Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Do you care what outsiders think?

Include all stakeholders in your planning process and infuse your 
organization with collaborative energy.


Leaders are recognizing the value of inclusive planning as a way to build community, both internal and external. They realize that long-range plans rely on support from external as well as internal constituencies.

ODDA offers proven strategies for managing people and data that will lead organizations to create a plan that is not only solid, but also flexible enough to respond to future challenges. We do this by:  
  • Collecting data from a broad range of constituency groups
  • Breaking down institutional barriers
  • Capturing the benefits of community engagement  
These strategies can also build engagement, improve interdepartmental communications and cross-functional collaboration, and strengthen external partnerships. The benefits of an inclusive process will extend beyond the life of the strategic plan.

A Case Study in Collaboration and Community: A Major Regional Museum Develops a New Long-Range Plan

A major regional museum came to ODDA seeking assistance with its new long-range plan. Under the previous five-year plan, it had seen successful expansion of programming; now it was time to identify opportunities to build on its past successes.

Planning the Process

From the beginning, Museum leadership intended to use an inclusive, collaborative strategic planning process. They sought to bring renewed attention to the institution's position and grow the sense of responsibility within the community. ODDA worked with the leadership team to design a planning process that would achieve these goals.

Inviting Input from External Stakeholders

Graphic: keyhole illustrationThe public kick-off of the strategic planning process invited Museum stakeholders: management, staff, volunteers, Board of Trustees, and community partners to generate ideas and form planning teams. The teams explored creative approaches to education, interpretation and technology and collected input from a wide range of internal and external stakeholders. ODDA provided guidance as the planning teams crafted viable strategic initiatives and developed implementation plans that retained and expanded planning and analysis activities already in place. Energy generated by the sense of community at the public kick-off fueled the long hours and hard work contributed by members of the planning teams.
  


Results

This strategic planning process required participants to work across institutional boundaries: directors, curators, trustees and community members all worked together. The initiatives and activities defined in the strategic plan rely on continued collaboration among these groups for success. For the museum, outcomes of the inclusive process included improved interdepartmental communication and cross-functional collaboration within the museum as well as stronger external partnerships and community engagement -- benefits that will last beyond the life of the long-range plan.

The Major Phases of the Inclusive Planning Process 
  1. Public Kick-Off: Generate Ideas
  2. Planing Team Meeting: Select Strategic Themes
  3. Strategic Initiative Teams: Develop Initiatives 
  4. Writing Committee: Write Plan Draft 
  5. Gain Commitment from Community and Board
  6. Train in Roll-Out and Use of Plan
  7. Follow-Up (6-Month and 12-Month)


Is your boss an Abundance or Scarcity Leader?