THE NATURE AND PURPOSE OF STRATEGIC PLANNING

1

• THE NATURE AND PURPOSE OF STRATEGIC PLANNING
• Chris Sidoti
• ppt 3

2
What is strategic planning?

• a continuous and systematic process
• to define how an institution will move, over a
  period of years, from where it is to where it
  wants to be
• by deciding
• institutional directions
• intended results
• how results are to be accomplished and
• how success is to be measured and evaluated

3
Why have a strategic plan?

• to develop a common understanding within the
  institution
• to explain the institution to outsiders
• to present the big picture rather than short term
  or partial pictures
• to seize the initiative rather than simply react
• to define goals and objectives
• to set priorities, including for resource
  allocation
• to enable activity planning consistent with broad
  goals and priorities
• to provide a basis for institutional evaluation

4
What is in a strategic plan?

• situation analysis
• what is the external context in which the
  institution works?
• the institution
• what is the nature and role of the institution
  within that external context?
• clear statement of direction
• what are the vision, mission and objectives?
• strategies
• how will the objectives be achieved?
• evaluation
• how will the effectiveness of the institution be
  assessed?

5
What are the key terms?

• vision
• mission (or purpose)
• objectives
• strategies
• activities
• products (or outputs)
• outcomes (or results)
• performance indicators

6
Vision

• our dream of the future
• what we strive to achieve
• the picture of the long term
• related to our institution and its work

7
A bad vision statement

• A world that is at peace, just, environmentally
  responsible, economically advanced, culturally
  diverse and mutually supportive

8
A good vision statement

• A society in which human rights are respected,
  protected and fulfilled

9
Mission

• the general statement of purpose guiding our
  activities
• a definition of our mandate what we are and
  what we do
• our institutions particular role in achieving
  the vision

10
A bad mission statement

• To be a bank that doesnt think like a bank. A
  bank that knows that yesterday isnt today.and
  that today becomes yesterday tomorrow
• Actual 1997 Corporate Vision Statement for a
  major banking/finance company

11
A good mission statement

• We achieve our vision through promoting and
  monitoring human rights compliance and seeking
  remedies for victims of human rights violations.

12
Objectives

• what, in general terms, we actually seek to
  achieve during the life of this strategic plan
• higher level statements of key institutional
  goals to be pursued in carrying out the
  institutions mission
• should be limited in number, no more than six or
  seven
• should reflect institutional priorities

13
Some possible objectives

• to increase public awareness of and support for
  human rights
• to assist and encourage government to ensure that
  all laws, policies and programs are human rights
  compliant
• to expose human rights violations and assist
  victims to obtain remedies
• to encourage the development of human rights law
  and mechanisms internationally and domestically

14
Strategies

• how we seek to achieve our objectives
• operational approaches
• our priorities
• can be linked to the objectives as a whole or to
  each objective individually
• should reflect institutional priorities

15
Linking strategies to objectives

• Objective 1 to increase public awareness of and
  support for human rights
• Strategies
• ensure a high media profile for human rights
  issues
• encourage the development of school curriculum to
  educate children on human rights
• coordinate community education activities with
  civil society organisations

16
Activities

• what we will actually do to implement the
  strategies
• can be linked to the strategies as a whole or to
  each strategy individually
• should be at a general descriptive level
• we will conduct five human rights training
  programs a year
• NOT we will conduct five human rights training
  programs a year on these dates and at these
  places

17
Products

• what we actually produce
• publications
• reports
• media releases
• training programs
• speeches
• sometimes called outputs

18
Results

• what our activities accomplished
• better knowledge of human rights law among school
  students
• greater public awareness of key human rights
  issues in our country
• more positive government responses to victims of
  human rights violations
• well trained human rights advocates and activists
• sometimes called outcomes

19
Performance indicators

• provide information about the degree to which the
  actual results of our activities meet the planned
  objectives
• critical to enable evaluation of the
  implementation of the plan and of the
  effectiveness of the institution
• quantitative (how many) and qualitative (how
  well) measures of performance
• can measure products (outputs) but better to
  measure results (outcomes)

20
Strategic plans and activity plans

• strategic plans and activity plans complement
  each other
• the strategic plan is the big picture plan that
  guides the institution over several years,
  setting the broad priorities for action
• the activity plan or implementation plan is the
  annual plan that sets out how the strategic plan
  will be implemented in the year and what specific
  activities will be conducted and where and when
  and how

21
A good strategic plan will

• be written down
• be relevant to the institution and its context
• be realistic and not merely idealistic or
  aspirational
• be easy to understand 
• be clear to implement
• have specific time frames over a significant
  period
• provide clear accountability for implementation
• recognise that things will change and be able to
  adapt to those changes
• be endorsed by the highest governing body in the
  institution