Ambition of the Ultimate Stakeholders.

Amina wants to start a nonprofit for young people whose support becomes fragmented as they approach adulthood. She has seen how easily they can lose their footing. A local authority offers a space. A foundation will fund the first year of activities. Volunteers are ready to help. A drop-in centre seems a good place to start. There are cooking sessions, workshops and opportunities to talk. Attendance grows. After a year, the organization has plenty of activity to report.

Then Jay walks in. He has just turned eighteen. He has had three appointments with three organizations. His temporary accommodation is ending, and he still does not know who will help him take the next step. “Do I have to tell my whole story again?” he asks. Amina can offer food, company and a conversation. But what happens when Jay walks out tomorrow?

Return to the moment before the nonprofit was established. What if Amina had first explored the young people’s circumstances with them, then asked what they wanted their lives to look like twelve years from now? Jay imagines a home of his own and work he can be proud of. Another young person wants to finish her education. They want to make their own choices, with support that stays connected as their circumstances change.

In this initiative, these young people are the ultimate stakeholders. Their desired future gives the organization its purpose. They need a voice in defining it.

With ICR, Amina, the young people and the leadership team make that Ambition explicit. They explore the business model needed to support it: the value they offer, the partners they need and how the work will be funded. The drop-in centre may still matter. But the future they imagine calls for connections between housing, education, work and support.

They start with a small group. Partners agree who will coordinate support and how handovers will work. In Route ICR, the team connects goals, responsibilities and actions. It makes dependencies and risks visible, including funding that may end. It reviews whether young people are moving towards their own goals and involves them in improving the approach.

The organization cannot solve every housing problem. It can develop a more connected way of helping people move forward. For Jay, that could mean knowing who is helping him, what happens next and how it connects to the life he wants. His next conversation can begin with his future.

What future do the people your organization exists to serve want to realize, and how does that future shape your work?