These are slides from a workshop on Strategic Planning I did with my management team of about a dozen managers during our annual retreat.

1. Strategic Planning for
MRDC Head Start
Management Retreat 2004
Ocean City, MD

2. What do we want this
to help us do?
♦ What are the reasons we give for doing
this?
♦ What are the benefits of planning?
April 29, Nadine Owens
2004 Burton

3. What is the desired future of our
role in the community?
♦ What is our vision of where MRDC Head
Start is going?
♦ What issues will we consider for our future
attention?
April 29, Nadine Owens
2004 Burton

4. Critical Issues
♦ What are the critical issues…
In our community
In our agency
In our program
That our planning process should
include
or avoid
April 29, Nadine Owens
2004 Burton

5. Choosing the scope of the plan
♦ The Nation
– Our State
• Our Community
– All CAA’s
• Our Agency
- Our Program
- Your Service Area
April 29, Nadine Owens
2004 Burton

6. How MRDC Head Start Fits Into
Other Goals
♦ The CAA/ROMA Framework
♦ HHS/ACF goals
♦ Local (City and County) Goals
April 29, Nadine Owens
2004 Burton

7. BIG WORK
♦ Our Vision for the program
♦ The Purpose of the agency
♦ The Values that will guide us as we plan
and operate our program
♦ The Mission of our CAA
April 29, Nadine Owens
2004 Burton

8. Values Scan
♦ Personal values of the team
♦ Values of the organization as a whole
♦ Organization’s operating philosophy
♦ Organization’s culture
♦ The values of the organization’s
stakeholders
April 29, Nadine Owens
2004 Burton

9. Mission Formulation
♦ MRDC Mission
♦ Head Start Mission
♦ We Prepare Children and Their Families for
the Future
April 29, Nadine Owens
2004 Burton

10. Mission Formulation
♦ WHAT WHO HOW WHY
– What  Client Needs; Services (Service Areas)
– Who  Clients or Client Groups (low-income)
– How  Activities; Technologies
(Implementation Plans)
– Why  Reason for being
April 29, Nadine Owens
2004 Burton

11. Readiness for Strategic Planning
♦ Effective Strategic Planning Takes TIME!!!
– Actual Process
– Board and PC informed on a regular basis
– Data collected and processed
April 29, Nadine Owens
2004 Burton

12. BIG WORK
♦ Environmental Scan
– Community Needs Assessment
– Self-Assessment
– SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities
and Threats)
April 29, Nadine Owens
2004 Burton

13. Environmental Scan
♦ Macro
– The Economy
– Technology
– Political Landscape
– Broad Societal Changes
♦ Industry
– Child Care as a whole
– Head Start Nationally
April 29, Nadine Owens
2004 Burton

14. Environmental Scan (cont’d)
♦ Competitive
– Local Child Care
– Public School
♦ Internal-MRDC Head Start
– Structure of the organization
– Staff
– SWOT
– Systems and day-to-day planning
– Quality and Quantity Issues
April 29, Nadine Owens
2004 Burton

15. Realities and Trends
♦ Demographics
♦ Political
♦ Economic
♦ Technological
♦ Cultural
♦ Social Values
♦ Other
April 29, Nadine Owens
2004 Burton

16. Organizational (Internal)
♦ Strengths
♦ Weaknesses
The internal analysis of the organization; the
performance audit. Organizations need to
avoid overstating strengths and not honestly
identifying weaknesses.
April 29, Nadine Owens
2004 Burton

17. Overall (External)
♦ Opportunities
♦ Threats
The performance audit must also include
information about outside forces. It must include
current and future trends. Remember that changes
can be either or both.
April 29, Nadine Owens
2004 Burton

18. Gap Analysis
“The moment of truth”
“Where do we stand?”
If after the performance analysis (self
assessment; PRISM) there are no identified
gaps between current performance of the
organization and the successful realization of
the strategic model (Performance Standards;
QIP) then the team did not reach deep enough.
April 29, Nadine Owens
2004 Burton

19. Program Goals, Objectives and
Activities
♦ Goals
– Describe the results that will be produced in a
multi-year time frame, 3 to 5 years
♦ Objectives
– Are related to each goal
– One or more objectives per goal; usually
limited to progress that will be made in one
year.
– “Action Plan” for the year
April 29, Nadine Owens
2004 Burton

20. Program Goals, Objectives and
Activities
♦ Activities
– To accomplish the objectives
– Objectives and activities are the place where
the WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE, WHY
descriptions found in most grant application
might fit into the strategic plan.
April 29, Nadine Owens
2004 Burton

21. Feedback Mechanisms
♦ We must describe the feedback mechanisms that
are linked to our goals and objectives
– Performance measures
• Results and Outcome Measures
• Related to either goal of objective
– Data Collection and use
• How PIR and other reporting requirements fit with the
elements of our plan
– Monitoring and assessment
• On-going monitoring; self assessment; triennial review. How
will these be used to improve the program and the future
planning process
April 29, Nadine Owens
2004 Burton

22. Budget
♦ The inter-relationship between the strategic
plan, the annual operating budget and the
grant application(s).
April 29, Nadine Owens
2004 Burton

23. Putting the Head Start Goals into
the Framework
♦ Create Goals for each of the content areas of the
PRISM Framework
– Child Dev and Health Services
• Prevention and Early Intervention; Individualization;
Disabilities; Curriculum and Assessment; Child Outcomes
– Family and Community Partnerships
• Family Partnership Building; Parent Involvement; Community
Partnerships
– Program Design
• Program Governance; Planning; Communication; Record-
keeping and Reporting; Ongoing Monitoring; Self-
Assessment; Human Resources; ERSEA; Facilities, Materials,
Equipment, and Transportation.
April 29, Nadine Owens
2004 Burton

24. Putting the Head Start Goals into
the Framework
♦ Go through the ACF Plan, the Performance
Standards, and the IM’s and pull out goal
statements
♦ Go through ACF Plan, PS and IM’s and
pull out outputs/outcomes/results for which
you are held accountable and create
objectives and/or goals to accomplish them
April 29, Nadine Owens
2004 Burton

25. Who do we need?
♦ Who do we need to make our program a
success?
♦ Who do we involve in our planning?
♦ And what do we want them to do?
– Do they bring X to the table, or just show up?
April 29, Nadine Owens
2004 Burton

26. Who do we need? And When?
♦ Policy Council
♦ MRDC Board of Directors
♦ Ethnic Organizations
♦ Faith based organizations
♦ Elected officials
♦ College and Universities
♦ School Districts
♦ Our other community partners
♦ Etc…
April 29, Nadine Owens
2004 Burton

27. Sorting out community input
♦ Focus groups
♦ Surveys
♦ Reports from other agencies
♦ Other?
April 29, Nadine Owens
2004 Burton

28. Exercise in Problem Analysis
♦ Typical Statements made at public
meetings on housing and employment
problems
– Description
– Causes
– Strategies
April 29, Nadine Owens
2004 Burton

29. Strategy Development
♦ A strategy
– Eliminates or reduces the cause(s) of a problem
– Describes a course of action
– Indicates who will be involved in implementing
the strategy
April 29, Nadine Owens
2004 Burton

30. Exercise
♦ To what types of strategies are you drawn?
April 29, Nadine Owens
2004 Burton

31. Selecting Results and Outcome
Measures
ROMA
IM’s
FACES
PRISM
Head Start Performance Standards
Agency Plan
United Way
Local sources
April 29, Nadine Owens
2004 Burton

32. The Planning Process Narrative
(Handout)
Preface
Description of the Head Start Program
Summary if the Proposed planning Process
Major Steps
Existing Vision, Purpose, Values, Mission
Statements
April 29, Nadine Owens
2004 Burton

33. The Planning Process Narrative
Citizen involvement/Community
Groups/Stakeholders
Parent Involvement
Specific Sequence of Steps to be Taken,
Person(s) Responsible, Timetable
April 29, Nadine Owens
2004 Burton

34. Feedback Method for the Future
♦ Carrying the results and outcomes back into
the program planning and operations
– Insuring the plan doesn’t end up back on the
shelf, not used.
– Monitoring for change
• Monthly, quarterly, annually?
– Set a process for updating the plan annually,
or ???
April 29, Nadine Owens
2004 Burton

35. Next Steps?
♦ Ask yourself…
– What are some of the things I should do when I
get back, to get this process moving?
• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5
• 6
April 29, Nadine Owens
2004 Burton

36. Write a Goal
♦ What is a goal for you?
–1
–2
–3
April 29, Nadine Owens
2004 Burton