The Ford NGL 
Roadmap
Imagine for a moment that your school is filled with young people who are HIGHLY ENGAGED ACTIVELY learning ideas and skills.
The Five-Phases
Every community is assigned a dedicated Ford NGL Coaching Team that guides you through the Ford NGL Roadmap experience. Our coaching model takes the community through a five-phase roadmap, resulting in a school AND community-developed Master Plan with action (tactical) plans informing the full transformation.
Explore
- Explore
- Understand the benefits and features of transforming the school experience using the Ford NGL Community-Connected Approach.
- Consider readiness and commitment to embrace the Ford NGL Community-Connected Transformation.
Plan
- Plan
- Achieve community-wide consensus on the ownership of a vision for transformation and determine what it will take to implement the vision.
- Create a community-wide three-year master plan for achieving a vision that is aligned with the school district's plans.
- Agree on a set of priorities for the first year of implementation.
- Strengthen the systems, structures, processes, and competencies needed to implement the master plan and guide continuous improvement.
Go Further
- Go Further
- Deepen the implementation of the systems, structures, processes and competencies requered to support and sustain continuous improvement including an intentional focus on distributed leadership and succession planning.
- Create and share innovations that will support the entire Ford NGL Network.
Envision
- Envision
- Deepen the community-wide understanding of the benefits and features of transforming the school experience using the community-connected approach.
- Understand and develop the systems, structures, processes, and leadership needed to implement the plan and guide continuous improvement.
- Understand and develop the systems, structures, processes, and leadership needed to implement the plan and guide continuous improvement.
Implement
- Implement
- Strengthen community-wide capacity to implement and continuously improve the education system.
- Implement the systems, structures, processes, and competencies to support and sustain continuous improvement with all key individuals and groups engaged.
- Inspire, share, and contribute to the Ford NGL Network.
Harness the Power of the Ford NGL Network
Our communities talk about “the POWER OF THE NETWORK” as one of the key drivers of their success in transforming their schools into wall-to-wall career academies.
Ford NGL fosters regular opportunities for our international network of communities to come together and learn from each other.
Transformation can be messy. That is why being able to learn from the “mistakes” of those who’ve gone before us is essential….and “paying it forward” happens constantly. In fact, learning from each other and sharing ideas, challenges, and solutions is what we do every day as members of the Ford Next Generation Network.
What Our Clients Says
“Digital Native transformed our sales process from chaos to a well-oiled machine. Their expertise in optimizing our CRM and refining our lead generation strategies has led to a 40% increase in our conversion rates.
Savina Cassaretti, SVP
American Pallet Recycling
Working with Digital Native has been a game-changer for our business. Their integrated approach to sales and marketing is unmatched. The results speak for themselves – our qualified lead count has more than doubled in 6 months.
Matt Kelly, President
Kelly Industrial Services
“As a small business, we struggled with consistent branding and effective outreach. Digital Native's 'Done With You' service provided us with the consulting we needed to overhaul our sales system. The personalized attention and actionable insights have significantly boosted our client engagement and overall sales.!"
Todd Ringler, Owner
TAB Long Island
“As a small business, we struggled with consistent branding and effective outreach. Digital Native's 'Done With You' service provided us with the consulting we needed to overhaul our sales system. The personalized attention and actionable insights have significantly boosted our client engagement and overall sales.!"
Todd Ringler, Owner
TAB Long Island
Got A Question? Get Your Answers
Quick answers to questions you may have. Can’t find what you’re looking for? Check out our full documentation.
How do I know this roadmap will work for my community?
Every community is different, which is why our roadmap process is designed around your unique strengths, challenges, priorities, and stakeholders. Rather than applying a one-size-fits-all solution, we work alongside your team to gather input, identify opportunities, and develop a clear path forward that reflects your community's goals and vision. While there are certainly no guarantees of success, the Phase 1: Explore component of our process allows for critical conversations between experienced Ford NGL coaches and district and community stakeholders to occur, educating each other on the critical components of the proposed transformation and building understanding and advocacy for the upcoming phases.
What happens during the Roadmap process?
The Roadmap process begins with discovery and stakeholder engagement to understand your current reality, aspirations, and challenges. We then analyze findings, identify key priorities, and work collaboratively to develop a practical roadmap that outlines goals, strategies, timelines, and measures of success. The result is a clear, actionable plan that helps guide decision-making and implementation.
How is this different from a traditional strategic plan?
Ideally, if timing aligns, the roadmap process could help inform and the resulting master plan could sit alongside and/or be woven into a district’s traditional strategic plan. While strategic plans often focus on broad goals and long-term aspirations. A Roadmap process created “master plan” goes a step further by creating a practical path to action. It connects vision to implementation by identifying specific priorities, milestones, responsibilities, and success measures, helping organizations move from planning to progress.
How long does it take to complete a Roadmap?
The timeline varies based on the size of the organization, stakeholder engagement needs, and project scope. During our time together we work with your team to establish a timeline that aligns with your goals and organizational capacity.
Who should be involved in creating The Roadmap?
The strongest roadmaps are built with input from a diverse group of internal district/school and external community-based stakeholders. Depending on your organization, this may include district leadership teams, staff, board members, students, families, community partners, business leaders, and other key voices. Broad participation throughout the entire process helps ensure the roadmap reflects the needs and aspirations of the people it serves and is a scalable and sustainable plan as inevitable changes occur in the district and community.
How do you gather community and stakeholder input?
We use a variety of engagement strategies from focused conversations and small group meetings in Phase 1 to large community convenings and cross-stakeholder planning teams in Phases 2-4. This allows all interested parties to participate at a level commensurate with their availability and desired commitment. Collectively, honoring all voices will help achieve our shared goal of creating meaningful opportunities for stakeholders to share perspectives, identify priorities, and contribute to shaping the future direction of the district, preparing its students for a fast and constantly changing world.
What will we receive at the end of the process?
If done well, the process never ends. This is a continuous improvement, iterative model in which communities in Phase 5: Go Further use the structures and processes in place to continually assess the state of the transformation, codifying those areas of strength and collaboratively addressing areas of need and/or newly identified challenges. When this new way of community-connected education becomes how you “do school” in your community, then you may acknowledge an end to the first iteration of the transformation and a signal that plan 2.0 is likely ready to be considered.
How does the roadmap help us move from planning to action?
A Roadmap transforms ideas into a structured master plan in Phase 3: Plan that includes collaboratively developed action plans that articulate what needs to happen, who is responsible, and when key milestones should be achieved. It creates alignment across stakeholders, establishes accountability, and provides a framework for measuring progress, helping the district, its schools, and partner organizations maintain momentum and focus over time. The tasks, activities, systems, structures, and processes developed in Phase 3 are subsequently implemented in Phase 4: Implement.
What happens after the roadmap is completed?
As stated in question 7 above, when done well the Roadmap is never completed. Phase 5: Going Further calls for just that--iteration, improvement, and adaptation. Armed with the systems, structures and processes necessary to stay current and aligned with societal, economic, and post-high school education, employment and training requirements, these transformed districts/communities often update their vision, re-evaluate and enhance their plan, and continue to innovate.
Can the Roadmap be adapted as our needs change?
Yes, kind of. The Roadmap is the process used to create the plan and the underlying systems, structures, and processes that inform the transformation. Effective plans created using the Roadmap are designed to be flexible and responsive. As circumstances evolve, organizations can revisit priorities, adjust timelines, and refine strategies while maintaining focus on their long-term vision. The roadmap provides a framework that supports both stability and adaptability in a changing environment.
Want to Learn More?
Let’s talk! Use the form below to send us a message, and we will connect with you and your community.
