Managing the Strategic Planning Process

There are many considerations that go into the development of an effective strategic plan – which can make the process seem daunting at first. At EVALCORP, we've found that if you break up the overall project into smaller, more manageable components, the process can be quite enlightening and the final product will serve as a valuable guidepost you can refer to as you move your organization forward.

At the most fundamental level, strategic planning is assessing where your organization is now, where you want/need it to be, and what you need to do to get it there. Often times, starting with a high-level outline of what your strategic plan should be is probably the best first step you can take. This way you can gain a clearer sense of which components need to be included in your plan and can “grease the slide” as they say, in developing a well-written and useful strategic plan. 

We recently came across an interesting post on the American Evaluation Association’s AEA 365 blog, related to simplifying strategic planning, that breaks the process down into 3 steps:  (1) taking stock of the situation; (2) picking targets and setting objectives; and (3) formulating plans. The diagram pertaining to this post is provided below -- and to read more about this approach, please click on the following link:

http://aea365.org/blog/fred-nickols-on-simplified-strategic-planning/

Contextualizing Data: Putting Your Findings Into Perspective

At EVALCORP, we’re all about using data to tell a meaningful story, and one of the most effective ways to tell a story is to show what the data mean in a broader context. For example, if your organization is presenting city-level data, then it can be really helpful to show what’s going on at the county, state, and/or national-level as well. 

Comparing your findings to what’s happening around you on a larger scale can tell you whether your regional data points/findings are unique in some respect or whether the data are on par with other local, statewide, and/or national trends. Looking at the broader context can also help highlight the impact of your efforts. 

You might find, for example, that drug use is increasing all across your county, but it’s decreasing in your city (and extensive efforts have been employed in your city to address drug use). Putting your local-level findings in the broader context can help emphasize the effectiveness of your drug intervention efforts.