Definition
Strategic planning: The process by which leaders of an organization determine what it intends to be in the future and how it will get there. To put it another way, they develop a vision for the organization's future and determine the necessary priorities, procedures, and operations (strategies) to achieve that vision. Included are measurable goals which are realistic and attainable, but also challenging; emphasis is on long-term goals and strategies, rather than short-term (such as annual) objectives. Strategic planning assumes that certain aspects of the future can be created or influenced by the organization. Strategic planning is ongoing; it is "the process of self-examination, the confrontation of difficult choices, and the establishment of priorities" (Pfeiffer et al., Understanding Applied Strategic Planning: A Manager's Guide). Strategic planning involves "charting a course that you believe is wise, then adjusting that course as you gain more information and experience" (Wilder Foundation, Strategic Planning Workbook).
Purpose of a plan
Just as no two organizations are alike, so also their plans. It is therefore important to prepare a plan keeping in view the necessities of the enterprise. A plan is an important aspect of business. It serves the following three critical functions:
- Helps management to clarify, focus, and research their business's or project's development and prospects.
- Provides a considered and logical framework within which a business can develop and pursue business strategies over the next three to five year s.
- Offers a benchmark against which actual performance can be measured and reviewed.
What are benefits of planning?
1. Planning helps decision makers by providing guidelines and goals for future decisions.
2. Planning helps a manager exercise more control in a situation, establish goals "proactively" and consider contingencies.
3. Planning can help quantify goals and establish a means of measuring success.
4. Planning can help insure that a coherent set of actions are implemented that are consistent with the values and priorities of the decision maker.
5. Planning helps allocate limited resources like staff, materials, and time in an orderly and systematic manner.
A STRATEGIC PLANNING PROCESS
1. Agree on a strategic planning process. This may be done at a Board meeting with key staff present, or may require a special meeting or retreat, including Board, key staff, and some external stakeholders.
2. Carry out an environmental scan. This helps provide an understanding of how the organization relates to its external environment. The scan usually includes an external component -- identifying and assessing opportunities and threats in the external environment -- and an internal component -- assessing organizational strengths and weaknesses. This process is often referred to as "SWOT": strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.
3. Identify key issues, questions, and choices to be addressed as part of the strategic planning effort. This may mean specifying "strategic issues" or questions that the organization should address, and setting priorities in terms of time or importance. If there is little disagreement about issues and priorities, it may be possible to move immediately to the organizational vision and then goals. If there is no agreement on general directions and organizational goals, it may be important to explore issue priorities and identify critical choices. This might be done in several ways.
4. Define or review the organization's values, community vision, and mission. Be sure there is consensus on why the organization exists, what goals or outcomes it seeks to achieve, what it stands for, and whom it serves. If it has specific mandates –things it must do or not do based on its articles of incorporation or bylaws, or long-term contracts or grants – then these should be clearly defined
5. Develop a shared vision for the organization. In some strategic planning efforts, a vision for the organization is developed after a vision for the community has been discussed -- with the assumption that a shared organizational vision may be dependent upon a shared vision of what society should become. Whenever this is done, it is important to agree on where the organization wants to be in three to five years (It is often helpful to focus on where you want to be at the end of the period covered by the strategic plan).
6. Develop a series of goals or organizational status statements which describe the organization in a specified number of years – assuming it is successful in addressing its mission. It is usually a short step from the vision to goals – sometimes the statements describing the vision are essentially goal statements. It is extremely valuable to transform the vision into a series of key goals for the organization, preferably in the form of status statements describing the organization
7. Agree upon key strategies to reach the goals and address key issues identified through the environmental scan. The major emphasis should be on broad strategies, including current and new program, advocacy, collaborative, or other approaches. These strategies should be related to specific goals or address several goals. The process requires looking at where the organization is now and where its vision and goals indicate it wants to be, and identifying strategies to get there. The Board needs to provide a broad view to guide this effort, while the planning group or staff can do much of the detailed analysis
8. Develop an action plan that addresses goals and specifies objectives and work plans on an annual basis. Once the longer-term elements of a strategic plan have been developed, it is time to ensure a specific work plan to begin implementation. Strategic planning recognizes that strategies must reflect current conditions within the organization and its environment. Thus it is rare to attempt to develop detailed annual objectives except for the first or perhaps the first and second year covered by the strategic plan. However, annual action plans are needed. Annual program objectives should be time-based and measurable. The annual plan may be a part of the strategic plan or may be an annual addendum to it.
9. Finalize a written strategic plan that summarizes the results and decisions of the strategic planning process. There is no set format, but be sure to include the outputs of each major step. The box at the end of this document provides one possibility.
10. Build in procedures for monitoring, and for modifying strategies based on changes in the external environment or the organization. Be sure progress towards goals and objectives and use of strategies is monitored regularly, with strategies revised and annual objectives developed yearly, based on the progress made, obstacles encountered, and the changing environment. Have procedures for taking advantage of unexpected changes such as more sympathetic elected or appointed officials, improvements in the economy, changes in local funder priorities, or changes in the target population. Define annual objectives at the start of each year. Look back to see what progress has been made in critical success factors. Use the plan as a compass, but not an inflexible blueprint for action.
The steps listed above are just one approach to developing and implementing a strategic plan. Strategic planning is a process which lends itself to a joint Board-staff effort. Often, there is a joint Board-staff retreat early in the process, a Board-staff committee to oversee the entire planning process, a staff planning session with a strong focus on the action plan, and a Board session to review and approve the plan. The retreats are in addition to committee meetings and ongoing staff work. The key planning sessions often work best when facilitated by an outsider knowledgeable about the organization or about community-based organizations generally
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