Transforming War Child for global growth: A Design Sprint to scale impact for children in conflict zones

How might we help War Child transform their organizational structure to become more agile and scalable, while decentralizing operations to better support their global mission?

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Introduction

At the end of 2020, as part of oneUp, we had the privilege of working with War Child, an NGO dedicated to providing psychosocial support, education, and protection to children in conflict areas. We were tasked with facilitating a Design Sprint that focused on restructuring War Child's organizational model to make it more agile, scalable, and less centralized in the Netherlands. Through four days of intensive collaboration, we employed Target Mapping to identify and innovate on key aspects of their fundraising model and internal structure, aligning their efforts for global growth and impact. Our work directly supported War Child’s mission to operate more effectively and grow sustainably, ensuring they can continue to protect vulnerable children worldwide.

The Challenge

War Child is a complex global organization that operates through a network of local partners in conflict zones, with funding from international donors. As their efforts expanded, their organizational model, centralized in the Netherlands, became a bottleneck for growth and flexibility. The main challenge was to redesign the internal structure to allow for more agile decision-making, better local autonomy, and improved scalability. This challenge involved not only transforming operational processes but also rethinking how War Child could decentralize without losing cohesion across their global network.

Methodologies Used

• Target Mapping: We took the common Design Sprint practice of Target Mapping, traditionally used to map user journeys, and applied it to War Child’s organizational structure. This allowed us to identify key friction points in their internal operations and fundraising processes, creating a visual representation that guided the sprint’s focus.
• Design Sprint Framework: Using the Design Sprint methodology, we went through a rapid process of ideation, prototyping, and validation. This helped the War Child team align on the core problem areas and quickly generate solutions that could be iteratively tested for scalability and impact.
• Collaborative Workshops: We facilitated workshops with War Child’s leadership team to break down internal silos and align everyone on the same goals. These sessions fostered open communication and created a shared understanding of the challenges and opportunities within the organization.
• Systems Thinking: Given War Child's complexity, we utilized systems thinking to understand how different parts of the organization—fundraising, local partnerships, and operational workflows—interacted with one another. This approach helped us design more cohesive solutions.

Impact

The outcome of the four-day design sprint was a clear roadmap for War Child to transform into a more agile and scalable organization. By decentralizing key operations and introducing more flexible structures, War Child is now better equipped to respond to the changing demands of their mission and expand their efforts globally. The visual mapping of the organization became a critical tool for future decision-making, helping both internal teams and external partners align on goals. Our collaboration not only gave War Child a solid foundation for scaling but also created a culture of innovation within the organization, paving the way for continuous improvement as they grow.