Government planning reaches farther than business planning because most strategic plans — whether community cultural plans, regional tourism plans, county plans, or neighborhood development plans — exist outside the realm of any single agency. Therefore, successful planning requires enough authority and resources to assure the plans’ intentions are fulfilled.
Basically, the majority of for-profit planning takes a single entity approach instead of a community or regional scale approach. When you’re planning for a single organization, boundaries, authority, and responsibilities are well defined. When the planning scale expands beyond individual organizations to include a community, different methods are required.
Running a streamlined planning process can be challenging due to various stakeholder groups that are involved. Set your agency up for success by implementing some of the following tips and suggestions:
Identify specific agencies charged with implementation of clear outcomes. Doing so only works if named agencies participate in the planning.
Identify a single, coordinating entity charged with overseeing implementation. In some cases, the coordinating agency or group is created to implement the plan.
Involve respected and representative community and business leaders in your process.
Reconvene the planning steering committee periodically to monitor implementation progress. The expectation of a public accounting for results can be a powerful incentive to act.
Plan for the municipality or county to commission a formal evaluation of the plan two to five years after publication.
Widely distribute a well-designed plan. Describe goals in general terms and actively encourage individual groups and agencies to fulfill the plan as it serves their interests.
Keep the presentation simple and very clear.
