Strategic Planning ... Is It For
You?
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- What Is Strategic Planning
- What Are The Benefits Of Strategic Planning
- Who's Using Strategic Planning To Plan For Their Futures?
- Step 1 - Planning The Strategic Process
- Step 2- Creating Your Future
- Step 3- Assessing Current Situation
- Step 4 - Developing Your Strategy
- Step 5 - Planning For Action
- Step 6 - Implementing And Evaluating The Plan
- Hints For success...
- References
- Related Links
Introduction
Do you wonder where your group or community will be in five years?
Is your association or council equipped to operated successfully in the
future?
How will you be affected by:
- environmental trends?
- reduced resources?
- new demands of members, clients or residents?
If you can identify with these situations, strategic planning my be just
what you are looking for. The strategic planning process can guide you
towards where you would like to be in the future versus having to deal
with situations as they happen.
What Is Strategic Planning?
Strategic planning is a tool that any group of people such as a municipality,
association, government body, business, agency, council or special interest
group can use to proactively plan their future.
Strategic Planning Is a Process That:
- examines where your organization or business is now, where you want
it to be, and how you are going to get there
- involves your community or group in visioning your preferred future
- produces a flexible plan or road map of strategies derived from internal
discussions and external sources of input
- steers your county/region in a focused direction for future success
- allows proactive thinking beyond your current activities and traditions
- deals with change positively by responding to it effectively
- involves making decisions that consider changes or anticipated changes
in the environment
- sets priorities for action that are reflective of all aspects of your
association or municipality
Strategic planning is not:
- a one shot deal
- a box of tricks or a bundle of techniques
- a quick fix to solve immediate problems
- a report left to sit on a shelf
Strategic planning is more than long-term planning. Compared to long-term
planning, where goals are made for a specific period of time, strategic
planning:
- is based on anticipated changes in the environment
- involves getting input from many individuals and many levels of the
organization or community
- provides the opportunity to incorporate new ideas and approaches
What Are The Benefits Of Strategic Planning?
By carrying out strategic planning your agency or council will be able
to:
- influence rather than be influenced
- clarify or redefine your role and your target group
- deal positively with the inevitable ...change
- address critical issues you are facing
- find innovative ways to achieve goals
- decrease crisis management
- give continuity during changing times or when there is new leadership
- use resources efficiently and effectively
- anticipate issues and develop policies to meet future needs
- gain commitment and bring your group together to work on common goals
Who's Using Strategic Planning To Plan For Their Futures?
The following list shows who has developed a strategic plan to guide
their future activities:
- municipalities
- businesses
- hospitals
- communities
- industries
- corporations
- government
- school boards
- colleges
- town councils
- private sector societies
- agencies
- institutions
- boards
- counties/regions
- chambers of commerce
- professional associations
- local & provincial organizations
- non-profit interest groups
Step 1 - Planning The Strategic Process
Assessing the Need For Strategic Planning
Strategic planning may be for you if:
- your municipality is operating very smoothly but wonders if it will
continue to do so in five years
- your association is losing money and community appeal and struggles
to maintain viability
- your members are leaving to join other groups with similar mandates
- your community is facing unemployment, restructuring or a changing
economic base
- your society was originally formed to respond to major issue which
now has been addressed
- your interest group lacks a clear purpose
- your newly elected council wants direction from the community to develop
policies.
Strategic planning may not be appropriate for you if there is:
- lack of leadership, training or skills
- lack of commitment to the process
- the "old guard belief " that nothing can help and nothing
ever changes
- lack of time, money or other resources to carry out the process
- problems with key individuals
- difficulty with program or policy implementation
- little likelihood of the strategic plan being used
- a poor relationship among the players
- an upcoming municipal election
Some of these challenges may hinder your group's ability to complete
the strategic planning process and implement the plan. Such situations
can be handled better using other processes. Once these have been overcome,
you then can reassess the need for strategic planning.
Understanding and Gaining Commitment to Proceed with Strategic Planning
To gain commitment to proceed:
- involve all those affected by the plan to build understanding and
ultimately ownership of the plan
- outline the strategic planning process, role of participants, time
commitment, costs and benefits
- spend time with all levels within your group to get the commitment
to go ahead
Contracting with a Facilitator
The Facilitator:
- guides your strategic planning team through the process, keeps the
discussion on track, and enables everyone to participate
- should be from outside the community or group and have no vested interest
in the outcome
The contract:
- is an agreement between the facilitator and the organization outlining
roles and responsibilities, time commitment and fee
- outlines who will complete tasks such as selecting the strategic planning
team, scheduling meeting dates, arranging meeting facilities and equipment,
chairing meetings, recording and circulating proceedings, corresponding
with team members
Setting up a Strategic Planning Team
Take the following into account when setting up your team:
Selection
- optimal working group size is nine to 12 people
- ensure a balanced representation of individuals who can provide input
from different perspectives
- identify all the potential players who represent a cross section of
interests and levels from both within and outside your group
- consider those outside your council or executive - for example volunteers,
staff, clients, management, sponsors, partners, members, residents of
the community, other interested parties
Time Schedule
- develop, with your planning team, a time schedule. Alternatives include:
- a series of three hour sessions held five to seven times over several
months
- a combination of half-day and full-day sessions over a shorter period
of time
- a series of two or three two-day sessions
- allow time between meetings to give your strategic planning team a
chance to reflect on the content, check the facts and get input from
others
Communications
- throughout the process your team should periodically report and verify
your work with others involved
- your strategic planning team needs to know or identify how the completed
plan will be shared with others involved (e.g., voting on its acceptance
at a general or management board meeting, making a public presentation
or distributing published highlights)
Step 2- Creating Your Future
Developing a Vision for Your Future
Visioning allows your planning team to decide how you want your organization
to be perceived in the future. Your team will explore what you want to
look like in five years, your preferred future and your values. You will
need to gather this information from those you represent or serve.
Developing a Mission Statement
By seeking input from a variety of individuals about your agency's future,
you can develop your mission statement. The mission statement:
- is an action statement that outlines the preferred future of your
organization
- establishes what you plan to do, for whom, and why you are uniquely
valued
- provides a focus for future planning
- reflects your group's values, culture and philosophy
- acts as a focal point against which all plans or directions are checked
- may have several drafts as the strategic plan evolves
Examples:
- Happytown strives to develop, maintain and enhance the economic, social,
cultural and physical well-being of its residents so they may enjoy
a high-quality life, and so corporations and industry may have a solid
business base.
- The Everfit Fitness and Health Council promotes reliable and safe
fitness and health programs and services in Goldentown so that consumers
can make healthy fitness choices.
Step 3- Assessing Current Situation
Strategic Analysis
Strategic analysis is an in-depth look at all the factors likely to have
the greatest impact on the future of your municipality or society. It
involves gathering data and facts from a variety of sources and confirming
that this information is accurate. Other components include:
Identifying Strengths and Weaknesses
- identify the strengths and weaknesses that are within the control
of your organization (e.g., reduced operating capital, low membership
or staff numbers, skilled executive, open communication networks)
- discuss their effect on the ability of your group to accomplish its
mission
Identifying Opportunities and Threats
- identify the outside influences over which you have little control;
political/legal, economic, social/cultural and technological factors
- may include new government policies, fragmented markets, changing
lifestyles, activities of competitors
- explore how these will relate to your mission
Identifying Critical Issues
Critical issues:
- arise from the identified strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and
threats
- are positive or negative issues that will impact on your future
- must be addressed by your planning team - if not, they will become
barriers to achieving your mission
Step 4 - Developing Your Strategy
Your team will design strategy or action statements of what you are going
to do to overcome the identified critical issues facing your organization
or community.
Examples of strategies that your municipality or board may develop include:
- improve visibility within the community
- ensure effective communication
- maintain financial viability
Step 5 - Planning For Action
To put your strategic plan into action it is necessary to:
- develop innovative approaches to accomplish your strategies
- check that your planned activities are consistent with your mission
- divide your proposed activities into manageable tasks
- include what you will do, who's responsible, what resources are needed
(time, money, expertise), when they will be done, how you will monitor
their progress and measure their success
Step 6 - Implementing And Evaluating The Plan
Once the plan is developed it is now up to you and your membership to
follow through with your plans. Here is a TO DO LIST to ensure your plan
gets implemented:
- set your activities in order of priority and establish time frames
over the short- and long- term
- establish an implementation committee. Delegate tasks to current or
new committees
- share the highlights of your plan with those involved to gain their
support and help with implementation
- use your mission statement as a marketing tool to promote your cause
or group
- determine who will monitor your progress in accomplishing your strategic
plan
- review the progress of your plan at each board or council meeting
- hold a six-month review with your strategic planning team and facilitator
to evaluate your progress and make adjustments where necessary
- continue to implement, review and evaluate the plan on an ongoing
basis
Hints For success...
- Check with similar groups who have completed a strategic plan. You
may be able to gather ideas to help you through the process.
- It is important that your strategic planning team has full participation
by all members to ensure continuity and consistency.
- Step back from your group or community and look at it from a different
perspective.
- The strategic planning process takes time and demands a lot of energy
- you may have to get over some hurdles along the way.
- As you periodically check back with your mission statement to ensure
it reflects your plan to date, you may make several revisions.
- Check that your current official plan, constitution or bylaws, proposed
activities and budget are consistent with your mission statement. You
may need to update these.
- Be positive and forward thinking throughout the process. The results
are worth it.
- Realize that your plan is written on paper and is meant to be revised
as you, your organization and society change.
References
Designing Strategic Management Planning in Municipalities. Dushane, Steve
M., 1985.
Local Strategic Planning Workshop Resource Binder. Ministry of Municipal
Affairs, 1992.
Nine Steps to Strategic Planning for Non-Profit Organizations, A Workbook.
Ginsler, Ernie. Lamp Consultants to Non-Profits, 1990.
Planning with a Star, Facilitator's Handbook. Alberta Agriculture, 1992.
Port Colborne Community Strategic Plan. Port Colborne Wainfleet Community
Futures, 1992.
Strategic Planning Consultant's Handbook. Schmidt, Katharine, July 1992.
Understanding Applied Strategic Planning. Pfeiffer, W.,Goodstein, L;
Nolan, T, 1985.
Related Links
