Introduction
One of the most important elements of your Leadership Learning Program experience is the opportunity to apply what you have learned in a practical Capstone Project. Through this experience you will work together as an inter-professional team to design and implement a practical improvement project for your organization. You will also share what you have learned with your peers through a ‘teach-back’ presentation at the final session in June.
What is the value of the Capstone Project?
The Capstone Project allows you to strengthen your individual and team skills while solving a practical problem or challenge facing your organization. This creates value for you and your organization in return for the investment in the Leadership Learning Program.
What is the scope of a Capstone Project?
Each team is asked to choose a Capstone Project topic that meets an identified need within their organization. Some teams choose a small project that can be completed during the Leadership Learning Program. Others choose to get started on a defined piece of a larger project that will continue beyond the Leadership Learning Program experience. The support team is here to help you design a project that is meaningful and manageable within the time frame (October 2017 through June 2018).
What are the time requirements for a Capstone Project?
Teams are expected to choose a Capstone Project topic in the October – December time-frame and begin work once the topic is chosen. As a guideline, teams should expect to spend two to three hours per week on their project. We do not expect each team to have a completed Capstone Project by the final CHC Leadership Institute session in June 2018. We do expect each team to be actively progressing, and ready to share a project overview and lessons learned in the June teach-back session.
Step | Timeframe |
1. Choose a Topic [Click here to tell us your topic] | October – December |
2. Engage the Team | October – December |
3. Design the Action Strategy | December/January |
4. Test & Refine the Action Strategy | February/March |
5. Begin Execution | April/May |
6. Share the Learning | Throughout / June TeachBack |
What kind of support is available for the Capstone Project?
We are pleased to provide practical coaching and technical assistance as you develop your Capstone Project. We can help your team:
- Clarify your focus;
- Define your project aims;
- Identify best-practice strategies;
- Define key performance indicators;
- Design analytics;
- Produce analytics (in some cases);
- Think through challenges;
- Capture lessons learned; and
- Prepare for the June TeachBack session.
Our ‘point personnel’ for Capstone support are Steve Horan, Caitlin Feller, and Terry Cyr from Community Health Solutions. Steve, Caitlin and Terry have coached dozens of teams through the project development process, and they are experienced at helping teams focus their work and solve technical challenges. They will also provide liaison to the rest of the CHC Leadership Institute Learning Program faculty and staff who are happy to help our participating teams with insight and advice. For questions or support with the Capstone Project, contact the Support Team using the online Contact form or by calling 804.673.0166.
How will the Capstone Project be shared?
Each team will present the results of their capstone project at the final session in June of 2018. Your team will have 20-30 minutes for the presentation, including time for questions from your peers. We will supply a basic template [download here] to streamline your presentation planning. We also strongly encourage your team to present your results to the key stakeholders within your organization either before or shortly after the June session.