You've got a lot going on. We can help.

Strategy, governance and leadership support for libraries, universities and non-profits

We've managed libraries, led non-profits, and run international projects, so we've sat where you're sitting. We've also spent years leading and facilitating remote teams, so our work with you is as effective over video as it is in the room. We help you sort out what's stuck, and we leave your team more confident and your organization better prepared for what comes next.

Book a no-obligation call See how we help

Organizations we've worked with include Simon Fraser University, Vancouver Public Library, Saskatoon Public Library, BC Libraries Cooperative, Douglas College and PACE Society. See all clients

What we help with

Most of our work falls into four areas. Each one starts with a problem we hear about often.

Renewing Organizations

Your organization has outgrown the way it's set up.

Expectations keep rising, revenue hasn't kept pace, governance requirements are expanding, and your community is drifting away. For organizations that started as a successful project, that success can begin to feel like a threat.

How we can help

Governance: We work with your board or advisory group on structure, roles, responsibilities and practices, so people stay engaged and decisions are transparent and accountable.
Staffing and structure: We look at what your organization needs to run well, then build succession, recruitment, retention and staff development plans to get there.
Community engagement: We help you re-engage stakeholders, volunteers and supporters through a community-led approach to working groups, sprints, conferences and communications such as your annual report.
Financial sustainability: We find new revenue and fund development opportunities through environmental scans and market reports.
Leading through change: We facilitate the conversations your team needs to have now, so it can adapt, solve problems creatively and plan for what's ahead.

Renewing Strategy

You have a strategic plan, but it doesn't drive anything.

Goals were set without community evidence, no one agreed on how to measure success, and the plan sits apart from the budget and the year's work plans. Staff can't say what you're trying to achieve this year, and the board can't tell whether it's working.

How we can help

Strategic planning: We build plans grounded in community evidence that your teams use to set priorities all year.
Stakeholder engagement: We map and analyze your stakeholders and plan how to engage them, so you can be confident your strategy will have the impact you want.
KPIs and impact measures: We help boards develop a set of measures they understand and review at every meeting as part of their fiduciary duty and decision-making.
Plan review and reset: We rework an existing plan into goals people are actively working toward.
Annual work planning: We build annual work plans tied directly to your strategic goals.

Renewing Leadership

Your team has taken the courses and attended the institutes, but something is still missing in how you work together.

Leadership styles have become rigid, ideas get shot down before they're developed, trust is low, and no one says what needs to be said. When people do speak up, it rarely goes well.

How we can help

Executive coaching and advice: We act as an outside sounding board and bring proven practices that make your leadership work easier and more effective.
Leadership team coaching, workshops and retreats: We work with your team, online or in person, so the hard conversations happen, decisions get made, and people leave knowing what they're doing next.
Psychological safety: We help you see what shuts people down and what to change in your meetings, whether they happen in a room or on a screen, so ideas, honest conversation and creative problem-solving become how you work.

Renewing Projects

Projects slip quietly until a deadline forces attention.

Work gets assigned without a sponsor, a plan or an agreed definition of success, and when it finally lands, no one goes back to ask what happened.

How we can help

Project rescue: We get a project back on track with a plan and a timeline people believe in and can run with.
Project management coaching: We coach your team to run projects with clear goals, roles, milestones and expected outcomes.
Post-project review: We work with you to look at what worked and what didn't, and make sure it shapes the next project.

Not sure which area fits your situation? Book a call and we'll work it out together.

Who we are

RenewalWorks is Babs Kelly and Kevin Stranack. Between us, we've led libraries, non-profits and international open access projects, much of it with teams working remotely.

Babs Kelly

Babs Kelly (MLIS, MBA) has been a coach and facilitator for over 30 years along with a career in library management and as a non-profit executive director. For the past 10 years she has been a much sought after and trusted consultant with a focus on organizational strategy, governance, and leadership development. She listens to understand, makes room for big conversations that lead to action, and holds herself and others to a high standard of ethics and accountability.

Connect with Babs on LinkedIn (opens in a new tab)

Kevin Stranack

Kevin Stranack (MLIS, MAEd) is the former Managing Director of the Public Knowledge Project (PKP), the international open source and open access publishing initiative based at Simon Fraser University, where he led a distributed team working across several countries. He is also a former University Librarian at the University of Northern British Columbia. He has worked as an educator, community manager and administrator in public and academic libraries. He brings his enthusiasm for human flourishing, experimentation and organizational excellence to every RenewalWorks project.

Connect with Kevin on LinkedIn (opens in a new tab)

What Clients Say

Babs has energy and calmness, knows how to read and manage the room, and expertly facilitates ideas, participation, and respect. In my experience, this is a rare combination and Babs is a rare being.

M., City Councillor, Metro Vancouver

I attended a conference session that they were facilitating a few years ago, that was different than anything I had ever experienced at a library conference. Another library director who had dragged me to the session, just said ‘told you’. Since then I have kept them close and so should you.

B., Public Library Director

Kevin has a unique open way of collaborating and a rare ability to create a welcoming, calm, and supportive space where everyone contributes and feels trusted. He helped us to shape our growth, from a start-up project to a successful operation, and has inspired us to show up for each other and our community with a positive and generous attitude, a belief in what is possible, and better planning. His approach has enriched our work culture and has had an immeasurable impact on our project and how we work with our global community. His care and thoughtfulness has been a pleasure to work with and we look forward to working with him again.

L., Tech Non-Profit Director

Babs is extraordinarily skilled. My coaching sessions with her are the best investment in my career and in my self-care.

N., Tech Industry Executive

Many of our board members were familiar with strategic planning at their own organizations and were feeling a little jaded and uncertain about being part of a planning process that felt empty or performative. As well, our staff and community members were hesitant and nervous about how they might participate and if they would feel out of place. Working with, by, and for community is critical to how we do our work. They immediately understood what that would mean for our strategic planning and worked with us on designing an inclusive and relaxed process. Their way of holding space and connecting people and ideas resulted in a freaking awesome gathering and strategic plan. They're freaking awesome.

T., Board Chair, and B., Executive Director, Non-profit Organization

Who We've Worked With

We've worked with more than 25 libraries, universities, associations and non-profits, in British Columbia, Saskatchewan and across Canada.

Universities and colleges

Simon Fraser University
University of Northern BC
Douglas College

Public libraries

Cranbrook Public Library
Moose Jaw Public Library
North Vancouver City Library
Prince George Public Library
Prince Rupert Public Library
Regina Public Library
Saskatoon Public Library
Surrey Libraries
Terrace Public Library
Vancouver Public Library

Library federations, consortia and associations

BC Libraries Cooperative
BC Library Trustees Association
InterLink
Kootenay Library Federation
North Central Library Federation
North East Library Federation
Saskatchewan Information Library Services Consortium

Government

Public Libraries Branch, Ministry of Municipal Affairs, Province of British Columbia

Community and non-profit organizations

David Douglas Botanical Garden Society
Fireweed Collective
Kin Canada
PACE Society
POUNDS Society
Prince George Tourism

How we work

We respect the work your organization does and the communities it serves. Every engagement is confidential, and we pay close attention to detail and to people.

We design processes and facilitate conversations that fit your situation and rest on evidence. You work with the two of us directly, as colleagues you can know and trust.

We work online and in person. Both of us have spent years leading and facilitating remote teams, including Kevin's time leading PKP's distributed international team and Babs' many years designing and facilitating online workshops, coaching, and stakeholder engagement. Our online sessions get the same design and care as in-person ones, and they make it easier to include staff, board and community members who can't travel. That matters for organizations spread across large regions, like many of the organizations we've worked with.

We value:

Respect, kindness, and friendliness
Openness, clarity, transparency, and accountability
Evidence, sense-making, and answering the “so what?”

Book a no-obligation call to find out how we work and whether we're the right fit. We don't have a sales script.

Book a call

Tell us a little about what's going on, and we'll get back to you within two business days to set up a time to talk by video call or phone. You can also email us at hello@renewalworks.ca.