What Should a Strategic Plan Include?
Writing is done most efficiently by one or two individuals that craft the presentation of the group’s ideas. Often an executive director will draft the plan; what matters is that it accurately documents the decisions made, that it represents a shared vision, and that it has the support of those responsible for carrying it out. The guiding principle of participation in the strategic planning process is that everyone who will help execute the plan should have some input into shaping it. A strategic plan is a simply a document that summarizes, in about ten pages of written text, why an organization exists, what it is trying to accomplish, and how it will go about doing so. Its “audience” is anyone who wants to know the organization’s most important ideas, issues, and priorities: board members, staff, volunteers, clients, funders, and peers at other organizations, the press, and the public.
