CSC Brand Discovery

Before we're
in the room

We're reshaping how Catalyst for Systems Change brands itself as it steps into a new era. Before we all sit down together, we want to hear how you'd answer a few questions in your own words.

There are no right answers. The useful ones are the honest ones, including where you disagree with how CSC usually describes itself.

Takes about 8 minutes. Answer the questions that fit you. If one doesn't, skip it. Please send yours by Friday, September 25.

Where your answers go. Straight to the ROQA team. We use them to prepare, and nothing you write here gets circulated back to CSC with your name on it. Say the thing you would actually say.
Selected for a one-on-one interview? Book your time directly here: https://calendar.app.google/zfviZsXdQ8Gwc7Z98
Filling this out first is the single most useful thing you can do. Raji reads every answer before your conversation, so the interview picks up where your notes leave off instead of spending the first fifteen minutes on background. The more we have going in, the more the time belongs to you.

Start with you

Plan for two hours minimum. We will confirm the date and the window once we hear back from everyone.

01 / WHERE WE COME FROM

How did we get here?

CSC used to be the Center for School Change. Now it's Catalyst for Systems Change. How would you tell that story to someone hearing it for the first time? What did we gain in that shift, and what was at risk of being lost?

02 / HOW WE'RE SMART

What is CSC good at?

CSC asks young people, "How are you smart?" Turn it on the organization. What is CSC genuinely good at, not just what it does? If CSC could only be known for one thing, what should it be?

03 / WHO WE SPEAK TO

Who has to trust us?

Picture a 16-year-old seeing CSC for the first time on their phone. Now picture a funder opening a CSC proposal. What does each one need to believe in Catalyst for Systems Change? Where do those two answers pull in different directions?

04 / A REAL PERSON

Tell us about someone.

Think of one young person you've watched grow through CSC. What were they like when they arrived? What did they take responsibility for? What did they contribute and finish? And what did CSC actually do to make that possible?

05 / WHAT WE'LL COMPLETE

It's 2029.

A headline about CSC runs in September 2029.

When you're done

Submitted.

Your answers save on this device as you type. Submit them directly, or copy them into an email to Aamina if you'd rather send it that way.

Saved on this device
A note on recording. All sessions and interviews are recorded and transcribed for Catalyst for Systems Change research purposes.
Booking your one-on-one. If you have been selected for an interview, pick your time here: https://calendar.app.google/zfviZsXdQ8Gwc7Z98
Forty-five minutes on Google Meet. The meeting link lands in your calendar invite automatically.
Created by
Raji Vela
Raji Vela
Founder & Creative Director, ROQA Productions

Raji leads ROQA Productions, an MBE-certified, design-led creative agency working with mission-driven organizations across criminal justice reform, health equity, and social impact. A filmmaker and photographer rooted in Chicago's South Side, he is facilitating the CSC strategy session and the conversations around it.

Scheduling and coordination runs through Aamina Muhammad Vela at aamina@roqaproductions.com.