Strategic planning takes a long-term look at the future of an organization. It is an essential tool for providing leadership to an organization.
It involves:
- Analyzing the environment in which the organization operates
- Determining organizational strengths and weaknesses
- Identifying critical issues the organization faces
- Defining the organization´s vision, mission and values
- Deciding about core overall strategies as well as specific goals and objectives.
Strategies, goals and objectives will usually not only relate to programs but also to finances, human resources or other organizational functions.
Guide to further reading (available online)
National Minority Aids Council, Starting a Non-profit, at: http://www.nmac.org/index/oes-english
- The guide directed at those who want to start a non-profit organization provides in unit 5 an introduction to non-profit strategic planning.
J.Shapiro, Strategic planning, at: http://www.civicus.org/news-and-resources/toolkits/229-strategic-planning
- The report describes in detail the strategic planning process
USAID, Fundamentals of NGO Financial Sustainability, at: http://www.abtassociates.com/reports/NGOSustainability.pdf
- Chapter 2 should prove very helpful to those who want to conduct a strategic planning workshop.