The Strategic Plan
By working through the strategic planning process, you should
now have sufficient information to write a strategic plan. A good
strategic plan is short and to the point and is used to communicate
the strategy to its stakeholders. A long or complicated document is
less likely to be used in everyday activities.
The strategic plan will usually include:
- A statement of the organisation's vision and mission
- Specific aims and objectives
- How you are hoping to meet those aims and objectives
- The key changes it aims to make in the next few years
- Brief reasons why these aims are right for the
organisation
- The main implications of the strategy in relation to finance,
staffing, funding, volunteers, skills and resources
- Roles of key people in delivering the strategy
- An assessment of likely risks or obstacles
- Timescales and process for monitoring and evaluating the
strategy
Implementing the plan
This is the most crucial stage on the strategic planning journey
- because if the organisation fails to implement the decisions
made, then all the effort taken to produce the plan is wasted. This
means translating high-level aims and objectives into day-to-day
decisions and activities. Making sure all staff understand and have
access to the strategy so they can play a full part in bringing it
to life. The principles of the strategic plan must be incorporated
in current and future work programmes and consider allocating roles
and responsibilities to specific teams or individuals.
Remember if you made changes to your vision, mission or values
this can mean a fundamental change for your organisation. You will
need to think carefully about how you intend to introduce and
manage this change.
Next:
Evaluation