Deborah Vesy Systems Change Champion Award

The Deaconess Foundation (DF) is once again pleased to announce the Deborah Vesy Systems Change Champion Award. This prize recognizes and rewards the innovative achievements of work completed by Cuyahoga County non-profit organizations or collaborations that have demonstrated their commitment to, participation in and achievement of systems change and/or scalable innovation in the local workforce development ecosystem. It also honors the professional legacy of DF’s long-time President & CEO, Deborah Vesy.

Those who had the privilege to work with Ms. Vesy during her tenure at the Foundation will know that she had a particular passion for systems change efforts, particularly those of a collaborative nature. She was a champion herself for initiatives which didn’t just help job seekers and employers but transformed all the actors in the workforce system and how they worked with each other, in order to increase outcomes.

Added to the award in 2023 was the inclusion of innovation initiatives as qualifying for consideration for the award. In this context, “innovation” means something which has not been tried before by any other organization in Northeast Ohio.

The award will be a $50,000 award with no restrictions or deliverables, provided as a grant. The award is intended to honor work already completed, rather than to fund work planned or proposed.

Deborah Vesy Systems Change Champion Award Timeline for 2026

Applications close:	July 10
Notification of finalists:	August 28
Deborah Vesy Systems Change Champion Award Ceremony	October 16

Who Should Apply?

Deaconess Foundation seeks nominations for organizations or collaboratives that have developed and implemented systems change and/or scalable innovation in the workforce development system that resulted in:

1) a significant improvement in the value of services or activities benefitting employers seeking to develop reliable talent pipelines that address their workforce needs, and/or;

2) the creation of or a significant improvement in the value of services or activities focused on disadvantaged job seekers and incumbent workers, aimed at connections with jobs on career pathways that lead to family sustaining wages, or at long-term supports that facilitate progress along those pathways.

Deaconess Foundation understands that there are several actors in the workforce development ecosystem: non-profits who support job seekers, employers, non-profit intermediaries, non-profits which provide related services, governmental entities, and philanthropy, among others. Systems change and innovation efforts often touch more than one type of actor.

Only non-profit organizations are able to be formally nominated, and the award will be provided to a non-profit organization. The award can be in recognition of activity accomplished within or across non-profits and/or other actors. The non-profit is free to determine how to use the financial award, including sharing it with other actors if it feels appropriate.

Organizations that are nominated do not need to be current or previous Deaconess Foundation grantees.

What is Systems Change within Workforce Development?

Systems change is often conceptualized as a shift in the conditions that keep a problem in place.[i] The conditions under which workforce development operates include dynamics that influence both workers and employers and include economic forces, employer practices, racism and sexism, government policies, funding practices, knowledge gaps, social norms and goals, embedded social narratives, and many others. Changes to these conditions might be:

- - - Structural – affecting policies, practices and the flow of resources;
    - Relational – affecting how different actors in the system connect and communicate, or how decisions are made;
    - Transformational – changes to deeply held beliefs and assumptions or taken-for-granted ways of behaving in regards to work, workers, and employers.

Examples of systems change efforts, reflecting the type of activity this award seeks to recognize, include but are not limited to:

1) Changes in organizational policies, procedures, practices, and culture, within or across organizations in the workforce development ecosystem.

2) Changes in the operational boundaries between organizations, the relationships among entities and people within and across the actors in the workforce development ecosystem.

3) Changes in the behaviors, attitudes and the way in which different actors work within the workforce development ecosystem.

4) Improved collaboration, coordination and impact within the workforce development ecosystem.

What is Scalable Innovation within Workforce Development?

Innovation initiatives can be a new process, approach, practice or product, any of which have been applied within the workforce development ecosystem. Innovation initiatives which qualify for consideration for this award meet the following criteria:

1) The initiative has been implemented as a pilot or rollout and is ready for expansion beyond one individual organization or has been piloted or rolled out across more than one organization. (An initiative which only benefits one organization will not be considered.)

2) It has either 1) demonstrated an improvement in the effectiveness of some element of the workforce ecosystem or 2) solved a problem for which there was no prior solution, in addressing significant improvements identified above.

3) Its effectiveness or value has been recognized, or has the scaling support, of at least one individual or entity which is outside the organization implementing the innovation.

Examples of innovation efforts, reflecting the type of activity this award seeks to recognize, include but are not limited to:

1) Implementation of a new programmatic approach to address/improve existing workforce development programming challenges

2) Implementation of a new technology product or solution

3) A new approach which addresses systemic policies, procedures, practices, or culture

Deaconess Foundation seeks nominations for efforts that address these conditions and create change in one of those categories. All efforts in the workforce space which are considered a systems change and/or scalable innovation effort (similar to those described above) would qualify for consideration for the award. If you are unclear as to whether an initiative is a “systems change and/or scalable innovation” effort and want to discuss with someone before writing a nomination, please feel free to reach out to Cathy Belk at cbelk@deaconessfdn.org.

The award will be to recognize an existing initiative which has already occurred which involves systems change, innovation, or both. The criteria considered to determine the winning initiative from all qualifying initiatives are below.

Considerations in Selecting the Winner

There will be one winner selected from the nominations. A systems change effort will be considered more favorably in the evaluation if it meets one or many of these criteria:

1) The effort is in alignment with the Foundation’s mission and impacts detailed in its 2024 – 2026 strategic plan;

2) The effort has created, or has obvious potential to create, transformative impact. This impact can be achieved through a variety of means (which could include scale, structure, or expansiveness of participation, or any other way impact can be achieved)

3) the effort has addressed reducing the impact of, or eliminating altogether, racial inequities in the workforce development system, and

4) learnings have emerged from the effort which could positively impact other actors, regions/geographies, or partnerships.

Want to Apply? Here Are Your Next Steps:

The nomination form can be accessed through DF’s grants dashboard (new users will need to create an account.) The application questions are available here.

Completed nominations should be submitted to Deaconess Foundation by July 10, 2026.

DF staff will be available to answer questions on the Deborah Vesy Systems Change Champions Award and selection process. Please reach out to Lissy Rand at lrand@deaconessfdn.org.

If the Foundation has any questions regarding your nomination, we will reach out to you before August 10, 2026. Nominations will be reviewed by the Deaconess Foundation Grants Committee, supplemented with a small group of community leaders and workforce experts. The Committee will provide a recommendation with supporting detail to the full Board of the Deaconess Foundation, which will select the final winner.

Awards Notification

The finalists will be notified by August 28, 2026. The winner will be announced at a ceremony at the City Club on October 16, 2026.

[i] Kania, John et al. “The Water of Systems Change,” FSG, June 2018