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Everyone Goes Home® Advocate Program 2017 Strategic Planning Process

November 3-6, 2016

National Fallen Firefighters Foundation Everyone Goes Home® Advocate Program | 2017 Strategic Plan 1

Contents Introduction ................................................................................................................................................ 2

Leadership Training ..................................................................................................................................... 4

Process Map Review ................................................................................................................................... 5

Historical Document (SOAR) Review ........................................................................................................... 5

Systems Map ............................................................................................................................................... 7

Current State Assessment with Survey ..................................................................................................... 10

Visioning (Future State) ............................................................................................................................ 12

Create Outcomes/Strategies .................................................................................................................... 13

Establish Regional Goals ........................................................................................................................... 17

Coaching Process at State Level/Plan Management ................................................................................ 19

Assessment Planning Session’s Effectiveness ........................................................................................... 19

Schedule of Regular Assessment of Strategic/Operational Plan .............................................................. 21

Appendix A: Meeting Attendees ............................................................................................................... 1-A

Appendix B. Advocate Life Cycle Plan ...................................................................................................... 2-A

Appendix C. Advocate Communications Plan .......................................................................................... 4-A

Appendix D. Proposed Staff Meeting Template ...................................................................................... 5-A

Appendix E. Proposed Advocate Meeting Template ............................................................................... 7-A

NFFF Mission ............................................................................................................................................ 9-A


Everyone Goes Home® Advocate Program 2017 Strategic Planning Process Introduction

In late 2016, Eastern Regional Advocate Coordinator Rick Best and Western Regional Advocate Coordinator Michael Anderson coordinated a workshop to begin the process of developing a strategic plan for the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation’s Everyone Goes Home® Advocate program. The workshop was held From November 3-6, 2016, in Pflugerville, Texas, at the Travis County ESD #2 Conference and Education Center. Brad Brown and Rob Pease, both either currently or formerly associated with the Grand Rapids (MI) Fire Department and principles at Invica Performance, LLC, facilitated the workshop. A complete list of attendees can be found in Appendix A; additional information about the facilitators is in the box below.

Many thanks to the staff of the Pflugerville Fire Department for generously providing a meeting venue, and for participating in the leadership exercise that provided an important starting point for this planning process. Funding for the workshop was provided through DSH/FEMA’s Grant Program Directorate for Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program–Fire Prevention and Safety Grants.

Invica Performance LLC

Invica is a nonprofit corporation, created to assist others with improving their organizational and personal performance. This is accomplished through a highly personal and interactive method of investigating the background, visualizing the current state, improving processes, coaching the stakeholders to continue the improvements, and assessing the gains at regular intervals to ensure resilient and sustainable positive outcomes. Brad Brown Brad is a career firefighter with over 20 years of experience, currently serving as Captain of the Planning Division, accreditation manager, and Lean* champion for the City of Grand Rapids (MI) Fire Department, where he has embraced the use of lean and data driven decision-making. Rob Pease Rob began fire protection in the U.S. Navy in 1993 and in 2014 transitioned from a Grand Rapids (MI) Fire Department Planning Officer position to master lean-six sigma within the private sector. He is a continuous improvement manager, lean champion, six sigma black belt, coach, and teacher for a major food manufacturer, as well as a board member for the Michigan Lean Consortium. *Lean is a series of five principles that define a process that maximizes value to customers while minimizing waste.


The general flow of the workshop’s strategic planning process followed the process map below. Specific areas of interest are discussed in narrative sections.

Figure 1. Invica Performance, LLC To kick off the meeting, the group watched a video of motivational speaker Andy Andrews retelling the story of explorer Hernán Cortés and Spain’s 1519 military campaign to conquer the Yucatán Peninsula in Central America. Approaching battle and sensing less than total engagement from his troops, he issued an order to “burn the boats!” Knowing there was no turning back and that they had to win, the army literally fought for their lives and captured the peninsula, successfully establishing a Spanish foothold in what came to be known as “New Spain.” The video can be viewed at this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlNngcDNFS0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlNngcDNFS0


Leadership Training The group then participated in a staff ride leadership exercise, which clearly illustrated the decision-making review of a major fire event to enforce the relevancy, need, and impact of strategic level planning for organizational success. The Regional Advocate attendees heard presentations regarding the specifics of the 2011 Labor Day weekend fire event in Pflugerville. This included off-site visits to three incident sites, or “stands. The incident commanders for each of the stands presented the details from their perspectives for the incident. At the conclusion of the exercise, the relevancy of the impact of the events on organizational direction and planning was discussed. The goal of this exercise was for each participant to get a first-hand experience of the challenges faced by decision-makers in small organizations, and how challenges can be overcome through organizational change and strategic leadership. This highlighted two important organizational attributes: 1) the ability to apply critical thinking to planning at the strategic level; and 2) the capacity to respond, anticipate, plan, and execute an action plan while setting conditions for organizational success. Stand 1. The IC at the first stand discussed a situation that was a relatively routine event for the fire department. As a group, they debated the advantages and disadvantages of performing routine actions, procedures, etc. when the event has been influenced by new and changing factors. The Everyone Goes Home® program has been in existence for the best part of the last ten years. The initial programs, messages, initiatives, etc. have a different relevance now, rather than when implemented. Discussion at Stand 1 focused on the relevance of evaluating our Advocate program in regards to new (real or perceived) influences on our mission, and what we can address through strategic planning. Stand 2. At the second stand, the group discussed a more complex event, outside the normal “bread and butter fire” for the department. They discussed the need to apply different actions, procedures, approaches, etc. to a different environment, with different variables. This paralleled the Everyone Goes Home® Advocate program, which has Advocates across the country, sharing similarities and differences in operating environments, as with the incident example. Discussion focused on the barriers created by the different work environments, and how to address these differences through strategic planning. The sharing of personal viewpoints was critical to this exercise. Stand 3. At this site, the fire department found itself developing an approach on the fly, in a new environment, in which they had never operated. The Everyone Goes Home® Advocate program must reach out into areas not yet covered or addressed to fulfill our mission. The group discussed how to identify new areas not yet impacted by the Everyone Goes Home® program and develop strategies to address meeting the needs of the fire service in today’s environment.


Process Map Review After returning to the training center, the first exercise required that attendees begin to break down all Advocate, Everyone Goes Home®, and NFFF activities into three categories:

1. Mainstay-the bulk of activities that we do on a regular basis to fulfill our mission; 2. Support-the processes that need to happen for us to be able to do our work; and 3. Drivers-processes that provide evaluation and oversight on the work.

They also looked at these activities in relation to the NFFF mission, and to the current Everyone Goes Home® stated mission. One outcome of this exercise was the clear realization that the mission statement for the Everyone Goes Home® did not accurately reflect the work being done, and would need to be updated. This initial draft of a “process map” would be revisited and refined over the next two days, and would form the basis of the systems map that would be a deliverable from this meeting (page 9 of this document).

Historical Document (SOAR) Review

During the next phase of the workshop, attendees broke into four workgroups. Each was tasked with reviewing a document that had, in the past, provided strategic guidance for the EVERYONE GOES HOME® Advocate program, and determining the “SOAR”-1) Strengths; 2) Opportunities; 3) Aspirations; and 4) Results. A brief summary of each of the four documents follows:

2011 Advocate Focus Groups Final Report Between November 2010 and May 2011 the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation (NFFF) held a series of focus groups for Firefighter Life Safety Advocates from across the country. The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of the Everyone Goes Home® and Firefighter Life Safety Initiatives implementation programs in each of the ten FEMA Regions; to evaluate the effectiveness of the training model; identify gaps that may have existed in programs; and to define and address specific regional differences. The outcome of this project was a set of 50 national level recommendations, as well as additional regional recommendations. The 2011 Advocate Focus Groups Final Report is available at this link: http://bit.ly/2kHUfqE

2013 Advocate Operations Review Two years later, a review of the operational aspects of the program was conducted. This process included a review of the recommendations from the 2011 report, and found that the majority of the national recommendations had been addressed in the two-year span since they were established. This document also includes 25 new or updated recommendations related to eight key areas related to the Advocate program:

1. Program focus 2. Program structure 3. Internal communications and reporting

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4. Marketing and outreach 5. Action plans 6. Promotion of the Firefighter Life Safety Initiatives Textbook 7. International First Responder Seatbelt Pledge 8. Recognition The 2013 Advocate Operations Review is available at this link: http://bit.ly/2kOp0wJ

2014 Advocate Action Plan The 2014 Advocate Action Plan was developed using recommendations from two previous reports on the advocacy: the 2013 Advocate Operations Review, and an action plan developed at an Advocate meeting held at the NFFF Fallen Firefighters Survivors’ Conference in St. Louis in 2014. Since both of these reports were based on Advocate responses and feedback, our own personnel’s perspectives informed the strategic direction provided by the document. As a result of this report, program leadership for the first time articulated a mission statement specifically for the Advocate program, and defined five objectives with which to advance the mission. Advocate Mission Statement To advocate for the inclusion of the 16 Firefighter Life Safety Initiatives into fire academy curricula and certification standards in every state. Objectives: 1. Focus efforts of Everyone Goes Home® Advocates on the stated Advocate Mission. 2. Provide Advocates with training on topics identified through strategic planning processes. 3. Support materials advertising and promoting NFFF programs will be made available to Advocates. 4. Advocacy efforts will be focused on domains established by NFFF leadership. 5. Continue to recruit additional Advocates, and provide continued support and encouragement to current Advocates. The 2014 Advocate Action Plan is available at this link: http://bit.ly/2krKcYm

Tampa2: Carrying the Safety Message into the Future Tampa2 was held in March 2014 to mark the 10th Anniversary of the first Firefighter Life Safety Summit. The objectives of this meeting were to review progress toward the goals outlined in 2004; assess the relevancy and impact of the Life Safety Initiatives and make recommendations for broadening their implementation; and define goals, objectives for firefighter health and safety for the next decade. While this meeting looked at firefighter health and safety at a global level, the action items for the NFFF impact the work of the Everyone Goes Home® program advocates, including:

• Market the Firefighter Life Safety Initiatives and Everyone Goes Home® programs and ensure they are up to date.

http://bit.ly/2kOp0wJ

http://bit.ly/2krKcYm


• Bring organizations together to improve information sharing and discuss possibilities for data collection and dissemination.

• Solicit support from private organizations to build public/private partnerships for safety goals.

• Partner with organizations to bring cancer and heart-healthy programs to all departments.

• Continue efforts to identify the relationship between products of combustion exposure and cancer.

Tampa2: Carrying the Safety Message into the Future can be found at the following link: http://bit.ly/2k3lha0

Historical Documents SOAR Summary It was clearly important to spend time reflecting upon the past before plotting the course of the future. This exercise proved to be extremely helpful in assessing the progress over the course of the last five years. It provided many “wow” moments; comments from the group included:

• This group HAS made progress. • Good to revisit, good perspective. • Stuff IS happening. • Moved toward strategic thinking. • Continuous improvement on mission.

Several gaps were noted repeatedly among the groups, including the lack of a program evaluation mechanism and established methods of celebrating success. However, the overall impact of the exercise was that it gave an overview of the increasing strength of the program, and how far it has come during that time.

Systems Map

The group utilized the input from the earlier process map exercise to begin development of a systems map for the Everyone Goes Home® Advocate program (Figure 2.). Below are recommendations from Invica Performance, LLC to make the systems map an important tool for program oversight. It must also be noted that ompleting this systems map will require understanding and buy in from every individual and department at the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation that either affects or is affected by the work of the Everyone Goes Home® Advocate program. To utilize the Advocate Program System Map to its full potential it must be used, touched, modified, and improved by the leadership team. Each time there is any planning, communication, creation, or design of a new program, this programmatic view should be utilized in the discussion. The processes on the map are important and to improve each of the processes is even more important;f the links (arrows) between the processes are vital. It was recommended that the program follow these steps to build a more robust system map:

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1) Modify/create process boxes on the map a. These should be strong action verbs b. Color Codes

i. Red are processes that you thought were missing ii. Green are processes that are suggested after reviewing

iii. Yellow are existing processes c. Ratings

i. 5 = Process is not defined. This is a new process that needs to be designed.

ii. 4 = There is a general understanding about the process by those that work in the process. No documentation or process standards exist. No formal work to improve the process has been done in the last two years.

iii. 3 = Process has been defined for all stakeholders (managers, workers, suppliers, and supporting documentation exist. Some documentation of the process exists.

iv. 2 = Process is well-defined. Process flow diagrams, standards, and supporting documentation exist. Measures are used to monitor the inputs, the process, and the outcomes.

v. 1 = Process is well defined. Process has been formally improved during the past year. On-going measures exist for the process, including supplier input and customer feedback. Standards and process documentation are kept up-to-date as process is continuously improved.

1. The criteria in this category are cumulative. For example, to receive a score of 2, all of the criteria for a score of 5, 4, and 3, as well as 2, must be met.

2. Select the definition that is most descriptive of the process. All the criteria within a rating do not have to be satisfied if the intent of the rating is met.

2) Add arrows to all processes a. Arrow should be reflective of the passing of whatever item the process makes

(i.e. training, invoice, email, report, etc.). i. What is passed can be added to the lines if desired.

b. Arrow can be one way or both depending on what the actual flow is 3) Add names of people to processes to ensure everyone knows who is responsible for

handling which processes and/or linkages. 4) As strategies/plans/process designs/process redesigns occur it should be reflected on

the system map, by using some type of icon. This will show all improvements in one view and ensure that the team and team of volunteers are working within available capacity.


Figure 2. Invica, LLC


Current State Assessment with Survey The next step in the process was to assess the current state of the Advocate program. Prior to the workshop, a survey was sent to all Everyone Goes Home® program Advocates. 88 people responded. Questions covered a breadth of subjects related to NFFF program, organizational support to Advocates, and a self-assessment of personal competency.

Program Knowledge The survey assessed each Advocate’s familiarity with current NFFF initiatives and programs. The vast majority of respondents felt competent or highly competent regarding advocating for the Everyone Goes Home® program (88%) and the 16 Firefighter Live Safety Initiatives (93%). With regards to other programs, results varied widely. In parentheses is the percent of respondents who rated themselves as competent or highly competent.

• NFFF Behavioral Health Programming (71.8%) • National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Park (69.4%) • Cardiac Health programming (67.1%) • Fire Service Occupational Cancer Alliance (62.3%) • Occupational Medicine Physician Programs (55.3%) • Vulnerability Assessment Program (54.1%) • Local Assistance State Teams (47.1%) • LODD Chiefs’ Documentary (36.5%) • Research Agenda Symposium (28.2%)

NFFF Program Support The survey asked Advocates to assess the effectiveness of current Everyone Goes Home® program marketing efforts. Again, results varied widely. It was noted in the comments section that “I suspect these are effective” but since there is no established evaluation mechanism to measure impact, these are perceptions of effectiveness.

• Firehero.org (66.7%) • Everyonegoeshome.com (76.2%) • NFFF Facebook (48.8%) • Everyone Goes Home® Facebook (49.4%) • Instagram (19.2%) • Emails (65.5%) • Events (63.5%) • Face-to-Face (72.0%)

Day-to-day program operations 39.7 % of Advocates attend most or all bi-monthly meetings; they found the updates on programming and interaction with other Advocates (including the opportunity to ask questions) to be the most valuable aspect of the conference calls. One third of Advocates never attend. More than half of the Advocates feel that their reports are being used in a productive manner.


In terms of consistency, 76% of respondents rated the meetings as average or better. 50% described the program’s communications as good or excellent. Approximately 70% had attended Advocate Summits in the past; of these, 88.4% rated the experience as being of average to high value in their advocacy efforts.

Advocate Involvement 76.8% of Advocates felt they had an average or better understanding of the general direction of the Everyone Goes Home® program, and appreciated by NFFF management. However, 39.6% felt they were not fully in the communications loop with regard to future plans. 50% of the group spent last than five hours per month committed to the program. Results were varied in terms of following program/organizational rules/directions policies, finding them:

• Very confusing 12.8% • Somewhat confusing 10.5% • Average 32.6% • Fairly clear 25.6% • Very clear 18.6%

Advocate skills Advocates overwhelmingly felt prepared (94.1% rated average or better) in terms of personal skills, which included teamwork and team leadership, comfort with facilitating meetings and conflict resolution, expertise in locally pertinent data, statistics, contacts, and resources. They ranked themselves only slightly lower (87.2 %) in action skills, which include organizing local safety campaigns, local meetings, and group facilitation. 84.9% rated themselves as average or better in terms of team skills, which include consensus building, identification of coalitions, identification of grant opportunities, and carrying out projects.

Advocate Action Plan The final section of the survey assessed progress toward goals articulated in the Advocate Action Plan approved in January 2016. Advocates were asked to assess overall progress towards the stated program mission; 84% determined progress to be average or better. Advocates were also asked to rank each of the five objectives by importance; the percentage choosing the stated objective as their top priority is in percentages: Objective 1- Focus Efforts on Everyone Goes Home® Advocates on the stated Advocate Mission. (53.1%) Objective 2- Provide Advocates with training on topics identified through the strategic planning process. (30.1%) Objective 3- Support materials advertising and promoting NFFF programs will be made available to Advocates. (4.8%) Objective 4-Advocacy efforts will be focused on domains established by NFFF leadership. (10.8%) Objective 5- Continue to recruit additional Advocates, and provide continued support and encouragement to current Advocates. (11.9%)


A complete review of the results of this survey is available here: http://bit.ly/2krV9sT

Visioning (Future State) The SOAR process applied to the document review, as well as the results of the general Advocate survey, focused the group on the task of defining a new mission statement that better captures the intent and efforts of the Advocate corps, as well as creating a vision statement that defines a long term goal for the Everyone Goes Home® program. Group consensus was that the Everyone Goes Home® program directly fulfills the highlighted clause within the overall National Fallen Firefighters Foundation’s mission statement: Our mission is to honor and remember America’s fallen fire heroes, provide resources to assist their survivors in rebuilding their lives, and work within the fire service community to reduce firefighter deaths and injuries. The group agreed that the program needed to a new mission statement; the previous version, articulated in the 2014 Advocate Action Plan, was not inclusive of everything we ask Advocates to do. The workshop participants streamlined the ”mainstay” items derived from the earlier process map exercise, and participated in as a lengthy and opinionated conversation to determine the “customer(s)” for Everyone Goes Home® programs—firefighters and fire departments. From this input, the group drafted the following mission, vision, and values statements for the Everyone Goes Home® program:

Mission Statement To advocate for the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation's Everyone Goes Home® programs and promote positive cultural change by:

• Providing training and resources; • Developing key partnerships; and • Communicating effectively within the fire service community.

The group was also asked to articulate a “big, hairy, audacious goal,”or what they envision as the idealized end state for the program. The result is the following ambitious and ultimately achievable vision statement for the Everyone Goes Home® Advocate program:

Vision Statement To eliminate all preventable firefighter deaths and injuries.

Values Statement Excellence in advocacy through commitment, courage, character, and competence:

Commitment – We are dedicated to honoring fallen firefighters and reducing deaths and injuries through training, education, research, and outreach. We are committed to positive

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change and constant improvement, exhibiting the highest degree of moral character, technical excellence, and competence in what we have been trained to do. Courage – Courage gives us the moral and mental strength to do what is right, even in the face of personal or professional adversity. Courage is needed to persevere in our quest to eliminate preventable firefighter deaths and injuries. Character – We will act with honesty and integrity, not compromising the truth. We will show consideration for one another, and recognize and respect each other’s differences. Competence – We will build rapport with members of the fire service by truthfully sharing our knowledge, engaging in discussion, and listening empathetically. We will work to reward, encourage, and motivate others to support our mission and achieve our goals.

Create Outcomes/Strategies Working backward from the newly established mission and vision statements, Rob and Brad led the group through an exercise to establish 3-5 year outcomes for the Everyone Goes Home® Advocate program. Together they then identified strategies that would enable Advocates to work towards fulfilling this vision, assigning two strategies to be used to help the program achieve each goal.

3-5 Year Everyone Goes Home® Advocate program outcomes/strategies for implementation

Goal 1. Establish relationships with 50% of fire departments by 2021. The Advocates in attendance identified the need to expand outreach in their fire service communities to increase awareness of NFFF programs and activities. Discussion centered around the need to reach a greater number of fire service members to raise awareness of the 16 FLSIs among firefighters. The benefit of Advocate outreach is to provide a point of contact and personalized relationship with Fire Departments.

1.1 Establish relationships with all fire service organizations within the regions/states to identify potential Advocates.

1.2 Establish a program that meets the regional needs.

Goal 2. Develop a robust Everyone Goes Home® Advocate life cycle program. A major gap was identified in that there was no formalized Advocate program structure that addressed the time from Advocate appointment until a member leaves the Advocate program. Processes were needed to structure the recruitment and retention of Everyone Goes Home® Advocates as well as all program communications. This outcome will assist all levels of management in training, developing, and supporting all Advocates. Appendices B and C are both deliverables related to this goal.

2.1 Create a clearly defined recruitment and development program.


2.2 Identify and create a complete communication plan for each life cycle of the Advocate.

Goal 3. Increase completion of Everyone Goes Home® programs by 10% annually. The attendees agreed that training delivery is one of the most effective means of promoting the mission of the Everyone Goes Home® program and may have the highest impact on firefighter safety. The NFFF’s training office continuously releases new and updated programs to be delivered to the fire service. By developing measurable outcomes, each Advocate can evaluate the delivery numbers and continue to work towards the desired goal. For example, the goal would result in an increase of FireHero Learning Network users of over 5000 firefighters per year.

3.1 In objective #1 assure to include Everyone Goes Home® training programs to include classes, videos, FireHero Learning Network courses, and other Everyone Goes Home® opportunities.

3.2 The State Lead Advocate work with the state training agency to maximize the Everyone Goes Home® delivery programs.

Goal 4. Increase advocate recruitment in appropriate areas. For many years, long-term planning has identified the need to formalize recruiting and retention of Advocates in order to allow the highest possibility of success in the program. Advocate recruiting continue to be a challenge across all regions. In conjunction with all other outcomes, the recruiting actions will assist with, or be a product of Goal 1 and Goal 2.

4.1 Using newly established communication pathways, engage agencies to participate in Everyone Goes Home® programs. Manage a comprehensive state/agency email/phone contact list, to establish communication pathways.

4.2 Manage a comprehensive state/agency email/phone contact list, to establish communication pathways.

Hoshin Form The Hoshin Form is an Excel document that is the primary tool used in this strategic planning process to organize outcomes and strategies to achieve those outcomes at every level. Once the national and regional goals/strategies are established, it can be used to create a matrix for use by Regional and State Advocates in planning goals for their areas of jurisdiction. The Hoshin Form for use by all levels of Advocate management is available here. Page 2 of the Hoshin Form is a worksheet to enable Advocate managers to break down each goal into S.M.A.R.T. (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-based) tasks. This tool will be critical in operationalizing the strategic plan.

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Establish Regional Goals Each Regional Advocate was then asked to establish goals for his or her region that would support those of the overall program, and to determine which the specific strategies they would utilize to reach the desired outcomes. They then entered these goals into the Hoshin Form, and tied them to specific national objectives and implementation strategies. Below are the goals by region; specific strategies are in parentheses.

Region 1 Regional Advocate Bill Guindon 1. Using the regional map, assist state lead Advocates in developing a clear communication

pathway of existing Everyone Goes Home® Advocates/instructors within their state by 7/17. (4.1, 4.2)

2. Establish a phone/email contact list with state/agency. (4.2) 3. Engage new agencies to participate in Everyone Goes Home® programs. (1.1, 2.2) 4. State leads will assure departments are aware of where they can get training by May

2017. (2.2) 5. Have state advocates, fire service organizations recruit potential Advocates by March

2017. (1.2) 6. Find a state coordinator for Maine by March 2017. (1.1, 3.1)

Region 2 Regional Advocate Paul Melfi 1. Establish a phone/email contact list with state/agency. (4.2) 2. Engage new agencies to participate in Everyone Goes Home® programs. (1.1, 2.2) 3. State Advocates to work with states to maximize all Everyone Goes Home® programs.

(2.2, 4.1) 4. Identify new advocate needs and search for potential Advocates to fill each state's

needs. (1.1)

Region 3 Regional Advocate Joanne Rund 1. State leads will identify departments that are attainable, establish contact; get them

listed by February 2017. (4.2) 2. State leads will identify departments focused on beginning Everyone Goes Home®

program by April 2017. (1.2, 4.1) 3. State leads will establish regular meetings with their state agencies by March 2017. (2.2,

4.1) 4. State leads will assure departments are aware of where they can get training by May

2017. (2.1, 2.2, 4.1) 5. State leads will establish a plan for a new Advocate planning session by February 2017. 6. Create a recruitment/retention planning session for Region 3 by October 2017. (3.1) 7. Assure each state’s needs are being met by the Advocates by January 2018. (1.1, 1.2)


Region 4 Regional Advocate Brett Pollock 1. Contact all state Advocates to obtain list by 6/17. (4.2) 2. Advocates in each state will engage at least 10% of fire departments in the state by

12/17. (4.1) 3. State Advocates to meet with state training agency to maximize Everyone Goes Home®

program by 8/2017. (2.2) 4. Develop survey to find specific needs of the Advocates by 6/2017. (1.2) 5. Using Advocate survey, develop plan to meet regional needs by 12/2017. (1.1) 6. Starting 1/17, actively recruit new Advocates to meet needs of each state. (1.2) 7. Determine potential new Regional Advocate by 2/17. (1.1, 1.2)

Region 5 Regional Advocate Kevin Sehlmeyer 1. Contact all six State Advocates and explain Advocate strategies by March 1. (1.1, 1.2,

3.1, 3.2) 2. Have State Advocates contact fire departments for contacts by Sept 2017. (2.1, 2.2, 4.1) 3. State Advocates will establish a relationship with state fire training office by June 2017.

(2.2) 4. State Advocates will interact and develop a relationship with 17 fire departments yearly.

(4.1) 5. State Lead Advocates will recruit 2-4 new Advocates by July 2017. (1.1, 1.2) 6. Have state Advocates, fire service organizations recruit potential Advocates by March

2017. (1.1, 1.2) 7. Find a state coordinator for Michigan by March 2017.

Region 6 Regional Advocate Michael Anderson 1. Coordinate Everyone Goes Home® classes in Oklahoma Fire School. (May 2017) 2. Recruit Oklahoma Advocate through Fire School/OSU contacts; MOU state program

manager. 3. Increase influence in Arkansas by recruitment/outreach into course offerings. 4. Recruit Arkansas Advocate(s). 5. Coordinate booth presence and class offering at New Mexico Fire Chiefs Association

conference. (Sept. 2017) 6. Use attendance at event as recruiting opportunity. 7. Outreach to NFFF social media friends in New Mexico for additional class offerings. 8. Coordinate Texas Advocate meeting at Texas LODD conference. (Oct 2017) 9. Appoint Texas State Lead. 10. Expand informational outreach emails with Everyone Goes Home® promotional

materials; target TEEX Company Officer Academy.

Region 7 Regional Advocate Michael Novak 1. Develop a regional map that clearly identifies Region 7 by 12/31/16. (4.2)


2. Using the regional map, assist State Lead Advocates in developing a clear communication pathway of existing Everyone Goes Home® Advocates/instructors within their state by 7/17. (3.2)

3. Using the state map, target locations and people to fill vacancies and gaps by 12/17. (1.1,1.2)

4. Develop a Region 7 communication and advocate development plan by 12/17. (3.1, 3.2)

Region 8 Regional Advocate Scott Low 1. Establish contact list for each state - online research send to (4.2) 2. Contact state agencies - email and/or phone (4.1) 3. Work with state training - Contact state Fire Marshal’s offices (2.2) 4. Recruit more Advocates - get an Advocate in Utah. Presence of a conference 1/20-

21/2017. (1.1, 3.1)

Region 9 Regional Advocate John Price 1. Distribute master list to each State Lead Advocate by 3/30/17. (4.2) 2. Everyone Goes Home® programs pushed to states April/May/June 2017, assess/revise

push Sept Nov Dec 2017. (2.2, 4.1) 3. During conference calls, correspondence, establish Advocate communication plan by

3/30/17. (3.2) 4. Establish two Advocates for each state, one for Guam by 12/31/2016, (1.1, 1.2, 3.1) 5. Update/Identify additional State Advocate needs by 3/30/17. (1.2) 6. State regional train-the-trainer/conference/delivery for new Advocates by 12/1/17. (3.1)

Region 10 Regional Advocate Brian McMahon 1. Communicate to and ensure clarity of 3-5 year Advocate program outcomes to each

Region 10 by 3/31/17. 2. Assign each State Lead Advocate to develop plan for each state to reach program

outcome #1 by 6/30/17. (4.2) 3. Review and approve each State Advocate plan to establish outcome 1 by 9/30/17. (1.1) 4. Produce sample talking points and form for data collection for each state plan by

10/31/17. (4.2) 5. Ensure State Lead Advocate to make contact with respective state agencies to discuss

delivery of Everyone Goes Home® programs by 6/30/17. (2.2) 6. Build a specific regional program by each state in regards to recruitment of Advocates by

12/31/17. (1.2) 7. State Advocate leads will develop a contact list of all respective state fire service

organizations by 6/30/17. (1.1)

Military/DOD Lead Advocate Mike Robertson 1. Contact DOD Fire Chiefs for an updated contact list for their departments within 6

months. (1.1, 4.2)


2. Upon receipt of contact list, combine list by state, contact all DOD fire departments, and share with Regional Advocates within 6 months. (1.1, 4.1, 4.2)

3. Work with DOD Fire Chiefs and Air Force career field manager to include Courage to be Safe® into apparatus fire training at the DOD fire academy within one year. (2.1, 4.1)

4. Working with Everyone Goes Home® managers, establish a specific DOD recruitment program within one year. (1.1, 1.2, 3.1)

Coaching Process at State Level/Plan Management

Regional Advocates were tasked with walking each of their State Advocates through a similar process of establishing goals and strategies for their areas. The following questions were established as a framework for this process, and can be used to regularly assess progress at all levels of Advocate management.

Everyone Goes Home® Advocate Coaching Card 1. What is your desired outcome?

2. What strategy will you use?

3. What goals do you have to achieve your strategy?

4. What tasks will need to be accomplished?

5. Who will do it?

6. When will it be done?

7. What will success look like?

Assessment Planning Session’s Effectiveness Feedback from the weekend’s strategic planning process was overwhelmingly positive. Favorable aspects of the workshop noted by the Regional Advocates included:

• Put together a comprehensive work plan • Open to new ideas • Open communication/engaged people • Organized • Accomplished a lot in one weekend • Group exercises/stood up/moved

around • Took us on a journey

• [Asked us] first thing-what’s your shortfall?

• Excited about moving forward with the process

• Best work session, no B.S., no politics • Kudos to leadership and being

transparent • Roadmap for volunteers • Clear expectation


Two negatives were noted:

• Be sure to give perspective on large goals/management. Break it down into chunks and discuss how it will get us to our goal

• Did not fully delve into comments/gaps, but it kept us on track

Eastern and Western Regional Advocate Summary All regions were represented at the meeting (because the Region 1 Advocate had a schedule conflict and was unable to attend, Rick Mason filled the position for the meeting. Rick met with Bill Guindon on November 18th to bring Bill up to speed and establish goals). All attendees were participative and attentive during the event. Each of the Regional Advocates used the meeting process to identify regionally specific goals and actions to meet the Advocate outcomes. Main points identified by the Western Regionals was the fact that each region faces barriers of needing additional Advocates to help meet the geographical needs. Each region identified recruiting Advocates as a plan goal. Additional goals are centered on communications. Each regional plan addresses building or improving the communications among their region. The initial action plan appears to require little additional support from the management team. The continued support of attending conferences and events will meet the identified actions of some Regional Advocates, in order to recruit Advocates, and make additional contacts meeting to meet identified outcomes. The process and outcome of the meeting exceeded my expectations. By using the process, the INVICA facilitators moved the process along, focusing on the path forward, without using too much time with negative focus. Each participant was given ample opportunity to give input on the past actions, programs, and such. This allowed the management team to hear their input, and apply it to perceived information from the meeting and survey. The meeting process produced a renewed Advocate mission statement that directs the Advocate actions for the next 3-5 years. Additionally, creating work plans has provided direction to the Regional Advocates and creates a measurable level of expectations that can be evaluated by the management team.


Schedule of Regular Assessment of Strategic/Operational Plan

Performance against benchmarks established within the strategic/operation plan will be assessed at regular, predetermined intervals, including in:

• State Advocates’ bi-monthly reports for their Regional Advocate. • Regional Advocates’ bi-monthly reports for Eastern or Western Regional Advocate Coordinators. • During Regional Advocates’ monthly phone calls with Eastern or Western Advocate Coordinators. • Eastern and Western Advocates will provide an overview to Fire Services Program Director within

their monthly report. • Bi-annual (January and July) evaluation meetings will be established for program managers to

review plan performance.

A complete review of the strategic plan should be scheduled for 3-5 from implementation. At this time, the mission and vision statements for the program should be reevaluated in terms of applicability to the current status of the program, and revised as needed. Rob and Brad also provided guidelines and recommendations for increasing the effectiveness of program meetings. Appendix D is a version used for extended staff meetings; Appendix E is a template for an abbreviated version, and modified for use by the Everyone Goes Home® Advocate program.

National Fallen Firefighters Foundation Everyone Goes Home® Advocate Program | 2017 Strategic Plan 1 - A

Appendix A: Meeting Attendees

Michael Anderson Everyone Goes Home® Program Western Regional Advocate Coordinator

Everyone Goes Home® Program Region 6 Regional Advocate

Richard Best Everyone Goes Home® Program Eastern Regional Advocate Coordinator

William (Brad) Brown Invica Performance, LLC

Scott Low Everyone Goes Home® Program Region 8 Regional Advocate

Richard Mason National Fallen Firefighters Foundation Training Coordinator

Brian McMahan Everyone Goes Home® Program Region 10 Regional Advocate

Paul Melfi Everyone Goes Home® Program Region 2 Regional Advocate

Mike Novak Everyone Goes Home® Program Region 7 Regional Advocate

Robert Pease Invica Performance, LLC

Brett Pollock Everyone Goes Home® Program Region 4 Regional Advocate

John Price Everyone Goes Home® Program Region 9 Regional Advocate

Mike Robertson Everyone Goes Home® Program Department of Defense Lead Advocate

Joanne Rund Everyone Goes Home® Program Region 3 Regional Advocate

Tricia Sanborn National Fallen Firefighters Foundation Consultant

Kevin Sehlmeyer Everyone Goes Home® Program Region 5 Regional Advocate


Appendix B. Advocate Life Cycle Plan Objective 3.1 Identify and create a complete communications plan for each phase of an Advocate’s life cycle.

Objective 3.2 create a clearly defined recruitment and retention program 0 – Six Months

1. Submit an application 2. Interview by the Regional Advocate manager 3. Complete the following programs on the FireHero Learning Network prior to being added to the

roster: a. Courage to Be Safe® b. Taking Care of Our Own® c. Stress First Aid for Fire and EMS Personnel

4. Receive login code to the Everyone Goes Home® Advocate website portal a. Submit reports according to schedule determined with the Regional Advocate

5. Attend two conference calls or self-paced calls with the State Lead or Regional Advocate

Six Months – One Year

1. Attend two conference calls or self-paced calls with the State Lead or Regional Advocate 2. Complete the remainder of available programs on the FireHero Learning Network 3. Attend a Courage to Be Safe® Train-the-Trainer program (depending on geographic availability of

the program) 4. Deliver one Courage to Be Safe® program, contingent upon the completion of the Train-the-

Trainer 5. Set up or assist with a table display at a local trade conference 6. Contact ten fire departments 7. Log in to the Advocate website

a. Submit reports according to schedule determined with the Regional Advocate

One Year – Two Years

1. Attend a LACK (Leadership, Accountability, Culture, and Knowledge) Train-the-Trainer event (depending on geographic availability of the program)

2. Deliver two Courage to Be Safe® and 1 LACK general delivery (contingent upon the completion of a Train-the-Trainer event)

3. Attend four conference calls or self-paced calls with the State Lead or Regional Advocate 4. Set up or assist with a table display at a local trade conference 5. Contact 20 fire departments 6. Log in to the Advocate website

a. Submit reports according to schedule determined with the Regional Advocate


Two Years – Three Years

1. Refresh by retaking FireHero Learning Network courses 2. Attend four conference calls or self-paced calls with the State Lead or Regional Advocate 3. Set up or assist with a table display at a local trade conference 4. Contact 30 fire departments 5. Deliver two Courage to Be Safe® and two LACK general delivery courses 6. Log in to the Advocate website

a. Submit reports according to schedule determined with the Regional Advocate 7. Recommended

a. Write an article for the NFFF-Everyone Goes Home® newsletter or website

3 Years+

1. Set up or assist with a table display at a local trade conference 2. Attend four conference calls or self-paced calls with the State Lead or Regional Advocate 3. Contact 30 fire departments 4. Deliver two Courage to Be Safe and two LACK general delivery courses annually 5. Log in to the Advocate website

a. Submit reports according to schedule determined with the Regional Advocate b. Recommend ed-Write an article for the NFFF-Everyone Goes Home® Newsletter or

website 6. Assist with the review of one white paper 7. Participate in additional projects as time permits

Note: The above timelines are set as a guide to assist with the Everyone Goes Home® Advocate development process. We understand many factors the amount of time you have available to donate. Additional time may be granted if you are unable to fulfill the requested plan section. Likewise, other training programs and responsibilities may be delegated depending on you time and the availability of the programs themselves.


Appendix C. Advocate Communications Plan Objective 3.1 Identify and create a complete communications plan for each phase of an Advocates life cycle.

1. Monitor and review programs presented in your region that are relative to the 16 Firefighter Life Safety Initiatives. (EGH, RA, A)

2. Attend, represent, or arrange to have a designate attend or participate in activities, events, programs, and training where there is an opportunity to promote the 16 Firefighter Life Safety Initiatives or assist in their implementation. (RA, A)

3. Develop reporting/sharing between Advocates and the Everyone Goes Home® program team. (RA)

4. Make recommendations for Seal of Excellence recipients. (RA, A) 5. Share with the Everyone Goes Home® program awareness and knowledge in your region. (RA, A) 6. Keep abreast of new developments and trends. (EGH, RA, A) 7. Make recommendations to the Everyone Goes Home® program team on suggested

enhancements to the program and/or processes. (RA, A) 8. Participate in bi-monthly teleconferences with regional representatives. (RA, A) 9. Identify and report on best practices within your state. (A) 10. Submit trainings to be listed on the NFFF online calendar. (Everyone Goes Home®, RA, A)

a. http://bit.ly/2kI3yXP 11. Submit stories or provide input to the Everyone Goes Home® newsletter, or the Foundation

Trumpet, the NFFF’s quarterly online newletter. (EGH, RA, A) a. Tell us your Everyone Goes Home® Success Story and help others understand the

importance of adopting the Everyone Goes Home® Program and the 16 Firefighter Life Safety Initiatives. Share changes that you made and the positive impact they had on your life, your family, and in your department. Your story will be featured on the EveryoneGoesHome.com website and will help us reach other firefighters. The new section will recognize those who have made changes to ensure that Everyone Goes Home®.

b. http://bit.ly/2k3xknX

http://bit.ly/2kI3yXP

http://bit.ly/2k3xknX


Appendix D. Proposed Standard Staff Meeting Format Purpose To make the best use of time, meetings will follow a standardized format that will cover all major areas and still leave time for open discussion at the end within a three hour timeframe.

Procedures The meeting will begin with one staff member being placed in charge of the meeting notes and keeping track of the time, serving as the meeting facilitator. Notes will be taken on the standard meeting notes template, and tracked on dry erase boards with photos taken at the end of the meeting. The meeting will cover the following main areas of focus:

Agenda Review Meeting facilitator will present the agenda which is outlined by topic heading and projected time (example: Previous meeting minutes 0845-0800). This area should take five minutes or less.

Strategic/Operational Plan Report Out Strategic and operational plans will be reported out on using standard scorecards. The strategic plan will receive a brief overview and analysis of the scorecard. Operational plan area of focus owners will arrive to meeting with report out template filled out in hard copy. They will give a brief (Twp minutes or less) report out of their progress, answer questions and hand hard copy form to meeting facilitator. The entire process for each area of focus should be five minutes, for a total of 25 minutes.

Previous Meeting Minutes Previous meeting minute action items will be covered. These items will also be placed on the agenda with action item and person assigned. A disposition of pen, ready, doing, done will be assigned. Pen or ready items will need further action items assigned to complete, doing should have expected completion date. This items should take 30 minutes or less.

Educational Component Meetings will include an educational component from either internal or external staff. New training programs, planning methods, project management tools, etc. will allow for command staff growth. This area should take an hour or less.

Problem Identification/Decision Making This is where current problems are discussed using the problem solving card format:

1. Describe the problem 2. Describe the desired condition 3. What is preventing you from fixing the

problem? 4. What do you need to do to fix the

problem?

5. What needs to be done next? 6. Who will do it? 7. When will it be done? 8. Did you achieve your desired condition?

This area should take 30 minutes or less and focus on the most pressing two or three problems.


Report out/Open Conversation After all of the reviews, report outs and problem solving, open conversation is allowed to bring up new issues, review previous work and get up to speed on current events. This area should take 20 minutes or less. Meeting Wrap-up The meeting facilitator will review identified action items, and set the next meeting date/time. Once the meeting is dismissed, the facilitator will scan meeting notes and schedule the next meeting in Outlook, attaching the documents. All files will be labeled with the: YYYY-MM-DD format (example is 2015-06-04 Command Staff Meeting Notes or 2015-06-04 Command Staff Meeting Photo. This should take ten minutes or less.


Appendix E. Proposed Advocate Meeting Template


National Fallen Firefighters Foundation Mission

Our mission is to honor and remember America’s fallen fire heroes and to provide resources to assist their survivors in rebuilding their lives and work within the fire service community to reduce firefighter deaths and injuries.

www.firehero.org

http://www.firehero.org/

National Fallen Firefighters Foundation Post Office Drawer 498 Emmitsburg, Maryland 21727 301.447.1365 • 301.447.1645 fax www.firehero.org [email protected]

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