TA Advisors Leadership Institute offers practical, professional development delivered by a team of experienced leaders to build the capacity of economic development professionals in areas such as strategy and strategic planning, management and operations, grants management, fundraising and stakeholder relationships, student engagement, performance assessment, and accreditation preparation. The ASCEND Accreditation Accelerator is the Institute's premier offering. Its foundational, universal content can be adapted to meet the unique needs of different organizations.
Be prepared to ace accreditation with the ASCEND model and documentation tool.
A complete and comprehensive accreditation self-study is likely to have 100 exhibits! This hands-on, practical course - facilitated by experienced SBDC leaders - will guide you in preparing and implementing the materials you can use to demonstrate fulfillment of the accreditation standards. By the end you will have started to assemble the materials necessary for the self-study and for a successful accreditation review.
What You'll Learn
ASCEND Approach to Accreditation
- ASCEND Model
- Accreditation Documentation Tool
- ASCEND Key Components Assessment
self-paced
Assess the Environment
- Stakeholder Needs and Satisfaction
- Customer Segmentation
- Branding and Marketing
self-paced & live session
Set Your Strategy & Consturct a Budget
- Developing and Executing a Strategic Plan
- Budgeting and Allocating Resources and Performance Expectations
self-paced & live session
Execution: Managing a Network & Delivering Services
- Network Structure and Services
- Policies and Procedures
- Customer Satisfaction
- Organizational Resiliency
self-paced & live session
Nurture Your Team
- Core Competencies
- Organizational Culture
- Professional Development
self-paced & live session
Data and Learning
- KPIs
- Data Integrity
- Assessing Performance
- Benchmarking Tool
self-paced & live session
Leverage Accreditation
- Be Strategic to Drive Changes, Build Relationships
- Managing the Team and Process
- Writing the Self Study
- Tips for a Successful Review
live session
A tool to develop and manage the items necessary to demonstrate fulfilling the accreditation standards
A tool to benchmark your program's performance against peers to meet the accreditation requirement
Samples and examples of key required items
Identify gaps, strengths and opportunities in your network
Real-world understanding of how to use accreditation for leadership, management and sustainability
Tips on how to leverage the process to drive change, overcome challenges, improve performance, strengthen critical relationships, and secure funding
Learn of alternative methods and resources in managing an SBDC network
Exposure to accreditation interview questions
Be prepared to educate your team to be comfortable and ready for the accreditation review
A tool to assess your program's operations across the 10 dimensions of the ASCEND Leadership Model
20 hours of leadership and management professional development
Certificate of completion and digital badge
7 Self-paced webinars with detailed information on accreditation requirements from experienced SBDC leaders
Live, online peer learning sessions facilitated by experienced SBDC leaders; 90 minutes in length every two-three weeks, Wednesdays at 3:00 ET/PT
Information sharing and supplemental materials occur between sessions
Maximum cohort class size – 15; minimum – 5
Maximum participants from the same network in a cohort class - 3
The ASCEND Accelerator is delivered and facilitated by veteran SBDC leaders, with practical, real-world experience who will share proven, relevant and tailored approaches to managing your SBDC program to achieve accreditation.
References
Carl Brown - Washington DC SBDC
Sandy Mehalko - Maryland SBDC
Chad Moore - Montana SBDC