Transcript Slide 1

Effective approaches to strategic planning
Wirral Trustee Network
5 September 2012
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Things we’re going to look at…
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What is strategy and strategic planning?
What trustees need to know and do about strategic planning?
Potential barriers to effective planning.
Planning to plan.
The planning process.
Building blocks of a plan.
Effective approaches to planning.
Getting help and support.
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But first…
What’s your
BIG question
for tonight?
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What is strategy?
• Rooted in the idea of competition.
• Military heritage –from the Greek ‘strategos’ – overcoming an
enemy during combat.
• Focus on competition remains a common feature of business
strategy today.
– Fujifilm famously had a very simple mission statement – “Kill Kodak”
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How does this relate to our world in the voluntary sector?
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Strategy in the voluntary sector
LESS ABOUT…
Outperforming rivals
MORE ABOUT…
Delivering our missions
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What is strategy?
• ‘A broad formula’ not a detailed plan.
• A coherent set of ideas explaining how the
organisation will carry out its mission and pursue its
vision in the year’s ahead.
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What is strategic planning?
• A tool for rethinking and refreshing how an
organisation conducts its business.
• It makes the strategy ‘come to life’.
• Part of a continuous cycle…
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Why do strategic planning?
• Resetting our aspirations and strategy is often the first step to
amplifying our impact.
• It creates a new narrative for all people and all parts of the
organisation – what’s out story?
• It achieves clarity – about who we are, what we do and why
that matters.
• Helps us focus on our “thing” – what is unique and unrivalled
about our approach?
• It achieves consensus about what will and won’t be priorities
for the organisation.
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Why do strategic planning?
• It helps us take account of the world around us – looking
outside at trends, developments and opportunities.
• It helps us look at our structures, systems, processes and
people and think about whether they could be better
organised to achieve a greater impact.
• It identifies how our income, resources, people, activities and
relationships will operate and interrelate.
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Why do strategic planning?
• Once we have a plan we can:
– Stay focussed.
– Avoid distractions and diversions.
– Make better decisions in future when opportunities and
challenges arise.
– Measure and evaluate progress and impact.
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What do trustees need to know?
“Trustees must agree the strategic direction of
the charity which may involve input from the
charity’s staff, and whom are likely to
implement such long-term plans.”
ICSA
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What do trustees need to know?
“An effective charity…has a clear idea of its
mission, and the strategies and steps that it will
take to achieve it, set out in written documents
that are regularly reviewed, giving the charity
focus, direction and clarity.”
Charity Commission – Hallmarks of an effective charity
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What do trustees need to know?
“An effective charity…is able to explain how all
of its activities relate to and support its
purposes, strategy and mission, and benefit the
public.”
Charity Commission – Hallmarks of an effective charity
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What do trustees need to know?
“The board will ensure that the organisation delivers its
stated purposes or aims by:
• Ensuring that organisational purposes remain relevant
and valid
• developing and agreeing a long term strategy
• agreeing operational plans and budgets
• monitoring progress and spending against plan and
budget
• evaluating results, assessing outcomes and impact
• reviewing and/or amending the plan and budget as
appropriate.”
Code of Good Governance: 2nd Edition
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Potential barriers to effective planning
• Too much focus on the plan and not the strategy.
• Planning with too many audiences in mind.
• Not involving the right people in the right way – all parts and
people are interrelated.
• Scepticism about the benefits of planning and being involved.
• Trying to deal with fault-lines or deep-seated problems
through the planning process.
• Not planning to plan.
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What should planning
to plan include?
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Planning to plan
• Number one rule – plan to plan.
• A strategic review needs to be done at the right time and
under the right conditions.
• You need to know what you want to accomplish and what
resources are required.
• You need to create a positive and productive working
environment for the review process…
• …and a safe and supportive environment for tackling complex
and sensitive issues.
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Planning to plan
• Things to consider…
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Is this the right time?
What’s driving our review?
Are we ready?
What big questions do we need a strategic review to
answer?
– What is fixed and where do we have freedom and
flexibility?
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Planning to plan
• Practical activities…
– Detailed analysis
• Trends
• External environment
• Income
– Setting realistic and achievable timescales for the review.
– Try to fix any fault lines or deep-seated problems which
might derail the review.
– Developing processes and criteria for choosing between
alternative ideas and approaches
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Involving others
• Many people are reluctant to involve themselves in activities
that are seen as distractions from day to day delivery.
• People are used to seeing lots of strategies and little change.
• People feel committed to the process and the plan if they can
see their individual role and responsibility in contributing to
its success.
• Involve everyone and make it ok for them to be subjective.
• Go to where people are and fit in with what they’re doing
already.
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Planning process
• Clarification of mission, vision, values
• Review of:
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Current and predicted trends.
Current programmes and services.
Current stakeholder and service-users.
Current income types and sources.
• Assessment and analysis of current market and
competition.
• Identifying your competitive advantage.
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Planning process
• Consideration of:
– Future programmes and services.
– Future stakeholder sand service-users.
– Future income types and sources.
• Creating a strategy statement which is your ‘broad
formula’ from which goals and plans can be
developed.
• Sense check – have we answered our big questions?
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Basic Building Blocks of a plan
Vision
Assessment and
analysis
Mission
Values
Key objectives
Aims/goals
Programme work plans
Project plans
Individual work plans
Performance framework
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Effective approaches to planning
• Think more about strategy and less about a detailed plan.
• It’s a chance to get everyone on the same page.
• The process is critical – you need to be looking outward and
forward.
• Plan to be agile and adaptive.
• Clarity about what needs to be fixed also creates clarity about
where the flexibility can be.
• See it as creating a framework for making decisions in the
future, not just making decisions about the future.
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Getting help from outside
What do you think the
benefits of getting help from
outside might be?
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Getting help from outside
• Facilitating the development and decision making
process.
• Bringing objectivity and a fresh pair of eyes.
• Helping to build consensus among stakeholders with
different perspectives and viewpoints.
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Getting help from outside
• Bringing some sense and order to diffuse and contradictory
issues and ideas
• Providing expert advice – based on detailed involvement with
other organisations in one area of policy.
• Bring specialism in elements of the planning process –
financial modelling.
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Strategy on a shoestring
• Think about what you can do for yourselves.
• Look at what free resources and pro-bono support are
available.
• Can you fit it in with things you’re doing already?
• Think about what you can afford and how that translates into
the time you can buy from someone.
• So…if you can afford two days of consultant time what might
you get them doing?
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Sources of support
• Your local support and development organisation.
• Freelance consultants.
• National bodies:
– NAVCA.
– NCVO.
• Research bodies and universities:
– Third Sector Research Centre.
– Institute for Voluntary Action Research (IVAR).
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NAVCA
• We are the national membership body for local support and
development organisations.
• We strengthen and champion the work of our members in
representing, supporting and developing voluntary and community
action.
• We provide services to voluntary and community organisations and
public bodies. These include consultancy, specialist advice, policy
information, performance improvement support and training and
networking opportunities.
• Email: [email protected]
• Web: www.navca.org.uk
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