College Diabetes Network

In 2021, The College Diabetes Network (CDN) reached out to Spark to help revise their strategic plan. But our story together did not start there. 

CDN first engaged Spark to develop their very first strategic plan in 2014, when they were a small, growing membership-based organization serving young adults with type 1 diabetes through their college chapter program. 

At that time we crafted a plan together that considered the needs of  their primary participant community, as well as their other key stakeholder groups,  including health-care providers, college administrators, pharmaceutical companies, parents, alumni, and employers. We developed new funding strategies and identified top priorities by stakeholder groups, with objectives for each. We also created a communications plan to reflect their new goals and their members, and a plan to measure success against their newly developed impact objectives.

By 2021, CDN was ready to renew their plan. They had grown into an influential and important voice in the diabetes space, serving young people across the country; conducting market-leading research; and partnering with pharmaceutical companies, advocacy organizations, government agencies, and youth leaders. 

We worked together to update the original plan, which they had continued to depend on. We identified three core priorities for the organization, addressing their programming, their investment in equity and cultural relevance, and their internal capacity and financial sustainability. We also developed a fresh set of branding guidelines and designed materials to celebrate CDN’s first decade, and set the stage for their next decade supporting young adults with diabetes.  

To support the internal change and leadership capacity at CDN, we provided coaching to two members of the organization’s leadership team to provide them with the tools needed to face the challenges as they enter their new stage of development.