Getting Started:
Where Are We Now, Where Do We Want to Be?
Strategic planning is the process of determining what an organization intends to be in the future and how it will get there. Developing this vision is an important first step in every aspect of organizational development, whether it be programme and project design, membership recruitment or communication.
To convince prospective members that an organization is worth joining, existing members must be able to explain in a few words what it does, what it hopes to accomplish and what it has to offer. This is a problem when the purpose and goals are not well defined and members themselves don't understand of what the organization is trying to do.
Strategic planning helps an organization to:
- build a sense of community and common goals
- stimulate forward thinking and clarify future directions
- solve major organizational problems
- build teamwork and expertise
- influence rather than be influenced
- meet needs of members
- survive with less.
The exercises in this unit guide members through the basic strategic planning steps:
- Clarifying the organization's purpose or reason for existence
- Situational Analysis: identifying factors that can assist or impede your organization - the opportunities and constraints in the external environment, as well as the internal strengths and weaknesses
- Needs Assessment: identifying priority organizational and member needs and choosing those most crucial to the future success of the organization
- Visions of Our Future: developing a picture of where and what we want our organization to be in the future
- Translating Vision into Goals: defining the long-term results that the organization seeks
- Setting Objectives: developing specific and concrete objects to reach in moving toward the organization's goals.
