Dr Janine Douglas Associate Consultant Information Enterprises - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Dr Janine Douglas Associate Consultant Information Enterprises Australia

To hone your knowledge and skills in developing helpful strategic plans for your library service.

 The nature and importance of strategic

thinking and planning

 The process of developing a strategic

plan

 How to implement your plan  How to measure your achievements

 Understand the benefits of a strategic plan or

framework

 Understand the importance of planning in the

context of your library/school environment

 Understand and develop the components of a

plan

 Understand and apply techniques for writing a

clear and usable strategic plan or framework suitable for your library

 A methodology to develop a strategic plan or

framework for your school library

 Templates and tools to assist you in

developing your plan

 Draft examples for a plan developed using the

above methodology and the tools

Strategic planning is a tool for organizing the present on the basis of the projections

• f the desired future. That is, a strategic plan is

a road map to lead an organization from where it is now to where it would like to be in five or ten years. (SLA, 2001. www.sla.org)

In short:

 Its what you intend to achieve  Its how you will use your resources and the

direction you will set to achieve your goals

 The timeframe in which you will achieve this

The Present Desired Future (WHAT) HOW you get there Timeframe (WHEN)

 Better performance and purpose  Accountability  Better decision making & use of resources  Think about the future rather than the day-to-day  Focuses on the most critical issues & solutions  Builds a sense of team  Communication and marketing  Improved understanding of your situation and environment

 Cost vs. Benefits  Planning can get off track  Poor assessments of organisation & environment  Lack of realism  Too task focussed  Poor group dynamics

Mission Opportunities and Threats Strengths and Weaknesses The focus of your plan

What you want to do What you are capable

• f doing.
• Capabilities
• Capacity
• Resources

What is feasible/achievable What does the service need

• Customer & stakeholder needs
• STEEP influences

Adapted from Barry, 1997

1.

Get ready and get organised

2.

Understand and assess the internal & external environments

3.

Identify the strategic issues

4.

Develop strategies to address the issues

5.

Review & finalise the plan

6.

Implement the plan

7.

Monitor and review the plan

 Be clear on why you are doing this  Get commitment  Do you need outside help?  Steering Committee and/or project leader  Decide on time frame and resources  Put a project plan together

 What are the positives you expect to gain from

the plan and the planning process?

 Do you have any doubts or concerns about the

• rganisational situation at the moment?

 How can you address these?  Do you have any mandates?

 Identify your stakeholders & customer

• Those with a claim –resources, outputs etc

 Mission statement – what we do

• Purpose
• Focus on delivering for stakeholders
• Action-oriented

 Values – our beliefs and behaviours

• What we value
• How we want to do business
• How we will treat our stakeholders

 Let’s talk about our stakeholders and

customers

• Internal and external
• Their influence and interest

 What about your mission and values

• Organisational level
• Library service

SWOT Analysis

Streng engths ths Weakne ness sses Opportunities Threats Internal External

 Strengths –resources, capabilities, capacity

• People
• Skills, knowledge and expertise
• Finances
• Relationships
• Physical assets

 Weaknesses –lack and deficiencies

• Lack of commitment and motivation
• Insufficient training
• Salaries and conditions

 Opportunities

• Have a positive or favourable impact

 Threats

• Have a negative or unfavourable impact

Do not attempt to identify every opportunity or threat Focus on those that will have the most affect Add to and refine the list

 Remember that external influences may be

related to:

• Stakeholders & customers
• Your competition
• Your champions and allies
• STEEP

 Remember to identify the critical issues in

each element of the SWOT

 Social  Technological  Economic  Environmental

Political

SWOT and STEEP analysis Critical Issues

 This is the core of the planning process  Builds on Step 2 which identified issues

related to your future

 This Step 3 involves analysing these

determine the future directions

 The focus is on strategic issues – challenges

facing you.

 Current and existing issues  Issues you may face in the near future  Issues that need to be monitored –

may/may not need attention

 Possible approaches to identifying the

strategic issues include:

• Critical Issues Approach
• Goal Identification
• Scenario Planning

Consider the information you have gathered thus far:

 What are the critical issues you need to

address?

 What do you want to achieve in

addressing them?

 Builds on Step 3  Aims to develop a strategy or set of strategies

for the issues

 To assist you to meet:

• Your mandates
• Your mission
• Your goals/issues

A strategy is: a pattern of purposes, policies, programs, projects, actions, decisions and resource allocations that defines what an organisation is, what it does and why it does it.

Bryson & Alston, 1996

 Must involve strategic thinking and action  Use enough detail to allow consideration,

analysis, judgement

 Will be an iterative process  Remember the issue, the stakeholders, the

environmental analysis

 Think about:

• What are the approaches and the alternatives
• Are there any barriers
• Major initiatives which could be pursues
• Key actions – within existing resources
• Timeframes
• Does the strategy address the issue

Possible presentation of strategies

• Issue
• Strategic Statement
• Objectives
• Performance Measures

 Possible elements of a strategic plan:

• Introduction, purpose, process
• Mission and values statements
• Mandates
• Environmental Analysis
• Strategic Issues
• Strategy/Strategic Statements
• Objectives
• Performance Measures
• Staffing Plans
• Financial Plans
• Implementation, Monitoring and Review Plans

Developing strategies to address the strategic issues

 Decide who will be asked to review –do at the

• ut set of the project

 Give them time to do so  Respond to feedback  Finalise the plan

 Get approval from appropriate decision

makers

 May need to discuss resources and

support – get commitment

 Identify champions and sponsors – the

earlier the better

 Communication Plan  Celebrate your achievement

 Develop yearly operational plans based on the

strategic plan

 Monitor the plan in the light of your external

and internal environment

 Must be aligned with budget

process

 Seek feedback



Argenti, J. (1980). Practical corporate planning. London: Allen & Unwin.



Barry, B. (1997).Strategic planning workbook for nonprofit organisations. St Paul: Fieldstone Alliance.



The Bookends Scenarios: Alternative Futures for the Public Library Network in NSW in 2030.http://www.sl.nsw.gov.au/services/public_libraries/publications/docs/bookendsscenarios.pdf



Bradford, R. & Tarcy, B. (2000). Simplified strategic planning: The no-nonsense guide for busy people who want results fast. USA: Chandler House.



Bryson, J. (1995). Strategic planning for public and nonprofit organisations (rev. ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.



Earl, M. (1999). Strategy-making in the Information Age. In W. Currie & B. Galliers (Eds.), Rethinking information systems management (pp. 161-174). Oxford: Oxford University Press.



Kaplan, R. S., & Norton, D. P. (2001). The strategy-focused organization : how balanced scorecard companies thrive in the new business environment Boston, Mass: Harvard Business School Press.



Milner, E. M. (2000). Managing information and knowledge in the public sector. London: Routledge.



Mintzberg, H. (1994). The fall and rise of strategic planning. Harvard Business Review, 107-114.



Orna, E. (2004). Information strategy in practice. Aldershot, Hants England: Gower.



Scearce, D., & Fulton, K. (2004). What if? The art of scenario thinking for nonprofits: Global Business Network.



Schwartz, P. (1998). The art of the long view : planning for the future in an uncertain world. Chichester Wiley.



SLA (2001). What is strategic planning? http://www.sla.org



State Library of Queensland (2009). Your library strategic plan: A guide to its development. http://www.slq.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0008/148688/SLQ_- _Strategic_Plan_Instructions.pdf



Treloar, A. (2006). The Monash University Information Management Strategy: From Development to Implementation Paper presented at the Conference VALA 2006 - Connecting with Users, February 8-10, 2006 Melbourne.