A Day in the Life of TCP
These quotes reflect specific descriptions of the nature of the work that TCP teams were engaged in during the summer.
"Our team is working with a client in the youth services sector. We are developing a plan to help them build a robust system for tracking and engaging their program alumni. We are currently analyzing the capabilities of different constituent management systems, determining a framework for segmenting the client's alumni and developing projections for each, crunching data from an alumni program survey of 60 nonprofit organizations that we designed, and creating a detailed implementation plan that addresses operations, technology, human and financial resources, program, and communications. We are finding that we're drawing upon material from numerous Heller MBA classes, and our client is excited about our project!"
"Our team is working on a market entry plan for a new wind turbine manufacturer, which is a complex product in a very complex industry. We've had some great conversations with people in the wind energy industry, and have taken a field trip out to the IBEW 103 turbine in Dorchester where we learned a lot about the experience of purchasing and installing a wind turbine. This project is really pushing us to adapt our experience and coursework to a very different industry and understand how start-ups work. Right now we're having some final conversations with industry specialists and refining our recommendations for the client."
"Our team is working with Groundwork USA, a national network of grassroots community development organizations working to promote environmental justice in their communities. We are providing an assessment of the financial and administrative health of the 18 affiliate organizations in this network, and developing tools to monitor their operations in the future. We are collecting information from each of the affiliates to gain a complete understanding of their positions regarding financials, administrative policies, board involvement, and external relations. We'll use these assessments to help the network's central office build their capacity to grow and better serve their affiliate organizations. As we research similar federated nonprofit networks, we have gained an understanding of the prevalence of the challenges our clients face and the kinds of processes needed to address them. The TCP has given us a breadth of experience in a field about which we are all passionate and has really allowed us to put what we've learned in our coursework into practice."
"Our TCP is a hands-on opportunity to apply business skills, acumen, and our coursework to the complexities of managing a double bottom line. We are working with American MoJo, a socially responsible apparel start up that employs and empowers single moms in an effort to reduce poverty among this demographic in the U.S. We have spent weeks researching the highly competitive apparel industry, the challenges facing American manufacturers, and MoJo's unique position as a mission-driven manufacturer. We are now compiling and analyzing this research in an effort to help MoJo position itself for further growth, profitability, and success in achieving its important mission. What a great opportunity to work with and learn from a rising social enterprise!"
"Our team project began with interviewing industry leaders in savings-led microfinance and gathering as much data as possible. After developing a framework for our analyses, we are now analyzing cost data and service delivery models of typical savings groups across leading international development agencies. We have called upon our skills learned in Operations Management, Financial Management, and Accounting courses throughout the project."
"My TCP team is working with a for-profit recycled goods company to enhance a plastic collection program that they operate. The program collects #5 plastics from consumers that the company transforms into new products. Specifically, we are looking for ways that the company can increase the value that the program provides to its stakeholders. This week, we are working to collate and analyze data we’ve collected through surveys, research, and personal experience in order to present straightforward and implementable recommendations for the company. This TCP project has been a great learning opportunity that has allowed us to work closely as a group and apply what we’ve learned in many of our MBA courses."
"My team is working with a nonprofit in Vermont whose mission is to conserve land, promote agriculture, and empower youth. They have leased some farm land to a new small farm and we are making recommendations for the lease moving forward so they can further their mission in a financially sustainable way. We will arrive at our recommendations based on an analysis of five potential lease structures; for each, we will quantify both financial and mission-related costs and benefits. We are also making product viability recommendations to the small farm based on a pro forma profitability analysis."
2010 TCP Teams
Providence Granola Project
"My team is working with a client that employs refugees in order to give them a first step into the U.S. job market. We are currently developing cost and revenue projections for the various granola products that they produce assuming different operational models. We’ll use these projections in conjunction with customer survey findings to assess the most strategic model for growth. The TCP project has been an amazing opportunity to apply what we’ve learned across many of our MBA courses. The financial projections sure aren’t as easy as they were in class with all of the facts presented in the textbook, but wow, am I learning a lot by grappling to apply the classroom concepts in a real business context."
Leaders through Education, Action, and Hope Program (LEAH), a program of the Boston Public Schools' DELTAS (Department of Extended Learning Time, Afterschool & Services)
"We are working with a program who works with Boston public high school students and provides them with important work readiness skills through employment in afterschool programs. This summer we have had the opportunity to work with a diverse group of youth, interview key stakeholders of the program, and facilitate a taskforce meeting to help inform our recommendations on the program's mission statement and future. We have been challenged with finding ways to sustain the program and how to integrate organizational culture into our recommendations."
buildOn
"We are designing an impact evaluation framework for buildOn, a national youth afterschool community service program. We have spent most of the summer defining the program’s outcomes and theory of change. This week we are working on designing a pilot impact survey that we will test with a focus group of students to check for question clarity."
Hebrew Rehabilitation Center
"Our team is working with a local rehabilitation hospital to determine whether it should expand its sub-acute care unit by 39 beds. The sub-acute level of care forms the linchpin in an increasingly popular model of care that eases the patient's transition from acute care hospitals to a variety of longer-term care options that include home care and assisted living. Currently, I am analyzing the client's referral and admissions data to determine whether the expanded unit should build in excess capacity (leaving a percentage of its beds open only to those patients who would receive the highest value from this level of care)."
Roxbury Prep Charter School
"Today we are working on a sensitivity analysis to give our client a low, medium and high projection of how it can move forward and expand its internal teacher training program. Each option has implications for the mix of teachers at the school, how many teachers they must recruit from other sources and school fundraising needs."
"Today we met with our advisor and realized that after three months of working on this project, it can be as difficult to organize our data, analysis and recommendations in a meaningful presentation as it is to gather and analyze the data in the first place. Our presentation has required a lot of thought and time."
"Today we shared our recommendations with our client and I would say we wowed him. It felt really good to see our hard work pay off."
