Proyecto Horizonte
Streamlining Organizational Structure for Replication
Cochabamba, Bolivia
Non-governmental Organization, Community Development
February - May 2011
Proyecto Horizonte is working to change lives in Bolivia through education, healthcare, and community development. Proyecto Horizonte was interested in streamlining their sustainable development model so that it could serve as a blueprint for other organizations around the globe. They brought me in to understand the current structure and processes, and to make recommendations for improvement based on highest areas of impact with potential for long-term replicability.
Proyecto Horizonte was created in 2004 to address the growing needs of a miner-created community, Mineors San Juan, situated 10km from the larger city of Cochabamba, Bolivia. The organization funded and managed a daycare, 600-student school, adult night school, community health center, and a variety of economic development and cultural projects. As Mineros San Juan became officially recognized by the city of Cochabamba, it was clear Proyecto Horizonte needed to restructure to instead take advantage of government-run educational and health programs while expanding other community initiatives that could provide more support and development for the community. I partnered with Proyecto Horizonte leadership and staff to understand the current processes, identify redundant programs, and to pinpoint opportunities for expansion of a more innovative and holistic structure.
I spent three months understanding the details of often undocumented and ad-hoc process for almost every department of the organization. I started with in-depth interviews of all full time staff members in each department: health care, school, culture and sports, administration and communication, microfinance, and the women’s microenterprise program. Included in these interviews were deep dives into written assets and computer systems when available. I then spent time observing beneficiaries interact with the services of each department to understand the value created and the effectiveness of delivery.
From this research, I recorded historical development of programs, articulated department objectives, and documented step-by-step procedures for key processes. All of this was distilled down to extract big picture learnings that I used to create a final recommendations deck that would allow the organization to concentrate on programs that were impactful, yet relatively easily replicable.
“The work that Cecilia completed for Proyecto Horizonte provided an invaluable insight to our processes and was the catalyst for a restructure that has enabled more effective and efficient operations. The recommendations given are still being used as a reference for the turning point in the philosophy of the organisation.” - Eliza Wall, local CEO
