Identifying Strategic Issues and Formulating Goals and Strategies

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Identifying Strategic Issues andFormulating
Goals and Strategies
MAPPing Results
Mobilizing for Action through Planning and
Partnerships

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Objectives

• Learn how the results of the four assessments are
  used to develop strategic issues
• Differentiate between critical and strategic
  issues
• Formulate goal statements
• Use PEARL test as criteria for strategic issue
  selection

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5 Steps to Identifying Strategic Issues

• Identify potential strategic issues
• Develop understanding of why an issue is
  strategic
• Determine consequences of not addressing an issue
• Consolidate related issues
• Arrange in ordered list

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Step 1 Identify Potential Strategic Issues
Identifying Strategic Issues

• Review shared vision, values and results of four
  assessments
• Focus on opportunities, strengths and assets as
  well as threats
• Use process to see where issues converge
• Frame issues in the form of questions

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Step 2 - What Makes an Issue Strategic?
Identifying Strategic Issues

• Strategic issues are fundamental policy choices
  or critical challenges that must be addressed in
  order for a community to achieve its vision.
• Critical issues are important
• Strategic issues are important and
  forward-thinking and seize on current
  opportunities

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Characteristics of Strategic Issues
Identifying Strategic Issues

• Fundamental choice made at highest levels
• Center around a tension or conflict
• No obvious best solution
• Something the public health system can address

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An Example Critical vs Strategic Issues
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Test for Strategic Quality of Issues
Identifying Strategic Issues

• Strategic issues
• Pose a threat
• Present an opportunity, or
• Require significant change
• Require action by public health system partners
• Can be a convergence of narrow, single-focus
  issues
• Involve conflict or tension between choices
• Tend to be complex, have more than one solution
• Involve more than one organization
• Project well into the future

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Step 3 Determine Consequences of Not
Addressing an Issue
Identifying Strategic Issues

• What are the consequences of not addressing this?
• Most issues fall into these categories
• No action is required, monitor for future
• Action can be determined in the planning process
• Urgent, requires immediate response

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Step 4 Consolidate Overlapping or Related
Issues
Identifying Strategic Issues

• Combine, consolidate related issues
• How are they related?
• Do they share causes or influences that make them
  strategic?
• What are the consequences of not addressing them?
• Can issues be combined without losing a key
  perspective?
• No more than 12 strategic issues
• The fewer, the better

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Step 5 Arrange Issues into Ordered List
Identifying Strategic Issues

• Logical Order
• In sequence to be addressed
• Impact Order
• Resolve easier issues
• Builds momentum, teamwork, and consensus
• Temporal Order
• According to a timeline
• Clarify meaning of priority
• Importance or order

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Tools and Tip Sheets
Identifying Strategic Issues

• Strategic Issues Relationship Diagram
• Lack of Accessible Health Services - Example
• Strategic Issues Identification Worksheet

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Formulate Goals and Strategies

• Goals answer the question
• What do we want to achieve by addressing this
  strategic issue?
• Strategies answer the questions
• How do we want to achieve it? What action is
  needed?
• Goals and strategies provide a connection between
  current reality and vision

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Step 1 Develop Goals Related to Vision and
Strategic Issues
Formulating Goals and Strategies

• Small workgroup or larger committee mtg
• Review vision and strategic issues
• Vision (e.g., healthy children)
• Goal (e.g., age-appropriate
  vaccinations )
• Goal statements are more
  concrete

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Step 2 Generate Strategy Alternatives
Formulating Goals and Strategies

• Brainstorm strategies
• Generate alternatives to consider

Step 3 Consider Barriers to Implementation

• Brainstorm barriers. May include
• Resources
• Community support
• Legal or policy
• Technology
• Organizational/management capacity

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Step 4 Consider Implementation Details
Formulating Goals and Strategies

• Flesh out some details
• Specific actions
• Timeline
• Involvement of organizations/people
• resource
• Think broadly about how each strategy could be
  implemented
• Focus on ultimate purpose of action
• Feasibility focus

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Step 5 Select and Adopt Strategies
Formulating Goals and Strategies

• Choice becomes clearer after previous steps
• Use Strategy Development Matrix
• Use selection criteria

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PEARL Test for Strategy Identification
Formulating Goals and Strategies

• Propriety Consistent with essential services and
  public health principles?
• Economics Financially feasible? Make economic
  sense?
• Acceptability Will stakeholders and community
  accept the strategy?
• Resources Funding available? Expertise, space?
• Legality Do currently laws allow implementation?

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Prioritize and Adopt Strategy Alternatives
Formulating Goals and Strategies

• Use criteria
• Consider
• Impact
• Cost
• Probability of success
• Use 2 x 2 decision table
• Adopt Strategy Alternatives
• Signals significance and commitment

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Step 6 Draft a Planning Report
Formulating Goals and Strategies

• Written planning report
• Serves as a reference
• Tests consensus about agreements
• Communicates vision, goals and strategies
• Should be shared widely
• Signals end of planning process
• Time to celebrate the hard work

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Tools and Tip Sheets
Community Health Status Assessment

• Strategy Development Worksheet
• Strategy Development Matrix

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Need More Information?

• Visit CHARTS www.floridacharts.com
• Visit COMPASS website www.doh.state.fl.us/planning
  _eval/CHAI/index.htm
• NACCHOs website www.naccho.org
• Contact DOH Office of Planning, Evaluation and
  Data Analysis
• Christine Abarca at 850-245-4444 ext 2071,
  e-mail Christine_Abarca_at_doh.state.fl.us
• Debbie Reich at 850-245-4444 ext. 2036, e-mail
  Debbie_Reich_at_doh.state.fl.us