EXPERTISE IN PROVIDING CONSULTING
AND CONTRACT SERVICES

Overview

Franklin Solutions is a professional services organization providing consulting and contract services to businesses, non-profit, government, and higher education institutions interested in strategy, leadership, collaboration, and transformation services. We are committed to addressing the unique goals of our clients, customizing our tools and services to fit each client’s particular circumstances, and persistently pursuing our clients’ success.

We provide value to clients interested in transforming communities, business organizations, and higher education through a range of offerings, including:

• Customized, large-scale solutions associated with developing innovative initiatives, forming new, special purpose organizations, and leading regional prosperity initiatives;

• Services targeted to individual organizations and partnerships; and

• The Collaboration Institute focused on training workshops and educational programs designed to build the know-how and capacity for community collaboration and organizational change.

The principals of Franklin Solutions have extensive experience working with communities, regions, businesses, and in higher education institutions. We have created and led large-scale initiatives, partnerships, and new institutions focused on:

“Tim and Nancy spearheaded setting up the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research (IALR) and making it a reality from its very beginning to successful implementation.  Through their vision, effective communication, and masterful management of politics among five municipalities and townships in the area, they managed to achieve what was initially thought to be improbable.”

Mehdi Ahmadian, Ph.D.
Professor, Mechanical Engineering Virginia Tech
Technical Visionary for IALR’s Virginia Institute for Performance Engineering and Research

We Have:

• Held institutional and national leadership roles in university-community engagement

• Been responsible for large-scale initiatives recognized with national awards

• Earned doctoral degrees in higher education management and educational research and policy

• Presented to national audiences

• Researched and Published articles and books on university-regional partnerships, intermediary institutions, distance learning, and agile strategy collaboration

Our Practice Areas

Consulting

• Accelerating Community Vitality and Regional Innovation– serving:

  • Local governments (cities and counties)

  • Regional agencies (economic development organizations, regional foundations)

  • State government

• Developing Model Higher Education Programs – serving:

  • College and University Leadership

  • College and University Community Engagement and Outreach

  • Academic and Research Leaders

• Building Stronger Business Teams and Organization – serving:

  • Business Leaders

  • Trade Associations

  • Business Partnerships
    

The Collaboration Institute (TCI)

We strive to improve the quality of life in communities and organizations by helping leaders learn to:

• Design and execute local and regional economic and community development initiatives.

• Improve organizational capacity and effectiveness to capitalize on the new opportunities.

• The Collaboration Institute’s signature focus is a set of workshops that engage participants in dialogue and steep participants in promising practices, tools, strategies, and processes.

• TCI offers four types of workshops:

  1. Strategy workshops

  2. Process workshops

  3. Tool workshops

  4. Futures workshops

“Tim [Franklin] is as fine a strategic thinker as I have known.”  

(April 2001, Comments at Farewell Reception for the Franklins)

 Lloyd Benjamin, Ph.D.
Former President and Professor
Indiana State University

Our Experience

The Franklin Solutions principals have had significant engagements, project leadership roles, and/or employment in the following representative list:

Organizations and Communities

“Nancy brings significant programmatic breadth and depth from a variety of institutional settings.  She is extremely good at seeing the big picture and making priority judgments.  A real strength is in analysis of complex issues from several viewpoints, creating alternative positions for consideration, and help policy decisions evolve.  Nancy can help folks facing substantive decisions to move towards agreement.”

Dr. John Moore
Managing Director Emeritus
Technology-Enhanced Learning and Online Strategies
Virginia Tech

New Intermediary Organizations Created and Managed:

• Institute for Advanced Learning and Research (Virginia)
• Transformative Regional Engagement (TRE) Networks (National)
• New Jersey Innovation Institute (New Jersey)

Major Initiatives Designed and Managed:

• Baccalaureate Degree Completion “DegreeLink” (Indiana)
• E-Education Faculty Development “Course Transformation Academy” (Indiana)
• Danville-Pittsylvania High Speed Network “eDan” (Virginia)
• Virginia Institute for Performance and Research Engineering (Virginia)
• Applied Polymers Processing Institute (Virginia)
• Institute for Sustainable and Renewable Resources (Virginia)
• Joint Unmanned Systems Testing, Experimentation, and Research Center (Virginia)
• STEM Capacity Building (Virginia)
• Scaled Student Engagement “Sustainable Communities Collaborative” (Pennsylvania)
• University-Wide Sustainability Strategic Plan (Pennsylvania)
• University-Regional Engagement “Pennsylvania Prosperity Partnerships” (Pennsylvania)
• National Learning Network and Intermediary Organization in University-Led Regional Economic Engagement “TRE Networks” (United States)
• Aerospace & Defense Supply Network Resiliency “New Jersey MarketShift” (New Jersey)
• Modular, Industry-Driven Apprenticeship Strategies “MIDAS” (Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York)

Selected State and National Policy Roles

• Council on Innovation (New Jersey)
• Southern Growth Policies Board (Southern U.S.)
• Strategic Doing Institute – Core Team Members (national leadership team)
• Academy of Community Engagement Scholarship (Inducted Members)
• MForesight Education and Workforce Development Advisory Board (NIST & NSF funded)
• TRE Networks, Inc. – Founding Executive Director
• Association of Public and Land-grant Universities – Advisory Board member, invited advocate, Planning Task Force for the “New Engagement” member
• Manufacturing Institute – National Education Council member
• State Council for Higher Education (Virginia) Strategic Planning Advisory Committee
• Indiana Council for Higher Education – numerous advisory committee assignments