Strategic Planning

JGA’s Strategic Planning Process

The strategic planning process is an opportunity to chart your organization’s course for the future. True to our tradition of creating custom solutions, we help our clients create a tailored strategic planning process to best meet their specific needs.

At JGA, we believe in strong, sequential, and customized planning – grounded in solid communication and enhanced by consensus building, both with internal and external constituents. When JGA enters into a strategic planning process, we view ourselves as partners in your organization’s ultimate success. As such, we commit ourselves to providing authentic, insightful, and efficient facilitation that will allow your team to produce a quality, actionable strategic plan.

You can expect that a JGA-led strategic planning process will typically include the following core elements:

1. Creating a strategic planning committee

It is important for the strategic planning process to be led by a strong volunteer and staff group. We help clients identify the best structure for the planning process at their organization. This includes the creation of a strategic planning committee that is representative of the organization’s key stakeholders.

2. Assessing the current state of the organization

JGA helps clients assess the outcomes of the most recent plan and leads a discussion to build consensus around the most critical issues facing the organization today. JGA also leads clients in an environmental scan to understand the context for the planning process.

3. Developing specific elements of the plan

The core of the planning process is the sequential development of the strategic plan elements, beginning with the overarching goals and progressing through the more detailed and measurable objectives and tactics. These are then further developed into action steps with specific metrics, timelines, and assignments.

4. Testing elements of the plan with a broader audience

At some point in the strategic planning process, JGA recommends clients test some or all of the strategic plan with a broader audience beyond the organization. We create methods to test the goals and objectives with key stakeholders during the planning process so that we are certain to get an external perspective on the planning process in real time.

5. Developing supporting materials

JGA assists clients to develop materials that support the implementation of the strategic plan. These frequently include budgets, development plans, facilities plans, and other organizational infrastructure planning.

6. Approving the plan

JGA guides the planning process so the board of directors is informed each step of the way prior to being asked to approve the plan. Board approval should not be taken lightly – the board is approving the road map for the future.