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Heard & Learned
Below, we share key insights and research findings from our Junior Enlisted Civilian Transition project, focusing primarily on the tools and methods NewImpact’s consulting team used to gain insights and create a tri-sector solution.
These insights and work products presented are the result of extensive desk research and Spotlight Interviews with more than 22 organizations across sectors between February 2022 and May 2022.
Explore the Spotlight Map
Before creating our Spotlight Map, NewImpact conducts Spotlight Interviews to gather key insights from knowledgeable stakeholders. For this project, we interviewed experts and those with lived experience within the military transition and MSO/VSO space.
The insights we gathered revealed information from diverse perspectives, deep pools of knowledge, and wide ranging expertise and have uncovered resources in the public, private and social sectors. This information allows us to create a "Spotlight Map," below, allowing us to better visualize the insights, bottlenecks and opportunities.
Click the arrow below to explore the Spotlight Map:
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Fig 1. Spotlight Map on Transition
Explore the Impact Journey
Developed after desk research and Spotlight Interviews, the Impact Journey shows the perspective of a young service member as they transition from active duty to civilian life; it shows the many pathways they may take. In this case, we chose to remain focused on job search, vocational training, and higher education paths. The aim of the Impact Journey is to highlight bottlenecks and opportunity areas for innovation. Through this research, some of the major insights discovered were that junior enlisted service members often do not have the time, agency, or knowledge to prepare for their transition to civilian life and the MSO/VSO ecosystem is working in silos and often times lack of trust and competition for funding limits outcomes.
Click the arrow below to explore the Impact Journey.
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Fig 2. Impact Journey of a Junior Enlisted Transitioning to Civilian Life
Explore the Systems Map
The systems map below shows the factors that influence the ecosystem dynamics. This map has two sides, one represents the dynamics of the MSO/VSO ecosystem and the other is the dynamics of the enlisted members during transition.
When the MSO/VSO ecosystem is working well and with the outcomes of junior enlisted service members at the forefront, we can effectively create a virtuous cycle - with increased efficiency of the data management system leading to increased capacity to track outcomes and increased level of outcomes. This increases the amount of funding available to the system since this is often tied to measurable results. Furthermore, the perceived competition for funding is decreased which can help increase trust in the VSO ecosystem and therefore, incentivize VSOs to participate in the data management system- restarting the virtuous cycle.
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Fig 3. Systems Map of Junior Enlisted Transition Project
Explore the Tri-Sector Equation
The Tri-Sector Equation highlights how the MSO/VSO Ecosystem Co-op can work together to make the active duty to civilian life transition better, while also benefiting all three sectors. The equation details the strategy to use existing resources, and it also identifies the ‘give-get,’ or alignment of self-interests of the organizations, creating win-win-win solution.
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Fig 4. Tri-Sector Equation for Junior Enlisted Transition Project
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