Strategic Plans

What is a Strategic Plan?

A Strategic Plan documents a series of detailed actions and programs to address community needs and/or opportunities. A Strategic Plan identifies what person, group, agency or office will be responsible for carrying out a particular activity or program and by a specific date. The plan entails both private sector as well as public sector commitments.

Two defining characteristics of strategic planning are:

1) a focus on improving how communities work, and

2) an emphasis on close coordination between budgeting and planning.

 During the existing conditions analysis, it is important to take a look at those trends, events, emerging legislation, groups, or activities that will impact future quality of life. It is also important to examine the capabilities to meet future public service obligations. Projections of future service needs can help focus attention on those trends, activities, or program initiatives a community could take to either prevent or minimize problems, or to seize emerging opportunities. The second critical step in the process is the analysis (both internally and externally) of a community's current strengths and weaknesses, and existing or emerging opportunities and threats.

The planning process typically followed in the development of a Strategic Plan includes six basic steps:
• Existing conditions analysis
• External/Internal analysis
• Goal formulation
• Strategic formulation
• Plan development
• System Improvement through feedback and analysis

Advantages to using a Strategic Planning Process are:
• Specifically focused, often short term, prioritized, and action oriented.
• Relatively short time horizon to prepare a Strategic Plan.
• Very flexible in terms of focus and orientation.
• Provides a variety of opportunities for citizen participation.
• Easy to periodically review and update the Plan.