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Handout (Section 2.2) Strategic planning worksheet
International HIV/AIDS Alliance Strategic Resource Mobilisation Workshop
It is important that this worksheet is completed to identify your organisation’s mission, goals and objectives before an Alliance strategic resource mobilisation workshop. This is necessary as the workshop will focus on mobilising resources to meet the needs of the organisation. It is therefore important to know what your organisation plans to do in the future. In some cases your organisation may already have a written strategic plan – or you may know the relevant information discussed below but not have it written down. The most important thing is for you to have the relevant information – as described below – on hand during the workshop. Ideally the worksheet should be completed before the workshop with a number of people from within your organisation to gain an overall perspective. Remember to bring the information with you to the workshop!
Introducing strategic planning
What is a strategic plan?
Not all organisations prepare strategic plans. However, most organisations can say what they want to do and how they are going to try to do it. The process of planning and organising this information is essentially what we mean by strategic planning.
A strategic plan is both a tool to plan the future work of an organisation as well as a way of recording this information for future reference. It should be realistic and achievable, and usually maps out the organisation’s work for three to five years. A strategic plan organises the work into different levels so that it is clear how all the work is linked and what will be done to achieve the mission of the organisation.
This diagram shows one way of thinking how these levels link:
[Diagram, which is included in the PDF of this section, but is not shown here, has boxes for “Vision”, “Mission”, and then beneath those “Goal 1”, “Goal 2”, “Goal 3”. Each Goal then has linked to it a couple of Objectives, each of which then has a linked Strategy and linked to that an Activity.]
It is useful to try and prioritise the order of the goals in a strategic plan in relation to their importance in helping to achieve an organisation’s overall mission. The objectives under each goal can also be written in priority order.
The number of goals may vary but it is likely to be between two and five. Similarly, each goal can have more than two objectives but should remain within an achievable number.
Some organisations also identify ‘strategies’ under their objectives which describe the methodologies that will be used to achieve the objectives. Strategies are useful components of both a strategic plan and helpful for developing resource mobilisation action plans. However, if your organisation has not already identified strategies, note that they are not essential for the workshop or process. Specific activities describe in detail how the strategy will be implemented.
Writing a strategic plan
1. What is an organisational vision?
Some organisations have a vision as well as mission, goals and objectives. The vision of an organisation is more idealistic and broader than the mission. It states ideals about the social situation the organisation is concerned about. The vision is therefore the ideal that the organisation hopes to contribute to rather than an achievable aim for the organisation. The vision often includes, or is supported by, the values of an organisation.
Fictitious example: Philippines Foundation for People Living with HIV/AIDS (PFPA)
Vision: The peoples of the world must work together to build effective responses to HIV, which in turn both contribute to – and are supported by – broader health, development and human rights goals and aspirations.
2. What is an organisational mission?
A mission statement can be one sentence or a paragraph of text which clearly states why the organisation exists and what it hopes to achieve overall. Mission statements often express how an organisation hopes to improve a social situation through its work.
Fictitious example: Philippines Foundation for People Living with HIV/AIDS (PFPA)
Vision: The peoples of the world must work together to build effective responses to HIV, which in turn both contribute to – and are supported by – broader health, development and human rights goals and aspirations.
Mission: To increase the quality of life of Filipinos living with HIV/AIDS, their family and friends.
3. What are strategic goals?
The strategic goals of an organisation divide the organisation’s mission into a few key distinct areas of work. Goals can be programmatic or organisational. Programmatic goals describe the key areas of impact the organisation aims to achieve to address the overall mission. Organisational goals describe significant changes in the organisation that will help it achieve its mission.
Fictitious example: Philippines Foundation for People Living with HIV/AIDS (PFPA)
VISION: The peoples of the world must work together to build effective responses to HIV, which in turn both contribute to – and are supported by – broader health, development and human rights goals and aspirations.
MISSION: To increase the quality of life of Filipinos living with HIV/AIDS, their family and friends.
GOAL 1: To reduce the level of stigma against people living with HIV/AIDS, their families and friends in the Philippines.
GOAL 2: To help address the psychological needs of people living with HIV/AIDS, their families and friends in the Philippines.
4. What are strategic objectives
Strategic objectives describe what you plan to do to achieve your goals. They are therefore also either programmatic or organisational in focus according to the goal they relate to. To the extent possible, each objective should describe a distinct area of work so that there are no overlaps between the objectives. As objectives should be achieved within the period of the strategic plan it is important that objectives are SMART. SMART in this toolkit means:
Specific – in stating what will be done
Measurable – to allow monitoring and evaluation
Appropriate – in relation to the organisation’s vision, mission and goals
Realistic – in relation to the organisation’s potential capacity and experience
Time-bound – in relation to when the work will be done.
Fictitious example: Philippines Foundation for People Living with HIV/AIDS (PFPA)
VISION: The peoples of the world must work together to build effective responses to HIV, which in turn both contribute to – and are supported by – broader health, development and human rights goals and aspirations.
MISSION: To increase the quality of life of Filipinos living with HIV/AIDS, their family and friends.
GOAL 1: To reduce the level of stigma against people living with HIV/AIDS, their families and friends in the Philippines.
OBJECTIVE 1: To reduce stigma against people living with HIV/AIDS by the general public by reaching 3 million people with awarenessraising messages in the next 18 months.
OBJECTIVE 2: To reduce stigma against people living with HIV/AIDS by the youth in Manila by reaching 10,000 14-19-year-olds with education programmes over the next two years.
Note: Strategies and activities should be included if your organisation has already identified them.
Action: In preparation for the strategic resource mobilisation workshop, please bring the following information:
Fictitious example: Philippines Foundation for People Living with HIV/AIDS (PFPA)
Three-year strategic plan: 2001 to 2004
Mission: To increase the quality of life of Filipinos living with HIV/AIDS, their family and friends.
Goal 1: To reduce the level of stigma against people living with HIV/AIDS, their families and friends in the Philippines.
Objective 1: To reduce stigma against people living with HIV/AIDS by reaching 3 million people with awareness-raising messages in the next 18 months.
Strategy 1: Use the media as an effective strategy for reaching the general public.
Activity 1: In conjunction with Pinoy Plus, develop and broadcast a television campaign on living positively with HIV/AIDS by working.
Objective 2: To reduce stigma against people living with HIV/AIDS by reaching 10,000 14-19-year-olds with education programmes over the next two years.
Strategy 1: To implement education programmes for both inschool and out-of-school youth in Manila.
Activity 1: To establish a weekly youth club education programme for 14-19-year-olds in Manila.
Source: Raising Funds and Mobilising Resources
This is an extract from Raising funds and mobilising resources for HIV/AIDS work: a toolkit to support NGOs & CBOs, published by the International HIV/AIDS Alliance in June 2002.
To view the whole toolkit follow this link.
To download this section, complete with graphics, in pdf format (which requires Adobe Acrobat software to read it) follow this link (file size 850kb)
International HIV/AIDS Alliance Strategic Resource Mobilisation Workshop
It is important that this worksheet is completed to identify your organisation’s mission, goals and objectives before an Alliance strategic resource mobilisation workshop. This is necessary as the workshop will focus on mobilising resources to meet the needs of the organisation. It is therefore important to know what your organisation plans to do in the future. In some cases your organisation may already have a written strategic plan – or you may know the relevant information discussed below but not have it written down. The most important thing is for you to have the relevant information – as described below – on hand during the workshop. Ideally the worksheet should be completed before the workshop with a number of people from within your organisation to gain an overall perspective. Remember to bring the information with you to the workshop!
Introducing strategic planning
What is a strategic plan?
Not all organisations prepare strategic plans. However, most organisations can say what they want to do and how they are going to try to do it. The process of planning and organising this information is essentially what we mean by strategic planning.
A strategic plan is both a tool to plan the future work of an organisation as well as a way of recording this information for future reference. It should be realistic and achievable, and usually maps out the organisation’s work for three to five years. A strategic plan organises the work into different levels so that it is clear how all the work is linked and what will be done to achieve the mission of the organisation.
This diagram shows one way of thinking how these levels link:
[Diagram, which is included in the PDF of this section, but is not shown here, has boxes for “Vision”, “Mission”, and then beneath those “Goal 1”, “Goal 2”, “Goal 3”. Each Goal then has linked to it a couple of Objectives, each of which then has a linked Strategy and linked to that an Activity.]
It is useful to try and prioritise the order of the goals in a strategic plan in relation to their importance in helping to achieve an organisation’s overall mission. The objectives under each goal can also be written in priority order.
The number of goals may vary but it is likely to be between two and five. Similarly, each goal can have more than two objectives but should remain within an achievable number.
Some organisations also identify ‘strategies’ under their objectives which describe the methodologies that will be used to achieve the objectives. Strategies are useful components of both a strategic plan and helpful for developing resource mobilisation action plans. However, if your organisation has not already identified strategies, note that they are not essential for the workshop or process. Specific activities describe in detail how the strategy will be implemented.
Writing a strategic plan
- During the planning section of the resource mobilisation workshop we will be linking resource mobilisation work to your organisation’s mission, goals and objectives (and strategies and activities if you have them). We do this to ensure that your resource mobilisation work is focused and targeted. There is no one right way to develop your strategic mission, goals and objectives; however, the following information may serve as a useful guide. Make sure that you develop a forward-thinking strategic plan rather than one that documents your past activities.
1. What is an organisational vision?
Some organisations have a vision as well as mission, goals and objectives. The vision of an organisation is more idealistic and broader than the mission. It states ideals about the social situation the organisation is concerned about. The vision is therefore the ideal that the organisation hopes to contribute to rather than an achievable aim for the organisation. The vision often includes, or is supported by, the values of an organisation.
Fictitious example: Philippines Foundation for People Living with HIV/AIDS (PFPA)
Vision: The peoples of the world must work together to build effective responses to HIV, which in turn both contribute to – and are supported by – broader health, development and human rights goals and aspirations.
2. What is an organisational mission?
A mission statement can be one sentence or a paragraph of text which clearly states why the organisation exists and what it hopes to achieve overall. Mission statements often express how an organisation hopes to improve a social situation through its work.
Fictitious example: Philippines Foundation for People Living with HIV/AIDS (PFPA)
Vision: The peoples of the world must work together to build effective responses to HIV, which in turn both contribute to – and are supported by – broader health, development and human rights goals and aspirations.
Mission: To increase the quality of life of Filipinos living with HIV/AIDS, their family and friends.
3. What are strategic goals?
The strategic goals of an organisation divide the organisation’s mission into a few key distinct areas of work. Goals can be programmatic or organisational. Programmatic goals describe the key areas of impact the organisation aims to achieve to address the overall mission. Organisational goals describe significant changes in the organisation that will help it achieve its mission.
Fictitious example: Philippines Foundation for People Living with HIV/AIDS (PFPA)
VISION: The peoples of the world must work together to build effective responses to HIV, which in turn both contribute to – and are supported by – broader health, development and human rights goals and aspirations.
MISSION: To increase the quality of life of Filipinos living with HIV/AIDS, their family and friends.
GOAL 1: To reduce the level of stigma against people living with HIV/AIDS, their families and friends in the Philippines.
GOAL 2: To help address the psychological needs of people living with HIV/AIDS, their families and friends in the Philippines.
4. What are strategic objectives
Strategic objectives describe what you plan to do to achieve your goals. They are therefore also either programmatic or organisational in focus according to the goal they relate to. To the extent possible, each objective should describe a distinct area of work so that there are no overlaps between the objectives. As objectives should be achieved within the period of the strategic plan it is important that objectives are SMART. SMART in this toolkit means:
Specific – in stating what will be done
Measurable – to allow monitoring and evaluation
Appropriate – in relation to the organisation’s vision, mission and goals
Realistic – in relation to the organisation’s potential capacity and experience
Time-bound – in relation to when the work will be done.
Fictitious example: Philippines Foundation for People Living with HIV/AIDS (PFPA)
VISION: The peoples of the world must work together to build effective responses to HIV, which in turn both contribute to – and are supported by – broader health, development and human rights goals and aspirations.
MISSION: To increase the quality of life of Filipinos living with HIV/AIDS, their family and friends.
GOAL 1: To reduce the level of stigma against people living with HIV/AIDS, their families and friends in the Philippines.
OBJECTIVE 1: To reduce stigma against people living with HIV/AIDS by the general public by reaching 3 million people with awarenessraising messages in the next 18 months.
OBJECTIVE 2: To reduce stigma against people living with HIV/AIDS by the youth in Manila by reaching 10,000 14-19-year-olds with education programmes over the next two years.
Note: Strategies and activities should be included if your organisation has already identified them.
Action: In preparation for the strategic resource mobilisation workshop, please bring the following information:
- Your organisation’s mission
- Your organisation’s strategic goals
- Your organisation’s strategic objectives relating to each of the goals
- Your organisation’s strategies and activities relating to each objective (if you already have them)
Fictitious example: Philippines Foundation for People Living with HIV/AIDS (PFPA)
Three-year strategic plan: 2001 to 2004
Mission: To increase the quality of life of Filipinos living with HIV/AIDS, their family and friends.
Goal 1: To reduce the level of stigma against people living with HIV/AIDS, their families and friends in the Philippines.
Objective 1: To reduce stigma against people living with HIV/AIDS by reaching 3 million people with awareness-raising messages in the next 18 months.
Strategy 1: Use the media as an effective strategy for reaching the general public.
Activity 1: In conjunction with Pinoy Plus, develop and broadcast a television campaign on living positively with HIV/AIDS by working.
Objective 2: To reduce stigma against people living with HIV/AIDS by reaching 10,000 14-19-year-olds with education programmes over the next two years.
Strategy 1: To implement education programmes for both inschool and out-of-school youth in Manila.
Activity 1: To establish a weekly youth club education programme for 14-19-year-olds in Manila.
Source: Raising Funds and Mobilising Resources
This is an extract from Raising funds and mobilising resources for HIV/AIDS work: a toolkit to support NGOs & CBOs, published by the International HIV/AIDS Alliance in June 2002.
To view the whole toolkit follow this link.
To download this section, complete with graphics, in pdf format (which requires Adobe Acrobat software to read it) follow this link (file size 850kb)