Why should your organization plan? To know who you are, what you want to be and have a map for how to get there. Many groups get overwhelmed with all of the possible tasks they could take on and have a hard time saying no to a project that is good, but does not fit their current goals or abilities. A good plan will set your boundaries. The planning process should also engage your board and membership so they are invested in achieving your goals. I recently participated in Putting the Strategy Back in Strategic Planning, a webinar hosted by the Institute for Conservation Leadership. A summary of the webinar is below.
Know who you are
Before you can plan your future you need to know your organization’s current strengths and assets and how they set you apart from your competition. These vary for each group and will change over time. It may be an asset to be the new group in the watershed with a new perspective and no baggage. In other circumstances, being an established and respected group may be a greater advantage. You also need to know which assets are unique to your group and therefore give you a competitive advantage over your competition. This is a great opportunity to engage your partners to see what they think your assets are. Awareness of your strengths and assets will help chose strategies that are best suited for your group.
Know what you want to be
Next you need to know what your organization is trying to achieve. What is the impact you want to make on your watershed, river, or community? It can be as broad as a healthy river system or specific as a reducing the amount of phosphorus entering your river.
Good questions to ask when choosing your desired impact are:
- How will we know success when we achieve it?
- What does success look like, sound like, feel like?
Next you need to determine the method(s) your organization wants to use to achieve your desired impact. Are you going to work alone or with partners? Are you going to use education or advocacy? The typical method categories are service, advocacy, organizing and technical solutions. The chart below from ICL provides a brief explanation of the differences between each method.
Be sure to address any opportunities or threats and consider trends that may impact your organization. They could be demographic changes in your community, fluctuations in the economy or politics or big disruptions like floods and big economic changes. Discuss which will have a significant impact on your organization and which are uncertain.
A map to get there
To set strategies you need to bring in multiple perspectives and allow for creative brainstorming. To narrow down all of the brainstormed strategies, you need to determine criteria that all strategies must meet. Once you select the strategies that will allow you to achieve the impact you want to make, you need to write them down in an easy to follow format. If possible, a one-page document that lists the impact and strategies is best. In your annual plan you can cover the specific details like who will do which tasks when for each of the strategies.
Your group should review the strategic plan periodically; a quarterly review works well for most groups. If some strategies have not taken place yet, discuss why. If circumstance shave changed, you need to ask if the strategies are still relevant and if you need to adjust your plan. You also need to discuss how the plan affects your budget, fundraising, staff, and committees. Connecting the plan to your daily work will help keep it a living document rather than good ideas that sit on a shelf.
If you have questions about planning please contact Allison Werner (awerner@wisconsinrivers.org, 608-257-2424 ext. 113) to discuss your group’s situation.
Scholarship information coming soon.
Water Quality Monitoring Coordinator need for Valley Stewardship Network.
Valley Stewardship Network, an exciting non-profit conservation group working in the Kickapoo River Watershed, is seeking qualified candidates for the Water Quality Monitoring Coordinator position. The current coordinator will be leaving effective January 1, 2010. Some training time in December with up to 25 hours per week beginning in January. Hours of training depends on qualifications. Work involves volunteer monitors, training sessions, data compilation and program development. Coordinator reports to Board of Directors. The job description and more details are available on the VSN website.
Missed an issue of The TRIB?
All of our past issues are available on our website.
Does your group need assistance?
Read the latest issue of our quarterly print newsletter
Support for TheTRIB is provided by:
