Breakthrough’s coaching model is built on partnership: Each team works with a dedicated coach who comes to understand the nuances of their innovation, their context, and their constraints. The team receives tailored guidance and insights that align with their goals via biweekly coaching calls and working sessions at Breakthrough’s in-person learning workshops.

• “Our coaches have been responsive, supportive, and engaged throughout the entire process. We have enjoyed this coaching experience and have noticed how good coaching can positively impact an innovation in this phase.”
• “We love [our coach] and are so glad we were paired with them—their expertise and guidance [have] been so integral to our success thus far.”
• “[Our coach] let us guide and gave suggestions when they found we were struggling. If we were stuck, or if we just needed a gentle push, they always had something ready for us.”

We use principles and strategies from human-centered design (HCD) to help teams advance their innovations. HCD is an approach that innovators use to understand a problem and design solutions that work for the people they’re intended to serve.

During their time in Breakthrough, innovation teams start by clearly defining the problem—framed as “the challenge”—and engaging with end users through interviews, observations, and other real-world interactions. These openings help teams understand people’s needs and experiences, along with what has or has not worked for them in the past. Teams then review what they learn, identify key insights, and explore multiple possible solutions. They quickly test promising ideas with end users, gather feedback, and make changes to their innovation as they learn. This process is repeated throughout the program to help teams build solutions that are practical, effective, and responsive to real-world conditions.

• “This process really had us question what we were doing, reevaluate our steps (and missteps), and think creatively and intentionally for what was next.”
• “We are able to be creative, pivot, and we are encouraged to be successful on our terms.”

We use developmental evaluation to support learning and adaptation—for both Breakthrough as an accelerator and for the teams we support. Evaluation activities are a key part of Breakthrough, and our team regularly examines data to inform decision making and program improvement.

Unlike traditional evaluation, which often measures success at a fixed point in time, developmental evaluation recognizes that innovation is not linear. We embrace developmental evaluation not only as a method, but also as a learning mindset that allows us—and our teams—to make meaningful pivots amid the uncertain context of innovation, while maintaining rigorous evaluation practices.