Stage 2 of 5 · Produces the organization’s context
Gather what should ground the work
AI is only as useful as what it knows about you. This stage gathers what your organization knows, how its work actually happens and who it depends on, within the limits your charter sets.
What you’ll have
Riverbend Youth & Family · sample
What we know
Documents, archives, policies, curriculum
Program curriculum, 2019 to nowGathered · 214 documents
Staff handbook and policiesGathered
Annual reports, 2015 to nowGathered
Young people’s case notesKept out by charter clause 4
How the work happens
Workflow and wisdom maps, from interviews
Grant reportingMapped from 3 interviews
Family intakeMapped from 2 interviews
Mentor matchingInterviews scheduled
Crisis responseKept out until the charter covers it
Who the work depends on
Relationships and networks
Partner schools and counselorsMapped
Funders and their reporting needsMapped
Volunteers and mentorsIn progress
Donor giving historyKept out until the charter covers donor data
How it goes
- 1Gather what you know: documents, archives, policies, curriculum and source material.
- 2Map how the work actually happens, mostly through interviews with the people who do it.
- 3Map who the work depends on: the relationships and networks around it.
- 4Keep out what the charter keeps out. The Map shows every exclusion and the charter decision behind it.
- 5Keep it current. The context is reviewed as your work changes.