Strategic Planning and

Project Management
By
Alphonse Kasange
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0777765877
 Strategic Planning
(what is it? How do you do it?)

Session Objective: To appreciate strategic planning as a tool for project

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 What is Strategic Planning?
• “Strategic planning is the process by which members of an
organization envision its future and develop the necessary procedures
and operations to achieve that future.”
Strategic planning begins with the desired-end and works
backward to the current status.
At every stage of strategic planning, the question is “What must
be done at the previous stage to reach here?”

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 What is Strategic Planning?
Strategic planning looks at the wider picture.
Strategic planning requires the organization to examine what it is
and the environment in which it is working.
Strategic planning also helps the organization to focus its attention
on the crucial issues and challenges. It, therefore, helps the
organization's leaders decide what to do about those issues and
challenges.
Therefore organizations have to think strategically.

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 Key questions that can help
• What is our goal/purpose?
• What key problems, causes and solutions do we exist to address?
• What are past, current and possible future trends?
• What are the key opportunities and threats we face? (Where is greatest
leverage? Where is greatest risk?)
• What will it take? What are possible courses of action?
• What are the implications of these choices?
• What criteria will we use to choose and evaluate a course of action?
• How does our plan intersect with other goals/plans?
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 Key Considerations
• Competencies and Skills (organization’s strengths and weaknesses).
• Products and Offerings (Product, service, price and image bundles,
etc.).
• Environment and Industry (Overall economic context, the regulatory
or governmental environment, structure of the industry, position).
• Markets and Customers (Target customers; their needs and how the
company is uniquely suited to meet these particular needs).

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 Key Considerations
• Competitors & Substitutes (Nature of competition in industry,
organizations with offerings that could meet the same needs).
• Suppliers and Buyers (other organizations needed to work with, their
relative power compared with us, their strategies and strengths, and
are these aligned with ours).

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 Is Strategic Planning important?
• Helps improve program effectiveness and management accountability
by focusing on results.
• Enables managers to improve service by developing a plan to meet
objectives and providing information on program results & service
quality.
• Improves effectiveness and efficiency of operations.
• Allows organizations to be proactive rather than reactive.
• Helps to increase market share and profitability.

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 Is Strategic Planning important?
• Its a basis for monitoring and evaluation.
• Enables an organization focus its energy and resources.
• Helps evaluate and modify an organization's direction in response to a
changing environment.
• Helps to ensure that member participants are working toward a
common goal (set up a sense of direction).

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 Key Components of a Strategic Plan
A strategic plan may include the following elements.
• Vision (Our aspiration)
• Mission (Why the organization exists)
• Objectives (Results the organization amins to achieve)
• Strategy (Long term plan to achieve objectives)
• Approach (Methodology for executing the long term plan)
• Tactics (Smaller focused action plans)

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 How Strategic Planning is done
The following questions can guide the process of strategic planning.
i. What do we currently do?
ii. Where are we now?
iii. For whom do we do it?
iv. Where are we going?
v. How can we excel?
vi. How will we get there?

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 How Strategic Planning is done
After an organisation decides to engage in strategic planning, the
following initial steps can be embarked on:
i. List some of the main issues that face the organization.
ii. Decide when the plan should be adopted.
iii. Set aside some time for the planning process.
iv. Decide if a facilitator would be helpful.
v. Decide who should be involved and how they should be involved in
planning.
vi. Find a place for the planning meetings to occur.
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Strategic Planning Cycle

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Strategic Planning Cycle

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 Strategic Planning Approaches
1. The Situation-Target-Path/Proposal approach
a) Situation:
• Evaluate the prevailing situation and how it came about.
• This is similar to “where are we now?”
• What is our mission? (reason for existence, what do we do to achieve
the vision).
• What customers do we serve?
• What are our guiding principles or values? (what do we stand for or
believe in?).
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 Strategic Planning Approaches…
• Mandate – what we are ‘legally’ supposed to do. This can be part
of external environment (regulations).
• Situation analysis may include internal strategic factors (S&W)
attributed to the organization and the external factors beyond the
control of the organization (O&T).
• Factors assessed include Markets, Competition, Technology,
Supplier market, Labor markets, Economy, Regulatory environment
etc.
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 Strategic Planning Approaches…
• Other tools that may be used for the external environment
include:
 PEST(EL) analysis (Political, Economic, Social and
Technological)…Ecological and Legal.
 STEER analysis (Social Cultural, Technological, Economic,
Ecological, Regulatory).
 Stakeholder analysis

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 Strategic Planning Approaches…
b) Target:
• Define goals/objectives (Ideal state)
• This is similar to “where are we going?”
• What will our organization look like in future (ideal)?
• How will the people I serve be in future?
• These constitute the vision of the organization it serves ( A picture of
desired future). It is not a process/strategy but an end result e.g. A
community free from malaria.
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 Strategic Planning Approaches…
c) Path:
• Map a possible route to the goals/objectives.
• Akin to responding to the question ‘How will we get there?’
• This is the most comprehensive part and the core of the strategic
plan.
• There are a number of ways to achieve the vision, but choosing the
right one determines how successful you will be.

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 Strategic Planning Approaches…
Path: Strategic objectives
• Long-term, continuous strategic areas that help you connect your
mission to your vision. Normally arranged along thematic areas
like health, human rights, agriculture production etc.
• Explains how you travel to your final designation (detailed); also
called roadmap.
• Strategy should build an organizational reputation and
recognizable industry position.

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 Strategic Planning Approaches…
Path: Short term goals/priorities/initiatives
• Convert strategic objectives into specific performance targets.
• What are the 1-to-3 year goals you are trying to achieve to
reach your vision?
• What are your specific, measurable, and realistic targets of
accomplishment?
• Effective goals clearly state what you want to accomplish,
when you want to accomplish it, how you’re going to do it,
and who’s going to be responsible.
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 Strategic Planning Approaches…
Path: Action plans
• Plans that set specific steps that lead to implementing your goals.
Include start and end dates, resources, responsible personnel.
• Are your action items comprehensive enough to achieve your
goals?
• If your strategic plan fails to define what the management team
does every day, then it needs good action steps. ‘We’ll foster a
culture of accountability’….Very vague

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 Strategic Planning Approaches…
Path: Monitoring and Evaluation plan
• Capture how the plan will be monitored, and by whom.
• Capture some performance indicators (Logical framework can
suffice).

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 Strategic Planning Approaches…
Path: Implementation/Execution
• Identify issues that surround who manages and monitors the plan
and how the plan is communicated and supported.
• How committed are you to implementing the plan to move your
organization forward?
• Will you commit money, resources, and time to support the plan?
• Tools include budgets (activity or thematic), implementation plans,
monitoring and evaluation plan.

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 Strategic Planning Approaches…
2. The Draw-See-Think-Plan approach
i. Draw: What is the ideal image or the desired end state?
ii. See: What is today’s situation? What is the gap from the ideal?
iii. Think: What specific actions must be taken to close the gap?
iv. Plan: What resources and steps are needed to execute the
‘plan’?

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 Strategic Direction: Vision, Mission
and Core Values
• A vision statement is the organization’s road map, indicating what it
wants to become by setting a defined direction for its growth. It is a
desired dream to be achieved by the organization.
• UMI’s Vision: “To be a world class management development
institute”
• Characteristics:
Should be ambitious, above the strategic plan,
Should be inspiring,
Should spell out ends not means.

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 Strategic Direction…
• A mission statement is a brief description of why an organization
exists. It explains what the company does, who it serves, and what
differentiates it from competitors. A written declaration of an
organization's core purpose and focus.
• UMI’s Mission: “To excel in developing practical and sustainable
administration, leadership and management capacity”
• Characteristics: Should clearly state purpose of organization, Should
meet needs of clients or organization, Should be supported and
vetted by all stakeholders

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 Strategic Direction…
• Core values are fundamental beliefs upon which an organization and
its behavior are based. They represent your deeply held beliefs and
your highest priorities. They are principles that guide an
organization's internal conduct as well as its external relationships –
and especially customers.
• UMI’s core values: Customer focus, Integrity, Innovativeness,
Teamwork, Equity.
• Characteristics: Should communicate what members hold important,
Should stand the test of time, universal in nature, Developed in
support and consultation with stakeholders.
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 Strategic Planning Steps
1. Participant Selection
2. Core Ideology [Core Values & Purpose development]
3. Vision and Mission development
4. Goals and Objectives
5. Performance Audit - SWOT
6. Gap Analysis
7. Contingency Planning – Worst and best case scenarios.
8. Integrated functional plans – Action Steps/Detailed Plans
9. Implementation Considerations
10. Monitoring And Evaluation
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 End

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