Before you get started:

Common pitfalls of comparing your Project to any other one

We believe that very few projects will have a measurable global impact, but each one contributes to raising awareness, having people talk about the Climate Crisis, start taking action, making grass-roots change happen, … conversation by conversation.
Each one is a win towards achieving the momentum we need!
Each project will develop on a different trajectory, depending on a multitude of factors of which only very few are in your control.
We need all kinds of projects, not just ones that support “X”.
So checking out if your project is better (or worse) than any other one is detrimental to your enthusiasm – and unwarranted!

So why assess your Project in the first place?

We believe in starting from accepting the status quo. So what is the state of your Project right now?

This is an opportunity for you to take stock of the strengths and weaknesses of your Project, acknowledge and celebrate what you have accomplished, and be interested in what might be missing that would make a big difference.
This will guide you in defining the goals you want to have achieved by the end of the Program.

Not all of the dimensions in the self-assessment will apply to your Project – that is not a problem!

The Self-Assessment template

You can download the self-assessment we offer our participants as a starting point for your mentoring journey here:

Project Name – Vision – Mission

Take stock of your foundation.

Leadership & Members

This tab covers 3 main topics:

Your Core Team: People committed in the vision and mission who are investing their time and who you are in regular communication with

Your time: How much time are you are spending on your Project? – That has to be sustainable over time.

Your Members: Who are your members and participants?

• Members: players in smaller roles
• Participants: participate in your activities as your audience
• Create your own definition if these don’t work!

Resources

Resources can refer to many different things – money, time, supporters, “things” …
Resources can be tangible (money, “things”, …), intangible (e.g. expertise, reputation, trust, partnerships, …) or human (supporters, volunteers, …)

• What resources do you need in your Project for which purpose?
• How much/many do you need at this point?
• And do you have access to generating them?

“There is no shortage of resources, only of creativity in accessing them!”

Why Planning?

It is wise to attempt to plot the voyage into the future, especially if you don’t know the way yet.
Planning is very useful to force yourself to think through what is needed on the path towards your goal.
Wrestling with “How can that be accomplished?”,  “What else would provide a similar outcome?”, “How can I address that possible roadblock early on?” will make the journey smoother (but -sorry! – won’t eliminate surprises).

If you don’t have much experience or are doing something new, you may have to grapple with your plan needing frequent revisiting to adapt to what you have just learned.

If you are working towards a fixed milestone, planning is essential.
You need a sufficiently detailed plan to achieve the milestones you have set for yourself.

Why processes?

Processes reduce waste (time, effort, …) if you have repetitive events.
Learn from your past experience by capturing how to do things or make them easier.
If you can write down how to do something, it can be done by somebody else, reducing your personal workload.
Here some examples: a Starter Pack for a new team member or a checklist for an event.

Achievements, “Return on Investment” and Impact

What have you achieved to date? – Please tell your Project’s story.

Has the investment of your time, effort, money,… been worth your while?
What has the Project been providing to you?
What are unexpected benefits?

How do you measure success?

• Trees planted?
• Temperature reduced?
• Media mentions
• Conversations or events that have taken place
• … – Invent measures that are meaningful to you!

How do your success criteria contribute to your Vision?