Executive Management, Entrepreneurship and Leadership Institute (EMELI) At The Yale School of Management.
When ‘implementation ready’, the Executive Management, Entrepreneurship and Leadership Institute (EMELI) will provide teams of senior human services and senior managers a rigorous and analytically oriented program that will provide exposure to and training in cutting-edge business strategies, new management models, and the latest use of technology and decision analytics to improve performance, enhance outcomes and facilitate large-scale change. The concept for EMELI arose from human services leaders who have recognized a profound and growing knowledge gap in their agencies: how to use management tools and information technology across service delivery systems that are mandated and committed to serving at-risk and diverse populations of children, youth, and families. EMELI is currently proposed by two organizations:
Program Need
The 2002 Census of Governments estimates that there are over 75,000 governmental bodies implementing human services in the US. According to Guidestar, there are an additional 15,000 not-for-profit agencies serving the child welfare field, including adoption, family preservation, and foster and kinship care services. Anecdotally, these not-for-profits have tremendous impact on service delivery. National organizations such as American Public Human Services Association and Child Welfare League of America estimate that the private sector delivers approximately 50% of all services in the U.S.
Comprehensive interviews with leaders of these child welfare and human services agencies across the country reveal two recurring gaps in knowledge and skills: 1) a lack of quantitatively-based decision-making skills among staff members, and 2) an inadequate grasp among human services leaders of information technology and its related applications and benefits For example, the 200+ participants from government, business and academia that have attended the last three Stewards of Change (SOC) conferences at Yale SOM to discuss interoperability issues, echoed these challenges as well, and cited the following trends:
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Rising expectations for more accountability, fact-based decision making, operational efficiency and measurably better outcomes
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Growing interest in integrated human services planning and delivery
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Need for IT understanding to enable process improvements through interoperability
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Increasing need for data-enabled innovation and creativity to manage disruptive and systemic changes (e.g., privatization, performance-based contracting, public/private ventures, as well as interoperability)
EMELI Program Goal
EMELI’s overarching goal is to develop leadership teams in the human services field that are able and committed to enhanced service of at-risk children, youth, adults, and families with cross-organizational change that is characterized by:
EMELI Program Strategies
To accomplish this goal, four core strategies will be employed:
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Plan and implement an executive development program focused on increasing analytical rigor, technological savvy, business and management skills, and the ability to create organizational alignment in senior leadership teams. Learning components will include a week-long, in-residence classroom experience; follow-on learning with technical assistance throughout the year; and an action-learning project with customized support and technical assistance.
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Design and implement curriculum that utilizes expertise of teaching faculty from Yale SOM, other Yale schools/programs, other universities and subject matter experts from industry to provide a world class educational experience.
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Solicit applications from organizations and agencies with cross-functional senior leadership teams committed to: fully participating as intact teams; and initiating, within the program year, an approved action-learning project in their organization that reflects the challenges highlighted in the EMELI mission and curriculum.
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Create an alumni structure to support a national network of knowledgeable first and ongoing generation leaders for ongoing support and transfer of developing knowledge and practices.
The requirements for today’s human services leaders are increasing as expectations grow for greater accountability, data driven decision making and interoperability across programs and systems. While courses are available in many business and technology subjects there is not yet a a coordinated educational program designed for new leaders that provides an integrated and coordinated approach. Stewards of Change along with The Yale School of Management are working towards launching the inaugural class of EMELI in 2010 or 2011.