Creating a Mentoring Programme for Sport: A ... - sports coach UK

Creating a Mentoring Programme for Sport17If your feasibility assessment is favourable, the nextstep is to develop a business plan. This will help youmanage and oversee the programme’s activities andoutcomes. It can also help to provide a basis forsecuring funding.Example contents of a business planA business plan should include the findings of thefeasibility assessment, a project plan/timeline with keymilestones, and the programme description, alongwith the following:• executive summary• goal(s) of the mentoring programme(aims and objectives)• success factors and desired outcomes• target population• duration of the programme• benefits to mentors and mentees• benefits to the organisation (eg increasedmorale, transfer of knowledge)• how the organisation plans to market theprogramme and recruit mentors and mentees• budgets, including staffing costs (incomeand expenditure)• mentee/mentor matching process• outline of the orientation session• types of materials provided to mentors,mentees and supervisors• potential mentoring and career developmentactivities (eg training)• management structure (staff requirements anddecision making)• process for monitoring and evaluating thementoring process.Planning for successOne of the major reasons for programme failure islack of preparation. Do not neglect the planningprocess because you want to get the project up andrunning in the shortest time possible. Experiencetells us that setting up a mentoring programme israrely a quick process, and the success of aprogramme relies on the time spent on preparation.By identifying who owns the plan, it will be evidentwho will be held accountable and who is in place tomake the vital decisions at each stage of theprogramme’s development. It is also extremelyimportant to identify whose support is required forthe programme to proceed. Without their support,it may never go beyond the planning stage. Use thisexercise to identify and record the names of allthose relevant to the design and delivery of the plan– who needs to be involved and for what reason.Who initiated the plan? (Idea generator)Who is the project sponsor?(This person will often bethe budget holder anddecision maker.)Who owns the design anddelivery of the plan? (This isoften the operational team thatwill manage implementation.)Who needs to be influenced ifthe plan is to be successful?(Consider your executivemanagement team.)Which stakeholders need tounderstand their partin/contribution to the delivery ofthe plan? (These may be bothinternal and external people.)Road map planning(Budget holder)(Project/programmecoordinator)(Executivemanagementteam)(External trainingproviders,mentors etc)Creating a road map for your mentoring programmecan act as a framework for delivery, evaluation andfuture improvement. This road map will set thedirection but can and should be modified ascircumstances change and experiences dictate.This approach to planning uses a systematic processto describe the sequence of events that starts withyour need and leads to the achievement of yourprogramme outcomes. A simple example of thisprocess is depicted below.3NeedResources/inputsActivitiesOutputsIntermediateoutcomes(1–5 years)Impact/long-termoutcomesThe problem(s)yourprogrammewill addressProgrammeingredients, suchas funds, staff,volunteers,partnersSpecificactivities andservicesthe programmewill provideSpecificevidence ofservicesprovided(numbers)Positivechanges thatwill take placeas a result ofservicesLasting andsignificantresults of yourprogramme overthe long term