Ambition of the Ultimate Stakeholders.

Eva is invited to chair the supervisory board of a new nonprofit housing and support initiative for older people. A suitable building is available. The founders have a budget and a plan for accommodation, meals and practical support. A funder needs an answer soon. The people are committed. The opportunity looks promising. Before long, the building shapes most of the discussion: how many rooms, what occupancy rate and what charges?

Imagine the initiative five years later. Every room is occupied, and the finances are sound. During a visit, Eva speaks to Mrs de Wit, who has lived there for two years. “They look after us well,” she says. “But I miss deciding how to spend my day. I’m always fitting in with their schedule.” Eva thinks about the future she helped approve. Reports cover occupancy and costs. Residents’ control over their daily lives receives far less attention.

Return to the founding discussions. Eva asks the leadership team to explore prospective residents’ circumstances with them. What works well? What is becoming harder? What do they want to preserve? Then comes the question of what they want their lives to look like fifteen years from now. They want to make their own choices, stay connected to people they care about and receive support as their needs change. In this initiative, they are the ultimate stakeholders. The leadership team needs to make their desired future explicit and translate it into the organization’s development.

Could services adapt around residents’ lives? Could support reach beyond the building? The desired future invites ideas that the available property alone would never suggest.

Management uses ICR to turn the Ambition into requirements for the business model and organizational design. It examines the connections between services, people, financial continuity, residents’ influence and risks. The supervisory board challenges proposals and monitors progress. Management remains responsible for decisions and execution.

In Route ICR, management connects long-term goals with actions, responsibilities and progress. The board agrees what information it needs to assess the organization’s contribution, including residents’ experiences and the reliability of the reporting. Good financial results alongside limited resident choice become a reason to investigate and improve.

Eva does not need every detail of the next fifteen years settled today. She needs a clear direction and evidence that the organization is working towards it. A full building is an achievement. What it makes possible in Mrs de Wit’s life gives that achievement meaning.

Whatever the organization you oversee, whose long-term Ambition should it help realize, and what evidence tells you it is moving in that direction?