Decision Making Tools for Strategic Planning

1. Clarify your strategic plan hierarchy of goals, objectives, and strategies • Integrate logic model thinking into your strategic plan decision making • Develop realistic strategic planning timelines and milestones Decision Making Tools for Strategic Planning 2014 Nonprofit Capacity Conference Margo Bailey, PhD April 21, 2014

2. Questions to Ask When Developing a Strategic Plan margobailey@mac.com

3. Clarify your hierarchy of goals, objectives, and strategies Strategic Plan hierarchy margobailey@mac.com

4. A Living Plan - Framework For Implementation Evaluate Re-Align Broad initiatives that enable a plan’s mission and vision to be realized Strategic initiative Changes, outcomes, and impact a plan is trying to achieve Goal/Strategy Choices about how to best accomplish objectives Objective/Action • Activities that will be done to achieve your objectives Activities Reports on action step progress, successes, and challenges margobailey@mac.com

5. Integrate logic model thinking into your strategic plan decision making Logic models margobailey@mac.com

6. Helps Answer Strategic Planning Questions CONTEXT INPUTS OUTPUTS OUTCOMES - IMPACT Activities Participation Short-Term Medium-Term Long-Term What results do we want? What is the current situation? Do we know “what works?” What methods will we use What progress are we making, and should we make adjustments? What actions will we take? margobailey@mac.com

7. MISSION: Plan’s purpose VISION: What will be different if the Plan’s goals and objectives are achieved? Strategic Goal; Change social norms around tobacco use GOAL: Broad initiatives that enable the plan’s mission and vision to be realized Strategic Goal; Leverage HHS systems and resources to create a society free of tobacco-related disease and death OBJECTIVE: change, outcome, impact the plan is trying to achieve INPUTS ACTIVITIES OUTPUTS OUTCOMES STRATEGIES: Set of related activities needed to fulfill the objectives PERFORMANCE MEASURES & TARGETS PROGRESS REPORTS & PERFORMANCE MEASURES Outcome Indicator Outcome Indicator Input Indicator Efficiency Indicator Milestone margobailey@mac.com

8. MISSION VISION Strategic Goal; Change social norms around tobacco use GOAL Strategic Goal; Leverage HHS systems and resources to create a society free of tobacco-related disease and death OBJECTIVE INPUTS ACTIVITIES OUTPUTS OUTCOMES STRATEGIES PERFORMANCE MEASURES & TARGETS Input Indicator Milestone Output Indicator Efficiency Indicator Outcome Indicator margobailey@mac.com

9. Focus on answering logic model questions, not developing a logic model MISSION What is the Plan’s purpose? Why does the Plan exist? INPUTS What investments are available to achieve the Plan’s goals? Who will contribute? ACTIVITIES What works? What must the contributors do well to help change the conditions the Plan is to address? Who must they engage in the process? OUTPUTS What will be developed or delivered from the Plan’s completed activities and strategies? GOALS What are the broad initiatives to enable the Plan’s mission to be realized? INTERMEDIATE OUTCOMES What benchmarks or data should be reported to show the Plan is on track to meet its goals? STRATEGIES What are the set of related activities the contributors will focus on to meet the Plan’s objectives? VISION Does your plan need a vision statement? What are the internal external barriers and challenges? END OUTCOMES What must be tracked and reported on at the beginning and end of the Plan timeline to show mission/vision achievement? OBJECTIVES What changed conditions do the contributors want to see to show they are achieving the Plan’s goals? INTERMEDIATE MEASURES/ MILESTONES “progress against achieving an intermediate outcome that contributes to an ultimate outcome” OUTCOME MEASURES “Progress against achieving the intended result of a program” OUTPUT MEASURES “describe the level of product or activity that will be provided over a period of time” margobailey@mac.com

10. Develop realistic planning timelines Strategic planning workflow margobailey@mac.com

11. 11 Strategic Planning Process • Prepare: includespre-planning,affirming planpurpose, summarizing accomplishments, reviewing existing performance, and identifying challenges, gaps, opportunities. • Engage: Clarifying roles and timelines, manage expectations, identifying key partners and stakeholders • Develop Plan: Setting goals, objectives and strategies, identifying risks, and completing consultations. • Implementation: Developing implementation plans, reporting progress, reviewing plan, and updating margobailey@mac.com

12. 12 General Workflow – Nonprofit Strategic Planning margobailey@mac.com

13. 13 Pre-Planning & Initial Priority Setting Strategic Planning Question: What is the current situation? • How will you organize to complete the strategic planning process and the strategic plan? • Will there be board and staff representatives to a workgroup? • At initial meeting, important to let representatives know meeting schedule, deadlines, expectations, responsibilities, deliverables • Take time to build common understanding. • Who will facilitate the process? • Will it be helpful to have an consultant help with the process? • What pre-planning activities will be conducted? • How will it be determined that more information is needed? • What gaps, challenges, and opportunities have been identified? • What are the best ways to present the summary? • Who will write the summary? • What is the strategic planning process timeframe? margobailey@mac.com

14. 14 Draft Plan DevelopmentStrategic Planning Questions: What results do we want? Do we know “what works?” What methods will we use? • To what extent does the Board want a Workgroup to make recommendations about strategic direction? • Will our mission stay the same? • Seeking agreement on the OUTCOMES and objectives of activities, not the activities themselves – e.g., what you want to change. • Will a planning retreat be useful approach for board discussion and decision making? • What are the best ways to engage staff and other stakeholders to provide specific input about their priorities and tasks? • How important are partnerships with other organizations for achieving goals and objectives? • Clarify alignment of plan priorities to budget, program and funding expectations? • How will the plan be written? • Who will write the plan sections? • Can divide up the responsibility of writing, but one editor needs to put it in one voice at end • Who will conduct the final edit? • Who will review the draft plan? • Allow ample time for reviews and revisions margobailey@mac.com

15. 15 Consultation • Do you need to consult with anyone? • Key partners? Funders? Parishes? • Should you engage them earlier in the plan development? • Do they need to see the entire plan or sections of the plan? • Do you have to give multiple opportunities for comment? margobailey@mac.com

16. 16 Final Plan Development & Publication • Sharing the plan • Who will provide the final edits? • Who should receive copies of the plan? • Who will take the lead to disseminate the plan? • How will you communicate the new plan with stakeholders? • Will you prepare a one-page summary of the plan? margobailey@mac.com

17. 17 ImplementationStrategic Planning Questions: What methods will we use? What actions will we take? • Implementation plan • Clarifies the annual process for completing activities, and setting expectations for outputs, outcomes and commitmentsrelated to the strategic plan goals and objectives • Identifies challenges to achieving the strategic plan • Is a living document to reflect change • Can remain an internal document • Decide if existing performance measures are aligned, be revised, or develop new measures • Engagement • How much time do you want to spend on the implementation planning process? What are the best ways to leverage existing meetings? • Who will write the draft and final implementation plans? • What leadership has to see the implementation plan? • Will the Workgroup continue to be engaged? margobailey@mac.com

18. 18 Progress ReportingStrategic Planning Question: What progress are we making? • Strategic Plan monitoring and reporting • Clarify current data sources for reporting and reporting frequency • Determine how to gather and track data, and facilitate reporting • Develop reporting templates or consistent reporting formats • Schedule regular times to review the plan’s progress • Can a dashboard make reporting easier? • Annual reporting of progress • What are the best ways to share progress on the strategic plan? • Will a formal report be useful? • How much time do you want to spend? • Use progress reporting information to make decisions • Encourage sharing information about challenges, barriers, and risks • Acknowledge external factors and the changes you can control margobailey@mac.com