Plan Strategically
This page offers legal service organizations resources on essential facets of strategic and succession planning.
This page offers legal service organizations resources on essential facets of strategic and succession planning.
What is a Strategic Plan?
An organization's strategic plan serves as a roadmap for the next three to five years to show where an organization is headed, how it will get there, and how it will monitor progress in implementation.
Who should be involved in the process of creating a strategic plan? The board, organization, leadership, and staff, as well as external stakeholders.
A good strategic plan provides clarity internally (to the board, leadership, and staff) and externally (to funders, community partners, and the low-income population) about the organization's mission and its vision and/or values. The plan also identifies the goals to work toward the mission, strategies to achieve the goals, and action steps to implement who will do what and when.
Why Are Strategic Plans Important?
With critical legal needs in mind, the strategic plan:
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Informs the service delivery model
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Guides the organization's priorities and advocacy strategies
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Helps to identify and address gaps in services
In order to maintain momentum toward fully implementing a strategic plan, key individuals should be identified at the beginning. These key people would be responsible for accomplishing action steps. Regular check-ins should also be scheduled to guide any adjustments that may need to be made to the action steps or the schedule.
So where do you start?