An Overview of Strategic Planning
(or "VMOSA" -- Vision, Mission, Objectives, Strategies, and Action Plans)
From Community Toolbox website:
http://ctb.ku.edu/en/tablecontents/sub_section_examples_1085.aspx?404;http://ctb.ku.edu:80/en/tablecontents
/sub_section_examples_1085.aspx)
Contributed by Jenette Nagy and Stephen B. Fawcett; edited by Bill Berkowitz and Jerry Schultz
Example 1: An example of VMOSA: The Reducing the Risks (RTR) Coalition
The Reducing the Risks (RTR) Coalition discussed below is a community initiative to prevent
teen pregnancy.
The Vision of RTR
The RTR Coalition came together because several members of our community were tired of
seeing teens having children before they were ready. The kids (both teen parents and their
children) suffered from early, unwanted pregnancies. Our community also had a very high rate
of teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases (STD's) among teens. Teen moms weren't
getting proper prenatal care for themselves or their children. Worst of all, however, a lot of
teen parents seemed to have given up hope - they believed that there wasn't much they could
do to change their future.
We wanted our vision to include the voices of all members of our community, including parents
and teens. We met together and worked out the following vision statements to capture our
dream:
"Healthy adolescents"
"Healthy babies"
"Caring parents"
"A community of hope"
"Safe sex"
"Teen power"
"Caring relationships"
The Mission of RTR
Having determined a clear vision for our group, the next step was our mission statement: what
we were going to do and why. We had read our guides on strategic planning - we knew that a
mission statement, like the vision, should still be fairly broad to help attract people to a
common purpose. So at the same meeting we talked about our vision, we also threw out ideas
for a mission statement. We came up with this:
"Our mission is to decrease adolescent pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases in Dade
County through a community-wide effort that will provide education and support to young
people and their families."
Our Objectives at RTR
At our next meeting, we decided to get even more specific about what we would accomplish.
We set measurable and timed objectives. We were trying to come up with things that were
challenging, but also realistic. We ended up with this official looking list of objectives (it's great
to show grantmakers!)
In order to accomplish our mission, RTR has the following objectives which, taken together,
will help us to reach our goal:

By the year 2004, the reported level of sexual abstinence and postponement of initial sexual intercourse
among 12-17 year olds in Dade County will be increased by 20%.

By the year 2004, the reported use of contraceptives among sexually active adolescents 12-17 years old
in Dade County will be increased by 33%.

By the year 2006, the estimated rate of sexually transmitted diseases (STD's) among 12-17 year olds in
Dade County will be reduced by 40%

By the year 2008, the estimated pregnancy rate among 12-17 year olds in Dade County will be reduced
by 25%.
Our Strategies at RTR
The next question (for ourselves and our funders) was, "Your objectives look great - so how are
you going to reach them?" So it was back to the meeting room to brainstorm possible
strategies. We came up with these strategies (intervention components) and more specific
elements:
We will pursue the following strategies to reach the objectives:
1. Provide information and enhance skills

Involve area teachers in graduate-level sex education

Assist local churches to implement parent-child awareness sessions (for example, a series of talks might
be given discussing how to talk to your preteen about sex)
2. Enhance services and support

Extend supervised after-school activities in the schools and youth organizations
3. Modify access, barriers, and opportunities

Establish a school-centered clinic at the middle schools and high schools to increase access to
contraceptives for teens that choose to be sexually active
4. Change the consequences of efforts

Provide incentives, such as public recognition ceremonies, for adults and youth who contribute to
efforts to reduce teen pregnancy
5. Modify policies

Include comprehensive sex education in the curriculum of kindergarten through grade 12, including
information on abstinence, sexual decision making skills, and family planning and contraception at ageappropriate times
A sample of the RTR Action Plan
We at RTR know that we can't solve a problem like teen pregnancy alone. We believe that
involving all of the different parts (also called sectors) of Dade County is the best way to reduce
the risks of teen pregnancy. We envision our coalition as a focal point where all of the sectors in
the community - schools, religious organizations, health organizations, for example - can come
together to create something larger.
Action committees for each of these sectors - for example, a schools action committee, a
business action committee - met together to create lists of proposed changes in the community
- new programs, policies, and practices to reduce risk. For each change, we completed a sheet
of "action steps". However, we didn't stop there with our action plan. Knowing how often we
forget things, put them off, or don't get all the support we need at any given time, we put
together a form, which we handed out at meetings to see how committees were doing. This
data sheet served three purposes: it let us know how action groups were doing, we got an
(early) chance to help if it was needed, and it served as a gentle reminder for coalition members
to follow up on what they had agreed to do.
Here's a sample from the action plan:
Action Step
Person(s)
Date
Responsible Completed
(what will be done)
(by whom)
Design survey to
measure student
knowledge, attitudes,
and behavior related to
sexual issues
Collaborators
(at what costs)
(who else should
know about this)
(by when)
Dr. Jacobsen By
December
15, 2006
Meet with school district Tamika
Resources Required
Assistance with research (1 to 2 Board of directors
volunteers @ 8-10 hrs. each),
Photocopying (approx. $15 for
drafts of survey)
By January
None
Board of directors
officials to discuss when Bennett
and how survey will be
administered
Administer survey
Tamika
Bennett
30, 2007
By March 1, Photocopying (approx. $75 for
entire survey), assistance with
2008
administering survey (5 to 10
volunteers @ 1 hr. each); 1 - 2
hrs. school time
Survey committee
(Joe Davis, Huong Ly,
Lisa Polchak, Marc
Wilkerson)