1. Introduction to Strategic Planning
June, 2007
NC-DOC
Capacity Building Training

2. Agenda Welcome & Introduction What is Strategic Planning? Who Plans?
Conducting a Strategic Plan
Vision, Mission & Values
Environmental Scan
SWOT Analysis
Action Planning
Writing the Plan
Evaluating the Plan
Question & Answer

3. What is Strategic Planning?
Strategic Planning determines where an organization is going over the next year or more, how it is going to get there and how it will know if it achieved its goals.
Strategic planning serves a variety of purposes in organization, including to:
Clearly define the purpose of the organization and to establish realistic goals and objectives consistent with that mission in a defined time frame within the organization’s capacity for implementation.
Communicate those goals and objectives to the organization’s constituents.
Develop a sense of ownership of the plan.
Ensure the most effective use is made of the organization’s resources by focusing the resources on the key priorities.
Provide a base from which progress can be measured and establish a mechanism for informed change when needed.
Bring together of everyone’s best and most reasoned efforts have important value in building a consensus about where an organization is going.
Provides clearer focus of organization, producing more efficiency and effectiveness
Bridges staff and board of directors (in the case of corporations)
Builds strong teams in the board and the staff (in the case of corporations)
Provides the glue that keeps the board together (in the case of corporations)
Produces great satisfaction among planners around a common vision
Increases productivity from increased efficiency and effectiveness
Solves major problems

4. Who Plans?
The chief executive and board chair should be included in the planning group, and should drive development and implementation of the plan.
Establish clear guidelines for membership, for example, those directly involved in planning, those who will provide key information to the process, those who will review the plan document, those who will authorize the document, etc.
A primary responsibility of a board of directors is strategic planning to effectively lead the organization. Therefore, insist that the board be strongly involved in planning, often including assigning a planning committee (often, the same as the executive committee).
Ask if the board membership is representative of the organization’s clientele and community, and if they are not, the organization may want to involve more representation in planning. If the board chair or chief executive balks at including more of the board members in planning, then the chief executive and/or board chair needs to seriously consider how serious the organization is about strategic planning!
Always include in the group, at least one person who ultimately has authority to make strategic decisions, for example, to select which goals will be achieved and how.
Ensure that as many stakeholders as possible are involved in the planning process.
Involve at least those who are responsible for composing and implementing the plan.
Involve someone to administrate the process, including arranging meetings, helping to record key information, helping with flipcharts, monitoring status of pre-work, etc.

5. Conducting a Strategic Plan

6. Vision, Mission & Values
Developing a Vision Statement
The vision statement includes vivid description of the organization as it effectively carries out its operations.
Developing the vision can be the most enjoyable part of planning, but the part where time easily gets away from you.
the vision has become more of a motivational tool, too often including highly idealistic phrasing and activities which the organization cannot realistically aspire.
Developing a Mission Statement
The mission statement describes the overall purpose of the organization.
When wording the mission statement, consider the organization's products, services, markets, values, and concern for public image, and maybe priorities of activities for survival.
Consider any changes that may be needed in wording of the mission statement because of any new suggested strategies during a recent strategic planning process.
Ensure that wording of the mission is to the extent that management and employees can infer some order of priorities in how products and services are delivered.
When refining the mission, a useful exercise is to add or delete a word from the mission to realize the change in scope of the mission statement and assess how concise is its wording.
Does the mission statement include sufficient description that the statement clearly separates the mission of the organization from other organizations?
Developing a Values Statement
Values represent the core priorities in the organization’s culture, including what drives members’ priorities and how they truly act in the organization, etc. Values are increasingly important in strategic planning.
Establish four to six core values from which the organization would like to operate. Consider values of customers, shareholders, employees and the community.

7. Environmental Scan
An environmental scan is conducted to collect data to answer questions about the present and future of the service area.
The environmental scan:
develops a common perception.
identifies strengths, weaknesses, trends and conditions.
draws on internal and external information.
is a key on-going process for internal and external honesty and openness to changing conditions.
Tools for Environmental Scanning
Surveys
Questionnaires
Focus Groups
Open Forums

8. SWOT Analysis Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Threats
internal to entity
Resources and capabilities that can be used to develop a competitive advantage
Weaknesses
- Internal to entity
- Absence of certain strengths
Opportunities
- External to entity
- External analysis may reveal new opportunities for growth
Threats
- Changes in the environment that present a threat or loss

9. Action Planning Developing Action Plans (or Work Plans)
Actions plans specify the actions needed to address each of the top organizational issues and to reach each of the associated goals, who will complete each action and according to what timeline.
Develop an overall, top-level action plan that depicts how each strategic goal will be reached.
Develop an action plan for each major function in the organization, e.g., marketing, development, finance, personnel, and for each program/service, etc.
Ensure each manager (and, ideally each employee) has an action plan that contributes to the overall.
The format of the action plan depends on the nature and needs of the organization. The plan for the organization, each major function, each manager and each employee, might specify: a) The goal(s) that are to be accomplished b) How each goal contributes to the organization's overall strategic goals c) What specific results (or objectives) much be accomplished that, in total, reach the goal of the organization d) How those results will be achieved e) When the results will be achieved (or timelines for each objective)
Developing Objectives and Timelines
Objectives are specific, measurable results produced while implementing strategies.
While identifying objectives, keep asking “Are you sure you can do this?”
Integrate the current year’s objectives as performance criteria in each “implementer’s” job description and performance review.
Remember that objectives and their timelines are only guidelines, not rules set in stone. They can be deviated from, but deviations should be understood and explained.

10. Writing the Plan Writing the Plan
Have a small number of people write the first draft of the plan. An outside facilitator (someone hired from outside of the organization to facilitate the planning process) should not be the one who writes the plan.
Don’t worry about having every last detail in the first draft.
The draft should be presented to the board of directors (if applicable) and upper management for review and approval. It's not unusual for the board and/or top management of large organizations to provide major input primarily to the contents in the body of the document, that is, the mission and vision and values statements, and the goals and strategies. Employees and other staff often provide the major input to the action planning portion, including the objectives, responsibilities and timelines for completion of objectives.
Format of the Plan
1) Executive Summary -- This is written to the scope and level of content that an “outsider” can read the summary and grasp the mission of the organization, its overall major issues and goals, and key strategies to reach the goals 2) Authorization -- This page includes all of the necessary signatures from the board of directors (if applicable) and other top management designating that they approve the contents of, and support implementation of, the plan 3) Organizational Description -- This section describes, for example, the beginnings and history of the organization, its major products and services, highlights and accomplishments during the history of organization, etc. 4) Mission, Vision and Values Statements -- These statements describe the strategic "philosophy" of the organization 5) Goals and Strategies -- Lists all of the major strategic goals and associated strategies identified during the strategic planning process.
Appendices (The appendices often include information that is somewhat confidential, detail-oriented and/or tends to change a lot.)
A) Action Planning -- Specifies objectives, responsibilities and timelines for completion of objectives B) Description of Strategic Planning Process Used -- Describes the process used to develop the plan, who was involved, the number of meetings, any major lessons learned to improve planning the next time around, etc. C) Strategic Analysis Data -- Includes information generated during the external analysis (for example, environmental scan) and internal analysis (for example, SWOT analysis), and includes listing of strategic issues identified during the these analyses D) Goals for Board and Chief Executive Officer -- Goals of the board and CEO should be directly aligned with goals identified during strategic planning. This appendix will list goals for the board and can include recommendations for redesigning board committees to be associated with strategic goals. The appendix also lists goals for the CEO goals -- these can be used (along with the CEO job description) to form the basis for performance evaluations of the CEO. E) Budget Planning -- Depicts the resources and funding needed to obtain and use the resources needed to achieve the strategic goals. Budgets are often depicted for each year of the term of the strategic plan F) Operating Plan -- Describes the major goals and activities to be accomplished over the coming fiscal year. G) Financial Reports -- Includes last year's budget (with estimated expenses and the actual amounts spent), this year's current budget (again with estimated amounts and actual amounts spent), a balance sheet (or in the case of nonprofits, a statement of financial position), income statement (or in the case of nonprofit, a statement of financial activities), etc. H) Monitoring and Evaluation of Plan -- Include criteria for monitoring and evaluation, and the responsibilities and frequencies of monitoring the implementation of the plan I) Communication of Plan -- Describe the actions that will be taken to communicate the plan and/or portions of it, and to whom

11. Evaluating the Plan
Key Questions While Monitoring and Evaluating Status of Implementation of the Plan
Are goals and objectives being achieved or not? If they are, then acknowledge, reward and communicate the progress. If not, then consider the following questions.
Will the goals be achieved according to the timelines specified in the plan? If not, then why?
Should the deadlines for completion be changed (be careful about making these changes -- know why efforts are behind schedule before times are changed)?
Do personnel have adequate resources (money, equipment, facilities, training, etc.) to achieve the goals?
Are the goals and objectives still realistic?
Should priorities be changed to put more focus on achieving the goals?
Should the goals be changed (be careful about making these changes -- know why efforts are not achieving the goals before changing the goals)?
What can be learned from our monitoring and evaluation in order to improve future planning activities and also to improve future monitoring and evaluation efforts?
Frequency of Monitoring and Evaluation
The frequency of reviews depends on the nature of the organization and the environment in which it is operating. Organizations experiencing rapid change from inside and/or outside the organization may want to monitor implementation of the plan at least on a monthly basis.
Boards of directors should see status of implementation at least on a quarterly basis.
Chief executives should see status at least on a monthly basis.

12. Questions & Answers