Abstract: Strategic planning has become increasingly popular at the local government and community organization level. The process offers a way to systematically develop a vision of a desired community at some future time and a plan for attaining that vision.
Keywords: stragegic planning, local governments, communities, value, concepts
The focus of this issue of ACTion is Community Strategic Planning. This issue, Fall 1999, explores the strategic planning process—definitions and concepts as well as the application of the process. CRD personnel presently involved in strategic planning are R. Warren McCord, Harry Strawn, Willie Larkin, and J. Thomas Chesnutt. Others at Auburn University involved with the CRD group in strategic planning are Joe Sumners with the Center for Governmental Services and Mike Easterwood with the Economic Development Institute. Contributors to this issue are Harry Strawn, Joe Sumners, and Mike Easterwood.
The next issue of ACTion, Winter 2000, will focus on Tourism Development. For more information on these topics or suggestions for additional topics, contact the editor at (334) 844-3517, or FAX (334) 844-9022, or e-mail jchesnut@aces.edu.
J. Thomas Chesnutt
Editor
Extension Tourism Specialist
Strategic planning has become increasingly popular at the local government and community organization level. Why the hullabaloo about strategic planning? Simply stated, the process offers a way to systematically develop a vision of a desired community at some future time and a plan for attaining that vision. Furthermore, strategic plans are required components for many loans and grants to public entities. Strategic planning also provides a framework for analyzing alternatives, avoiding unpleasant surprises, and promoting a sense of community.
"The relevant question is not simply what shall we do tomorrow, but rather what shall we do today in order to get ready for tomorrow." - Peter DruckerLocal governments are increasingly being challenged, with limited resources, to address complex and changing problems of culturally diverse citizens. Communities today are much less homogeneous because people are quite mobile. New ideas and values are being introduced at a rapid rate. In order to make the most of their scarce resources, governments and other organizations must sharpen their focus, establish priorities, and take decisive action. It is not too simplistic to say, "Those who fail to plan, plan to fail." A strategic plan establishes a blueprint for the local government's future and serves as the basis for day-to-day strategic management.
In addition to the benefits provided by the product of strategic planning, the plan—the process itself—has tremendous value for a community. There is no better community-building experience than a broad-based strategic planning effort. The participants in the strategic planning process should include all stakeholders in the community including elected and appointed officials and department heads, local government employees, educators, local business and professional leaders, civic and citizens groups, and citizens-at-large. Further, they should come from all geographic areas and reflect the gender, economic distribution, and racial mix of the community. Active participation educates and empowers citizens at the same time it commits them and makes them share responsibility for the success of local government programs and policies.
The focus of strategic planning, whether carried out by the military, a private business, or a local government, is on making critical choices that will make the organization successful. The basic question that strategic planning asks organizations to respond to is: "What direction should we take in response to present and anticipated circumstances?" More traditional planning approaches consider the past and base future plans on historic trends. Turning points are often missed. Strategic planning considers possible future events and trends and then bases planning decisions and resource allocation on anticipated future changes and events. For this reason, municipalities, counties, and nonprofit organizations are developing strategic plans intended to take advantage of opportunities that complement organizational strengths, address critical internal weaknesses, and counter external threats.
Succinctly defined, strategic planning is a systematic process by which an entity attempts to anticipate and plan for the future. Strategic planning is a process, or tool, that can be used to help an organization meet the challenges of a changing environment. The obvious connection is to military strategy in which each opposing force attempts to maximize its advantages and minimize threats through strategic decisions. In the same spirit, a local government or nonprofit organization seeks to use strategic planning to place the organization in an optimal position to maximize organizational strengths in relation to external opportunities while countering external threats and addressing internal weaknesses that prevent strategic actions.
The generic strategic planning process features several basic steps. These steps include the following: formulating a vision for the organization, developing a mission statement, scanning the environment, identifying strategic issues, selecting goals and objectives, and defining action steps for accomplishing goals and objectives. Strategic planning clearly involves two key elements of any successful planning process: the identification of broad issues (organizational vision, a mission statement, and strategic issues) and defining more specific operational procedures and steps (goals, objectives, and action steps).
Applying the Strategic Planning Process
In simplest terms, the strategic planning process asks the organization to respond to four questions: 1) Where are we now? (analysis); 2) Where do we want to be? (strategy); 3) How do we get there? (implementation); and 4) How do we measure our progress? (benchmarking).
Where Are We Now? (Analysis): Whatever technique is utilized, strategic planners should analyze local institutions, services, general economic conditions, population trends, and the business community. Typically, this is accomplished through techniques such as analysis of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, or threats, or SWOT analysis. For each area of concern, organizations should examine both internal and external factors. Internal factors include resources (inputs), current strategies (process), and performance (outputs). The internal factors should be analyzed in terms of strengths and weaknesses. External factors are things the organization does not control but, nevertheless, have an impact on the organization. These factors should be documented as opportunities or threats to the organization. This stage of the planning process provides a starting point for identifying important, or strategic, issues that should be addressed by the plan. The strategic plan should, at a minimum, outline ways to overcome weaknesses and counter environmental threats. At the same time, it should ensure that the organization takes advantage of organizational strengths and opportunities in its environment.
Where Do We Want to Be? (Strategy): After determining where the organization is, the next step is to determine where the organization wants to be at some future time. This is a critical step in the strategic planning process because it involves reaching some level of consensus about what the organization would like to become. This step involves developing an overall vision for the community or organization, a general statement that reflects organizational hopes and aspirations for the future. Ideally, the vision statement should have the power to inspire organization members to pursue their desired futures. Utilizing the vision statement, the next step is to prepare a mission statement, a clear and succinct statement of organizational purpose. The mission statement should answer the question, "Why do we exist?"
Next, for each strategic issue that is identified, strategic planners must develop goals and objectives. Goals are broad and general descriptions of desired outcomes. Objectives are specific and measurable targets for accomplishing goals. For example, if the strategic issue is "Improving Governmental Effectiveness," one goal might be to develop the skills and abilities of the city's workforce. An objective to help accomplish the goal might be to provide 8 hours of training per quarter for each employee.
How Do We Get There? (Implementation): The next step is to develop the specific action plan, a detailed description of how goals and objectives will be implemented. An action plan specifies who (individuals and units) will be involved, the time frame for accomplishment, needed resources (personnel, money, equipment or other resources), key milestones, and the expected result(s) or product. The more detailed, and action-oriented, the implementation plan, the better. The action plan turns strategic planning into strategic management.
How Do We Measure Our Progress? (Benchmarking): Each strategic issue should have an associated set of benchmarks or measures to evaluate accomplishment and correct implementation problems. Without appropriate benchmarks, it will not be possible for organization stakeholders to know what success is being made toward accomplishing their goals. Important features for effective benchmarks include: 1) making the benchmarked item a key activity; 2) making sure that objective, understandable measurement information is available; and 3) assuring that the benchmarked item measures accomplishment or results, not simply activity. Another important source of information for measuring progress is the organizational budget. Finally, it is critical that a lead group such as a strategic planning steering committee be responsible for monitoring progress and continuing to involve key stakeholders in the process. This can be accomplished through quarterly (or monthly) progress reports from the responsible parties. Some organizations have found it effective to use multiple committees dedicated to discrete strategic issues (such as economic development, infrastructure, or public safety) as monitoring units. The steering committee(s) should also play a key role in keeping the strategic plan a dynamic, evolving process. As goals are accomplished, the committee will be able to develop new tasks and to modify existing goals.
Summary
Strategic planning offers a number of potential benefits to organizations interested in thinking critically about their future and who are willing to devote the time and effort needed to initiate and sustain an on-going planning process. Experience has shown that strategic planning can provide a useful framework for making policy-level decisions and designing effective techniques to implement those decisions. The process of aligning an organization with its environment through a focused, systematic effort can produce both immediate and long-term positive impacts that can include better decision making, improved communications, unity of purpose, and, most importantly, increased organizational effectiveness. Finally, strategic planning is an action-oriented process that features strong implementation and benchmarking elements. It allows an organization to establish a long-range, overall perspective, to identify strategic issues, and to develop shorter term goals, objectives, and action steps to address identified issues.
However, having noted some of the benefits that strategic planning can produce, it is important to note that it is not a cure-all. Strategic planning is a time-consuming, labor-intensive process that is not for every organization. It is simply a tool that can be used to help a committed entity work toward becoming more effective. Strategic planning should never be considered an end in itself or a one-time deal. It is not simply a written document that details the activities and results of the planning process. It is also more than the process of analyzing, strategizing, implementing, and benchmarking. No planning process, strategic or otherwise, can succeed without the commitment of key stakeholders and organizational leaders. Strategic planning, to be truly effective, means organizational staff or community residents must think and act strategically each day. Through such daily strategic thinking and acting, "planning" and "process" can be transformed into individual and collective strategic actions that enhance organizational value and effectiveness. This is what makes the strategic planning process valuable.
Harry B. Strawn
Extension Economist
Alabama Cooperative Extension System
Joe Sumners
Training Coordinator
Center for Governmental Services
Mike Easterwood
Research Associate
Economic Development Institute
| Fall 1999 | Editor, J. Thomas Chesnutt |
