Expert Advice, Training, & Facilitation
Your team is your greatest asset. We help you tap into its full potential through thoughtful strategy sessions, partnership brokerages,
engaging trainings, and facilitated conversations that bring your best ideas to life.
We offer one-time workshops, ongoing learning networks, and coaching services tailored to your team’s needs. Our services include:
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Facilitation & Capacity Building: Strategic planning | Workshop facilitation | Organizational capacity development | Sustainability and scaling strategies | Collective impact | Partnership brokering and cross-sector collaboration
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Training & Knowledge-Sharing: Professional development | Reflection workshops | Learning networks | Communities of practice | Coaching for teams
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Program Effectiveness & Implementation: Program performance reviews | Workplanning | Program reporting | Manuals and guidebooks
Case Study:
Expanding Business Opportunities in West Africa
Client: International Rescue Committee (IRC)
Service Area: Strategic Planning & Facilitation
The International Rescue Committee (IRC) wanted to grow its youth programming portfolio across eight West African countries. They turned to Rachel Blum LLC to lead a strategic planning process that would help the regional team:
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Anticipate and respond to shifting youth priorities and challenges
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Build on IRC’s core strengths in youth development
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Align programming with the evolving priorities of major youth-focused funders
Our Approach:
Rachel Blum LLC collaborated closely with IRC leadership to co-design and facilitate a dynamic, 3-day regional strategy workshop. The event brought together 22 staff members from IRC’s headquarters and eight country offices, creating a rare opportunity for deep cross-country exchange.
Through structured dialogue and reflection, participants shared field insights and surfaced the lived experiences of youth in their regions. Rachel guided teams through a series of collaborative exercises to identify lessons learned, map organizational strengths, and spot strategic gaps.
We also brought data to the table: presentations from Rachel and IRC’s business development team highlighted emerging donor trends in youth programming. With this context, country teams identified real-world opportunities for growth, then translated those ideas into practical next steps — each with clear ownership and timelines.
The Result:
IRC’s business development team translated the workshop outputs into a regional youth strategy. Country offices used this shared roadmap to shape new program directions and pursue funding aligned with youth priorities — turning a moment of reflection into a platform for action.
As a kickoff exercise, teams visualized the young people they serve — sharing stories that revealed real-life challenges, assets, and dreams, and anchoring the workshop in the perspectives of youth.
Toward the end of the workshop, participants identified and ranked strategic opportunities using multi-criteria analysis, setting the stage for regional action planning and donor engagement.