TheLeader VOLUME XXV ISSUE2 Spring2024 - Flipbook - Page 38
G R A N T S
3. EPA Analysis
Once the EPA survey was closed at a parish, OMS ran its
algorithm and analytics of all the data from the thousands
of answers. It prepared a numerical and color-coded
summary assessment of the results for every parish on all
30 building Blocks and 6 Pillars.
4. First Parish Improvement Plan (PIP) Session
In a 2+ hour session, OMS delivered a comprehensive 20+
slide PowerPoint deck summarizing the parish data in all 30
Building Blocks and all 6 Pillars to the priest and parish
council. (Samples are available on request). OMS explained
all data and highlighted areas of specific concern to the
clergy and lay leaders and answered all questions.
5. Parish Review Process
OMS provided the parish with an assessment tool and
process for the leadership to review the presented data,
identify additional questions, and request which Building
Blocks and Pillars the parish leadership wanted to examine
in greater detail.
6. Second Parish Improvement Plan (PIP) Session
OMS delivered to the priest and parish council a more
detailed PowerPoint deck summarizing the data in the
respective Building Blocks and Pillars the parish leadership
wanted. (Samples are available on request). These sessions
generally lasted between 2-3 hours. OMS presented more
detailed data to the clergy and lay leaders, answering all
questions, identified the root causes of their biggest
challenges, and outlined specific actions.
7. Third Parish Improvement Plan (PIP) Session
If desired, OMS again met with the priest and parish
council to finalize the areas where the parish would work
and discuss specific best-in-class solutions to their
problems tailored to their particular parish situation.
8. Implementation of Desired Solutions
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A T
W O R K
OMS began to provide the parish with whatever proven
solutions the parish needed that OMS could offer in the
area(s) identified by the parish leadership.
The initial L100 grant was to implement the empirically
validated EPA assessment tool for 18 parishes. However,
OMS discovered that every parish was extremely grateful
for the data and PIP and wanted to go much deeper to
understand root causes and solutions. Thus, OMS needed
to expand the project scope since parishes consistently
stated this Parish Plan for Excellence data and process was
the most valuable and actionable information they had ever
received to help them better address parishioner and parish
needs.
After receiving the EPA and PIP, some parishes chose to
pursue a strategic planning process, while others identified
one or two critical Building Blocks in which they wanted to
work first. OMS also helped all parishes identify “lowhanging fruit” issues causing parishioner pain that could be
reasonably quickly and promptly addressed.
All of this grant’s initial outcomes and objectives have been
substantially exceeded. Given the high demand for the
OMS Parish Plan for Excellence (EPA and PIP) with a
future L100 Phase II grant, the Parish Plan for Excellence
(EPA and PIP) program can scale up to address the needs
of many more GOA parishes waiting to receive this muchneeded assistance.
OMS completed all the work for the two-year grant in year
one. More than the original 18 pilot parishes were
completed in the first year. An additional 15 parishes have
either been completed or are nearing completion in the
second year, with more in the queue. Since February 2023,
in addition to adding more parishes and expanding the
scope of the PIP, research and analysis have begun to
evaluate the comprehensive results from all participating
parishes. This analysis will allow OMS to refine the EPA
further to make it more accessible and provide GOA
normative comparative data results to enhance the parishes’
internal self-assessment.
