10-Step Strategic Planning Process
Step 1
Obtain Consensus and Support
Worksheet: Starting the Process
Step 2
Identify Organizational Mandates
Worksheet: Identifying Organizational Mandates
Step 3
Identify Stakeholders
Worksheet: Identifying Stakeholders
Step 4
Clarify Mission, Vision, and Values
Worksheet: Developing a Mission Statement
Worksheet: Developing a Vision Statement
Worksheet: Developing a Value Statements
Step 5
Assess Internal and External Environments
Worksheet: Internal Assessment
Worksheet: External Assessment
Step 6
Identify Strategic Issues
Worksheet: Identifying Strategic Issues
Step 7
Formulate Goals and Strategies
Worksheet: Setting Goals and Strategies
Step 8
Develop Objectives and Action Plans
Worksheet: Developing Objectives and Action Plans
Step 9
Develop an Effective Implementation Process
Worksheet: Implementation and Evaluation
Step 10
Monitor and Evaluate the Strategic Planning Process
Worksheet: Implementation and Evaluation
Strategic Planning Process
1
Strategic Plan Linkages
Strategic Plan
Goal
Goal
Goal
Objective
Objective
Objective
Action Plan
Action Plan
Action Plan
Strategic Planning Process
2
Table of Contents
10-Step Strategic Planning Process ........................................................ 1
Strategic Plan Linkages............................................................................ 2
Table of Contents ...................................................................................... 3
Strategic Planning Worksheets
Starting the Process ..................................................................................................... 4
Identifying Organizational Mandates ........................................................................... 6
Identifying Stakeholders ............................................................................................... 7
Developing a Mission Statement ................................................................................. 8
Developing a Vision Statement .................................................................................... 9
Developing a Value Statements ................................................................................. 11
Internal Assessment ................................................................................................... 13
External Assessment .................................................................................................. 14
Identifying Strategic Issues ........................................................................................ 15
Setting Goals and Strategies ..................................................................................... 17
Developing Objectives and Action Plans .................................................................. 19
Strategic Plan Components ....................................................................................... 22
Implementation and Evaluation ................................................................................. 25
Strategic Planning Process
3
Starting the Process
Strategic Planning Worksheet
Organizational Readiness
1. Why are we engaging in strategic planning?
2. Is top leadership capable and committed to this effort?
3. Is the external political environment amenable to this organizational effort?
4. What resources will be required for an organizational strategic planning process (e.g.,
budgetary, staff, planners, time, information technology, opportunity costs)?
5. Are adequate and proper resources committed to strategic planning?
Barriers
1. Identify impediments to initiating and following through with a strategic planning effort
(e.g., leadership, resources, competing agendas, and organizational crisis).
2. Can these be addressed, mitigated, or avoided during the strategic planning process?
Benefits
1. What are our expectations for a strategic plan?
2. What are the advantages (direct and indirect) to this organization to engage in the strategic
planning process?
3. Do these advantages outweigh the organizational costs and engaging in this process?
Strategic Planning Process
4
Structure
1. Who is the organizational Sponsor (i.e., top leadership which is committed to the process)?
2. Who is the process Champion (i.e., persons/group which provide the continuing advocacy
and expertise to sustain the strategic planning process)?
3. Identify the members, roles, and responsibilities of the Strategic Planning Core Team.
4. Identify other organizational members and units that will be directly engaged in the process.
Schedule
1. What is the timetable to complete the process?
2. What are the phased steps, benchmarks, and outcomes that must be accomplished to
complete the entire process?
Participation and Communication
1. What is our plan for involving internal and external stakeholders in the strategic planning
process?
2. What internal teams will be initiated to help with the various components of this process?
3. How will we communicate the implementation, progress, and final results of the strategic
planning process to our internal and external stakeholders?
Checklist
Proposal for Strategic Planning - a Checklist
 Purpose of the strategic planning effort

 Commitment by top leadership

 Benefits to the organization & members

 Specific steps of the process
 Time frames

Strategic Planning Process
Identification of those involved & their roles
Opportunities for participation (e.g. teams)
Organizational familiarization, training, and
communications plans
Anticipated outcome
5
Identifying Organizational Mandates
Strategic Planning Worksheet
Identifying organizational mandates
Before a mission, goals, and objectives can be identified, an organization must identify what it is
required to do - its mandates.
Questions to ask:
1. What is our organization's formal authority? (usually found in code, ordinances, charter
2.
What are our organization's formal mandates? (legal or other binding expectations)
3. Are there information requirements or mandates for the organization? (e.g., do other agencies
have written or informal agreements with us ; political mandate from the voters)
Strategic Planning Process
6
Identifying Stakeholders
Strategic Planning Worksheet
Stakeholders
Any person, group, or organization than has a claim (i.e., "stake") on the organization's attention,
resources, or services/products; it is also any entity which is affected by the organization.
External Stakeholders
Identify the persons and groups that fall into external areas such as:
 Community (civic, fraternal, special interest, minority, religious, youth, neighborhood
groups)
 Public interest groups
 Business (primary companies, business interest groups, coalitions)
 Government (local and regional government department heads, planners, elected officials,
city/county manager, social and human services, recreation)
 Nonprofit service providers (domestic violence, adolescent, adult, special populations,
drug/alcohol treatment)
 Schools (local districts, universities, trade)
 News media (print, electronic, community publications)
 Criminal Justice (other police agencies, courts, district attorney, probation, parole)
 Competitors (private security)
 Citizens without special affiliations
Internal Stakeholders
Identify the persons and groups that fall into internal area such as:
 Employees (line, supervisory, mid-management)
 Functional committees
 Employee associations
 Unions
 Command Staff
 Volunteers
Contact Lists
Create contact lists for the stakeholders for later interviews/surveys
Strategic Planning Process
7
Developing a Mission Statement
Strategic Planning Worksheet
Mission
A mission statement is a declaration of organizational purpose; the raison d'être (reason for
existence) for the organization.
Process
1. Contact (interview or survey) internal and external stakeholders to determine:
 What is the current mission (stated or unstated) of the organization?
 What are the expectations (internal and external) for the organization?
 What does the organization do well (e.g., core competencies)?
 What are customers and how can we best serve them?
 What does this community and organization really value?
 What changes should be made in our current mission?
2. Organize, discuss, and merge the responses into a draft mission statement that has the
following characteristics:
 Tells "why" the organization exists and "why" it does what it does (not just "what" it
does)
 Says what is important to the organization (what it values)
 Outcome-based (vs. activity-based)
 Brief, succinct, snappy -- KISS principle (not a dissertation!)
 Inspiring (yet not overzealous, trite, or maudlin)
3.
Review mission statements from other organizations and fine-tune the draft.
4.
Review the draft mission statement with internal and external stakeholders.
5.
Finalize mission statement with top leadership.
6. Publicize the mission statement throughout organization and community.
Strategic Planning Process
8
Developing a vision statement
Strategic Planning Worksheet
Vision Statement
Describes what the organization and its service audience should look like as it successfully
implements its strategies and achieves its full potential. It is a mental image of a desired future
state that represents an improvement over the present situation.
A vision statement should reference the organization’s:
 Mission
 Basic philosophy, core values, and cultural features
 Goals
 Basic strategies
 Performance criteria; critical success factors
 Ethical standards expected of employees
Process
1. Contact (interview or survey) internal and external stakeholders to determine:
 What is their view of organizational success in the future?
 Describe this organization once it achieves its full potential?
 How is that different from now?
2. Consider breaking this exercise into components such as:
 Operations and Service Delivery
 Human Resources
 Organization and Management
 Technology and Facilities
Strategic Planning Process
9
3. Organize, discuss, and merge the responses into a draft vision statement that has the
following characteristics:
 represents a preferred/ideal state
 is compelling--something we can stand behind
 focuses on excellence
 focuses on the future
 respects the past
 describes the organization's niche, or uniqueness
 describes how we treat our internal and external customers
 defines how we will behave and act
 describes a purpose for the desire change
 describes outcomes from achieving the organization's mission
 is based on values and beliefs (what we stand for)
4. Review the draft vision statement with internal and external stakeholders.
5.
Finalize vision statement with top leadership
6. Publicize the vision statement throughout organization and the community
Strategic Planning Process
10
Developing Value Statements
Strategic Planning Worksheet
Values
A code of beliefs to which an organization adheres and aspires
Values = Guiding Principles = What We Stand For
Process
1. Contact (interview or survey) internal and external stakeholders to determine:
 What principles of service and conduct does the community expect from organization?
 What are our values now (stated or unstated) ?
 What does the organization believe in? What does it want to believe in ?
2. Organize, discuss, and merge the responses into draft value statements that address the
organization's beliefs in general areas such as:
 Service delivery
 Constitutional role
 Organizational mandate
 Organizational mission
 Organizational climate
 Employees
 Customers
 Training, professionalism, communications, etc
'
3. Draft value statement which:
 Set forth the department's philosophy of policing (e.g., community policing; problemsolving, etc.)
 State in clear terms just what the department and its employees stand for (e.g., mutual
trust and respect).
 Articulate in broad terms overall goals of the organization (e.g., enhance quality of life).
 Reflects the community's expectations of the organization (e.g., protect constitutional
rights; prevent crime).
 Provide a shared framework for employee performance (e.g., fair and responsive
customer service)
 Serve as broad parameters of conduct (e.g., integrity; respect for others).
 Provide a framework from which the department can be evaluated (e.g., can the
community determine if we live up to our values?)
 Inspire those in the organization (e.g., noble principles).
Strategic Planning Process
11
4. Prioritize the top 10 value statements.
5.
Review values from other organizations and fine-tune the draft.
6.
Review the draft value statements with internal and external stakeholders.
7.
Finalize value statements with top leadership.
8. Publicize the values throughout the organization and community.
Strategic Planning Process
12
Internal Assessment
SWOT (Strength, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats)
Analysis
Strategic Planning Worksheet
Strengths & Weaknesses
Internal SWOT

Strengths and weakness relate to those abilities, strategies, programs, actions, and reputation
of the organization (examples: community interaction; respect for persons; crime fighting;
corruption control; training; youth programs).
 They also include those resources that the organization can access/leverage (e.g., budget;
grants; foundations; community volunteers; inter-agency partnerships)
 Strengths can be taken advantage of and weaknesses can be minimized through the
development of informed goals and strategies
Process
1. Contact (interview or survey) internal and external stakeholders to determine:
 What are our major organizational strengths (i.e., core competencies)?
 What is our major organizational weakness (i.e., areas to improve)?
 What can this organization do to become more effective and efficient?
2.
Research internal information sources (e.g., organizational performance measures, service
demand, workload, employee surveys, internal opinion polls, crime/arrest/clearance data,
staffing trends - sworn and civilian).
3.
Review external information sources (e.g., community surveys) which address policing issues.
4. Discuss, organize, merge, and cluster the information into categories:
 Operations/Service Delivery
 Human Resources
 Organizational/Management
 Technology/Facilities
Strategic Planning Process
13
External Assessment
SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats)
Analysis
Strategic Planning Worksheet
Opportunities & Threats
External SWOT
Opportunities and threats include those trends, demands, influences and other factors in the
organization's environment, which impact the organization.
Opportunities can be taken advantage of and threats can be minimized through the development
of informed goals and strategies
Process
1. Contact (interview or survey) internal and external stakeholders to determine:
 What external opportunities does the organization have?
 What external threats does the organization face?
 Trends (social, demographic, economic, service expectations)
 What can the organization do to better serve the community in the future?
2. Research external information sources
3. Discuss, organize, merge and cluster the information into categories such as:
 Economic
 Demographic
 Social
 Technological
 Land use
 Transportation
 Service expectations
 Community capacity
Strategic Planning Process
14
Identifying Strategic Issues
Strategic planning worksheet
Strategic Issues
Any fundamental policy questions or challenge which impacts the organization's present or
future capacity to pursue its mission. A strategic issue involves conflicts.
Strategic issues involve the internal organizational strengths and weaknesses, and the external
opportunities and threats.
The identification of strategic issues must precede the development of organizational goals and
strategies, which are responses to strategic issues.
Process
1. The Strategic Planning Core Team, having the results of the SWOT analysis (i.e., Strengths,
Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) identifies specific strategic issues that emerge.
2. Discuss, organize, merge, and cluster the strategic issues into categories:
 Operations/service delivery
 Human resources
 Organization/management
 Technology/facilities
3. Describe the strategic issues in the context of the organization's mission/mandates, strengths,
weaknesses, and the environment's opportunities and threats.
4.
Describe the issues as a challenge to the organization; something it can do about it.
5.
Try to keep the focus on the issues, not answers at this point. However, if strategies do
emerge, don't ignore them-make notes for the step when goals and strategies are designed.
6. Describe the consequences of not addressing the issue.
Strategic Planning Process
15
Final Screening questions for strategic issues include:
1.
What is the issue, conflict, or dilemma?
2.
Why is it an issue? What in terms of the mission, mandates, or SWOT 's makes it an issue?
3.
Who says it is an issue?
4.
What would be the consequences of not doing something about it?
5.
Can we do something about it?
6.
Is there a way to combine or eliminate issues?
7.
Should issues be broken down into two more issues?
8. What issues are missing from our list, including issues that our culture might have kept us
from recognizing?
Prioritize the issues
Validate the strategic issues with top leadership
Strategic Planning Process
16
Setting Goals and Strategies
Strategic Planning Worksheet
Goal
An expression of a broad result or end state to be achieved
Types of Goals:
 Performance
 Maintenance
 Development
Goal Characteristics:
 Goals define a future state of affairs that the organization seeks to realize
 Goals are broad, visionary, anticipated outcomes
 Goals are long-term in nature
 Goals should be both challenging, yet realistic
 Goals may be linked to a higher authority
 Goals can define the outcome of addressing a strategic issue
Strategy
Pattern of purposes, policies, programs, actions, decisions, and/or resource allocations that
further the mission and goals of the organization.
A strategy outlines an organization's response to the fundamental challenges it faces.
It can be thought of as an extension of the mission/goal, a bridge between the organization and
its environment.
Different Strategy Levels:
 Grand strategies for the organization
 Sub-unit
 Program, service, or business process
 Functional
Organizational goals and strategies typically cross-functional boundaries in an agency.
Strategic Planning Process
17
Process
The strategic planning core team reviews each strategic issue and determines what strategic
organizational responses are necessary to address the issue. The responses can be in the form of
goals or strategies, but ultimately particular goals should be identified.
Questions regarding Goal and Strategy Development:
1. What alternatives do we have, given our knowledge of the SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses,
Opportunities, and Threats) analysis, to address the goal (or strategy)?
2.
Can we build on strengths and opportunities, and minimize weaknesses and threats?
3.
What barriers prevent us from accomplishing the goal or strategy?
4.
What (goal) is the desired outcome to addressing this strategic issue?
5.
How (strategy) can the desired outcome best be accomplished?
6. Discuss, organize, merge, and cluster the goals (and corresponding strategies) into categories:
 Operations/service delivery
 Human resources
 Organization/management
 Technology/facilities
Considerations in finalizing Goals and Strategies:
 Acceptability to key decision-makers, stakeholders, and opinion leaders
 Acceptance by the general public
 Client or user impact
 Relevance to the issue
 Consistency with mission, values, philosophy, and culture
 Coordination or integration with other strategies, programs, and activities
 Technical feasibility
 Cost and financing
 Cost effectiveness
 Long term impact
 Risk assessment
 Staff requirements
 Flexibility or adaptability
 Timing
 Facility requirements
 Training requirements
Organizational accountability, usually at high levels, should be assigned for the accomplishment
of goals and strategies. One variation is to make the Strategic Planning Team that point of
responsibility.
Strategic Planning Process
18
Developing Objectives and Action Plans
Strategic Planning Worksheet
Objective
A statement of a specific, measurable result to be achieved within a given time period.
Objectives are subsets of goals, often assigned to different functions, to accomplish a broad goal.
Objectives are:
 Specific
 Measurable within a time period
 Clear
 Challenging
 Accomplishable
 Provide a focus of work effort
 Take into account available resources
 Are linked with broader goals
Objectives are stated in terms of results to be achieved.
Action Plans
Action Plans: specific designs as to how a work effort will be implemented, usually to
accomplish an objective.
A comprehensive action plan has:
 Specific expected results, objectives, and milestones.
 Roles and responsibilities of implementation groups and members
 Specific action steps
 Schedules
 Resource requirements and sources
 Communications process
 Review and monitoring process
 Accountability process and procedures.
Strategic Planning Process
19
Process
1. The strategic planning core team assigns organizational goals and strategies to teams made
up of the appropriate functions which have a role in accomplishing those goals and strategies.
2.
Cross-functional teams set specific objectives to accomplish organizational goals/strategies.
A typical team would have members from those functions that have some role in
accomplishing a goal/strategy. The benefit of engaging members from across organizational
boundaries is that they better understand their role vis a vis other functions, and can better
coordinate their particular roles.
3.
Specific objectives are established, and action plans are defined for each objective.
4. The further down in the organization this process occurs, the better ownership it will have. It
will also better reflect "real world" implementation capacity.
Strategic Planning Process
20
Strategic Plan Components
Strategic Planning Worksheet
Components
Cover design
Letter of transmittal
Table of contents
Executive summary
Introduction
Mission statement
Vision of success
Values
Summary of Organizational and Environmental Assessments
Strategic issues
Goals/strategies
Objectives
Action plans
Attachments
There are many variations to the components of a strategic plan. This identifies primary areas in
a logical sequence.
Strategic Planning Process
21
Implementation & Evaluation
Strategic Planning Worksheet
Implementation & Evaluation
Implementation guidelines
1. Link the strategic plan to the budget development process should follow the completion of
the strategic plan. The strategic plan should form the foundation for the annual budget. The
budget should be driven by the strategic plan.
2.
Market the strategic plan. All members of the organization should know how their roles and
performance fit into the strategic plan. It is also important that employees have a broad sense
of organizational direction, and the strategic plan provides that.
3. Share the final strategic plan with all stakeholders who assisted in its development. This
provides them with feedback, and helps to get buy-in and support for the plan by
stakeholders. It is also an opportunity to get their reaction to the plan.
Evaluation Guidelines
1. The strategic planning team should assure that there are effective, consistent, and meaningful
accountability measures in place that assure the action plans are being accomplished within
the time periods defined.
2. Monthly or quarterly reporting on action plans and objectives will help to both keep an
organizational focus on the plan as well as to monitor progress. The reporting of results
should reach the highest levels of the organization. Specific responsibility should be
designated for reporting.
3. The strategic planning team should follow-up with those person/s units assigned
responsibility to accomplish objectives and action plans. This is a means to identify any
problems and is also a good organizational follow-through to demonstrate the importance of
those objectives and action plans.
4. The strategic planning team should meet regularly to determine if the strategic issues that
prompted the goals, objectives, and action plans are still the same. Given the changing
environment, mid-course corrections may be required to stay on target.
Strategic Planning Process
22