Municipal Strategic Planning for Future Success

1. Strategic PlanningNE Management Institute Rick DacriDacri & Associates, LLC207-229-5954www.dacri.com

2. Why This Sequence? 8 5 4 9 1 7 6 3 2 0

3. Today’s Objectives • Understand Strategic Planning • Learn a process for use • Apply and test on a case study • Prepare your town’s strategic plan • Learn from each other • Take notes!

4. Case Studies • Town of Mainveille, Maine • Town of Whoville, Maine

5. . Strategy is a framework within which decisions are made which influence the nature and direction of the business. Definition of Strategy

6. Strategy vs. Planning

7. 3 Questions to Ponder • Do you know what tomorrow’s opportunities look like? • Do you know where you want to take your town and why? • Do you know from where you are today to where you want to be tomorrow?

8. What is Strategic Planning? • A process by which a municipality or county government envisions its future and develops the necessary procedures and operations to achieve that future

9. Process to Identify • Why your local government exists • Whom it serves • What benefits will be derived from the services it provides, and • The vision your administration has regarding how citizen’s needs can be served best

10. The Strategic Planning Process • Ask & answer the following: • Where are you now? • Where is your market going? • Where do you need to be? • How will you close the gap? • How do we know we are getting there?

11. Basic Elements of Strategic Planning • Mission • Values • Vision • Environmental Scan • Goals • Objectives • Strategy • Action Plan

12. Business Case for the Plan • Gives all clear focus & direction • Provides you better control • Serves as a decision making & resource allocation tool • Forces you & Council to make choices about the future • Brings everyone onto the same page • Brings alignment within the Council

13. Business Case for the Plan • Raises Council’s awareness of current issues & operations • Brings everyone together, improving morale & culture • Creates a sense of cohesion & trust & awareness • Basis of all workforce planning (recruitment, training, evaluation, succession planning, etc.)

14. For Your Elected Officials • Enables them to : • Establish priorities • Create a game plan • Set direction with certainty & knowledge • Allocate resources appropriately • Drive positive change • Fully understand roles/governance

15. Limitations of Strategic Planning • There are costs in time and money • The process can be complex • Newly elected boards have differing priorities • Politics • Success is not guaranteed

16. How a Strategic Plan Delivers • The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago (Chinese or African proverb) • The second best time is today! • A pro-active mind-set about the future • Improved performance • Solve structural problems • The ability to take advantage of emerging situations

17. Prerequisites • Before you start, you need: • Leadership commitment • Stepping out to work ON the business, not IN the business • Buy-in to the strategic process • Belief in change • Ownership of the outcome

18. Definitions • VALUES: What you believe in • MISSION: How you manifest that belief • VISION: Your future (moving) target

19. Your Mission • Leaders must motivate their internal stakeholders through a mission statement that: • Answers the question why your business exists and describes what your business does • How your business does it • Defines & articulates your core competencies

20. Mission Statement Examples • Our mission is to ensure that this great community continues to thrive, building on the wisdom of our technically progressive heritage, prepared to seize opportunities for growth. (City of Westbrook) • The City of Concord partners with our community to deliver excellent service, and plans for the future while preserving, protecting, and enhancing the quality of life. (Concord, NC)

21. Vision • All leaders must create a vision for their town • Clear: a defined statement • Visionary: about the future • Aspirational: to motivate, and • Strategically: aligned with your environmental analysis

22. Vision Statement Example • Our vision is that Westbrook remain a beacon of leadership in southern Maine, where businesses and families flourish in a vibrant community guided by a system of effective, efficient, and responsive government.

23. Internal/External Assessment

24. SWOT Analysis • Internal Assessment: Organizational assets, resources, people, culture, systems, partnerships, suppliers… • External Assessment: Marketplace, other muni’s, state’s actions, social trends, technology, regulatory environment, economic cycles… (you have NO control over these)

25. SWOT Example Economy - Any downturn in the national and state economies has the potential to directly impact on our local strategic outlook. Our municipal economic structure relies heavily on a revenue stream from state and federal funding sources. These combined issues create a unique challenge to our economic well being. Diversity and flexibility of our economic base are keys to our long-term stability.

26. Set Goals • Goals are the vital outcomes which strategic planning delivers • Goals define your business strategy, bring it to life • They are tangible outcomes which define success • Goals enable people to see your strategy • The provide the focus of all activity

27. Goals Examples • Gathering in celebration to enjoy the rich traditions and diverse cultures that make our community great • Promoting and supporting the success of our Downtown as a major retail and entertainment center and emerging residential neighborhoods

28. Set Objectives • To achieve your goals, you need clear objectives • Objectives are points which show the journey toward goals & define the strategy you follow • Measurable & achievable points in your journey toward the goals • Specific objectives which lead to goals

29. Action Planning • The specific steps in delivering your business • Action planning is the building blocks of all activity • The activity in each steps builds towards an objective • Action plans are vital steps in creating and sustaining progress

30. Action Plan Example • Create a culture of innovation and efficiency within the organization. • Promote the use of new technology to improve the delivery of services and information to staff and the community. Projects include: • 2014-2015 Ongoing Parking meter collection, water meter reads, street lights, etc. • Promoting a paperless environment (e.g. paperless checks, payroll selfserve, • e-payables, expanded use of laser fiche document management, etc.) • Evaluating e-mail storage • Surveying departmental needs

31. Implementation Example • Board buy-in to process/responsibilities-1day • Are you facilitating or outside? • Interview Dept. Heads (3 days) • Prepare & provide preparation work (2 wks.) • Success & weaknesses • View of technology/economy • Optimal structure of organization • Obstacles to progress

32. Implementation Example • Conduct 2 day off site meeting • Agree on values/vision/mission • Address critical issues • Assign tentative accountabilities • Debrief Board • Meet for day with department heads • Create department goals • Create system to align individual goals • Begin to plot implementation

33. Implementation Example • Debrief Board throughout • Audit & Progress review (120 days) • Critical issues resolutions • Successes & obstacles • Final Accountabilities • Debrief Board

34. Guidelines For Implementation • Get Early Wins (Quick Kills) to create some momentum • Seek external expertise (where possible) • Articulate your requirements to elected officials if they are really serious about strategic execution • Keep it simple, not bureaucratic, formal or rigid • Get staff involved

35. Case Studies • Town of Maineville, Maine • Town of Whoville, Maine

36. Questions? Rick Dacri Dacri & Associates, LLC 207-229-5954 Web: www.dacri.com Blog: http://rickdacri.wordpress.com Twitter: http://twitter.com/rickdacri