MAY 2018 VIRGINIA VOLUNTEERISM & SERVICE CONFERENCEvirginiaservice.virginia.gov/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/strategicplanstoactionplans...may 2018. virginia volunteerism & service conference

MAY 2018VIRGINIA VOLUNTEERISM &

SERVICE CONFERENCE

STRATEGIC PLANS TO ACTION PLANS

AM Y N I S E NS O N, CO NS ULTANT AND E X E CUT I V E D I RE CTO R, T HE M ARY M O RTO N PARS O NS

F O UNDAT I O N

Definition of strategic planning

The process of defining a strategy for an organization with the greatest possible knowledge of its environment and context.

A written list of the actions needed to carry out the plan.

A method for monitoring the results achieved through the plan.

Not a one size fits all!

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Basic Terminology

Mission Vision Values Customers Services Elevator Speech

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Mission

Mission answers the question of why the organization exists, and describes the needs the organization was created for. It drives the organization’s day to day !Examples:

To provide affordable housing for elderly, low income persons

To bring happiness to millions

We put out fires, we save lives, we stay safe

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Vision

Vision describes the ideal future for the organization; creates a vision of what is yet to be accomplished.

Examples:• A community without HIV/AIDS• To be the premier provider of services to persons who have

experienced domestic violence• To have a computer on every desk and in every home• To become the Harvard of the West

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Values

How we will treat each other and our constituents.

Examples: Accountability Customer Service Excellence Innovation Teamwork

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Customers

Any person, group or organization receiving your products and/or services.

Examples:Low income familiesMen over the age of 18 with a substance abuse

diagnosis

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Services

Deliverables that the customer receives

• Examples:– Case Management– Housing– Counseling

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Nonprofit organization provides (products and services) to (customers). Our fundamental purpose is to (mission). Our long term goal is to (vision) and the outcomes we are working towards are (goals).

Elevator Speech –Putting it all together

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Six areas critical to nonprofit success

Programs—Services Provided to Accomplish Goals

Management-Board Marketing-External image Governance-Executive Leadership/Staff Financial Resources-Fundraising and Financial

Management Administrative Systems-Day to Day Operations** these typically dovetail with the goals in a strategic plan

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Importance of planning

Brings clarity to mission and vision Helps organizations plan for future Helps organizations anticipate and manage change Improves the day-to day decision making Problem solving becomes related to long –range and

short-term goals Helps nonprofits be more accountable; better

stewards

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Strategy

Definition---A plan, method, or series of maneuvers or stratagems

for obtaining a specific goal or result: a strategy for getting ahead in the world.

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What’s involved in strategy?

Who we are? What is our history? Where are we today? What’s next? How will get to “our next”?

Peter Drucker-”If you don’t know where you are going, any plan will do.”

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What is managing strategically?

Creating and implementing strategies Continual evaluation Continual refinement Must work at it—doesn't’t happen overnight

“However beautiful the strategy, you should occasionally look at the results”Sir Winston Churchill 1874-1965, English statesman

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http://www.12manage.com/i_s.html

Strategic Planning

Strategic planning is an organization’s process of defining its strategy, or direction, and making decisions on allocating its resources to pursue this strategy.

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Benefits of strategic planning

• Improves accountability and ability to improve –performance measures help understand performance

• Highlights areas for management and process improvements

• Provides guidance to employees on what to do and what not to do in their daily work

• Gives a system perspective on how operate

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Benefits of strategic planning

• Engages Board, staff, customers and stakeholders• Sets organizational direction and enhances focus• Helps distinguish the important from the unimportant• Assists with decision making and priority setting –

helps make difficult choices• Assists with resource allocation – transfer resources

from lower to higher priorities

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Strategic Planning: The Basics

Does a Plan Already Exist?

Board SatisfactionConsider reorganizing existing strategies

and activitiesKeep existing strategic initiatives

Board Dissatisfaction A new or revised planning process should begin

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Is There Time To Plan?

Average Time Frame for PlanningSix to nine months to complete planning and have

a document approved by board

Time Is Needed ForGathering dataResearch and analysis Attending meetings

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Is Funding Available?

Funding Is Needed ToSupport information gathering, analysis, and

researchContract for consulting and facilitating servicesCover logistical expenses

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Are Board and Staff Committed? The Board

Commitment absolutely essential Should have willingness to:

spend time planningsupport expenses of planning processmonitor implementation of plan’s strategies and goals

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Are Board and Staff Committed? (cont.)

The StaffCommitment essentialShould have willingness to:

spend time planningearmark funds for planning processmonitor implementation of strategies and goals of plancommit to new and diverse roles and responsibilities

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Are Board and Staff Committed? (cont.)

Board/Staff Partnership Determine how to access needed information Share research and interview assignmentsDiscuss issues that arise in planningCommunicate disagreements and differences

of opinion

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Who Should Facilitate the Process?

Should a Consultant Be Hired?Assess whether there is a needDetermine if funding is availableSeek referrals for consultants who work

best with specific organizations

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Who Should Facilitate the Process? (cont.)

Should a Board Member Act as Facilitator?Caution: Board members are not the best option If board member facilitates, he/she must remain objective limit insights and ideasact as catalyst in planning process

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Who Should Be Involved in the Planning Process?

• Full board• Chief executive• Key staff members• External stakeholders• Consultant• Steering committee

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• Board’s Role

• Commits to planning• Ensures adequate resources• Decides on approach• Coordinates steering committee• Helps prepare and approves “plan to plan”

• Ensures full board participation

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• Board’s Role (cont.)

• Conducts board self-assessment• Reviews and approves vision, mission,

critical issues, and strategies• Ensures strategies become operational• Is familiar with plan and has final approval• Ensures plan is fully implemented• Oversees accomplishment of goals

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Chief Executive’s Role• Seeks board’s buy-in for planning • With the board, ensures adequate resources• With the board, decides on planning

approach• With the board, coordinates steering

committee• Participates in “plan to plan”

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Chief Executive’s Role (cont.)

• Ensures participation of staff• Informs staff; encourages feedback and

input• Prepares operational plan with staff• Evaluates accomplishment of strategies,

goals, and objectives• Regularly reports status to board

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Staff’s Role

Staff <20:• Expect participation from every staff

member

Staff >20:• Create leadership team more directly

involved in planning

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Staff’s Role (cont.)

• Analyzes internal capacity • Formulates and distributes surveys• Organizes data collection• With chief executive, identifies critical

issues (vision, mission, strategies)• With chief executive, prepares operational

plan• Implements plan

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Stakeholders’ Role Who?

• Clients, staff, funders, members, community

What?• Involvement with internal/external

assessments• Outsider’s perspective

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Consultant’s Role

• Guides decision-making process• Focuses board’s thinking • Guides “plan to plan”• Supplies examples of other plans• Ensures key stakeholders’ participation

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Consultant’s Role

As Facilitator• Plans/leads steering committee meetings

and retreat• Asks the “hard” questions• Focuses group on critical issues• Facilitates discussion on long term• Reflects thoughts and ideas back

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Steering Committee’s Role Who?

• Board members, staff members, consultantWhat?

• Guides planning process• Determines approach• Plans retreat• Writes surveys and analyzes data• Prepares final document

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Contextual Approach

What Is the Contextual Approach? • Clarifies mission, vision, values, customers,

and services• Provides insight on impact programs and

services have in community • Clarifies perceptions held by field or sector • Unifies approach to accomplishing goals• Creates a plan for implementation of

strategies

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Contextual Approach

Eight-Step Process

1. Establish parameters for planning 2. Assess external environment3. Identify internal strengths and

weaknesses4. Clarify vision, mission, values,

customers, and services

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Contextual Approach

Eight-Step Process (cont.)

5. Identify critical issues6. Analyze strengths, weaknesses,

opportunities, and threats or challenge (SWOT or SWOC)

7. Formulate strategies to address issues8. Create operational plan

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Goals or Outcomes

Goals or Outcomes:Broad statements of measurable outcomes to be

achieved on behalf of customersDetermined based on a response to critical issues or

fundamental challenges.

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Goals or Outcomes

Should be 3-6 per plan…

SMARTSpecificMeasurableAchievableResults-orientedTimed

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Objectives

The set of steps under each goal or outcome that enable the organization to achieve the goal or outcome.

Should be 2-5 per goal or outcome. Include what the organization is striving for and are link

between goals and performances.

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Tactics or Initiatives

Specific programs and activities that will help the organization meet its strategies or objectives and performance targets.

Sometimes called “means to an end” that the organization will pursue to achieve its goals.

Indicates how organization will spend its time and allocate resources.

2-4 per strategy

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Goals vs. Objectives vs. Initiatives

Outcome or Goals: Broad statements of measurable outcomes to be achieved on behalf of customers

Strategies or Objectives: Statements of what you must do well or barriers that you must overcome to achieve a specific goal

If________, then________

Tactics or Initiatives: Specific programs and activities that will help you meet your strategies or objectives and performance targets

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Other components of strategic plan

Budget-financial projects needed to implement plan.

Organizational Chart—lays out staff and structure to support plan.

*** Implementation is meant to be a changing, on-going process.

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Budget--A strategic financial plan

What are the expected financial needs• Mapping current resources that support the

initiative• Identifying funding gaps • Analyzing a range of funding sources and

financing strategies to meet the fiscal needs of the initiative.

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Development Plan

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Annual budget in coordination with development plan

Development plan should be coordinated with strategic plan’s implementation

Reserves, forward funding, sustainability

What goes into your development plan?

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Goals by types of revenues ($ and %)

History of each type• 3-5 year suggest• Special circumstances

How will you achieve your goals?• Activities, process, when• Who responsible

Annual budget should reflect plan and vice-versa Should be a tie back to strategic plan priorities

Once you have plan, what’s next…

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Buy-in Compare with strategic plan priorities Review operations

• Staff• Look at board• Database and other systems• Were you inclusive (i.e.. Cultivation events included in budget)

On-going work on development plan

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Review development plan on a regular basis• Meeting goals?• Revise plan and budget when needed• Inform board and staff

Cost of Human and Financial Resources Required for Initiative

Human Resources• determine staff required to complete initiative• estimate how many hours will be required of each

staff member• multiply number of hours by hourly rate paid to

each staff and add together to get total staff cost

Financial Resources• determine if there will be any other costs other

than staff costs• if so, estimate cost

Other components of strategic plan

Who is responsible for implementation-Typically a staff person is held accountable. Some organizations assign committees also.Year of implementation—Assign a year (1-3) that implementation will begin. Could be on-going (occurs every year)

***Implementation often aligns with staff work plans and committee work plans (work plans should be updated on a regular basis) apnconsulting2017

Prioritizing Initiatives

Staff Goal Champion and Board Liaison for Goal decide in which year each of the initiatives for their goal should be started and completed

If can start and complete initiative in same year, put an X in the box under year in which will be done

If cannot start and complete initiative in same year, put “start” in box under year will start and X in the box under year in which will complete

Sustainability

Definition---

Ability to sustain the work and impact for as long as there is a need for them.

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Conditions for sustainability

Mission/Goals—defined in outcomes Programs—right programs in place to have

greatest impact on clients Financial-have $ and in-kind to cover services and

activities Good planning—have resources to do programs

such as management systems and processes in place; systematic and on-going review of progress

Staff-have skills and commitment to deliver programs

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Questions and items not covered…..

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Amy’s contact info…Website

http://www.amynisenson.com/

[email protected]

phone(804) 307-4653

Thanks for attending…57

http://www.amynisenson.com/

mailto:[email protected]

Documents

MAY 2018 VIRGINIA VOLUNTEERISM & SERVICE CONFERENCEvirginiaservice.virginia.gov/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/strategicplanstoactionplans...may 2018. virginia volunteerism & service conference