What Are the Components of a Strategic Plan?

A strategic plan is a high level road map to fulfilling an organisation’s vision and mission. It captures the “big picture” and describes where an organisation is going over the next 3 to 5 years, including how it is going to get there and how it will measure its success in reaching its goals. It is focused on the whole organisation, not just one program or area of work. It takes into account changes, threats, trends and opportunities in the wider environment, feedback from diverse stakeholder groups, and the organisation’s legacy and resources.

The purpose of a strategic plan is to provide a guide to action to ensure staff and members of an organisation are working toward the same goals. It focuses on what is best for the organisation in relation to its mission and vision. The process of strategic planning pushes the organisation to think through what they are doing, who they are doing it for and why they are doing it. It serves as a guide to support proactive and reactive decision-making, a tool to make the best use of human and financial resources and a reference point against which staff and board can evaluate performance.

A strategic plan helps you:

• communicate a clear picture for the future of your organisation;
• anticipate and plan how to respond to vulnerabilities and risks;
• attract strategic and core funding;
• identify and make the most of areas of potential growth.

A strategic plan is not a substitute for ongoing leadership and judgment. A strategic plan anticipates the future, but it does not predict the future, so it needs to be monitored, reviewed and adjusted. It helps guide proactive leadership, but should be adapted as needed when conditions change.

The core components of a strategic plan are:

• Vision statement: The highest-level purpose of your organisation; a description of what the world would look like if you are 100% successful.
• Mission statement: A summary of your organisation’s purpose, the means you will use to achieve it and the core values that guide your work.
• Values: An articulation of the beliefs and principles that guide your organisation; that are shared and strongly held by your board, staff and members; and that define how the organisation treats people and approaches its work.
• Theory of change: A description of the types of interventions or strategies that bring about your desired outcomes.
• Goals: A prioritized list of areas of focus that are key in moving closer to realizing the vision and mission within the timeframe of the strategic plan. Goals should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound (SMART).
• Objectives or Outcomes: A description of the accumulated desired results over the next 3 to 5 years that will be required in order to achieve your goals. These too should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound (SMART).
• Targets or Benchmarks: The desired change expected for each objective, usually expressed as a quantitative measurement. These too should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound (SMART).
• Indicators: What you measure to assess progress towards the target and objective. These can be quantitative (number, percentage, ratio) or qualitative (perception, opinion, level of satisfaction). Indicators help determine whether your goals, objectives and targets are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound (SMART).

Five key questions about your organization’s purpose and activities are answered by your strategic plan:

1. Why do we do what we do? Your vision describes what the world would look like if you are 100% successful in your work. In describing that vision, you are exploring and articulating the challenges you are trying to address. Your theory of change captures why those challenges are important and what you believe you can do to make a difference.

2. What problems or portions of problems are we focused on solving? This might also be framed as “Where will we play?”. What role should your organisation play? Where are your efforts best focused? What values will drive how you approach the problem? This will be captured in your mission, values and theory of change.

3. Where are we going and how will we get there? What specific steps will you take to solve your portion of the problem? Your theory of change, goals and objectives/outcomes will help answer these questions.

4. What capabilities do we need? What skills and abilities does your organisation need—individually and collectively—to create the change you hope to make over the next 3 to 5 years? What gaps are there in the skills and abilities you have when compared to the skills and abilities that you need? How will you address those gaps? Your objectives will help you be clear on this, and your targets/benchmarks will should be framed with your organisation’s realistic capabilities in mind.

5. How will we know if we have succeeded? What actions do you need to take to achieve your goals? What resources do you need? What structures need to be in place? What markers along the way will tell you that you are succeeding? Your indicators will tell you if you have succeeded.