Sasha is the Director of External Affairs for a national non-profit medical research centre that undertakes research

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Question:

Sasha is the Director of External Affairs for a national non-profit medical research centre that undertakes research on diseases related to ageing. The work of the centre depends on funding from multiple sources, including the general public, individuals and grants from companies, foundations and the government.

Sasha’s department prepares an annual report of the achievements of the centre and the financial status for the Board of Directors. The report is mostly text with a few charts and tables, all black and white, with a simple cover. It is inexpensive to produce other than the effort to pull together the content, which requires time to request and expedite in formation from the other departments of the centre.

At the last board meeting, the board members suggested that the annual report be ‘up-scaled’ into a document that could be used for marketing and promotional purposes. They want Sasha to mail the next annual report to the centre’s various stakeholders, past donors and targeted high-potential future donors. The board feels that such a document is needed to get the centre ‘in the same league’ with other large non-profit organisations which it feels it competes with for donations and funds. The board feels that the annual report could be used to inform these stakeholders about the advances the centre is making in its research efforts and its strong fiscal management for effectively using the funding and donations it receives.

Sasha will need to produce a shorter, simpler, easy-to-read annual report that shows the benefits of the centre’s research and the impact on people’s lives. The report must include pictures from various hospitals, clinic and long-term care facilities that are using the results of research from the centre. Sasha will also need to include testimonials from patients and families who have benefitted from the centre’s research. The report must be ‘eye-catching’. It needs to be multicolour, contain a lot of pictures and easy-to-understand graphics, and be written in a style that can be understood by the average adult potential donor.

This is a significant undertaking for Sasha and her department, which includes three other staff members. Sasha will have to contract out some of the activities and may have to travel to several medical facilities around the country to take photographs and get testimonials. Sasha will also need to put the design, printing and distribution out to bid for various contractors to submit proposals and prices to her. It is estimated that approximately five hundred thousand copies need to be printed and posted.

It is now April1. The board asks Sasha to come to its next meeting on 15 May to present a detailed plan, schedule and budget for how she will complete the project. The board wants the annual report ‘in the post’ by 15 November so potential donors will receive it around the holiday season when they may be in a ‘giving’ mood. The financial year of the centre ends 31 August, and its financial statements should be available by 15 October. The non-financial information for the report can start to be pulled together right after the 15 May board meeting.

Sasha knows that this is a big project and that the board has high expectations. Sasha and her staff have six weeks to prepare a plan to present to the board on 15 May. If approved, Sasha will have six months, from 15 May to 15 November, to implement the plan and complete the project. Sasha’s staff consists of Fezile, a marketing specialist, Peter, a writer/editor and Lynika, an assistant whose hobby is photography.

Refer to the case study (An ‘Eye-catching’ Report) and answer the following questions:

5.1 Identify at least four risk that could jeopardise the project.

5.2 Create a risk assessment matrix including a response plan for each risk identified.