CASE STUDY: The Salvation Army Digital Transformation

Empowering Communities

As Canadians struggle with housing affordability, food security, and healthcare access, The Salvation Army provides critical resources to those in need. To better serve at-risk communities, they launched the Accelerate 25 Digital Transformation initiative, shifting from outdated, paper-based systems to modern digital solutions, enabling a more responsive approach to the evolving needs of those The Salvation Army supports.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

As one of the largest direct social service providers, The Salvation Army needed a more integrated, inclusive, and humane approach to service delivery. To achieve this, they launched the 'Accelerate 25' program, aimed at reducing manual labor, boosting efficiency, and improving the front-line experience. The program drove digital transformation via seamless and secure system integration, modernizing processes, automating high-priority services, and ensuring data privacy and security.

OBJECTIVE: Strategic Planning for Success

Strategic planning for Accelerate 25 was critical to the successful execution of this multi-million-dollar initiative. It involved defining the scope of work, including the integration of best-of-breed SaaS CRM and Human Capital Management software, an Enterprise Data Warehouse, and an Integration Platform—all supported by a new Digital Experience front-end platform. Additionally, a comprehensive roll-out strategy was developed to ensure timely, successful, and integrated delivery. Central to the planning was the creation and implementation of a robust delivery framework for the program.

KEY CHALLENGES: Silos and an Early Value Realization Imperative

From the outset, the Accelerate 25 program lacked the necessary structure, governance, and integrated framework. Key software components—Salesforce CRM and Workday HCM—operated as siloed projects with limited collaboration or information sharing. This was driven in part by pressure to deliver early business value and justify the cost of these SaaS investments. As a result, these initiatives became disconnected from critical elements such as the data warehouse, integration platform, and digital front-end, increasing the risk of program failure.

STRATEGIC APPROACH: Combining Oversight with Autonomy

The Salvation Army engaged seasoned Strategic Program Director Marlene Jackson, principal consultant at Brightline, who brought deep expertise in program delivery to strengthen the initiative. She identified and addressed capability gaps across workstreams, introduced effective methodologies and tools, and applied her leadership and influencing skills to foster a culture of accountability and performance. By balancing structure with autonomy, she enabled workstream leaders to operate with clarity and purpose. Key to this success was the establishment of a realistic scope, a unified delivery framework, and clear delivery guidelines to support integrated execution.

OUTCOME: An Integrated Delivery Strategy

Building on the foundation she established, Marlene Jackson led the recovery and execution roadmap of the $70M Accelerate 25 transformation program. She closed capability gaps, standardized tools and methodologies, and balanced governance with workstream autonomy to enable a smooth shift from planning to delivery across integrated platforms. Marlene introduced agile practices and smart tools like Smartsheets and Office Timeline, improving execution transparency and reporting. Her leadership established robust financial oversight, enabling forecasting, trend analysis, and strategic resource allocation—ensuring alignment with program vision and outcomes.

Conclusion

Effective execution is rooted in intentional planning. For the Accelerate 25 program, early planning challenges were successfully resolved through a strategic blend of clarity, collaboration, structure, and adaptability. Clear alignment on goals, deliverables, timelines, and success criteria served as the foundation for stakeholder engagement. Strengthened communication channels, well-defined roles and responsibilities, and reinforced decision-making and escalation frameworks minimized confusion and built confidence. By proactively addressing these planning roadblocks, the team delivered a cohesive strategic plan and achieved a smooth, confident transition into execution.