the strategic planning process chris sidoti ppt 4
TRANSCRIPT
THE STRATEGIC PLANNING PROCESS
Chris Sidotippt 4
The process and the plan
• the planning process is important– to secure ownership by those who will have responsibilities
for implementation– to provide partnership opportunities with the institution’s
external stakeholders– to enable institutional accountability to those to whom it
provides services– to make clear internal accountability of staff for
implementation– to ensure that the plan is an accurate reflection of the
situation the institution faces– to ensure that the plan is the best possible response to that
situation
• but the strategic plan is the thing!
What do you need for strategic planning?
• “intellectual process”– information (data)– understanding (analysis)– ideas (creativity)
• “social process”– organisational endorsement– leadership– people
Compass Partnerships (UK)
Planning: a social process Compass Partnerships (UK)
Inclusive process
“An inclusive process means that people who have a stake in the work of your organization participate in the planning process in an appropriate way. This does not mean that every client, funder, volunteer and staff member must come to a joint consensus about what to do. It does mean that these interested individuals have a chance to be heard by the decision makers.”
Compass Partnerships (UK)
Some key decisions
• the role of the institution’s leaders
• the role of the institution’s staff
• who should drive the process?
• the participation of outside stakeholders
The role of the institution’s leaders
• to explain to staff the nature and importance of strategic planning
• to endorse the process as an institutional priority
• to require the full cooperation of all staff• to add their authority to the demands the
process will place on all staff• to direct those steering the process so that
the plan receives leadership support• to make the final decisions
The role of the institution’s staff
• the process should involve all staff at critical points– need to access staff expertise– need to build staff ownership
• staff should– be briefed on the planning process– contribute to the situation analysis– join in defining the institution’s vision and mission– participate in developing strategies
Who should drive the process?
• designated staff need to be given specific responsibility for the planning process
• the planning process is time consuming and demanding
• picking the right staff to do it is important and difficult
• requires not only analytical ability but good people skills
• possible need to access external expertise in support
Outside stakeholders: who?• victims and potential victims of violations• the State
– the parliament– the government– the civil service– the courts
• civil society organisations– human rights non-government organisations– social welfare non-government organisations– academics– business and trade unions– faith groups and organisations
• the broader community
Outside stakeholders: how?
• opportunities to contribute formally– general invitation to make written submissions– targeted invitations to key organisations and
individuals• targeted consultations
– focus groups– individual meetings with key groups and
individuals– general consultative meetings
• open opportunities for comment– phone-ins– media discussion
Planning: an intellectual processCompass Partnerships (UK)
How to do it?
• written contributions
• interviews
• group discussions
• brainstorming
• drafting groups
• circulation and comment on drafts
Situation analysis
• planning must start with understanding the context in which the plan will be implemented
• situation analysis has an external focus:– what is the human rights situation in the
country?
• and an internal focus– how is the institution equipped to deal with
the external human rights situation?
Many situation analysis tools
• positives and negatives
• SWOT and variations
• PESTLE and variations
SWOT analysis
• strengths– where are we strong and effective? what are we
good at?
• weaknesses– where are we weak or less effective? what do we
do less well?
• opportunities– what possibilities does the external environment
offer us?
• threats– where are we at risk from the external
environment?
SWOT analysis
positive(helpful)
negative(harmful)
internal strengths weaknesses
external opportunities threats
Developing the plan itself
start from the top and work downvision
mission
objectives
strategies
activities
Developing performance indicators
• not an easy task!• should enable assessment of
achievement of the core objectives• critical tool for evaluation of
implementation of the strategic plan (and therefore of the institution)
• remember– indicators of quantity and quality?– measuring products or results?
Quantity and quality
• quantitative– many training programs did we conduct?– did we conduct as many as we planned to
conduct?
• qualitative– how did the trainees rate the program?– did they rate it as highly as we had
planned?
Products and results
• indicators of products (outputs)– how many publications did we produce and
distribute?
• indicators of results (outcomes)– how much did our publications increase public
awareness of and support for human rights?
Good performance indicators
• finding good and valid performance indicators is very difficult
• far easier to measure quantity than quality– but quality is more important
• far easier to measure product (output) than result (outcome)– but results are more important
• best approach is to have a small number of well selected, critical indicators– capable of measurement and– truly informative and helpful
Successful strategic planning
• leads to action• builds a shared vision that is values-based• is an inclusive, participatory process in which board
and staff take on a shared ownership• accepts accountability to the community• is externally focused and sensitive to the
organisation's environment• is based on quality data• requires an openness to questioning the status quo• is a key part of effective management
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