This document summarizes a strategic planning workshop for a university student association. It discusses what strategic planning is, why it's important, and how to develop a strategic plan. The methodology involves environmental scanning, developing a vision and mission, identifying strengths/weaknesses, and creating an action plan. Key aspects of strategic planning include focusing on the future, capturing a vision, managing opportunities/threats, devising strategies, stimulating action, and remaining flexible. Strategic planning helps organizations clarify their purpose and direction.

1. Strategic Planning
Workshop for Strategic Management Students
Association (SMSA)
Moi University, 17th November, 2015
Daniel Were, Sector Specialist,
Peniel Development Consult

2. What is Strategic Planning?
Why Strategic Planning?
What does strategic planning answer?
What is Organizational Inquiry
Defining the Strategic Framework
Strategic Planning Methodology
How to envision the future
Action Planning
CAT
Overview:

3. Strategic planning provides a bridge to the future
The strategic planning process clarifies mission, comes to grips with the
internal and external environments, identifies major issues that demand
response and directs energy and resources towards creative and
positive initiatives
The strategic planning process develops strategic thinking, a prerequisite
for progressive change and improvement
Strategic planning is all about choosing the best goals while
applying visionary leadership to determine the desired future
(Speed and efficiency are not assets when you are travelling down
the wrong road)
 Strategic leaders consistently ask questions about what new thing must
be done today in order to meet the challenges of tomorrow; what
should be done now to be ready for the opportunities that may
come our way next?
Some Facts:

4. Purpose: Planning begins with a clear sense of purpose or
mission with a “predestined” means to achieve the purpose,
called a strategy;
Strategic planning clarifies what an organization is, what it
is trying to achieve and how;
Having or determining a picture of the best desired future,
how that future could look like and the steps to get there;
Developing or a road map to a desired future;
Changing mentalities into longer term thinking, purpose,
cooperation, responsibility and accountability.
What is Strategic Planning?

5. Focus on the future: Planning begins with todays realities, but its
focus must always be on tomorrow’s opportunities
Capture a vision: A healthy dissatisfaction with present conditions is
often the spark that ignites a planning process.
Manage opportunities and threats: Not all changes are negative.
However, we must be wise enough to spot timely and fashionable
changes that are advantegeous to us while guarding against threats and
hazards
Devise effective strategies: Make systematic choices of how to
deploy resources within our means to achieve goals
Stimulate action: Action without planning is aimless, but planning
without action is fruitless.
Anticipate and respond to change: change is a certainty in our
world. So? Plan for change.Always!
Remain Flexible: It is impossible to determine the future clearly
Why Strategic Planning?

6. To affirm the organization … brainstorming
together and agreeing on values.
To discover our best ... What we are best at,
and strengthening the strong points
Clarifying future thinking ... Necessitates a
pause for re-orienting the organization,
considering alternatives, revisiting the vision
Transforming vision into action ... Outlining
the steps to get to the vision, for actualization
Cont …

7. Why does the organization exist? – Responded to through
a mission statement or a statement of purpose;
What gives your organization life and meaning? – the
energizing forces
What does your organization want to do? – This gives
proposals for the future
What does your organization do well? – This gives the
best practices
Where does your organization want to go? – Vision
statement
How will your organization get there? – The response to
that is an action plan.
What does Strategic Planning Answer?

8. Carried out to conduct a Strengths and Weaknessees analysis of
an organization by looking at:
Human resource capital (staff, skills, expertise, etc.)
Management style
Systems (human resources, accounts, information, etc.)
Inputs (human resources, revenue generated, etc.)
Outputs (service delivery, enabling environment, etc.)
Equity and gender balance (addressing existing disparities, etc.)
The environment and resource enquiry:
Examines the organizations relationship with stakeholders and partners
(looking at opportunities and threats)
Scrutinizes the financial situation (what would a favourable situation be
like?What is the fundraising target/strategy?)
Interrogates the political, ecological and social context
Organizational inquiry

9. This include the following aspects that must all fit together:
A clearly stated vision
A clear mission statement
Clear values
Overall goal of the organization
Immediate objectives of the organization
Key result areas on which the organization will focus
An understanding of the gap(s) between where the organization is
(currently) and where you want it to be (future)
The strategic framework gives coherence and clarity to the work of
the organization
Defining the Strategic Framework:

10. The Process of Defining the Strategic Framework
VISION
OVERALL GOAL
IMMEDIATE
OBJECTIVE
KEY RESULT
AREA
ACTION
PLANNING
MISSIONVALUES
PROBLEM
IDENTIFICATION

11. Strategic Planning Methodology Step #1: Identify the factors
affecting your County/
Constituency/ Village
Youth Forum, including
stakeholders’ interests
and concerns
Step #2: Build a
consensus on
specific
organizational
objectives and
outcomes to be
accomplished
Step #3: List the
blocks to
achieving the
desired future
or goals
Step #4: Create
strategies to
overcome the
blocks and
achieve the
desired
objectives
Step #5: Plot out
specific
(immediate)
actions,
assignments
and schedule
implementing
the strategies
1. ENVIRONMENTAL
SCAN
2. VISION
3. OBSTACLES
4. STRATEGIES
5. ACTION
PLANNING

13. 1. Vision Statement – It is a concise expression of the
organization’s best future with the following desirable
characteristics:
Conveys what a people in the organization imagine possible
Must be shared
Is never impossed but is generated, understood, accepted
and lived by all
Broadly describes what the organization aspires to be and
the circumstances it intends to create
Communicates an organizations existance for external
relations
Strategic Orientation for the Organization
(Setting Strategic Goals)

14. Imagine in one or more years the following: (a)
What kind of organization will it be? (b) What will
the organization look like? (c) What will the
organization change?
Review the above questions and responses,
looking for common points.
Summarize all those possibilities presented into
one acceptable statement (that all those
involved can identify with ... And that describes
a state of being)
Drafting aVision Statement

15. Respond to the four questions listed in a previous
slide: why? Who? What? How? Where?
List the responses and take note of the ones that
best capture the purpose, target audience and the
business of the organization
Ensure the statements you create is consistent with
the vision statement
Seek consensus on the draft statement
Present it to other stakeholders and if agreeable,
adopt it as the most suitable organizations mission
statement
Drafting a Mission Statement

16. These are shared values or guiding principles
that underpin your work and relationship as an
organization
They are what individuals believe to be true
about themselves … eg.??
How one believes the world ought to be
There is need to clarify and reach consensus on
an organization’s values as it forms a basis for
making difficult decisions
OrganizationalValues

17. Step #1: Reflect on the vision statement then ask –
what are the values implicit in the vision that guide us as
we contribute towards it?
Step #2: List the values and value statements that come
up
Step #3:Agree in consensus what is shared and taken to
be the organization’s values
Drafting an Organization’sValues:

18. This is a broad response to “how the organization will get
there”
It outlines the practical and achievable action
Reviews the building blocks (inquiries into the organization
including the SWOT, vision, mission, etc)
Highlights of the gaps and strengths identified
Brainstorms and generates a range of specific actions that will
move the organization towards the desired future
From the list of actions we determine and consider: when they
will take place; who will be responsible; what forms of
technical assistance will be required (e.g. human and/or
financial resources, training, partnerships, equipment, etc)
It is presented, validated, endorsed and adopted
Developing the Action Plan

19. It is important to implement the strategic plan as soon
as it is endorsed
Carry out periodic monitoring and evaluation of the
strategic plan to ensure it is within the agreed
framework
Adjust the strategic plan according to the
organizations changing or emerging realities without
altering the vision, mission and goals
Inspire full participation of all parties and stakeholders
in the implementation of the proposed activities to
enhance transparency and accountability
Follow-up Action

20. Problem Coping
Strategy
Level of effectiveness Impact Proposed
Solution
Low Moderate High
Action Planning (Example of monitoring tool
for a climate change project)

21. SP - Samples

22. “It is only when a mosquito lands
on your testicles that you realize
there is always a way to solve
problems without using violence”
- Chinese Proverb

23. 1) Looking at the devolved government structure in your
respective Counties of origin, how do you envisage your future
involvement in addressing youth unemployment issues as a
graduate?
2) List actors, their roles, activities and interventions contributing
to sustainable youth economic empowerment in your County
(considering the prevailing challenges to sustainable peace and
development)
3) Generate a 2-year strategic plan as your guide in handling youth
employment. (NOTETHE KEY PRIORITY AREAS)
CAT

24. Aii … Aii Mayi; Aii Aii …Mayi (x2)
OmwanaWanje
Aii Natembea Tira Omwana Natembea
The Small Frog and the Big Frog