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BASIC PRINCIPLES FOR DESIGNING A STRATEGIC PLANNING PROCESS

To be good, any strategic planning process must be tailored to the particular organization and
circumstances; it will look different every time. Below is an approach to designing an
appropriate strategic planning process.
1. Decide on the Goals
There are many reasons for doing strategic planning and it can be done at many levels. Goals
might include
! "etting, revising, or clarifying the mission and overall direction of the organization;
! #ommunicating and building active consensus around an e$isting mission and overall
direction %among board, staff, members, etc.&;
! 'valuating e$isting programs ( activities and deciding whether to continue or modify them;
! #reating a set of concrete goals for the coming one to five years, consistent with the
mission, and within the ability of the organization to achieve, which may involve
deciding among conflicting ideas about possible goals)tasks,
generating new ideas about what to do,
evaluating e$isting programs and deciding whether to continue or modify them;
! *nalyzing a ma+or change in the environment in which you are working %could be new
challenges, or new opportunities, or both& and deciding what, if any, programmatic changes
to make in response;
! ,ealing with a crisis in the organization %this is the worst time to undertake strategic
planning, though it is perhaps the most common time as well&.
2. Identif the A!diences
There are multiple audiences for any strategic plan, and the products of the strategic planning
process should be linked to these audiences %see below&. *udiences might include
! "taff
! Board
! -embership %general, lessees&
! .eople who might use your services %potential lessees, and, depending on your goals,
commercial tenants, gardening groups, farmers, etc.&
! .artners and potential partners %nonprofit and)or for/profit developers, social service
providers, financial institutions, government agencies, etc.&
! 0unders and potential funders %individuals and institutions&
! #ommunity decision/makers %government, business, neighborhood activists&
! .olitical allies and potential allies %a subset of community decision/makers, advocacy
organizations both local and larger, etc.&

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". Identif the P#od!cts to $e Deli%e#ed
These will be linked to your goals and audience. =n most cases, there will be more than one
product. .roducts generated in the strategic planning process might include
! * short, nicely laid out strategic plan summary for a program or the whole organization, to
be distributed to stakeholders %staff, board members, potential board members, members,
funders and potential funders, community decision/makers, etc.& (See PCLT Draft)
! * longer document, laying out the same outcome goals and information as the summary, but
with more detail on implementation, for use by staff, board, committees, etc.
! *n annual work plan, linked to the strategic plan outcomes, used to manage work and track
and report progress.
! 4utcome/based +ob descriptions for staff %and sometimes for the board and board
committees& linked to the annual work plan and)or the strategic plan.
! * fundraising plan, linked to the strategic plan outcomes
&. Identif the Sta'eholde#s and thei# Needs and A$ilities to Cont#i$!te
"takeholders are a subset of >*udience? %above&. They are the people whose input you want
when you are creating the plan because you want them invested in its success. 1ow many of
stakeholders there will be and what their roles will be will vary enormously based on your
goals. "ome strategic planning processes are very internal to the organization and involve
little if any input beyond staff and board. 4thers are @uite e$pansive, involving many
interviews or focus groups with a wide variety of people outside the organization, and
sometimes even including some outsiders on the planning team.
Aays to =dentify "takeholders
! .eople who have to implement the plan are stakeholders.
! .eople who you want to actively support the plan are stakeholders.
! .eople whose thinking you highly value, or who have information or data you need, may or
may not be stakeholders. Bou may need something from them to do the planning well, but
you may not need them to do anything to make the plan succeed, and they may not have a
vested interest in you. ,ecide whether to treat them as stakeholders or +ust as sources of
information based largely on whether you are trying to get them vested in you.
! "ome common stakeholders include staff, board members, potential board members,
members, funders and potential funders, and community decision/makers.
Cuestions to ask about the needs of, and for, stakeholders include
! ,oes this group)person need to be a part of the whole process, or +ust provide input at a key
point or several key pointsD
! ,o they need input on all of the plan, or +ust a portion most effecting themD
! ,o they need to be a visible part of the process in order to feel acknowledgedD
! ,o you need them to be a visible part of the process to add legitimacyD

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! ,o they need to be consulted about the goals and structure for the process before you set it upD
Cuestions to consider about the ability of stakeholders to contribute to the process include
! 1ow much time will this person)group contribute enthusiastically to this processD
! *re there other things they can contributeD %data, funding, names of others to include,
publicity for the effort, etc.&
! Ahat ways would be easiest for this stakeholder to be involvedD %see below& #an we get
what we need from them in those waysD
Aays to =nvolve "takeholders include
! "urvey them %written, verbal, standard set of @uestions or open/ended conversation,
depending on stakeholder and process&.
! =nterview them %e$panded >survey&.
! =nvite them to a focus group meeting %or more than one over the course of the process&.
! =nvite them to +oin a committee working on the strategic plan or some part of it.
(. Identif the Reso!#ces o! ha%e
The strategic planning process you design must be consistent with the resources at your
disposal %though or course you can decide what you think is ideal and then come up with the
resources to accomplish it&. 5esources to assess include
! -oney
! "taff time %both total, and in any given week or month, which will help you decide how
intensive the process can be&
! Eolunteer time and e$pertise %board, others; again both total, and in any given week or
month, which will help you decide how intensive the process can be&
! #onsultants available
! Fength of time for the process %based on when you need the decisions and product done and
what seems possible given other resources G especially staff and board time&
! ,ecisions already made and familiar processes that can be applied to this task
,o not under estimate the amount of staff and board time it takes to do good strategic
planning. =t will be highly frustrating for all concerned if you think this is going to take 19
hours and it takes H9, or if you propose doing something in 7 weeks that will take 19 or 69. =t
is also important not to let the process go on for too long G people burn out. =t is important to
take the planning process seriously as an organizational investment and prioritize it while you
are dong it.

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)hen and )h to *se a Cons!ltant fo# St#ate+ic Plannin+
Ahat to Ise #onsultants To ,o
1. Bou can hire someone to play very specific and limited roles, i.e.
! 0acilitate a board or staff retreat
! #onsult with the e$ecutive director or board chair on how the process should be designed
! ,o the layout of the e$ternally/oriented .lan "ummary
6. Bou can hire someone to work with the organization throughout the full strategic planning
process, essentially as a pro+ect manager. =n this case they would help you
! ,esign the process
! #arry out the work %organize the meetings, create all the materials needed to do the
process with input from the e$ecutive director, board chair or a team of leaders, etc.&
! Arite the final products
:. .retty much anything in between.
=t can be useful to create a long/term relationship with a consultant who can play various roles
in your strategic planning over a number of years. Their learning curve will be shorter and
faster each time and you will have a good sense of what they can provide and how well you
work together.
"ome Times and 5easons to 1ire a #onsultant
! Ahen your staff and board are already stretched thin doing the work of the organization and
donJt have time to organize and run another process.
! Ahen all of the players are strongly vested in particular outcomes and you need a more
neutral voice to facilitate and manage the process.
! Ahen the specific skills or knowledge you want for your strategic planning process donJt
e$ist inside your organization.
! Ahen an outside perspective would be useful.
#apacity Building
* good consultant will do the tasks you have assigned them in ways that will help build the
capacity of your organization to continue that work.
! "taff and board should be learning how to do planning by participating in the process,
! Bou should be left with tools and structures that make it easier to do planning and to
implement plans as you move forward
0or this to happen, your consultant must have this goal in mind, and your organization must
invest sufficient staff and board time in the process.

Tasha 1armon ! 2333 "' Tenino #ourt, .ortland 45 23677 ! 89:/3;;/6::: ! tashamail<comcast.net