Project Examples...


Bio-Preparedness Planning and Technical Assistance
Client: A Department of Health in collaboration with other agencies and offices
Project Rationale: The client had deemed their bio-preparedness plans, especially those regarding the operation of their Points of Distribution (POD) and Distribution/Vaccination Centers (DVCs), to be insufficient for assuring the public’s preparedness from natural or intentional public health emergencies and sought the services of a consultant to provide technical assistance for revising their plans and facilitate a tabletop exercise.
Braintree Services: We researched and reported on “best practices” adopted by other municipalities and national institutes, performed a statistical analysis of the city’s demographics (including special needs populations), facilitated planning meetings and a tabletop exercise, recommended new agency partnerships, developed a comprehensive report describing the characteristics of an optimal DVC, and provided the client the necessary tools to select, plan and transform appropriate facilities across the city into DVCs.
Results: The project has resulted in the identification of and technical assistance regarding several emergency preparedness functions and resources that had not been previously addressed in the city’s plan, an innovative document advancing the tools and practices for optimizing a DVC/POD, technical assistance for revising the city’s biopreparedness plan, and a clarification of the population-based needs in case of a major pandemic, terrorist attack, small pox outbreak and other public health emergency.
Client Comments: “Braintree has been doing great work for us.” “They’ve made our jobs a lot easier.”

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Early Childhood Systems Planning
Client: Governor's Office
Project Rationale: Over several years and gubernatorial administrations, many layers and initiatives had been created across the state but few were consolidated or phased out, causing unnecessary administrative burdens and programmatic coordination challenges.
Braintree Services: We conducted a System Mapping and strategic planning effort that brought together stakeholders from across the state and defined the roles, responsibilities and resources of all major partners and system contributors – and framed the issues by defining the populations of children and families served.
Results: The state and its public and private stakeholders are redesigning the system, empowered with a clearer understanding of the populations they work with, the associated eligibility considerations, the types of service providers, the means of service delivery, and the outcomes for children and families that are now aligned with the federal, state and local resources and funding streams.
Client Comment: "Wow. This (the Braintree System Map) is great. It really brings everything together so we can see how the system really works."




Grant Writing and Program Development
Clients: Mayor's office, a local nonprofit organization, and a city agency
Project Rationale: The city was faced with daunting challenges surrounding the youth of the city but had to contend with serious financial constraints within the city's budget. They decided to apply for a major grant from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) to fund a youth development initiative (DOL's highly competitive Youth Opportunity Grant).
Braintree Services: We convened a planning process that brought over 35 organizations and agencies together, developed the programmatic plans and strategies, conducted a Resource Mapping effort to guide decision-making on contracts and partner services, produced a programmatic map that summarized all components of the project, and, with the clients, authored and assembled the grant application.
Results: The city won $40 million for a five-year grant and has since become a model program and learning "institute" for the other DOL grantees.
Client Comment: "This simply wouldn't have happened without Braintree."




Organizational and Partnership Management
Clients: Two city agencies
Project Rationale: A legally-required "Memorandum of Understanding" had been developed by two major city agencies but each was experiencing difficulty complying with the more than 50 individual action items identified in the agreement.
Braintree Services: We reorganized the document into functional themes, classifying each of the action items in a way that allowed for more directed action - and coupled the individual requirements of the MOU with the identification and assignment of individuals and teams within each of the agencies who would be responsible for implementing and reporting on each item at the meetings we convened for that purpose.
Results: This process resulted in the completion of a Universal Health Screening Form used by doctors, child care providers and schools, regular meetings that bring staff from each agency together to jointly evaluate and monitor activities and develop new initiatives, and compliance with legislation for the delivery of services.
Client Comments: "This has been great. I'm going to hold this up as a national model." "We've really made some progress - nothing was happening before (Braintree) got involved. You have been the consummate professional."




Feasibility Assessment and Information Technology Consulting
Clients: A city agency and a Mayor's office
Project Rationale: The city had a plan to develop a web-based portal for use by residents, city government and service providers to be a "one stop" system for all programmatic and political process activities in the city. The challenges were many: who would "own" the system, how would it be used, what would it cost, who would update the information, how could information be gathered effectively and efficiently, and how would a new city-county structure that was emerging effect the project.
Braintree Services: As the original authors of the city's plan for a "Virtual One Stop System" (VOSS) as a component of a $120 million grant application to HUD, Braintree consultants now worked with the city to assess feasibility by examining the culture of partnership within the city, the technological capacity of organizations to participate and benefit from the system, the uncertain governmental changes with a proposed city-county structure, and the level of access to the internet for city residents and the costs of and strategies for marketing VOSS to the city.
Results: A detailed SWOT Analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) and Resource Mapping effort led to a recommendation by Braintree that the city not pursue the further development of the Virtual One Stop System until specified issues were resolved.
Client Comments: "I appreciate how honest and straightforward you are. That is refreshing." "This was good work. Now we're going to have to see where we can take it."




Institutional Restructuring and Reform
Clients: Governor's office, a large state agency and a county-based coalition of service providers
Project Rationale: Under a new governor, the state was experiencing restructuring efforts and financial pressures from the legislature that threatened funding for programs. They needed a means to understand the complex funding streams, federal, state and locally-sponsored programs, the financial impacts of several service sectors including health, social services and education, and the governance structures that were in place to manage them.
Braintree Services: Using a Braintree System Map, we conducted a thorough mapping of the financial and programmatic resources across the state and within one "pilot" county that provided information on the economic impact of various funding sources and commercial revenues and documented the governance and planning structures that were monitoring, managing and steering them.
Results: We arrived at real dollar estimates, a Functional Budget for all service sectors, and programmatic capacity assessments that crossed public and private organizational lines. The clients are using our work to help restructure the largest state agency and to also create a new public-private organization that will be empowered to consolidate programs, provide grants to service providers, raise funds from public and private sources, and act as a single point of coordination for all planning in the state.
Client Comments: "This has been a great help. I think we're going to be able to make some very well-informed decisions moving forward. People are ready to rally around this."




Technical Assistance and Collaboration-Building
Clients: Nonprofit organization in partnership with a Governor's office and state agencies
Project Rationale: A statewide nonprofit organization received a Technical Assistance Grant that supported an effort to develop, implement and assure the success of a comprehensive early child development system. The TA plan recommended that stakeholders gain a more complete understanding of the existing services and resource delivery at both the state and local level.
Braintree Services: We conducted a System Mapping and strategic planning effort that brought stakeholders together from across the state, provided them with an elegant and comprehensive documentation of the early childhood system, and empowered stakeholders to develop plans for leveraging public and private resources.
Results: The System Map and planning process resulted in the sharing of information that had not been forthcoming historically within the state and among many stakeholders who had not previously collaborated. This helped present a unified front to the Governor and state legislature during a time of major fiscal crisis and protected the existence of several programs and coordinating bodies.
Client Comments: "There are consultants... and then there are Consultants. Colin Newlin (of Braintree) has a heart for children and families. What this System Mapping has done is put (our state) ahead."




Data Surveillance Systems
Clients: Department of Health in partnership with regional state, county and local institutions
Project Rationale: A Department of Health had to design a strategic plan for enhancing their data and surveillance systems for addressing Healthy People 2000, an initiative of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Braintree Services: Braintree worked with the Department of Health and its regional partners, including universities and hospitals, to develop the plan, articulate the flow and quality of data in the system, and assisted in developing the partnership structure to cover the 2.5 million residents in the region. We then packaged the plan as a grant application to the CDC.
Results: The CDC awarded an enhancement grant of $1.2 million and in the years since has provided a "gold" rating for the surveillance system – one of the very few in the country.
Client Comments: "You've done a great job for us. I'm confident we've made some real improvements to the system – and I think we're also in a good position to get even more funding in the future."