Module 1 Overview
Congratulations on being selected as a 100-Day Challenge Strategist in your Community and on taking on this functional role to lead a collaboration process that will drive impact towards ending GBVF.
A 100-Day Challenge is a high-intensity, time-bound project. While it shares the basic components of any project — a team, a goal, and a plan — it functions differently from traditional government mandates. You play a vital role in designing the Challenge and in aligning the local GBVF ecosystem.
You will not have tasks every week – the Coach will take care of guiding you and pulling you in during some of the journey. We will give you an overview of what they need to do every week, so you can help and support them throughout the journey.
Podcast
Click to join (listen to) a Challenge Strategist and 100-Day Challenge coach for a breakdown of this module, packed with practical tips. Note: We’ve used AI to bring these insights to life—thank you for overlooking any weird accents.
The Big Picture
The 100-Day Challenge is not “business as usual.” It is a disciplined, high-speed journey to achieve results that previously seemed impossible. To succeed, your local system needs two things: clarity of purpose and high-level political cover. Over the next two weeks, you will put both in place.
This is the Design Phase of the 100-Day Challenge. Before a single day of action begins, we must ensure the system is ready to support a breakthrough. This module focuses on the critical weeks — from Week minus 4 to Week minus 3 — where you will secure the leadership commitment and human resources (100-Day Team) necessary to move the needle on service delivery and impact.
Over the next 2 weeks, supported by the Coach, you will do the following:
Convening Stakeholders: Identifying and inviting key leaders from government agencies (SAPS, Health, Justice) and NGOs within the local GBVF ecosystem.
Facilitating Focus: Leading a collaborative meeting to gather diverse perspectives and decide on the specific area the 100-Day Challenge will target.
Enabling Action: Setting the stage so the 100-Day Team has the institutional support they need to succeed.
Your Roadmap
Week minus 4:
Building the "Business" Case
Focus: Internal preparation for leadership buy-in.
Before meeting with senior leaders, you and the Coach must be prepared to speak their language. This week is about “pre-alignment.”
What you will do: Map and categorise the stakeholders, help the coach gather baseline data, and prepare a compelling “case for action” that aligns with the National Strategic Plan (NSP).
Key Outcome: Presentation that makes the case for why a 100-Day Challenge is needed and that outlines potential focus areas for the Challenge that are inspired by your local circumstances.
Week minus 3:
Securing Leadership Commitment
Focus: The Leadership Design Session.
Lead the session, the moment where senior decision-makers officially “authorise” the work, decide on team membership, and create a safe space for the team to innovate.
What you will do: Facilitate a session with multi-sector leaders to select a specific “Challenge Focus Area” and decide on membership of the 100-Day Team. The specificity of the Focus Area will provide the clarity of purpose essential for success.
Key Outcome: High-level authorisation and a confirmed focus area for your 100-Day Team.
Your Action Checklist
To stay on schedule, please ensure the following steps are completed by the end of this module:
Stakeholder Mapping: Complete the list of leaders and champions who need to be at the Leadership Engagement Session.
Review the Draft Challenge Note: Review the initial brief prepared by the coach that describes the problem you intend to tackle.
Schedule the Start-up Workshop: Secure the date and venue for the Workshop that kicks off the 100-Day sprint.
What's Next?
Once the local leadership are on board, we move toward the Start-up Workshop, where the frontline team will be formed and set their “unreasonable” 100-day goal.
Ready to start? Begin with Week -4 to prepare for the Leadership Design Session.
