A BASIC GUIDE TO CREATING A STRATEGIC PLAN

Section Questions / Issues to Be Addressed in Each Section

Organizatio 1. Overview. Why is strategic planning (SP) needed? What is the

nal Context historical context of the organization, department or unit (e.g.,
have there been recent organizational changes)? Why do SP
now? What is the time period this plan covers (i.e., how far out is
the horizon)?

2. The Organization. Define terms, explain relationships, give

position titles or names, etc. (Do this to make the document
understandable to all those who will be reading it, whether
inside or outside of the organization – this also allows you to use
abbreviations later in the document.) It’s possible that just
including an organization chart (here or as an appendix) will
accomplish this.

3. Value Commitments. What are the value-commitments

that will guide the SP process? What are the values that will
constrain the strategic plan itself? Who are the stakeholders
(e.g., donors or Board of Directors) whose mandate you are
trying to fulfil? What is their mandate?

4. Mission. Why does the organization / department / program

/unit exist? What is / has been its purpose? Is this remaining the
same, or is it changing (and if so, how)?

Preparation 5. Management Team. Who was involved in the SP process?

/ Planning Why were they involved? What did each person contribute?

6. Planning Factors. Were there certain dynamics or factors

known up front that set limits on what could and could not be
done? Are there certain aspects of or elements in the
organization’s culture that will make SP easier or more difficult?
Section Questions / Issues to Be Addressed in Each Section

Current 7. Environmental Scan. What’s going on outside the

Reality organization? What’s going on outside the department / program
/ unit? What trends are impacting the organization and
demanding that something different be done? What significant
drivers / trends are affecting the organization? What will be the
pain or cost of not being strategic?

8. SWOT Analysis. What are (internal) strengths and

weaknesses of the organization, department, program or unit?
What are (external) opportunities and threats?

9. Organizational Performance. What activities are currently

being implemented? What are desired performance targets or
results? Include key metrics used to measure actual and desired
performance. (By ‘performance,’ we do not mean how well an
individual is doing his or her job, but how well the entire work
group or department has done relative to program targets or
objectives.)

10. Gap Analysis. How do the actual results being obtained

from current activities compare to desired results? (i.e., what
are the successes, and where are we falling short?)

New 11. Strategic Profile. Based on what we know of where the

Priorities world and the larger organization are going, what will the future
look like, (and how will it be significantly different from what we
are doing now)? What are the strategic thrusts that have been
given for the organization as a whole (with which our department
or program initiatives must be in alignment)?

12. Future Vision. What is our vision for the future? To the
extent that we can create the future we want, what will that look
like for the department, program or unit? What is compelling
about this future vision?
Section Questions / Issues to Be Addressed in Each Section

Action Plan 13. Strategic Initiatives. What are we doing well that we need
to continue doing and focus on even more? What are we not
doing that we need to start doing? What do we need to stop
doing, or do less of? What will we do to close the gaps between
what we are doing now and where we want to be in the future?
(Overview – list 3 to 8 key initiatives that will be taken.) Why are
these initiatives strategic, as opposed to merely tactical or
operational?

14. Initiative 1, 2, 3, . . . . How will each initiative be

implemented (in more detail)? Who will do what, by when, with
what results? What resources will be needed? What is the goal
(desired outcome) for each initiative?

15. Application Considerations. How will all these initiatives

be implemented in relation to each other and to everything else
going on? What are the synergies among them? What are
potential resource conflicts between the initiatives, and how will
these conflicts be managed? (If appropriate, include a high-level
budget for all initiatives.)

Contingenci 16. Contingencies. What could threaten the successful

es implementation of the above plans? How likely are those events
to occur? Which events would be most harmful if they did occur?
Explain what will be done in case the most likely and most
harmful events do in fact occur.

Summary 17. Summary. Restate why implementing the strategic plan is

critical to achieving the vision for the organization. Reassure the
reader that the key people needed to carry out the plan are fully
informed of the plan and are capable of carrying it out. Express
confidence and commitment, while also being realistic and
humble in the face of uncertainty.