STRATEGIC PLANNING. High Divide Workshops Dillon, Montana February 5, Don Elder, TREC

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1 STRATEGIC PLANNING High Divide Workshops Dillon, Montana February 5, 2015 Don Elder, TREC

2 Why bother? Common excuses We re too busy. It never does much good. Some of us hate it.

3 Why bother? Fair reasons Because someone told us we should. Because we are overdue for it. Because we are afraid we won t get funded if we don t.

4 Why bother? Good reasons Because it helps us Create a shared sense of purpose/direction. Clarify our role/niche. Focus and set priorities. Develop a powerful message. Recruit and retain great board and staff. Raise the money we need to succeed.

5 All that said, it requires A real commitment by the group s leaders. Serious time and energy to do it well. Digging deep and asking hard, often uncomfortable questions.

6 Tailoring the process to the organization No two organizations are the same. No organization is the same from one planning cycle to the next.

7 So, each process should Be tailored to the organization s current situation, needs and goals. Build on (or at least learn lessons from) prior plans, processes and leaders.

8 The strategic planning cycle Implement/evaluate/refine (Year 2) Plan Implement/evaluate/refine (Year 1)

9 A good strategic planning process (usually 3-6 months) Decide/commit to plan. (Appoint planning committee?) Get perspective Prepare/distill key strategic questions Deliberate Draft Consider/refine Adopt/implement

10 Integrating planning from the start for Programs People Money Program OrganizationEcology People Money

11 Early Integration example: Fundraising Develop fundraising retrospective Describe current revenue stream and fundraising effort Consider fundraising trends, constraints, etc. going forward Summarize this information for the whole organization. Discuss.

12 Later Integration example: Fundraising Keep lead fundraisers directly involved in discussions about program goals, priorities, etc. Talk about funding feasibility for each major program idea that emerges. Begin outlining the fundraising portion of the plan. (Don t just tag it on later as an afterthought.)

13 At end Integration example: Fundraising Develop a three-year projection of revenues For each major category of revenue For each major program or strategic initiative Should be reasonably ambitious Project what this will and won t pay for Develop a solid budget for Year One Should be reasonably conservative Develop a solid fundraising plan for Year One Should be explicit about who will do what to meet or exceed budget targets

14 Multiple-Year Expense Forecasts

15 Multiple-Year Revenue Forecasts

16 Pulling It All Together - A Look at a Three-Year Plan

17 Evaluate your programs based on how well they line up with your mission List your programs in order from most core to least core (do not factor in staffing or funding) Not Core Somewhat Core Core Opportunistic program On the side lines Long standing program Known secondarily for this work Directly aligns with mission Flagship program

18 Evaluate the funding List programs in order of those that are fully funded to those that are not funded Not Funded Partially Funded Funded Not covering costs of program Prospective only Covering program costs but not shared costs Program and shared costs covered Money in hand

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20 Funding status Negative Neutral Positive This is a winner! Non-Core Program: Funded Core Program: Funded Non-Core Program: Not Funded Core Program: Needs Funding Focus your cuts here! Low High Mission Alignment

21 Integrating planning from the start for Program Capacity Finance Fundraising TREC Resource: The Essential Marriage of Strategic Planning and Business Planning

22 Typical elements of a good plan

23 Typical elements of a good plan: Mission Our reason for being Vision 40,000 foot level A brief, clear, compelling picture of the better world we want to help create Values An honest description of the things that drive us and the expectations and boundaries we have for ourselves Theory of Change Why we believe that certain kinds of efforts will bring about the major changes we seek

24 Theory of Change Elements Clear articulation of the major problem(s) to be solved and the desired results. Identification of the conditions necessary to achieving the desired goal. Determination of the major strategies that will be undertaken to achieve the intended change. Identification of the resources (including people and money) necessary for success. Indicators of success. Explanation of the logic behind the theory.

25 Theory of Change Need not be a formal section of the final written strategic plan. Can be Woven into plan, or An attachment to the plan, in narrative and/or graphic form. But should be seriously discussed in each planning cycle Do we still believe our fundamental assumptions about change are correct? Should be something that all are on same page about All should be able to give a coherent, concise and reasonably consistent answer to the question What s your theory of change? TREC Resource: Choosing Goals and Strategies for Maximum Impact: A Theory of Change Overview by David Thomson

26 Typical elements of a good plan: Mission Our reason for being Vision 40,000 foot level A brief, clear, compelling picture of the better world we want to help create Values An honest description of the things that drive us, and of the expectations and boundaries we have set for ourselves Theory of Change Why we believe that certain kinds of efforts will bring about the major changes we seek

27 Typical elements of a good plan: 30,000 foot level Brief history of organization Niche analysis (including how org s niche may have changed) Assumptions about the near future Fundraising retrospective, snapshot, and projection Note: None of these have to be included in the written plan. But they should exist somewhere, and their review and development should definitely be part of the strategic planning process.

28 Typical elements of a good plan: 20,000 foot level 3-5 year goals & objectives Some narrative to support the goals and objectives Success indicators (can be the objectives themselves if they are sufficiently specific and/or a separate list of indicators)

29 Typical elements of a good plan: 10,000 foot level Strategic priorities for upcoming year Annual budget Annual operating plan (for whole organization, to accompany budget)

30 Typical elements of a good plan: 1,000 foot level Mostly for larger groups Board work plans Department plans (program, finance, admin, development, etc.) Staff work plans Means for evaluation of progress

31 Common pitfalls Lack of early commitment (esp. by group s leaders) Failure to integrate fundraising, etc. from the start Failure to gain perspective early Poor prep for key full-group meeting Lack of leadership or facilitation for full-group meeting Trying to do too much in full group meeting Groupthink Failing to ask hard questions Leaping to easy conclusions Reverting to prior assumptions Failure to drive to finish line (resulting in planning fatigue) Lack of implementation strategy and/or follow-through Failure to keep plan/act/evaluate cycle going

32 The good news: Common pitfalls are easily avoided

33 Good enough planning Key is to tailor your process to your group s current situation and needs Might decide early whether need the whole enchilada everything described today Or might decide to build on last plan, reaffirm major portions of it, and focus on a few areas that deserve most attention

34 TREC s Approach to Strategic Planning: A Five-Step Process Plan to Plan Next Steps Pre- Planning The Plan Planning Session

35 Step One Plan to Plan Key Outcome: Leaders are invested in conducting a planning process

36 Good Enough Identify a planning champion who will recruit members to a planning committee. Organize and conduct an initial planning committee phone conference to plan the process. Whole Enchilada Identify a planning champion. Find and recruit members of a diverse and committed planning committee. Organize an initial planning committee phone conference to introduce consultants and the planning process. Clarify Board, staff and consultant roles in the strategic planning process; get agreement on rules of engagement. Identify specific issues or choices that the planning process should address. Discuss the need for creating or updating vision and mission statements. Estimate resources needed to do an effective planning process. Create a planning timeline.

37 Step Two Pre-Planning Phase Key Outcome: The organization solicits input to avoid being myopic

38 Good Enough Review any prior strategic plans, vision and mission statements. Review budgets, fundraising scenarios and income-expense by program area. Pull together a group of staff, Board and key stakeholders for a phone conference to get input on organization's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT). Summarize the key findings. Whole Enchilada Review any prior strategic plans. Review prior vision and mission statements. Review budgets, fundraising scenarios, and income-expense by program area. Conduct a pre-planning survey to determine how the organization is perceived by staff, Board, key stakeholders, external constituents and funders. Provide a summary of findings of survey to the organization via written report and/or in-person presentation. Identify potential funding gaps and consider areas to focus on in the planning process. Design a strategic planning session; develop the agenda. Attain agreement from committee on session outcomes.

39 Step Three Planning Session Key Outcome: Focused, ambitious yet achievable 3-year goals are identified

40 Good Enough Conduct a day-long session to confirm or adapt vision statement, to identify strategic initiatives, and significant and critical 3- year goals. Review organization's funding scenarios, best and worst case, to make sure funding available to meet needs. Summarize key decisions. Evaluate session. Whole Enchilada Conduct a retreat session over 1-3 days with all staff and board. Review findings from surveys. Review and revise vision and mission statements. Determine priority ranking for strategic initiatives (or program areas) relative to vision and opportunities (core to non-core). Conduct mini-swot analysis for key program areas. Determine key goals for the next 3 years for each of the program areas and for organization operations. Estimate costs (especially staffing) to achieve these goals. Review funding by program to make sure funding available to meet needs. Evaluate session.

41 Step Four The Plan Key Outcome: A plan is developed that represents the organization's best thinking

42 Good Enough Results of the planning session are compiled into a plan. The strategic plan is outcomefocused and the outcomes within the program plans tie directly to the overall vision and mission statements. Funding needs are clearly identified and fundraising scenarios are included. Whole Enchilada After the planning session, the committee compiles a draft plan. The plan includes goals, plans and outcomes for each strategic initiative for the coming 3 years. Outcomes tie directly to vision and mission statements. Costs are outlined for all programs, including projectspecific costs and an appropriate share of overall operational costs. Funding gaps are clearly identified, and realistic fundraising scenarios are included. Programs are mapped into four quadrants: core and funded, core and not funded, non-core and funded or non-core and not funded. The plan includes measurable benchmarks and lays out a plan for evaluating results.

43 Step Five Next Steps Key Outcome: The Strategic Plan is put to work

44 Good Enough Distribute Strategic Plan to key stakeholders and funders. Develop staff workplans that move towards objectives in plan. Formulate annual fundraising plan and budget in line with new plan. Create or revise fundraising "elevator statement" and other materials to reflect any change in strategic direction. Plan to have a retreat one year later to check on progress and update the Strategic Plan. Whole Enchilada Board approves plan it is distributed to stakeholders and funders. Develop an Annual Operating Plan that reflects the objectives of the first year of the overall plan. Create an annual fundraising plan and budget in line with the plan. Staff develop their quarterly workplans which are aligned with the overall plan. Create or revise the organization's Case for Support that reflects changes in strategic direction and vision, lays out specific program goals and plans, and the funding needs that were identified. Facilitate Board review of Annual Operating Plan and budget. Implement benchmarking and evaluation, and schedule time to check progress and update plan.

45 Questions, answers and discussion

46 Small-group action planning When we next revise our strategic plan, should we do a major revision of our entire existing plan? Or should we focus at the 40K foot level? 30K? 20K? Or 10K? What should be our planning priorities in the coming year? What are our next steps? Who is responsible for them?

47 Recap of planning levels 40K: Mission, vision, values, theory of change 30K: History, niche, fundraising, assumptions 20K: 3-5 year goals and objectives, supporting narrative, success indicators 10K: Priorities for next year, annual budget, annual operating plan 1K: Work plans for board, departments, individual staff, means of evaluation