Renewing Organizations Through Person Centered Planning

This insightful document by John O’Brien and Beth Mount explores how human service organizations can transform through person-centered planning. ​ It highlights five interconnected activities essential for meaningful change: Personal Futures Planning, Interactive Problem Solving, Strategic Redesign, Systematic Evaluation, and Structured Reflection. Each activity plays a unique role in fostering collaboration, innovation, and ethical service delivery for socially devalued individuals. ​

The authors emphasize the importance of a structured cycle for managing innovation, ensuring that person-centered planning doesn’t become an empty ritual. ​ The process begins with finding a focus, where decision-makers review organizational performance and authorize planning for individuals whose situations reflect key themes. ​ Next, organizations are encouraged to listen deeply, generating shared visions of desirable futures by engaging with people with disabilities and their supporters. ​

To bring these plans to life, the document stresses the need to increase initiative by supporting problem-solving circles, providing resources, and incentivizing innovation. ​ Finally, organizations must redesign themselves, identifying what works, sharing success stories, reallocating resources, and negotiating new positions to expand effective practices. ​

This guide is a practical roadmap for organizations seeking to create meaningful change by centering their efforts on the people they serve. ​ It’s a call to action for leaders to embrace creativity, collaboration, and ethical reflection in their pursuit of better futures for all. ​ Dive in to learn how person-centered planning can renew not just services, but the very heart of an organization. ​