After years of leadership turnover and the shadow cast by the COVID-19 pandemic, The Arc SF’s board and leadership contracted with Facente Consulting to guide them in the creation of a strategic plan for 2021-2024 that would increase their focus on equity and propel the organization into a new progressive era of service to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD).
Facente Consulting facilitated a six-month strategic planning process that included interviewing staff and board members; conducting a comprehensive landscape analysis of the field of services for people with IDD in San Francisco, San Mateo, and Marin counties; and facilitating eight meetings of a 14-member strategic planning committee. One of the interesting findings from the landscape analysis was the number of external partners who described The Arc SF as a building where services are provided for people with IDD in a non-integrated way. Reflecting on this, they launched the final strategic plan with publicity noting: “The Arc San Francisco is not just a place. We are a collaborative community working together to provide accessible, inclusive services, and advocating for disability justice.”