Strategic planning

Strategic planning is a vital component of successful performance. Done well, it helps pool the wisdom and aspirations within your organisation, and charts a robust way forward. It’s a process that can be used by work teams, departments and the whole organisation.

Four young men in a modern office, two sitting on a blue couch with laptops, one sitting on a rolling chair with a laptop, and one standing near a whiteboard with sticky notes, paper, and writing, engaging in a team discussion.

We focus on collaborative planning that actively engages those involved.

Simple and clear processes, that are owned by those undertaking the strategic planning.

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We’ve run strategic planning sessions with government, for-profit and not-for-profit organisations.

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Our strategic planning model

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At the Groupwork Centre, we have a passion for clear and simple strategic planning support in Melbourne that involves the people who are going to implement them.

We work with organisations to develop plans in a participatory manner so that individuals can connect their day to day activities with the strategic plan in a practical and clear way.

We generally guide organisations through a process that addresses the top five elements below. Where requested, we can also assist in the development of operational plans, which sit at level six and seven below.

How would we like the world to be?
(The organisation’s over-arching vision.)
What is our contribution to the vision?
(What is our part in reaching the vision?)
What practical statements guide the way we work?
(Principles are ‘values in action’.)
What do we aim to achieve?
These aims can be arranged into three core areas.
- Our core work
- How we influence others
- How we collaborate together
How we achieve our aims.
The specific strategie required to achieve our objectives.
Specific project/actions will sit under each strategy.
Individual work plans to meet our strategies.

Why ownership matters

Designing your strategic planning process

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All too often strategic plans are complicated and seen as remote and ineffective by the people who are meant to implement them. They may use complex formats that are and hard to understand. Often the people who are required to implement the plan are not included in its preparation. Such plans can be tokenistic, not owned and relegated to ‘the bottom draw’.

At Groupwork Centre, we have a passion for clear and simple strategic planning that is owned by those who carry them out. To do this, we need to involve the people who are going to implement them. It is essential they are developed in a collaborative manner, where people are ‘in on the ground floor’. This approach, combined with a simple clear process, builds genuine ownership.

Our strategic planning approach can be delivered in two days and anywhere up to 18 months in Melbourne or Online. Depending on the organisation and needs, we work with you to consider the following elements in the design of the strategic planning process.

The bigger the group the more complex the design process.
The way strategic planning is designed is unique to every organisation. Some organisations will want to do their Strategic plan in 2 days (this may work for small community based organisations), others will want a longer more intentional iterative process, and or they may have stakeholder networks they want to engage with throughout the process. Understanding the breadth and depth of the process is critical here.
What values and principles will be important to guide us in the design of the Strategic Planning process?”
How did our last strategic plan serve us? How was the design process? What worked? Where was there room for improvement? What lessons do we want to take forward?
What do we need to know about our internal and external environment to inform our next strategy?
How will this information be gathered and shared?
Who needs to be involved, at what points in the process are they involved and what roles will they have?
Board, external stakeholders, executive team, subject matter experts, operations staff, others
What's the budget? What are our limitations? What can be done in-house and what should be done by the consultant?
Start and finish dates
Milestones (ie Board meetings or all staff meetings ect)
Are there any deadlines that need to be met?
Organisations may want to consider strengthening their organisational culture and practices to support the successful implementation of the strategic plan over time. Groupwork Centre can work with you to diagnose what's needed. This can be considered at the beginning of the process or further down the track.

We have developed our own approach to strategic planning. This collaborative model has a strong track record of helping organisations create well-owned plans, which are easy to understand, and ready to implement.

A key component of our strategic planning model is that it ‘sits’ on the solid foundation of why the organisation does its work. This helps articulate the driving forces behind an organisation. Once these keystones are in place, we can build a strong strategy to achieve the organisation’s aims.

Why work with our strategic planning team?