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• Strategic planning


  The process by which organizations determine and establish long-term directions and formulate and implement strategies to accomplish long-term objectives while taking into account relevant internal and external environment variables
• Steps of Strategic Planning

  1. Organize and select a strategic planning team, including key stakeholders

  2. Identify the organization's strategic direction

  3. Conduct a strategic analysis

  4. Define major goals

  5. Develop an action plan

  6. Develop a monitoring and evaluation system, which includes identifying metrics for success

  7. Communicate the plan to others
• Organizing a Strategic Planning Team

  • Internal stakeholders who are directly involved in the day-to-day operation of the organization generally have a strong grasp of what may or may not be needed and therefore, contribute balance and practicality to the strategic planning process
  • External stakeholders tend to contribute unique perspectives and valuable input to the strategic plan due to their position outside the organization
• Identifying Strategic Direction


  The vision, mission, and values statements should provide employees and other stakeholders with information regarding the organization's functions, goals, and priorities, and should facilitate their engagement or investment in the overall success of the organization by creating an intellectual and emotional connection to the organization
• Vision statement


  Captures an organization's aspirations and it is intended to inspire employees and other stakeholders who would want to achieve this future state
• Mission statement


  Defines why an organization exists and it briefly describes the purpose of an organization and explains why an employee's work is important
• Values


  Generally reflected in the organization's vision and mission – its central priorities; it helps define organizational culture and provide employees and other stakeholders with general expectations of how the organization operates and how employees should operate as representatives of the organization
• Conducting a Strategic Analysis

  1. SWOT Analysis – used to assess an organization's internal strengths and weaknesses and external opportunities and threats

  2. STEEP analysis may be used to develop a better understanding of the external environment that the organization functions within, thereby exposing key data needed for decision making during the strategic planning process
• Strengths


  Factors that are beneficial or conducive to achieving the goals of the strategic plan
• Weaknesses


  Factors that may detract from achieving the goal
• Opportunities


  Factors that may help the organization achieve its goals
• Threats


  Factors that may hurt the organization's position or performance
• STEEP trends


  Social, Technological, Economic, Ecological, Political
• Defining a Major Long-Term Goals

  Long-term goals, often several years into the future, are organizational outcomes that reflect the mission of the organization and provide substantial movement toward realizing the vision
• Action Planning


  1. Action plan details strategies that ensure an organization accomplishes the goals of the strategic plan

  2. Objectives are interim or short-term milestones that signify progress toward achieving goals

  3. Tactics are a series of actions deployed when a strategy is implemented
• Donabedian's structure-process-outcome framework


  • Structure – refers to the physical setting
  • Process – refers to the service that will be provided
  • Outcome – refers to the result of the service
• Resources


  Materials, funds, technologies, and people needed to conduct work assignments and achieve desired objectives
• Monitoring and Evaluating


  1. Determining which monitoring strategies will be predominately used

  2. Establishing the measures, or metrics, that will be used to evaluate progress toward achieving strategic goals and objectives

  3. Setting a schedule for conducting evaluations
• Communicating the Plan


  1. Use simple, straightforward language

  2. Be prepared

  3. Tell the truth

  4. Make sure the person receiving the communication understands the message

  5. Be consistent in communications

  6. Try to be brief