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Planning for Success

Christina Dempsey

Development Officer

LCVS

Contact: Info @lcvs.org.uk

0151 227 5177

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Whilst every effort has been made to ensure accuracy,

Liverpool Charity and Voluntary Services accept no liability for any loss suffered as a result of following any advice contained

in this document.

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Planning for Success – what we’ll cover

11.15 am until 12.15 am

• Business Planning – what , why, who and how

• Business Planning Process 1 – Who are you?

• Business Planning process 2 – Where are you now?

• Business Planning process 3 – Where do you want to be?

• Business Planning process 4 – How will you get there?

• Next Steps

• Questions

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What is a business plan

A Business Plan is a written description of your organisation’s future – it describes where you are now, where you want to be in the future and what you need to do to get there.

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Why Plan?

• INTERNAL REASONS• To create a shared vision• A good planning process can bring an organisation together. It can help Trustees,

staff and volunteers feel that they are all working for the same goal.• To set priorities and targets• Good strategic planning helps to make sure that you do not have an over-ambitious

wish list. A strategic plan helps organisations to prioritise aims, objectives and what they can realistically achieve and deliver.

• Review current work• Key to planning strategically is taking stock of where you are now. The process will

help you evaluate and rethink how you are currently providing services and activities.

• Stop ‘mission drift’• If an organisation does not remember its core purpose, it can drift, take on too

many things and lose its identify. Planning strategically helps prevent this.

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Why Plan?

• EXTERNAL REASONS• Need to make a case• A strategic plan is needed to show that an idea can be turned into reality.

The plan can show that the organisation has properly thought through its plan that is it realistic and will be accountable.

• To demonstrate good management• Voluntary organisations need to show that there is good and efficient

management in place and that funds are used properly and efficiently.• For fundraising (or investment)• A strategic plan is a useful tool to explain the organisation, its vision and

strategies to potential funders. Increasingly funders also expect to see a strategic plan. The plan is used to check that the ideas and thinking behind the organisation are sound.

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Who is involved and how?• Ideally, everyone with an interest in the outcomes of the

plan should be involved at the earliest opportunity. • As a minimum, this means the

trustees/directors/management committee, but also refers to staff, volunteers, users and any relevant external parties such as partners or other organisations with whom the group works closely.

•  Work out how people are to be involved, whether they are to be decision makers, contributors of information, opinions or ideas, or whether they just need to be kept informed.

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What’s in a business plan?• Executive Summary• Introduction, Vision & Mission• Organisation Background• Current Situation• Market Analysis / Research – or Evidence of Need• Strategic Aims & Objectives• Marketing & Publicity• Track Record and Resources• Financial Plan• Monitoring & Evaluation Processes• Implementation Plan

The business plan should describe who you are, where you are now, where you want to be and how you will get there

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Business Planning Process 1: Who are you?

Who are you and what are you all about?

What drives the organisation?

What is unique about the organisation?

What are the outcomes and benefits it provides?

What is its Vision and Mission?

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Business Planning Process 2: Where are you now?

All groups must have a realistic assessment of:

1. A review of likely trends

2. A critical appraisal of the organisation’s strengths and weaknesses

3. The needs of beneficiaries

4. An understanding of the competition

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Business Planning Process 3: Where do you want to be?

The Hierarchy of planning

At the top of the hierarchy are the words that tell us why an organisation exists; while below them come broad statements of what the organisation is trying to achieve; and finally as we down the hierarchy, there are increasingly specific statements of how an organisation will do things

The Golden Thread

Begin by looking at the vision and mission – and getting a feel for the overall direction of your organisation to help inform the process.

The Golden Thread

Alternatively, it is possible to work your way up the hierarchy; achieving the outputs means meeting objectives (planned activities in this case), which means realising the organisation’s aims, which in turn contributes to its mission.

Then develop priorities for action (strategic aims) from the needs you have established through your community involvement. What the organisation intends to do to complete its mission and achieve its vision.

Look at what your activities organisation will deliver (objectives) to help it to achieve its vision, mission and aims.

Work through outputs, outcomes and impacts from these activities – ensuring a “golden thread” leading from the vision, mission and aims.

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The Planning Hierarchy

MISSION

AIM AIM AIM

Obj Obj Obj Obj ObjObj

Outputs

Outcomes

Impacts

Why?

What?

How?

Results

Strategic Planning

BusinessPlanning

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Business Planning Process 4: How will you get there?

1. Resources

2. Monitoring and Evaluation

3. Implementation Plan

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Next Steps

For further information, advice and support, contact:

The Capacity Building Team

LCVS

Capacity.building@lcvs.org.uk

0151 227 5177

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Questions