have a unique set of service initiatives, many of which

will fall into one of two categories:

• initiatives that impact specific challenges within priority need

areas, known as Impact Service Initiatives; and

• initiatives that address cross-cutting service challenges, known as

Infrastructure Initiatives.

as mentioned earlier, one of the most exciting aspects of cities of service

is the ability to channel volunteer activities to the priority need areas and

specific challenges that are most important to your city. Mayors are immersed

in local problems and the business of service delivery every day, which means

that cities of service coalition members are uniquely positioned to prove that

service can be a serious strategy employed by municipalities to achieve

measurable impact in existing and emerging priority areas.

both Impact Service Initiatives and Infrastructure Initiatives can be:

• expansions of existing efforts that already align with your priority

need areas and specific challenges; and

• implemented through partnerships with nonprofit organizations

and city agencies.

cities will also develop new ideas and initiatives by soliciting ideas

and proposals from a range of stakeholders.

“America’s cities face similar challenges trying to balance budgets while providing needed services for their citizens. Not only is volunteering the right thing to do, encouraging volunteerism is the smart thing for mayors to do.”

Mayor JohN pEytoN JacKsoNville, fl


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exhibit 2 Select nyc Service initiativeSBelow left reiterates three NYC Service need areas and challenges identified in Step 2. Below right is an illustration of corresponding NYC Service Initiatives based on the need areas and challenges identified in Step 2.

StEp 3a:

Generate ideas and gather proposals

based on the specific and cross-cutting challenges

identified in step 2, you can now start the process

of soliciting and developing a set of service initiatives

to address these challenges. if useful, you can capture

each existing, new, or adapted idea in the initiative

proposal template included in the resource supplement.

at the end of this step, the goal is to have a number

of feasible proposals that address each of the specific

challenges and cross-cutting challenges that you have

identified. ideally you will want to collect more proposals

than you plan to implement, so that you can analyze the

proposals and identify the initiatives with the highest

potential impact (using step 3b to select and prioritize).

Methods of gathering ideas:

• collect ideas, thoughts, and suggestions from the

focus groups and the surveys/questionnaires in

step 2 and follow up with organizations or individuals

to develop proposals.

• hold one or more brainstorming sessions of your project

team focused on specific or cross-cutting challenges.

• circulate a call for existing initiatives and new ideas

to city agencies and any other relevant organizations,

attaching the proposal template and providing a

submission deadline.

• review existing successful programs to determine

whether they could be scaled up or adapted to

increasingly meet priority needs and service challenges.

• hold targeted brainstorming sessions with city agencies

that are leaders in your priority need areas (e.g.,

Department of education on education) and/or with

volunteer-using organizations that specialize in your

priority need areas.

• connect with other cities of service members.

• check out the initiatives in the NYc service plan

at nyc.gov/service.

reducing the city’s carbon footprint

ensuring vulnerable populations get flu shots

expanding and increasing green space throughout the city

securing sufficient numbers of blood donors

reducing obesity levels

ObjeCtive 2 – Identify specific challenges within each priority need area

volunteer-using organizations don’t have the capacity they need to manage volunteers and are forced to turn away volunteers

it is not as easy as it should be for New Yorkers to find a service opportunity

ObjeCtive 3 – Identify cross-cutting challenges

education environment healthObjeCtive 1 –Agree on priority need areas

NYC Service

providing struggling middle school students with needed support


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exhibit 2 Select nyc Service initiativeSBelow left reiterates three NYC Service need areas and challenges identified in Step 2. Below right is an illustration of corresponding NYC Service Initiatives based on the need areas and challenges identified in Step 2.

StEp 3b:

Set criteria, assess and select initiatives

once you have solicited and developed a number of ideas

and suggestions, the next step is to begin to assess and

narrow down your set of potential service initiatives. at

the end of this step, you will have evaluated and selected

a set of initiatives based on the criteria you choose. a

starter list of assessment criteria is provided here. these

initiatives will still only be described at the level of detail

required in the proposal template; chosen initiatives will

be developed in greater detail in step 3c.

You can manage the process of evaluating and prioritizing

initiatives in any number of ways. one approach is to

circulate initiative proposals to a decision-making

group and ask them to map each initiative onto a 2 x 2

assessment matrix that compares feasibility and impact

(based on the agreed-upon criteria). a starter list of

assessment criteria is included here and a sample matrix

is included in the resource supplement. in most cases,

you will prioritize initiatives that are both highly feasible

and likely to achieve high impact. after completing this

exercise, but before you finalize your portfolio of initiatives,

you should also apply filters such as the amount of risk

involved in particular initiatives, the distribution of

initiatives among your priority need areas, the balance

of initiatives that have short-term versus long-term

impact, and so on. a starter list of filters is included here.

starter list of assessment criteria:

• feasibility

– Financial, human, and political capital required.

– ease of execution.

– length of time required to achieve impact.

– proof of concept (i.e., existing initiative that has

demonstrated success).

– Clear and committed owner.

• impact

– Clear link to impact on priority need areas, helping

the mayor or city manager make progress against

existing or emerging priorities.

– potential to reach significant scale.

– level of innovation.

– ability to attract new volunteers.

starter list of filters:

• risk

– legal risk—if we decide to go ahead, are there any

legal risks connected with the initiative?

– execution risk—if we decide to go ahead, what

is the risk of failure?

• time to impact

– Will the impact of this initiative likely be achieved in

the short-term or long-term?

• balance of initiatives

– does my portfolio of initiatives have an appropriate

balance from each of the city’s priority need areas?

education environment healthpriOrity need areaS

NYc cool roofs flu fighters

Million trees NYc

blood Drive

shape up

impaCt ServiCe initiativeS

civic corps

central service website and volunteer 311

infraStruCture initiativeS

NYC Service

Middle school Mentors


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“Mayors are answering the President’s call to service—from every corner of the country, on both sides of the aisle, and in exciting numbers. Mayors, who work at the front line day in and day out addressing local challenges, represent a new force at the front lines of the citizen service movement.”

Mayor MiChaEl r. blooMbErgNeW YorK, NY

StEp 3C:

Provide further detail on chosen initiatives

in this step, you develop your chosen initiatives in greater

detail. the initiative plan template provides one format

for collecting additional information.

cities will need time to fully develop their initiative plans

and work out particular sticking points. for initiatives

that aim to expand on existing efforts, you will often be

working with the existing operator to figure out what is

needed to grow the impact of the work. for new ideas,

you will essentially be writing a short business plan in

order to figure out how the initiative will get off the

ground and continue to operate. there will be a lot of

meetings in this phase and a lot of new learning, so do

not be afraid to abandon or add initiatives if necessary.

a key element of this part of the work is identifying the

“owner” of an initiative. in some cases, the service office

or point person will assume responsibility for developing,

executing, and measuring the impact of an initiative. in

most cases though, a partner—another city agency or

nonprofit organization—will be the owner. the owner will

need to be clear on their responsibilities and the reporting

mechanisms by which they will share initiative information

with the mayor’s office.

the corporation for National and community service can

be an invaluable resource as you develop your initiatives.

the corporation engages more than five million americans

in service each year through its americorps, senior corps,

and learn and serve america programs. as the nation’s

largest grantmaker for service and volunteering, the

corporation builds the capacity of america’s nonprofit

sector and expands the reach and impact of volunteers in

addressing pressing social problems. beyond its program

support, the corporation offers training, research, and

volunteer recognition programs.

the corporation supports collaboration among national,

state, and local entities through its state offices and in

partnership with state service commissions. corporation

state offices can provide technical assistance as well as

help you access national service funding. for example,

to create the NYc civic corps—NYc service’s largest

initiative—New York city partnered with the corporation

for National and community service to place americorps

vista members in nonprofits and public agencies that

wanted to use more volunteers, more effectively. corps

members were dispatched in teams to help organizations

develop sustainable volunteer programs that aligned with

New York’s priority need areas. accessing federal funding

was crucial to the development and implementation of

this initiative.

state service commissions are another great resource.

located in every state but south Dakota, state service

commissions are charged with promoting service and

volunteering in their states. among other things, they

provide grants to americorps and other national service

programs and they offer training and technical assistance

to build the capacity of the volunteer sector. a complete

list of corporation state offices and state service

commissions is included in the resource supplement.


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exampLeS Of nyC ServiCe initiativeS The full set of NYC initiatives in the NYC Service plan can be found at nyc.gov/service.

priority need area: Environment

Specific challenge: Reducing the city’s carbon footprint

example initiative: NYC Cool Roofs—Homes and buildings are responsible for roughly 70% of New York City’s carbon footprint. Painting a dark roof white or silver can reduce roof temperatures by as much as 60 degrees and indoor temperatures by 10 to 20 degrees. That means big energy savings for owners and reduced greenhouse emissions. Through the Cool Roofs program, NYC Service works closely with building owners and other partners to plan and coordinate efforts for roof painting. To date, 100,000 square feet have been painted.

priority need area: Education

Specific challenge: Providing struggling middle school students with needed support

example initiative: Middle school mentors—The middle school years are a critical time for youth, and mentors are a proven intervention to help these students remain connected to the classroom. The Department of Education is establishing a program that will connect volunteer mentors with at-risk students in many of the highest-need middle schools.

croSS-cutting challenge: Making it easier for citizens to find meaningful service opportunities

example initiative: Central Service website—A new website (nyc.gov/service) was developed to serve as a one-stop shop for volunteers to locate and access volunteer opportunities. It includes enhanced search and matching capabilities, and elevates and actively promotes opportunities that address specific priority need areas. Since its launch, the website has attracted more than 400 new organizations and connected thousands of volunteers to new opportunities.


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deFine hOW YOU Will MeasUre the iMpaCt OF YOUr serviCe initiatives

4.


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as part of step 3, you identified what you would measure for each individual

service initiative. this step outlines one approach to bringing those measures

together to form a measurement plan.

efforts to track the impact of volunteerism are often inconsistent. traditionally,

tracking has focused on inputs: the number of volunteers involved or the

number of volunteer hours contributed. cities of service seeks to take that

work to the next level by focusing on the impact of the volunteer activity, such

as the number of middle school students with a mentor or the number of trees

planted in city parks.

translating effort into impact is an important and valuable exercise. tracking

information about impact will allow you to:

• Determine whether your cities of service efforts are having a real impact

on city needs and challenges, giving you the information required to adjust

and adapt your approach effectively.

• communicate your successes and challenges in specific, fact-based

terms such as this example from NYc service: “in just the past few months,

NYc service volunteers have painted 100,000 square feet of city roofs

white as part of an effort that will eventually transform more than one

million square feet of city roofs and have a significant impact on the

city’s carbon footprint.”

• Make a compelling case to funders and partners that are interested in

solving a specific problem in the city (e.g., improving education outcomes,

reducing homelessness) and increasingly interested in outcome measures.

• appeal to the corporation for National and community service and its

appropriate state offices for national service funding. a full list of these

offices is included in the resource supplement.

• expand the evidence base for effective volunteer engagement strategies.

in developing a measurement plan, cities should consider three types

of metrics:

• Impact metrics for Impact Service Initiatives (e.g., number of at-risk

sixth to eighth graders with a stable mentor relationship).

• Participation metrics for Impact Service Initiatives (e.g., number of

volunteers participating in a mentoring initiative).

• Other relevant metrics for Infrastructure Initiatives (e.g., traffic level

on a volunteer-matching website).

further detail on these types of metrics is provided on the following page.

Please view the enclosed CD for resources available for Step 4: Define how you will measure the impact of your service initiatives.

• 4a. Measurement plan worksheet

• 4b. summary worksheet: step 4

rESoUrCES

step 4


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exhibit 3 Select nyc Service metricSBelow is an illustration of NYC Service metrics based on initiatives developed in Step 3.

NYC Service

priOrity need areaSeducation

Number of at-risk sixth to eighth graders with a mentor

environment

square feet of roof painted

Number of trees planted

health

Number of New Yorkers receiving flu shots

Number of blood donors

Number attending shape up classes

impaCt metriCS fOr impaCt ServiCe initiativeS

Number of new volunteer opportunities created by NYc civic corps members

Number of unique visitors to nyc.gov/service

metriCS fOr infraStruCture initiativeS

impact metrics for impact Service initiativesimpact metrics align with each chosen initiative.

a number of examples from NYc service are included

in the table at the top of page 19. generally, the owner

of each initiative would be responsible for tracking

metrics and regularly reporting on progress to the

chief service officer or equivalent staff.

participation metrics for impact Service initiativesfor each Impact Service Initiative, cities may also

want to track participation by initiative and/or for their

efforts overall. these figures will give a sense of how

many volunteers are engaged in addressing priority need

areas through cities of service. tracking volunteers, rather

than volunteer hours, may result in some counting of

duplicate volunteers (e.g., if the same volunteer participates

in multiple initiatives). however, cities are asked to use their

best judgment as to which participation metric is best

suited to their purposes and tracking abilities. cities may

want to ensure that whatever participation metric they

do choose is consistent across initiatives so that they

can be aggregated into one overall participation metric.

example participation metrics include:

• Number of volunteers participating in each

Impact Service Initiative.

• Number of volunteer hours contributed to each

Impact Service Initiative.

• Number of volunteers involved in all Impact Service

Initiatives—aggregate number for the overall cities

of service effort.

• Number of volunteer hours contributed to all

Impact Service Initiatives—aggregate number

for the overall cities of service effort.

again, the owner of the initiative would generally be

responsible for tracking metrics and regularly reporting

on progress to the chief service officer or equivalent.

Metrics for infrastructure initiativescities will often want to include metrics for Infrastructure

Initiatives as well, in order to measure their success and

support decisions about their expansion or closure. a few

sample metrics for NYc service are included on the next

page. in many cases, the initiative owner can either track

the metrics directly or do so by administering a brief survey.

again, metrics are a critical part of what distinguishes cities

of service efforts. Which specific metrics each city chooses

to track will of course vary from city to city, and cities

should also give due consideration to how frequently they

want to track and/or publish the metrics they agree upon.

it is worth noting that this guide does not mention tracking

overall levels of participation in volunteering or the number

of hours contributed to service citywide beyond the reach

of cities of service initiatives. the indicators outlined here

reflect the central goals of cities of service, namely that

volunteer efforts should increasingly focus on priority need

areas and should be able to demonstrate positive impact on

those needs. for those cities that do wish to track overall

participation numbers, some will be able to leverage the

volunteering in america report (volunteeringinamerica.gov),

which tracks participation data for select cities across the u.s.


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nyc Service initiative metricS

Block Beautification

Provide resources to encourage New Yorkers to transform their blocks and neighborhoods

Number of city blocks transformed

Legal Services Engage lawyers in volunteer opportunities to provide New Yorkers in need with pro-bono legal services across a range of issues

Number of New Yorkers in need that receive legal counseling

Middle School Mentors

Identify new mentors to pair with at-risk middle school students

Number of at-risk sixth to eighth graders with a mentor

Million Trees NYC

Drive greater volunteer participation in Million Trees NYC to help meet goal of one million new trees in NYC by 2017

Number of trees planted

NYC Cool Roofs

Launch program to engage volunteers in lowering energy bills and decreasing the city’s carbon footprint

Square feet of roof painted

Flu Fighters Recruit and train volunteers to educate and encourage their friends and neighbors to get flu shots, and to staff vaccination clinics

Number of New Yorkers receiving flu shots

Blood Drive Encourage volunteers to donate blood to ensure that hospital needs can be met

Number of blood donors

CPR Training Expand existing CPR training programs through volunteer CPR trainers to reach more New Yorkers

Number of new New Yorkers trained in CPR

exampLe metriCS fOr impaCt ServiCe initiativeS, nyC ServiCe

nyc Service initiative metricS

NYC Civic Corps

Train teams of AmeriCorps VISTA volunteers to create and manage impact volunteer programs for nonprofits and public agencies throughout the city

Number of new volunteer opportunities created by NYC Civic Corps members

Service in Schools

Provide technical assistance to principals to help develop and execute plans for incorporating service in schools

Number of schools with service plans

New service website

Launch a new and improved nyc.gov/service website with increased functionality and search capabilities

Number of unique visitors to nyc.gov/service

exampLe metriCS fOr infraStruCture initiativeS, nyC ServiCe


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ClariFY and aGree On neXt steps

5.


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this step aims to help ensure that everything is in order for the rollout of

your service initiatives and service plan. a template for a high-level action

plan is provided in the resource supplement and includes components to

track your final set of initiatives as well as a number of critical pieces of

information such as the owner responsible for driving each initiative forward,

expected start dates, required resources, and so on. this is the summary

sheet you can use to capture everything your city has agreed to do and

provide a rough map for the road ahead. once completed, this action plan

can form the basis of more detailed implementation plans and budgets as

needed. Most cities will require these more detailed plans and budgets at

some point in their process, but since formats and requirements for these

will vary from city to city, we have not provided templates for those in the

cities of service playbook.

step 5

Please view the enclosed CD for resources available for Step 5: Clarify and agree on next steps.

• 5a. action plan template

rESoUrCES

“Small acts of everyday heroes bring communities together and help individuals through difficult times. If Americans, and especially our young people, do their part and answer the call to service, cities across this country will support their efforts and help them contribute to the greater good.”

Mayor aNtoNio villaraigoSa los aNgeles, ca


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PUBLISH YOUR PLAN ANd PREPARE FOR LAUNCH

6.


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step 6

Please view the enclosed CD for resources available for Step 6: Publish your plan and prepare for launch.

• 6A. sample service plan outline

RESOURCES Now that you have completed the work of defining your service initiatives,

you can pull it all together into a service plan that you can share with your

city, as well as with other Cities of service. While all Cities of service plans

will differ in their content and layout, a sample service plan outline is included

to serve as a starting point for your discussions. Once your plan is complete,

it will be the guiding document for your mayor’s service efforts. the NYC

service plan is available for download at nyc.gov/service and as other member

cities publish their plans, Cities of service looks forward to sharing links to

their service plans at citiesofservice.org.

In order to build momentum around service, cities may also choose to host

a public launch event once the service plan is complete. this can serve to

draw attention to service needs, highlight city organizations and agencies

that have been partners in creating the service plan, and energize new and

existing volunteers. the coalition looks forward to hearing about many of

these events over the course of the coming months and years.

“Thanks to the precedent set by President Obama and my colleagues in the Cities of Service coalition, the momentum behind service is reaching unprecedented heights.”

MayOR adRian FEnty WAshINgtON, D.C.

hOW tO DevelOp A hIgh-ImpACt servICe plAN 23

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cities of service is committed to supporting its member cities in the development of their service plans, and the coalition looks forward to expanding the range of tools and examples available on citiesofservice.org over the coming months and years.

please feel free to share any feedback or new tools, ideas, and examples by contacting the coalition at: [email protected].


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1 AboutCitiesofService

2 DeclarationofService

3 Developing a high-impact service plan: Six steps

4 Step 1: Invest in leadership

6 Step 2: Identify priority need areas and specific

challenges, resources, and opportunities

10 Step 3:Develop a clear and concrete set

of initiatives

16 Step 4: Define how you will measure the

impact of your service initiatives

20 Step 5: Clarify and agree on next steps

22 Step 6: Publish your plan and prepare for launch

ContentS

DES

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UK

A,

NY

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UK

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[email protected]

cities of service playbook

how to develop a high-impact service plan

196258_SUKA_Cvr.indd 1 5/19/10 11:54 PM

cities of service playbook

Business