Chapter 3: Strategic planning - Progressio

1 _____Chapter 3: Strategic planningCapacity building for local NGOs: A guidance manual for good practice41 Chapter 3: Strategic OUTLINE OF CHAPTERA Strategic plan is an important tool to guide the work of anyorganisation. It will help maintain a focused, long term vision of theorganisation s mission and purpose, and aid decisions about theallocation of human and financial resources. The Chapter opens withsome guidance on how to ensure that a Strategic plan is developed onthe basis of a shared vision of the Chapter briefly defines Strategic planning and outlines some benefitsthat can be gained from the process and its product: the Strategic goes on to provide in-depth guidance on the steps involved (as outlinedin the box below).TEN STEPS TO Strategic PLANNINGSTEP 1.

2 Prepare to 2. Clarify mandate and scope of 3. Analyse the external 4. Analyse the internal 5. Identify the Strategic 6. Define the Strategic 7. Define strategies to address each Strategic 8. Identify the resources required to achieve the 9. Draw up an internal capacity building 10. Cost the plan. Once the Strategic plan has been written, it is advisable for theorganisation to develop an annual team work planand accompanyingannual budget. Some guidance is provided at the end of this chapterabout how to draw up an annual team work plan from which individualperformance objectivesorindividual work planscan be 4 (Managing finances) provides guidance on how to develop anannual budget for the 3: Strategic planning _____42 Capacity building for local NGOs: A guidance manual for good practice The diagram below shows how these different components relate to eachother with the Strategic plan as their ORGANISATIONAL VISION To ensure that everyone is working towards the same ideals for the futureit is important to spend some time reflecting on and defining theorganisation s vision.

3 No two organisations will have the same vision: thisis special and distinctive. It is useful to step back and re-examine theorganisation s vision at any stage in the Strategic planning process. Theresults of these reflections need not be documented formally, althoughsome points raised will feed usefully into the Strategic planning main purpose of a visioning exerciseis to: Provide inspiration and allow participants to share creative ideas. Help participants to see what they are working towards. Encourage team building through debate on areas of agreement anddisagreement to reach consensus. Encourage organisational and programme focus through discussionabout what the organisation will or will not do, and how people willwork together towards shared box below gives some key questions to consider when defining thevision of an TO CONSIDER What is our vision of what our society or country might look like infive or 10 years time?

4 What type of organisation would be best placed to help realise thisvision? What values and principles will the organisation need to developand uphold if our vision of society is to become a reality?IndividualobjectivesSTRATEGICPLA NA nnualbudgetAnnual team work planFinancial and programmereportingIt is important to involve some of the organisation s key stakeholders,target group or groups, beneficiaries and service users in the process ofdefining its vision. This can be done either through a separate process ofconsultation or by involving them in some aspects of the strategicplanning process. Some of the following exercises may be 3: Strategic planningCapacity building for local NGOs: A guidance manual for good practice43 VISIONING EXERCISE: HOPES AND DREAMSThis exercise will allow participants to share their own personalperceptions of the future.

5 In pairs brainstorm a vision for the future for: yourself the organisation yourself in the organisation the country. Repeat in groups of four. Bring back key ideas, orally or on flipcharts, to discuss with all EXERCISE: VISION BRAINSTORMThis exercise allows ideas for the future to be grouped underdifferent themes. Make a wall chart with five columns headed personal, social,economic, political, and other. Each member brainstorms to the participants his or her ideal for thecountry and for the programme under each column. Once each participant has had a turn, look at each idea and tickthose that are agreed by the whole group. Where there is no agreement, allow individuals with different viewssome time to argue their case and then discuss these as a group.

6 Modify the list so that it represents all the ideas on which there isconsensus. Mark those on which there is continuing disagreementor EXERCISE: PERSONAL DIARIESThis exercise will encourage members of the team to thinkcreatively about their ideal for the country and theorganisation s programme. Each person writes a piece in diary form describing his or her idealscenarios under the heading: A day in my life with the organisationfive years from now . Share these ideas in groups of three or four, and draw out areas ofagreement and disagreement for discussion. Each small group writes on a flipchart the shared elements of thevision. All participants discuss the charts and pick out the ideals thateveryone agrees with. These can then be written up on one flipchartrepresenting the consensus of the 3: Strategic planning _____44 Capacity building for local NGOs: A guidance manual for good practice Strategic PLANNINGWhat is Strategic planning ?

7 Strategic planning is a disciplined process for making key decisionsand agreeing on actions that will shape and guide what anorganisation is, what it does, and why it does is an important aspect of Strategic thinking and working on a Strategic plan together a team can: Think creatively about the focus and direction of the organisation swork. Strengthen team approaches by defining together a clear focus anddirection. Develop plans collaboratively with partner organisations, beneficiariesand other organisations. Provide a framework against which to monitor progress, learn fromexperience and make the changes necessary to improve effectivenessand impact. Enable decisions to be made about the best use of the human andfinancial resources planning can be done in different ways, and many books andmanuals have been written describing various approaches.

8 An NGO thathas been operating for a number of years and can determine its ownpriorities from a relatively secure income base is best placed to develop afull three-year Strategic plan to guide its work. Smaller, newer, lessfinancially secure organisations may find that a more detailed annualteam work planis more is the purpose of a written plan?A written plan will: Ensure that the analysis and proposals are accessible to the team andothers with whom the organisation works. Serve as a basis from which to develop an annual team work plan andannual budget and against which to measure progress. Form the basis for decisions on allocation of resources (financial andhuman). Help continuity by providing new staff with a reference point and allstaff with a reminder when looking at successes and is the life span of a Strategic plan and how often shouldit be updated?

9 It is advisable to plan for at least three years, while accepting that it willbe much easier for more established and better funded organisations toadopt a forward thinking is usual for a Strategic plan to be revisited annually as part of theprogramme review process. (An annual report might also be written atthe same time.) The plan can be amended and modified to reflectdevelopments that have taken place over the year. However, the moredetailed annual team work plan will be more specific and will thereforeprobably require quite substantial modification at the end of each 3: Strategic planningCapacity building for local NGOs: A guidance manual for good practice45 There are 10 steps to developing a Strategic plan. It is important todocument the outcomes and discussions of each step carefully to providea basis for the written Strategic plan.

10 Notes of the discussion will also beuseful for developing the annual team work plan and annual 1: PREPARING TO PLANC onsider the questions in the box OF Strategic PLAN Executive summary Vision statement Mandate and scope of work Summary analysis of external and internal environment Main Strategic issues Four or five agreed Strategic aims with accompanying strategies Assessment of human resource (staff) needs Budget Strategic PLAN: STRUCTUREA written Strategic plan might include the headings in the box TO ASK Who will be involved in the process (which staff, stakeholders,beneficiaries)? What will their precise roles be? What roles willdifferent members of the team and the governing body play? Howwill counterparts, partner organisations and beneficiariescontribute?