Strategic Planning–What makes a strong strategic plan?
Smart Start was founded on the premise that North Carolina communities vary greatly in demographics, resources and assets, and require community-developed solutions. To guide the development of these solutions, Smart Start legislation directs Local Partnerships to engage community stakeholders to develop and maintain a long-range strategic plan for services to children and families that address community assets and needs.
Strategic planning is a systematic process through which an organization agrees on priorities that are essential to its mission and responsive to the operating environment. Strategic planning also builds commitment among key stakeholders. A strong strategic plan includes the following components and responds to the following questions:
- Community Needs and Asset Assessment– What is the current status of young children, their families and the early childhood system? How does the local system compare to the early childhood outcomes?
- Goals and objectives– What system changes are needed to achieve early childhood outcomes for young children in our community?
- Action steps and strategies– What will our community do to implement the changes in response to the needs identified? How will we maintain the areas of strength?
- Progress and Performance Measures– How will our community know when we are making progress and/or achieved our goals?
