A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

The strategic paradigm that drives Eli Lilly and Company's work-life, diversity and educational initiatives has four components: Strategy Program Internal External The Objectives are threefold. To enhance the resiliency of the workforce to manage the challenges and demands of the work environment. For example, quality child care programs allow parents to focus better on their jobs. The company is also looking beyond programs to define a work environment that allows employees to operate most effectively in their work and personal lives. To enhance the capabilities of the workforce to successfully accomplish the work that needs to be done. For example, a cell biologist and a molecular biologist job share and they can get more work done together than by themselves. It is critical to discover inventive ways to direct the workforce in order to improve productivity. To build strategic partnerships that combine community and workplace objectives and build on the synergy of the partners. Partners may include customer relations, business collaboratives and local, state and national initiatives. For example, child care initiatives in thirteen counties were developed with businesses, child care advocates, and local and government officials. Due to the success of these initiatives, they were expanded statewide. Today, they are viable in seventy-five out of the ninety-two Indiana counties. In addition, an Indiana group has been formed to address the larger statewide issues. A Tool Kit was published that explains to businesses the benefits of involvement in work-life issues. The Guide to the Tool Kit provides tips to child care advocates and county teams on how to approach businesses. One exciting unintended consequence of this strategic partnership is that it has created a foundation for relationships that can seed other initiatives. It is anticipated that these relationships will facilitate collaborative projects on education issues and diversity strategies.

The Sunnyvale school district and the City of Sunnyvale, California, collaborated with Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) to develop a neighborhood center focused on education, health and recreation. AMD, which contributed one million dollars toward a sports and service center, is not only a key funder but an active member of the partnership. AMD continues its partnership by sponsoring after-school recreation and educational programs in addition to teacher development programs at the Center. AMD volunteers work in this partner school and serve as e-mail mentors. The Columbia Neighborhood Center (CNC) is a community multi-service center located on a middle school campus in an urban, highly diverse, low-income section of Sunnyvale. With the goals of improving educational performance and making the community safer, the center comprises a pre-school, middle school, health clinic, counseling center and sports facility. A myriad of classes, programs and services are offered, including an after-school program, citizenship classes, ESL, homework center, cancer support services, employment readiness programs for teens, parenting classes and legal assistance programs. Open from early morning to 11 P.M. and on the weekends, CNC is designed to serve both the students of Columbia Middle School and residents of all ages in the community.

UNUM Life Insurance in Portland, Maine, initiated a comprehensive educational approach which joins multiple stakeholders interested in educational reform. Internally, UNUM offers a paid school release policy to demonstrate its support of employees who are committed to children in local schools. UNUM began to focus its community relations efforts on education and learned that considerable money had been spent on school improvements. Although some gains had been made, investigation revealed that more than additional funding was required to raise the skill level of workforce entrants. So, UNUM set out to learn what needed to be done. The company assigned managers to assess the status of the school system. They applied their business savvy to evaluate best practices, previous efforts and public education in Maine. UNUM managers found a complicated system that required strategic planning and the commitment of all key stakeholders. Change was essential in the school system, school standards and in the legislature. Parents, educators and public policy makers had to be involved. However, instead of driving the educational change, UNUM focused on bringing all the stakeholders together at a symposium, "Rethinking Education: Maine's Future in the Balance." As a result of the symposium, the Maine Coalition for Excellence in Education was formed with representatives from education, business, the community and government. The goal of the coalition was to build a plan to address the needs of the education system, which could be used to drive legislative change. After two years of gaining support from their constituent groups and building relationships among the stakeholders, the coalition saw success: two bills were passed in the Maine legislature mandating improvements as defined by the coalition. Lessons learned included: Education reform is a long-term process which requires the commitment of multiple stakeholders. Every stakeholder must be willing to work with other stakeholders and look internally at their own contribution to the problem. Mutual goal setting and a shared vision are critical to the success of community efforts. There is no "quick fix." Reform is a systemic effort that must occur on multiple levels with all key stakeholders (Corporate Community Relations Letter, 1998).

Mattel in El Segundo, California, has developed strategic educational approaches internally and in the community. The company offers an employee leave program which gives employees 16 hours per year of paid leave for educational involvement. It has developed public service announcements starring Meryl Steep (English version) and Rita Moreno (Spanish version) that highlight the importance of family involvement in education. The Mattel Foundation supports collaboratives in eight cities across the country to implement practical activities and programs that promote parent involvement. Based at the Institute for Educational Leadership, Hand in Hand: Parents, Schools and Communities for Kids sponsors "Take Our Parents to School Week" to showcase the accomplishments of each unique city and detail how children, educators, businesses and community members interact in new ways to promote parent involvement.

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[Designing Strategic Educational Approaches]

[Documenting Added Business Value]