VISION • Sustainability •
Restructuring •
Future Success •
• SWOT • DIVERSIFICATION DEVELOPMENT • Systems • New Initiatives •
Strategic     Focus 

M o d u l e  1

Strategic Planning
Workshop

i

Strategic Planning

Planning with a Pyramid 	i
Introduction 	3
Know the difference between strategic and operational  planning 	4
Before You Begin 	5
Know the benefits of strategic planning 	5
Know the limitations of strategic planning 	6
Know what the strategic planning process involves: step by step 	7
So …. Your Organization has decided to prepare a strategic plan 	9
More detailed steps in preparing  strategic plan 	10
❐  Step A: Strategic planning start-up  checklist 	11
Setting the stage 	12
❐  Step B: Review and update or prepare a mission statement 	12
❐  Step C:  Conduct environmental scans	13
❐  Step D:  Conducting a SWOT analysis	16
❐  Step E, F and G:  Reviewing existing plans and outlines a “vision of
success” for the future 	18
❐  Step H:  What  are strategic issues	21
❐  Steps I and J: Formulate goals, strategic objectives, and action or
tactical plans 	24
❐  The remaining steps implementing, disseminating, revising and
Evaluating the plan 	26

Figures, Tables and Exercise

Figure 1:	Finding the “Fit” 	3
Figure 2:	Strategic planning process 	8
Exercise A:	Snowcard technique 	14
Exercise B:	Environmental mapping 	15
Exercise C: 	Formats and worksheets (see Appendix C) 	16
Exercise D: 	Creating  an organizations  vision of success	20
Chart: 	Institutionalizing the plan 	27
Tools: 	Organizing for Implementation/Year 1 checklist 	30

Appendices

Appendix A:	Model Workshop Agenda
Appendix B:	Strategic planning preparatory self-assessment form
Appendix C: 	Planning formats

Planning with a Pyramid

Mission Purpose: Why does the organization exist?

Principles Beliefs: What does the
organization 	1
stand for?

Goals/Objectives Direction: What does the organization want
to achieve?

Strategies/Tactics Operations: How will the organization accomplish its goals?

Introduction

Strategic planning is one of the most challenging – and exciting – exercises an organization can undertake.   Strategic planning allows an organization  to make fundamental  decisions or choices by taking a long-range view of what it hopes to accomplish and how it will do so.  A strategic plan is built on a thorough analysis of the organization’s existing structure, governance, staff, program or service mix, collaborations,  and resources (financial, human, technical, and material).   This  analysis is vital because it allows an organization  to perceive which of its above aspects it must change in order to achieve its goals.  A well-developed strategic plan serves as a blueprint  for making these changes because it describes the following:

❐    A vision for the future
❐    Strengths  and weaknesses of the  organization
❐    The  nature of the changes contemplated for future sustainable growth and development
❐    The  sequence of these changes
❐    Those who are responsible for guiding  change
❐    The  resources required, whether  they currently  exist within the organization  or must be generated  from external sources.

Figure  1 below shows how these and other  issues “converge”  in a plan that  most fits the organization. A strategic plan represents an organization-wide consensus among staff, directors, and other  stakeholders  concerning  what represents  success and how it is to be achieved. It therefore allows a manager to approach the strategic plan’s activities with confidence. Strategic
plans must  be institutionalized so that  they serve as the  basis for performance  standards,                3
decision-making,  planning,  and resource  mobilization  and allocation.  Strategic  plans must also be systematically reviewed and revised so they remain  topical, relevant,  and “cutting edge.” The  whole organization  must embrace the plan so that the “daily decisions are then made on the basis of this plan, which must be both practical – based upon your organization’s mission – and flexible, to allow for rapid change.”1

  What do we hope to accomplish? 

  What are you capable of doing? 

Mission

   Capabilities
   Resources
Strengths and Weaknesses

THE FIT

Opportunities and Threats
   Needs of customers and other stakeholders
   Competitors and allies
   Social, economic, political and technological forces

  What is needed and
feasible in your service area? 

[Source:  Barry, Bryan W.    Strategic  Planning  Workbook  for Non-profit  Organizations. [Revised  and
Updated].    Amherst  H.  Wilder  Foundation, St. Paul, Minnesota. 1997

1 Verardo, Denzil. “Managing the Strategic Planning Process.” ASTD Info Line, Alexandria, VA, USA.

This module is designed to enable a manager and his or her staff to:

h  Understand the strategic planning process and some of the differences between regular
(or operational)  and strategic planning.
h  Organize  a strategic planning exercise or workshop (See Appendix A for the rationale behind such a workshop and a model workshop agenda.)
h  Develop or review the organization’s values, mission, and vision of success (strategic vision).
h  Analyze the environment in which they work, and determine  the strengths  and weaknesses of the organization  and the opportunities and threats in its external environment.
h  Identify strategic issues and fundamental  choices facing the organization.
h  Develop goals, tactics, strategic objectives, and major activities to carry the organization  forward in the direction  desired.
h  Determine what financial, human, technical, community,  and other resources are needed to achieve the strategic plan, and outline the means by which these resources will be mobilized.
h  Establish procedures  for using, reviewing, revising, and evaluating the strategic plan.
h  Gather  data about the organization, including its performance and views of staff or key stakeholders (using, for example, self-assessment formats such as those in Appendix B).

Any organization  embarking on strategic planning must first decide if it is to be a major, one- time an event or a significant though  periodic process, or geared towards outlining  a change
4	in roles or the  way day-to-day  operations  are run.  While  the  complete  answer probably
encompasses all of these goals, strategic planning  must culminate in a significant change in the way daily business is conducted. Strategic planning should constitute  a major modality— or a foundation—that supports  participants’  longer-range goals or vision. Therefore, those participating in strategic  planning  must be prepared  to define their  ideal future  and core strategies necessary for preparing  and monitoring consistent,  meaningful  annual operating plans and budgets. In other words, you must be able to clarify where you want to go, and how you will get there step-by-step.2 ( See also Figure 2 for a schematic diagram of the Strategic Planning Process.)

Know the difference between strategic and  operational planning…

Strategic Planning	Operational Planning

¨ Long-term (usually 5-10 years)                                  ¨ Short-term (1 year or less)
¨ Focuses on future achievements and conditions       ¨ Achievements or targets annual
¨ Weighs a series of alternatives before making	¨ Planned activities represent choices already fundamental choices		made; alternatives are not considered
¨ Usually integrates several functions,	¨ Tend to focus on one unit or related set of levels, components simultaneously		activities
¨ Integrates strategies for resource                              ¨ Resources for implementation usually
mobilization with activities (sustainability plans)	already identified
¨ Usually requires ratification from	¨ No formal action or ratification required governing structures

2Adapted from Haines, Stephen G. Successful Strategic  Planning: Building a High-Performance
Business. Crisp Publications, Inc. Menlo Park, CA, USA. 1995.

Before you  begin…

Good  strategic  planning  is a time-  and labor-intensive process.  Before you begin, it is important to ask some key
questions:

...   Have you consulted at all levels and fully explained the purposes and levels of involvement required  for strategic planning?
...   Have you assembled important background  data and
information about your organization  and the environment in which you work, or created a team or teams to collect and review it?
...   Have you determined whether  an external facilitator
is advisable given the size or nature of your planning group or organization?
...   Have you included representatives  of all levels of
your organization  in the planning process?
...   Have you identified and allocated all of the financial resources needed for the planning process, including the production and dissemination of the final plan? In fact, have you developed a simple work plan and
budget for the exercise?	5

Know the benefits of strategic planning…

A manager  should be able to outline  the benefits of strategic  planning  to others.   These include:

❑    Motivating staff and volunteers. Thinking about the future is a stimulating  and energizing process.  It can create a shared vision, with concrete  ideas about how to surmount obstacles in order to achieve that vision.
❑    Building a planning team with a common vision.  The  strategic plan that
emerges from the process is generally more realistic and achievable, and working or interdependent relationships  within the organization  are strengthened.
❑    Confronting  key issues and solving problems.  Strategic planning sets in motion
a dynamic process that allows the organization  to continually reassess, confront change, and grow within an agreed-upon framework.

❑    Defining  roles and responsibilities. Measurable performance objectives are set and the person(s) who is responsible for specific activities is identified.
❑    Challenging the status quo.  The  process creates an open atmosphere,  stressing the interests of the whole organization. It often answers the question “How can we do things better?” in a more systematic and thorough way.
❑    Allowing  busy managers  and policy makers  to concentrate exclusively on the organization’s future for a short period of time, meaning that they will be able to focus their expertise and insights on self-assessment and planning future directions.
❑    Explaining or exposing your organization to others, particularly donors.  A thoughtful and clear strategic plan is often a good marketing  tool and can encourage donor support  for the organization  and its future directions.
❑    Developing a renewed sense of organizational mission and consensus, so
that individual perspectives, roles, and problems are subsumed by an overall plan that coordinates  all staff members and volunteers so that agreed-upon goals and objectives are achieved in a timely manner.

Know the limitations of strategic planning…

❑    Strategic planning can be costly. This is true in terms of staff time, costs of facilitation, venue, transportation, or materials, and “wear and tear” on interpersonal relationships  as participants  earnestly discuss differences in perspective.   The  costs may outweigh the benefits in some instances.
6	❑    Not every organization is ready for strategic planning.   Sometimes, especially
with a new (or emerging) organization, it is better  to focus on establishing efficient and effective systems, enhancing  staff skills, consolidating  the organizational  image or good will, and acquiring resources needed for current operations  before embarking on a future-oriented  exercise.
❑    Sometimes, the plan itself becomes its own “raison d’etre” and a strait jacket on
creativity  or responsiveness; sometimes the plan is just a response to perceived or real donor requirements.  In such an instance, participants  are not really committed  to the process and they do not feel “ownership” of the final plan.
❑    The language, terminology,  and conceptual requirements  associated with
strategic planning are sometimes made too complex or difficult to be useful to staff or the organization as a whole.  Sometimes, too, expertise to prepare,  write, or monitor  the plan is lacking.
❑    Creating an “inclusive” process is sometimes interpreted  as the need to
close down the organization entirely during the process or to ask inappropriate staff to participate. This often creates confusion and resentment.  A process can be representative  and inclusive without 100 % involvement.   Still, be sure that those who will have major responsibilities  for plan implementation or review are fully involved throughout.

Know what the strategic planning process involves step by  step…

There are several steps in the strategic planning process.  Many experts or facilitators vary the sequence of these steps, but there is general  consensus about the most important ones to include.

STEP  A:	Analyze the shared values and experiences of staff and board. Plan a meeting or workshop to facilitate strategic planning.

STEP  B: 	Review and update or prepare a Mission Statement  for the organization.

STEP  C:    Analyze the organization’s external environment (“PEST”  – political, economic, social, and technological  factors) and internal environment (resources or inputs, processes, and performance or outputs).

STEP  D: 	Conduct a SWOT analysis (assessing the organization’s internal strengths  and weaknesses, and its external opportunities and threats).

STEP  E:	Create  smaller groups for more in-depth  planning activities in key areas.

STEP  F:	Review the organization’s existing strategic plan (if there is one) to identify aspects of the plan that are still strategic, those that are no longer strategic due to changing environments, and gaps or new issues that should be addressed in
a revised plan.

STEP  G: 	Outline  a vision of where the organization  should be three to five years from
today (the “vision of success”).	7

STEP  H: 	Identify the strategic issues facing the organization.

STEP  I:	Formulate  goals and strategic objectives to address major issues facing the organization  and ensure its longer term growth and sustainability.

STEP  J:	Develop work plans showing specific activities, persons responsible, resources needed, and indicators by which performance will be measured.

STEP  K:	Identify next steps for resource mobilization  and create a sustainability and financial plan that costs activities and outlines approaches for generating sufficient revenue or funding.

STEP  L:	Prepare  the written detailed five-year strategic plan (mission statement, environmental or situational analyses, strategic issues, goals and strategic objectives, activities plans, sustainability and financial plans, monitoring and evaluation procedures  or cycles)

STEP  M:   Seek ratification  and disseminate the plan to staff, stakeholders, and potential donors, using this as an opportunity to market the organization  or to build useful working relationships  and coalitions.

STEP  N: 	Implement and institutionalize  the plan as a basis for setting performance standards, decisionmaking,  planning,  monitoring, and resource mobilization and allocation. Use and review the plan systematically, updating or revising it after two or three years, if needed.

Figure 2

Strategic Planning  Process

Forces/Trends
• Political
• Economic
• Social
• Technological

Clients/ Customers/ Consumers

Competitors/ Competitive forces Collaborators/ Collaborative forces

4
External
Environment
• Scenarios

2

Mandates

Opportunities
Threats

6

Strategies	7

8	Actions

Results

1
Initial
Agreement

Strategic
3	Issues

• Practical alternatives
• Barriers
• Major proposals

Description of Organization in the Future

("Plan for planning")

Mission/Values
• By stakeholders

Strengths
Weaknesses

5

• Actions
• Work program

("Vision of success")

Internal
Environment

Resources
• People
• Economic
• Information
• Competencies

Present Strategy
• Overall
• Functional
or Department

Performance
• Results
• History

Strategy formulation

Implementation

Remember…

Managers can make strategic planning successful by:3

h  Ensuring  senior management commitment and willingness to make needed changes.
h  Securing broad participation of volunteers,  staff, community,  and other groups or stakeholders.
h  Identifying personnel  with skills to carry out the plan.
h  Communicating the plan to everyone.
h  Conducting periodic review.

So…your organization has decided to prepare a strategic plan…

“Strategic  planning  is developing  a vision for the future…  and charting  a course that  you
believe is wise, then adjusting that course as you gain more information and experience.  A	9

d which to avoid.”4

clear sense of mission and direction will guide your choices about which information to pursue
an 

3  Strategic  Planning  Manual.  Pathfinder International.  Unpublished draft, September, 1998.
4
Ibid

More Detailed Steps in Preparing a Strategic  Plan
10
STEP A: Analyze the shared values and experiences of staff and Board. Plan a meeting to
facilitate strategic planning.  When  an organization  decides to develop a strategic plan, it should take care to make sure that all key staff, board members, and stakeholders are aware that strategic and sustainability planning have become organizational  priorities.   The Strategic Planning  Start-Up Checklist below and the Strategic Planning  Preparatory
Self-Assessment Form (Appendix B) will be helpful in ensuring readiness and generating  a sense of anticipation  about what strategic planning can do for the organization.

It is important, however, for senior managers to be honest with themselves about organizational  readiness: if the organization  is NOT  interested  or ready to engage in full- fledged strategic planning,  managers should ascertain:

a)   reasons for this lack of readiness;
b)  approaches that can increase interest  and readiness;
c)   alternatives that may be more appropriate such as strategic thinking  or “visioning”
exercises.

Assuming that the checklist results show eagerness and readiness, managers should actually convene a strategic planning workshop the planning team is now ready to begin the strategic planning process.  The  workshop is organized and convened.  The  facilitator is selected and  assists in finalizing the workshop agenda, objectives, and procedures. Workshop objectives and norms are identified, and the strategic planning process is introduced  to all levels of the organization, including its Board.

Tips and Tools….

A Strategic Planning Start- Up Checklist

Even if you decide to hire a facilitator, senior managers should  be fully involved in setting up and “managing” the strategic planning proc- ess.   Here  is a checklist to help you prepare efficiently.

❑    Conduct consultations  with staff and board about strategic planning. Prepare and circulate a brief memorandum outlining  benefits and steps. Approval from key board members or policy makers received, if required.
❑    Spell out a basic time-frame  for strategic planning process/workshop and related follow-up activities.
❑    Develop a mini-work plan and budget for the process.  Include  cost of venue,
transportation, per diem,  fees  for facilitator,  reproduction of background 	11
materials  and final plan,  dissemination meeting(s), mailings.
❑    Establish preparatory working group. The group should gather background information,  including: demographic data; National  Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) reports; good articles about the field in which the organization works; recent government policies; guidelines; or protocols; service statistics from at least the last three years;  baseline or catchment  area survey reports; evaluations; operations  research  reports;  interviews or focus group discussions (FGDs); situation analyses; proposals; financial statements  and budgets (with confidential information such as salaries omitted); brochures and annual reports; organograms; and previous strategic plans.
❑    Ask senior managers at all levels (e.g., central, regional or provincial, district) to complete a self-assessment form (such as the example in Appendix B). Conduct a meeting to discuss results after the group has filled out the forms.
❑    Assist the preparatory working group to develop a package of background information.   Whenever possible, information is summarized, but original documents  are transported to the workshop venue for use by participants.
❑    Select a facilitator who contributes inputs to the agenda. An agenda drafted and circulated with inputs from the facilitator.  Feedback and revise the agenda if necessary.  Draft a Scope of Work for the facilitator.
❑    Complete appropriate logistics and arrangements (including preparation and duplication of materials for participants).

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