Strategic solutions for those driving meaningful change.

UEFA Grow is UEFA’s central business development support programme, which works with national associations (NAs) to promote and develop football across Europe. Its purpose is to offer customised consultation services to NAs and support their strategic development. Since 2019 we have acted as a UEFA Grow Partner in supporting the design and delivery of these customised consultation services, specifically in relation to enhancing the capabilities of each NA in strategic planning. As part of this, we supported the development of a strategic planning framework that provided a step-by-step guide for NAs to develop new organisational strategic plans. We also supported the development of a bespoke framework for the women’s game to help guide the planning process for women’s football strategies. More recently, our support centrally to the UEFA Grow team has provided thought leadership and guidance in evolving NA strategy support to the broader concept of strategy management, to enhance the importance of strategy at NAs and its role in providing day to day actions that serve the long-term development of football across Europe. To deliver this concept, in addition to directly facilitating the development of the organisational strategic plans for UEFA’s national associations, and extending this support for the development of connected strategies such as those for women’s football and social responsibility, we also engage with NAs on a more frequent basis during their strategy period - providing bespoke support to help overcome any challenges they encounter when delivering their strategy.

In September 2021, Oaks were commissioned by Carers Trust to develop their strategy. The brief was to set a new strategic direction that invigorated the organisation after the pandemic. During the strategic planning process, we worked closely with the Carers Trust executive team, 60 internal staff members, and their extensive network of stakeholders, to co-create a strategy that was responsive to the needs of the entire organisation and its beneficiaries. Stakeholders included trustees, 70 network partner organisations, national advisory boards, and unpaid carers. The outcome of these discussions was a clear vision, mission and set of values that connected to 4 distinct areas of work to deliver on their strategic objectives. To support the implementation of these objectives, we also facilitated discussions across the Carers Trust team to create a plan of action and identify measures of success. Working in collaboration with the Carers Trust communications team and their creative agency, the strategy document was produced using the trust’s new strategic framework. The final document was received with huge enthusiasm across the entire Carers Trust network at their annual conference in September 2022.

Centre for Access to Football in Europe (CAFÉ) exists to provide total access for disabled football spectators across Europe. Working with key stakeholders such as UEFA, it engages spectators, clubs, and national associations to ensure stadiums are fully accessible for all disabled fans. In 2021, CAFE, commissioned Oaks to develop a combined organisational strategy and income generation plan. This was their first ever organisational strategy and was being developed at a time when a real step-change in both funding and organisational model was required to reflect the evolving and competitive environment in which they operate. New vision and mission statements were at the heart of the project, as well as a brand-new organisational model – moving away from being solely externally funded, to becoming a membership organisation. Moving to this model secured both their financial sustainability and ability to scale their impact more effectively. Oaks worked closely with the CAFE team to explore all available options for organisational re-modelling, providing them with the key risks, opportunities, and operational considerations. We also helped them develop objectives, income forecasts, and implementation plans to support the delivery of the strategy. The project was successfully completed in May 2023.