Business Name (DBA):  Synthesis Partnership  
Business Address:           683 Commonwealth Avenue, Newton, Massachusetts 02459   
Business Phone:             617-969-1881

Email Address:               sbf@synthesispartnership.com
Website:                       http://www.synthesispartnership.com
Principal:                      Sam Frank

Categories of service:

Board Development
Consultants
Facilitators
Facilities
Organizational Development/Organizational Assessments
Organizations Serving Non-Profits
Speakers
Start Ups and Mergers
Strategic Planning

Description of services offered:

Synthesis Partnership assists nonprofits with strategy, planning, and organizational development and change. Our clients have represented a variety of sectors (education, arts and culture, health care, and others), sizes (no staff to hundreds of staff; budgets in the low six figures to the high eight figures), maturities (start- ups to well over a century old) and experience (organizations new to planning and organizations with extensive history and experience of planning). The foundation of our approach to any assignment is attentive listening to the situation, needs, culture and aspirations of the client.

We help our clients to align strategy, identity, capacity and facilities with vision, mission and values. Over the past fifteen years we have guided dozens of strategic plans, and have helped clients with governance and management, identity and branding, business planning and facility planning.

Our assignments have included helping to lay the groundwork for new organizations and helping mature organizations to:

• reshape governance and management: National Inventors Hall of Fame (OH), Fishing Partnership Health Plan (MA), New England Law Libraries Consortium
• reevaluate strategy and identity: Brown Medical School (RI), Women & Infants’ Hospital (RI), Franklin Pierce Law Center (NH)
• take on new challenges: National Trust for Historic Preservation (DC), Mystic Seaport (CT), Save the Bay (RI), Emma Willard School (NY)
• plan comprehensively to further their mission: St. George’s Independent School (TN), Kansas City Public Library (MO), Winston School (NJ), Providence Public Library (RI)
• evaluate and plan facilities: University of New Hampshire, Salvation Army (RI), American University of Beirut (NY)

Synthesis Partnership works with clients to define and achieve goals through transparent processes of integrated planning designed to meet the specific situation and needs of each client.

At the core of integrated planning are broad-based consensus-building around mission and goals (strategic planning); refining or revising programs and services, and projecting the resources that will be required for them (program planning); and development of the business resources and financial ability to create and sustain those programs and services (business planning). Beyond these three core planning functions are a number of related supporting activities such as organizational development, identity and branding, and planning for institutional advancement, human resources, technology and facilities.

By integrating these areas of interest  into one plan, we help our clients to figure out where they want to go, how to get there, and how to maximize the value of their assets and efforts along the way.

By building consensus while gathering information and wisdom from staff, board and other stakeholders, we can shape an inclusive participatory process that produces benefits in morale, enthusiasm, and smooth-running implementation.

Above all Synthesis Partnership is a process advisor. We make certain that our clients draw from the knowledge of all their constituents to identify their most essential strategic goals and use these goals as a guide for all their planning.

For additional information about Synthesis Partnership, our approach and case studies of our work, and to sign up for our periodic e-letter, please see our web site, www.synthesispartnership.com

Background on you and/or your business:

Sam Frank founded Synthesis Partnership in 1995 to serve the strategy, planning and organizational development needs of cultural, educational, and other nonprofits. He has offered workshops on integrated planning at more than a dozen national and regional conferences of nonprofit associations, including the Association of Governing Boards, New England Museum Association, and National Association of Independent Schools.

In 2009 he organized Wednesday Webinars, a professional development resource for nonprofit trustees and staff, http://bit.ly/SyPwebinars. He writes a free e-newsletter, Critical Issues in Strategy, Planning and Organizational Development, available through the Synthesis Partnership website, www.synthesispartnership.com; and a blog, at http://synthesispartnership.blogspot.com.

In collaboration with Fred Colson of Mission Data, Inc., Sam developed ƒore$ight, a dynamic, real-time financial modeling software program for supporting complex strategic decision making in nonprofit institutions.  From 1992 to 1994 Sam was Director of Architecture and Design at Corning Incorporated. From 1988 to 1992 he was Dean of Architecture and Design at Rhode Island School of Design.

Sam was educated in English literature at Princeton University, architecture at Harvard University, and architectural history, theory and criticism at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. At MIT he focused on late 19th and early 20th century American architecture, urban form and architectural writing.

Testimonials and/or references:

"Thanks so much for all your great work...it has truly made a difference in providing non-profits with a more lucid understanding of oft considered complicated principles.  Bravo!" - Lori Prew, Co-founder, Women's Professional Network-Boston , Board member, Project greenschools, Advisory Board member, School on Wheels of Massachusetts

"Working with Synthesis Partnership helped us delineate the contours of what had been a very broadly conceived problem. By asking questions, they guided us to a clearer definition of what exactly we wanted to accomplish by creating a visual identity. Their proposed solutions were as succinct and practical as they were thoughtful and well founded."  - Sarah Baldwin-Beneich, Director of Communications, Office of Advancement, Brown Medical School

Names of and/or links to your books, articles or blogs:

Wednesday Webinars, a resource for nonprofit trustees and staff, http://bit.ly/SyPwebinars

Critical Issues in Strategy, Planning, & Organizational Development, a free e-letter of ideas and tools for nonprofits
• 12 Reasons Why Planning is More Critical in Challenging Times  http://bit.ly/SyPci01
• The Secret Life of Surveys—The Many Benefits of Using Them Often  http://bit.ly/SyPci02
• On Boards http://bit.ly/SyPci04
• The Structure of Planning http://bit.ly/SyPci05

Strategy & Planning, a blog for effective nonprofits: http://synthesispartnership.blogspot.com

Service area by country, state or zip code:

Primarily continental United States, but also international