Strategic planning guidelines for National Societies Developing and implementing a Strategic Plan in a National Society

Transcription

1 Strategic planning guidelines for National Societies Developing and implementing a Strategic Plan in a National Society Saving lives, changing minds.

2 Strategy 2020 voices the collective determination of the IFRC to move forward in tackling the major challenges that confront humanity in the next decade. Informed by the needs and vulnerabilities of the diverse communities with whom we work, as well as the basic rights and freedoms to which all are entitled, this strategy seeks to benefit all who look to Red Cross Red Crescent to help to build a more humane, dignified, and peaceful world. Over the next ten years, the collective focus of the IFRC will be on achieving the following strategic aims: 1. Save lives, protect livelihoods, and strengthen recovery from disasters and crises 2. Enable healthy and safe living 3. Promote social inclusion and a culture of non-violence and peace International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, Geneva, 2012 Any part of this publication may be cited, copied, translated into other languages or adapted to meet local needs without prior permission from the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, provided that the source is clearly stated. Requests for commercial reproduction should be directed to the IFRC at [email protected]. All photos used in this study are copyright of the IFRC unless otherwise indicated. Cover photo: Daniel Cima/American Red Cross. An Ethiopian Red Cross vehicle travels between villages in the Oromiyo region. The recent rainfall has caused many roads to become impassable, thus cutting off access to many villages in need of assistance. Ethiopia, April IFRC secretariat P.O. Box 372 CH-1211 Geneva 19 Switzerland Telephone: Telefax: [email protected] Web site: Strategic planning guidelines for National Societies /2012 E 2,000 Africa zone office Woodlands Road (Off Dennis Pritt Road) PO BOX Nairobi Kenya Telephone: Telefax: [email protected] Americas zone office Building 221 Jacinto Palacios Cobos street P.O. Box City of Knowledge, Clayton Panama Telephone: Telefax: [email protected] Asia Pacific zone office The Amp Walk Suite (North Block) No 218 Japan Am pang Kuala Lumpur Malaysia Telephone: Telefax: [email protected] Europe zone office Berkenye street Budapest Hungary Telephone: Telefax: [email protected] Middle East and North Africa zone office Brain Power Building Mar Roukoz Street Hazmieh, Beirut Lebanon Telephone: Telefax: [email protected]

3 Strategic planning guidelines for National Societies 3 Table of contents overview Introduction 4 1. Purpose of this guide 4 2. Overview of strategic planning in a National Society 5 Six steps for strategic planning in a National Society Prepare establishing the strategic planning process 11 î What do we need to do before starting the process? 11 î Do we need a strategic planning process? 11 î Are we all on the same page? 12 î Who will do all the work? 13 î How will we manage our strategic planning process? Assess and analyze looking inside and outside the National Society 17 î Where are we? Who are we? 17 î Who is vulnerable in our country? 18 î What is happening around us? 19 î What are our strengths and weaknesses? 20 î Who are we really? Define developing the Strategic Plan 25 î Where do we want to be? (what do we want to achieve?) 25 î What is our purpose? 26 î How do we work? 26 î How will we get there? 28 î What might go wrong? And how can we avoid it? 30 î How will we know when we get there? Agree finalizing, endorsing and disseminating the Strategic Plan 33 î Do we agree on our Strategic Plan? Implement making the Strategic Plan a reality 35 î How will the strategy bring positive change in people s lives? Measure, review and modify assess progress and make changes 39 î How can we know if our strategy is making a difference? 39 î How will we measure progress? 39 î Are we there yet? 43 î What should we change? 44

4 4 > introduction Strategic planning guidelines for National Societies Introduction 1. Purpose of this guide a) An overview for National Society leadership This guide provides an overview of the key aspects of strategic planning in a National Society, based on good practice and learning from around the world. This introduction answers a few key conceptual questions a leader may ask when setting out on the strategic planning journey. This is followed by an outline of common steps that can be followed to lead and manage a strategic planning process. However, this guide should not be seen as a prescriptive instruction to be followed to the letter, but rather as a road map illustrating the different routes that a National Society can travel on the way to the destination of having a relevant, useful, agreed and measureable Strategic Plan. c) A starting point There is a wealth of resources on strategic planning available in bookshops and on the internet, and many organizations whose sole or primary focus is on facilitating strategic planning. Many reference guides run to hundreds of pages, and new ideas are being developed all the time. All this information can be fairly overwhelming and it can be difficult to know where to start. This guide and toolkit provides provide the essential minimum information about managing a strategic planning process, specifically tailored to a National Society context, which we hope will be useful. However, once the decision has been made to embark on the process, it can be very useful to look at some of the more detailed resources available. A selection of resources is listed in relevant sections in the toolkit that accompanies this guide. b) Links to a toolkit of resources and examples for practitioners Each of the steps outlined in the main guide provides suggestions and links to tools and resources for the individuals within a National Society who will lead and manage the strategic planning process. These tools are generally given in boxes at the end of each relevant section, and in some cases specific tools are highlighted within the section. The toolkit incorporating these tools and resources are available on the CD ROM that accompanies this guide, as well as on FedNet (the IFRC s extranet located at where additional useful tools may be added in the future. While these tools should be sufficient, there are also many other methods and approaches available that strategic planning practitioners may find useful to use; in many cases practitioners may also find it most useful to create their own.

5 Strategic planning guidelines for National Societies 5 2. Overview of strategic planning in a National Society a) What is strategic planning? Strategic planning is a leadership-driven process of consultation and reflection to answer three important questions about an organization the ABC of strategic planning: 1 a. Where are we? Strategic planning helps an organization to have a clear understanding of its current situation and capacity, and on the basis of that to define a clear way forward in response to emerging opportunities and challenges in the external environment, while maintaining coherence and long-term sustainability. b. Where do we want to be? It guides the overall direction of an organization by defining its vision and mission. c. How will we get there? It defines the development of prioritized strategic objectives (goals and outcomes) necessary to achieve that vision and mission, and an outline of the best course of action to achieve those objectives. A Strategic Plan is the document resulting from this process and covers the long term (roughly a minimum of three or four years, up to ten years). One of the main functions of the Strategic Plan is to guide and influence the development of more detailed planning at the operational level. Therefore, a Strategic Plan is a key reference for project/programme managers when designing, implementing and evaluating a Red Cross Red Crescent intervention. Operational planning is the process of determining how the strategic goals and outcomes defined in the strategic plan will be achieved on the ground. This is often done by taking one or figure 1: The relationship between strategic and operational planning in the IFRC Experience gained from operations influences strategy development Experience gained from operations influences programme development more priority areas identified in the Strategic Plan and developing specific and detailed plans for projects 2, programmes that last from a few months up to two years. Appropriate planning for the continuation, development or improvement of long-term services 3 that National Societies provide (for example support to blood donation, health clinics, first aid training and early warning systems for disasters) should also be developed. The combination of these projects, programmes and services may be consolidated in the form of an overall operational plan. In order to translate strategic objectives into practical results, the additional lower level objectives (outputs and activities) necessary for the achievement of the identified goals and outcomes need to be defined. The activities identified need to be scheduled (in a work plan), along with their costs (in a budget), how the work will be funded (in a resource mobilization plan) and Strategic planning Operational Strategy 2020 National Society Strategic Plans (4-6 years) Overall National Society operational plan (1-2 years) Programmes and projects Services The broad direction of a Strategic Plan guides operational planning Broad programme directions guide project and service development 1 See John M. Bryson, 2011 referenced in toolkit section A A project is defined as a set of coordinated activities implemented to meet specific objectives within defined time, cost and performance parameters. A programme is a set of coordinated projects implemented to meet specific objectives 3 A service is defined as a long-term activity for vulnerable people, the resources for which are sustainable, and for which the National Society reports to its membership and is accountable to its constituency.

6 6 > introduction Strategic planning guidelines for National Societies Beginning the new Strategic Plan provided the trigger to review our current plan, to look at what had been achieved and what is still appropriate. It forced us to engage with all our stakeholders in a number of different ways which was useful for planning but which also resulted in additional benefits. I have found it an exciting and empowering process that has brought our whole organization together. This in turn has meant the nature of our future direction has been influenced by all those people who have a role in achieving our identified aims. We are all working together. President of a National Society 4 Branch is being used in this document to refer to an intermediary structure between national and community levels. Different terms (such as Chapter and Unit) are used in some National Societies for the similar organizational structures. 5 As defined in the Framework and principles for building strong National Societies see next page. who will carry out the work (see the IFRC Project/programme planning guidance manual section 6, towards implementation, p. 42). The relationship between strategic and operational planning is also a cyclical process, with the experience from operational planning being used to inform strategic planning, and strategic planning then informing the future general direction of operational planning. b) Why do strategic planning? Why should a busy president or secretary general commit valuable time and resources to a strategic planning process? What are the practical results for them, for staff in a branch 4 or a volunteer in the community? When designed and conducted by a National Society for its own reasons and its own benefit, strategic planning can achieve a number of very real and practical results; some of the most important ones are: ÔÔ Demonstrate leadership and give direction: Strategic planning is an important tool for senior figures in governance and management of a National Society to demonstrate leadership and give direction with a clear sense of purpose, integrity and strategic vision. Leadership skills involve assessing and understanding the trends in the external world and within the organization. Strategic planning is the vehicle by which we balance these different aspects in a dynamic change process, for the benefit of vulnerable people. It is this aspect of strategic planning which will enable leaders to tackle the challenges that will confront humanity in the new decade (Strategy 2020, p. 4). ÔÔ A vision that unifies and motivates: The vision created by successful strategic planning process can unite and inspire volunteers, staff, senior management and governance. It enables everyone to look up from their day-to-day work and understand the larger purpose of their individual efforts. Ultimately, working towards a compelling vision can lead a National Society to increased achievement and a more powerful role in society. ÔÔ Improving organizational effectiveness: Having a comprehensive Strategic Plan is the key to building a strong National Society 5. This is because it enables governance and management to make better decisions on the National Society s overall direction. These decisions are based on a coherent framework of priorities, capacities, competencies and consensus. It can help the National Society achieve a balance between what it would like to do and what it must do. ÔÔ Mobilizing resources: A Strategic Plan can clarify a National Society s identity and priorities, and this can help marketing and fundraising. Evidence of strategic thinking can increase the National Society s credibility and the confidence of its donors, who will be more willing to invest if they can see how their inputs will contribute towards larger goals.

7 Strategic planning guidelines for National Societies 7 ÔÔ Empowering a National Society to negotiate its partnerships: It is a fundamental concept within the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) that National Societies are responsible for managing their own development and that external partners and other National Societies should respect its priorities and objectives. A Strategic Plan makes these priorities explicit. Partners have a clear framework in which to align their support according to the needs of the host National Society and not the other way around. In this way, a good Strategic Plan is the basis for effective operational planning with partners. ÔÔ Balancing change with continuity: Strategic planning can help a National Society, particularly its leadership, recognize the need for change. But it can also identify and support the values of continuity. This can be especially useful if the National Society is about to enter a period of turbulence, when parts of the National Society must continue their work whilst the leadership focuses on specific priority issues. ÔÔ Clarifying roles and managing expectation: There may be high or even unreasonable levels of expectation within government or the public as to a National Society s capacities or role. A strategic planning process, by involving all those who have an interest in the process, can help align high expectations to a National Society s mandates, capacities and plans. A Strategic Plan document can also be a useful dissemination tool to help manage expectations. c) Why align and link with Strategy 2020? Strategy 2020 was adopted by the membership of the IFRC at its General Assembly in November The strategy reflects the collective determination of National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies to tackle the major challenges confronting humanity in the next decade. It encourages National Societies to formulate their strategic directions based on Strategy 2020, in the context of the needs and vulnerabilities in their local communities. Similarly, Strategy 2020 provides direction to the figure 2: Strategy 2020 house summary Vision 2020 To inspire, encourage, facilitate, and promote at all times all forms of humanitarian activities by National Societies, with a view to preventing and alleviating human suffering, and thereby contributing to the maintenance and promotion of human dignity and peace in the world.* Strategic aim 1 Save lives, protect livelihoods, and strengthen recovery from disasters and crises Enabling action 2 Pursue humanitarian diplomacy to prevent and reduce vulnerability in a globalized world Strategic aim 2 Enable healthy and safe living Strategic aim 3 Promote social inclusion and a culture of non-violence and peace Enabling action 3 Function effectively as the IFRC Enabling action 1 Build strong National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies *Article 4 (General object), Constitution (2007)

8 8 > introduction Strategic planning guidelines for National Societies Our strategic planning process marked the start of our sweeping reforms. It was a huge process relying on leadership, process and people. Every activity would go under the microscope. Every aspect of operations would be affected. Every staff member would find their working life changed. There was a more integrated, consistent approach to supporting members and volunteers with fundraising, information and communication needs. Secretary general of a National Society Strategic planning for us meant recognizing the need to drive internal reform, uncover new fundraising streams, strengthen our existing donor base, improve our budgetary planning and reserves policy, increase our volunteer pool, focus strategically on our core strengths, reduce duplication and identify more cost effective ways of doing business. Secretary general of a National Society 6 Endorsed by the 23rd Session of the Governing Board, Geneva, Switzerland, April 2011, available on FedNet page buildingstrong-nationalsocieties/ secretariat in setting its operational priorities in support of National Societies. The strategic framework of Strategy 2020 (the vision, aims and enabling actions and expected impact) is a dynamic framework that is responsive to differing contexts and changing circumstances. It invites all National Societies to engage with creativity and innovation in order to interpret or translate it into the national or local context. It serves as an agreed starting point from where National Societies who wish to engage on a strategic planning process can orientate themselves. The content within the framework also provides further navigation points for a National Society engaging in a strategic planning process. National Society or branch Strategic Plans developed on the basis of Strategy 2020 may well end up with a structure quite different from the strategic framework of Strategy However, maintaining a link with the overall drive of Strategy 2020 towards doing more, doing better, reaching further and the main elements included within the strategic framework will help both to guide the strategic planning process in National Societies, and result in more coherence across the IFRC and the wider International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement in terms of conveying who we are, and practicing what we do. A thorough and detailed analysis was carried out during the process of developing Strategy The main conclusions are summarised in section 2.1 (and pages 7-9 in the Strategy 2020 document itself), and may be useful for National Societies to refer to when embarking on their own analysis for their own Strategic Plan. d) How strategic planning helps build strong National Societies Enabling Action 1 of Strategy 2020 seeks to build strong National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. It is the foundation stone on which all the successes of Strategy 2020 will be built. It is of particular relevance to the strategic planning process, which aims to maintain or improve the internal strengths of a National Society. There are many close links between building strong National Societies, organizational development, capacity enhancement and strategic planning. It should not be thought, however, that strategic planning and organizational development are synonymous. The Framework and principles for building strong National Societies 6 defines the processes through which Enabling Action 1 will be realized. It sets out the definition of a strong National Society as follows: one that is able to deliver country-wide, through a network of volunteer-based units, a relevant service to vulnerable people sustained for as long as needed. It goes on to state: a National Society can only become strong through its own, systematic work, led by a dedicated and convincing leadership. It emphasises the centrality of strategic planning to the process of National Society development: Systematic work starts with a clear strategy and plan. For a National Society to become strong, it needs an overall strategy setting out its objectives and services covering a period of at least four or five years. To realise its overall strategy and deliver its workplan [operational plan], the National Society will also need a self-development plan which outlines the needed organizational development and capacity expansion work. National Societies are always changing. A planned change process, utilizing strategic planning as an entry point for defining the next stage of a society s evolution, is called organizational development (OD). OD is work done within a National Society by its leaders to change what exists. The aim is a major increase or improvement result[ing in] a new quality a modification of structures, delivery systems or services including the adaptation of the organization to a new situation. Once a National Society acquires the right leadership, structure, systems, and services it is potentially fairly stable and sustainable. It has reached a turning point. The National Society can then gradually grow bigger by improving and duplicating or expanding

9 Strategic planning guidelines for National Societies 9 what already exists. This is known as capacity enhancement and recognizes that all communities and the National Societies which emerge from them have pre-existing capacities that can be built upon. As explained in detail in step 2 in the following section, the strategic planning process should include a detailed organizational and external assessment and analysis (where are we), on the basis of which it should define the strategic vision of the National Society s future as well as the mission (where do we want to be) and strategic priorities that describe how the society will achieve this mission (how will we get there). Depending on the results of the assessment and analysis, the National Society can decide whether the strategic priorities and self-development plan would focus more on organizational development, capacity enhancement, or consolidation of strengths already achieved. Strategic planning can assist a society to identify the steps that will lead it into either organizational development or capacity enhancement. This can be done primarily though building on the internal and external analysis carried out, and integrating questions related to organizational development and capacity enhancement into the phases of the process that look at defining where we want to be and how will we get there. Characteristics of successful strategic planning The process should produce a Strategic Plan that inspires the staff and volunteers; the leadership must champion the process and resulting plan, and communicate it whenever possible The leadership plays a crucial role in ensuring that it is an internal process driven by, and for, the National Society A strategic planning process should not be driven by external partners agendas, expectations or resources (though these can be seen as significant opportunities) Individuals within the leadership should involve staff, volunteers and beneficiaries in the development of the strategy External consultants or advisors should remember that their role is to advise and facilitate. They should not be overly influential in the process, nor write the plan In order to be effective, a National Society s Strategic Plan should be a document that sits at the heart of the organization s activities. It guides the direction of programming, capacity building, communications, partnerships and fundraising. Strategic planning can be used in this way as an adaptable process to support leadership to build focus and commitment during any of these phases of organizational self-development.

10 10 > six steps for strategic planning Strategic planning guidelines for National Societies Ricci Shryock/IFRC

11 Strategic planning guidelines for National Societies 11 Six steps for strategic planning in a National Society The six steps This section sets out a flexible framework of six steps to guide a strategic planning process in a National Society. In most cases, when starting a strategic planning process from the beginning, following these steps in order will help to provide a logical structure to the process e.g. analyzing the current situation before planning what to do in the future. Once the process has started, it may often be useful to go back to a previous step and explore one particular aspect in more detail, for example to look again at specific conclusions about the current situation as future plans began to take shape. The six steps are as follows: 1. Prepare: establishing the strategic planning process 2. Assess and analyze: looking inside and outside the National Society 3. Define: developing your Strategic Plan 4. Agree: finalizing, endorsing and disseminating the Strategic Plan 5. Implement: making the Strategic Plan a reality 6. Measure, review and modify: assessing progress at different stages. Step 1 Step 2 Step 3 Step 4 Step 5 Step 6 Step 1 Prepare establishing the strategic planning process ÔÔWhat do we need to do before starting the process? In this first step, leaders and participants of the strategic planning process will understand the benefits of developing a Strategic Plan, and that this development is a participatory process of reflection, consultation and action by leadership and other stakeholders analyzing where the National Society is now, defining where it would like to be in the future, and how it intends to get there. The main aims and related questions for this step are: 1. Affirm the rationale and purpose of the process Do we need a strategic planning process? 2. Ensure that there is widespread commitment to and ownership of the process How much understanding and commitment is there to the process? 3. Identify participants and assign roles and responsibilities Who will be involved? 4. Design the process, including information gathering and consultation methods, and the models and tools used for analysis, the timeline and budget How do we want to manage the strategic planning process, do we need an external facilitator? How long will it take? 1.1. The rationale and purpose of the strategic planning process ÔÔDo we need a strategic planning process? In order to ensure a successful strategic planning process, the National Society needs to affirm the rationale and purpose for the process, and ensure that key stakeholders within the National Society are committed to the process. The reasons should be clearly defined and understood within the leadership

12 12 > six steps for strategic planning Step 1 Strategic planning guidelines for National Societies We pay a lot of attention to information exchange processes where we invite branch people including volunteers, secretaries, staff and leaders to review what s actually been done to help us set up the next phase for the organization s development. It s very important to use a number of means to have interviews, round table discussions, seminars and workshops where we exchange information on what we need and what we should do to better serve the people, especially the vulnerable. Secretary general of a National Society of the National Society and communicated at all levels. This should lead to a firm commitment within the National Society to engage in the strategic planning process. At this early stage it is also important that the option of not conducting a strategic planning process is considered. It may not be the right time, for various reasons such as lack of commitment, funding, too soon after a recently completed change process, or lack of sufficiently qualified staff to lead and manage the process effectively. In these cases, proposals should be made of how to address these issues and by when a strategic planning process could be embarked on. Discussion and agreement can often happen during normal governance and management meetings, as long as sufficient time is set aside to discuss the issue. It may also be useful to organize a dedicated workshop or retreat for senior leadership and other stakeholders. If it is agreed that a strategic planning process is needed, an outline of the strategic planning process and the rationale for it should be communicated through the National Society, prior to consultations with the branches. TOOls and resources Tool 1.1 Do we need a strategic planning process? Tool 1.2 Example outline of an initial internal consultation Tool 1.3 Example timeline for a strategic planning process Tool 1.4 Example agenda for a preparatory workshop 1.2. Commitment, ownership and consultation ÔÔAre we all on the same page? Commitment How useful a strategic planning process is remains highly dependent on the leadership of a National Society. No National Society should begin a process of strategic planning without the full commitment of the leadership at both governance and senior management level. Staff and volunteers will also need to be involved in, and committed to, the process as they will be asked to help shape the Strategic Plan and its implementation Ownership An important characteristic of success is the feeling of ownership throughout the organization for the strategic planning process and resulting document. Without this, it will seem pointless and irrelevant to staff and volunteers daily work and experiences. If the leadership does not believe in the value of strategic planning, it will not insist on a thorough process, will not feel ownership of the resulting strategy, and will not push for its implementation Consultation Within the Movement, successful strategic planning Top down strategy combines a top-down with a bottom-up approach. Top-down strategies are policies and strategies approved by the IFRC General Bottom up planning Assembly and Governing Board, by regional conferences, and by National Societies own governance bodies. Bottom-up planning starts with vulnerability-based planning at the community level and moves up through branch planning to National Society planning (see step 2 for more detail). The vision, guidance, analysis and management of leadership are combined with a responsiveness to local vulnerability and capacity, as articulated by Strategy Consultation is a vital part of this process. It involves negotiation and exchange between representatives at all levels of the National Society. Genuine consultation may raise and address challenging questions. It is the qualities of the leadership that determine how

13 Strategic planning guidelines for National Societies 13 well these are reflected and addressed in the Strategic Plan. Exactly how consultation will be carried out needs to be examined carefully, and relates to who will be involved and with which roles and responsibilities (see section 1.4.1) Establishing responsibilities for managing the process ÔÔWho will do all the work? Like any process, a dedicated planning team is required to manage the development of a Strategic Plan. There are two main aspects to the management of the process: key decisions to be made, and the practical actions that have to be carried out in order to reach and implement those decisions. For this reason, it may often be useful for the planning team to consist of two groups a strategic advisory group to oversee the process (normally including more senior members of governance and management), and a strategic working group to organize and carry out the practical activities. It may also work better in some contexts to have a single group handling all aspects of the process, with different individuals taking on either advisory or practical roles. Whatever structure is created, key stakeholders at all levels of the National Society should be well represented, including those working at branch and community levels. It is also useful to designate a coordinator within the working group to lead the process internally, and act as the main point of contact for people from the branch level and outside the National Society. Below is a summary of the main tasks to be completed during the strategic planning process, and suggested role and responsibilities for an advisory group and a working group. Approaches to consider Establish a strategic advisory group and a strategic working group Designate one or member of the working group as a coordinator to be the primary internal facilitator(s) of the process, including carrying the process to the branch level Establish focal points in branches/districts. Table 1: Key tasks for the strategic planning process with suggested roles and responsibilities Strategy advisory group Strategy working group ÎÎ identify what we want to achieve with the strategic planning process ÎÎ sets objectives and duration of the strategic planning process ÎÎ decide if external facilitation is necessary ÎÎ guide the working group throughout the process ÎÎ review analysis reports ÎÎ participate in workshops ÎÎ report progress to governance ÎÎ share strategic planning process with partners, IFRC, ICRC and government ÎÎ review draft Strategic Plan and submit the final document for approval. ÎÎ identify methodologies that will be used during the process (in consultation with facilitator) ÎÎ review the terms of reference and recruit facilitators and consultants ÎÎ invites participants to be involved in the process ÎÎ mobilize resources required ÎÎ organize field trips, meetings, and workshops ÎÎ collect feedback and review various drafts ÎÎ analyzing and synthesizing the results of the research and assessments ÎÎ drafting the Strategic Plan

14 14 > six steps for strategic planning Step 1 Strategic planning guidelines for National Societies Using modern communications to engage at community level In many countries, there is a huge potential to use modern communications technology to connect with people at the community level. Social media (Facebook, Twitter, blogs and websites), SMS messaging have huge potential and have been used for consultation and beneficiary communication and accountability. Exploring how best to use such methods may be very useful for the strategic planning team. See tools and resources below for further resources on this issue Define the initial methodology, timing, duration and budget of the process ÔÔHow will we manage our strategic planning process? There are many different ways in which a strategic planning process can be managed, and many practical details to be worked out. These practical decisions for example when, where and how consultation meetings will be held have a very significant impact on how the planning process will progress. The strategic planning team should define all key aspects of the process. These include: 1. Define the roles and responsibilities of participants in the strategic planning process 2. Agree on the timing and duration of the strategic planning process 3. Design the process 4. Make a plan and budget for the process 5. Monitor the development of the process 6. Develop effective feedback mechanisms. If there is a separate advisory group, this would normally be closely involved only in the first of these tasks. The other tasks should be handled by the working group, and submitted for approval where necessary to the advisory group. These different tasks are outlined in more detail below Defining the roles and responsibilities of participants in the strategic planning process Strategic planning in a National Society context is a dynamic, interactive and participatory process which requires solid commitment of leaders who have a vision for the National Society to grow and an ability to see the big picture and inspire their staff, volunteers and members to move forward together to achieve this vision. Involvement of staff and volunteers at branch and headquarters levels is indispensable to ensuring a common understanding at all levels of the National Society of what the strategic planning process is trying to achieve. While the specific roles in the strategic planning process may vary in different contexts, some common roles are as follows: Staff and volunteers need to be involved throughout the process in order for it to be meaningful and relevant to the life of the organization. Their understanding of the communities needs, and the ability of the National Society to address these needs are the key to the creation and implementation of a good Strategic Plan. Serious consideration should therefore be given on how to ensure meaningful participation in the process by staff and volunteers at branch and headquarters. The governance of a National Society should initiate and be in charge of the strategic planning process. It is formally accountable for its overall direction and performance, and therefore has a central oversight role within the strategic planning process. Senior management is central to the design and implementation of the planning process, shaping the strategic framework and drafting the Strategic Plan. The personal leadership of the Secretary/Director General is crucial to the success of the entire process. Relevant external stakeholders should also be given the opportunity to be involved in key meetings and discussions, including staff from the relevant offices of the IFRC secretariat, ICRC and sister National Societies, as well as local partners, including working relations in the government. People in the community are the people for whom the entire strategic planning process is aimed to benefit, and therefore their participation in the process, and considering their ideas and opinions, is of vital relevance. Regarding the involvement of people in the community in the consultation it is important to note that to have a comprehensive picture of the perspectives of a range of people who benefit from a National Society s services is a lengthy and complex

15 Strategic planning guidelines for National Societies 15 process. Preferably, existing participatory process should be linked to the strategic planning process for example community leaders or representatives with whom the National Society already has a working relationship could be involved in consultations and meetings, and members of the planning team should include summaries of existing information from participatory consultations within programme areas. The importance of community consultation also means that one should avoid rushed and potentially unrepresentative consultations, therefore if there are few or no participatory processes already on-going in the National Society, it may not be practical or desirable to embark on a very wide consultation at the same time as a strategic planning process. In such cases, it may be useful to include improving such processes as an objective within the emerging strategy, in addition to finding ways to include consultation at the community level during the current process. It is important that specific groups who are at risk of being marginalized during the consultation process are identified (for all of the categories above). Ways should be found to ensure that their views are considered in the process. See the later sections 2.2 on vulnerability analysis and 2.3 on external analysis for more information Agree on the timing and duration of the strategic planning process The strategic planning process should have a definite start and end date. A good strategic planning process occurs during a period when there is sufficient stability within the organization and in the operating environment to ensure that staff are able to take part in the process Design the methodology of the process After identifying the most important stakeholders and relationships, the team should design the planning process in detail. In almost every strategic planning process there will be a number of meetings, workshops, consultations and other events to discuss and reach agreement on the questions outlined above (where are we, where do we want to be and how will we get there). Shorter, sector-specific meetings and focus group discussions spread throughout the strategic planning process tend to be more productive, but normally need to be balanced with larger consultative meetings to look at the broader issues beyond any one sector. Defining how these discussions and consultations will be carried out is an important task for the planning team in designing the methodology of the process, and would normally include: organizing consultative focus group meetings, workshops and other events and collating the results ensuring that research, analysis, consultation and debates are carried out identifying the need for external expertise - selecting appropriate facilitation and consultation support if needed choosing models and tools that will assist with the various stages these may include surveys, interviews, focus groups and plenary discussions, tools such as stakeholder analysis, SWOT analysis see the tools and approaches boxes throughout this document and the toolkit on the CD-ROM for a range of approaches that can be used Make a plan and budget for the process The team should develop an initial plan for the strategic planning process that includes activities, how much time is required for this process, and with what resources. The team leader should coordinate the collection of the relevant information with the team members. Human resource needs, travel costs and workshop costs are among the items that should be included in the budget. How the resource needs will be met also needs to be clear at this stage. It s important to budget for strategic planning and the change management that this implies, for example to allow more face to-face workshops with people affected by change beyond just sending out communications about what we are doing. For a volunteer and member organization change has to be more gradual, because people take time to adjust, and we don t want to lose them. President of a National Society

16 16 > six steps for strategic planning Step 1 Strategic planning guidelines for National Societies IFRC Monitor the development of the process The team must manage the sequence of steps relating to the strategic planning process in the same way as for any other project. Starting with the six steps suggested in these guidelines, it is important to set clear objectives, indicators to measure the progress towards them as well as time-bound targets. For example, one might set the objective of ensure sufficient and meaningful consultation from all branch secretaries, setting a target of a certain number of branch consultations per month, as well as a satisfaction survey to check whether those being consulted feel that their contributions are being properly listened to and acted on Regularly communicate on the development of the process As the process develops, the conclusions and recommendations emerging from different consultations will need to be regularly synthesized and communicated to the participants in the process for reflection and in order to develop consensus. Establishing an effective way to manage this process of sharing and consensus building will be essential to ensuring that the process is truly participatory and leading to a final product for which the entire National Society feels ownership. TOOls and resources The toolkit that accompanies this guide includes a range of tools that will be useful at different points in the planning process. Specific tools are highlighted in the respective sections. In addition there are some tools that will be commonly used throughout the process given in the general resources section, these are available in the toolkit under the following references: Toolkit Section A1 and A2 general tools and resources for facilitating a strategic planning process A 1.1 internal resources related to strategic planning Run a consultative meeting (Cooperation Agreement Strategy toolkit) Organizing a partnership meeting (CAS toolkit) Run a focus group (Vulnerability and Capacity Assessment toolkit) Semi-structured interview guide (VCA toolkit) Review of secondary sources (VCA toolkit) Guidance on data collection and analysis in the Monitoring and Evaluation Guide Resources related to beneficiary communication and accountability. Toolkit Section 1 Tool 1.1 Do we need a strategic planning process? Tool 1.2 Example outline of an initial internal consultation Tool 1.3 Example timeline for a strategic planning process Tool 1.4 Example agenda for a preparatory workshop Tool 1.5 Example of an activity plan for a strategic planning process.

17 Strategic planning guidelines for National Societies 17 Step 2 Assess and analyse looking inside and outside the National Society However, it should be stressed that the quality of the final Strategic Plan will only be as good as the National Society s understanding, assessment, and analysis of vulnerability in this first phase. This will lead to relevant and focused programmes and increased positioning and credibility overall. ÔÔWhere are we? Who are we? In order to make a meaningful Strategic Plan for the future, an accurate analysis of the National Society s internal and external working environments must be made by the planning team. The necessary information can come from statistics, reports, assessments and other documents. Consultation processes with internal and external stakeholders should also inform the analysis. While analysis should happen throughout every step of the planning process, the emphasis on analysis during this step is particularly strong. The planning team may organize public surveys, questionnaires, interviews, focus groups and plenary discussions to achieve this. A confidential interview process with stakeholders is always useful to identify the real issues and to involve those interviewed in the process of planning. Information from programme evaluations, Vulnerability and Capacity Assessments and an evaluation of the last Strategic Plan are important inputs. The IFRC initiatives Federation- Wide Databank and Reporting system and Organizational Capacity Assessment and Certification process are also important elements here; whatever information is available through these mechanisms should also be included in this step (see section 2.4.2). The length of this phase will vary for each National Society, depending on the range and complexity of the issues and of the stakeholder group. The benefits of an extensive consultation or comprehensive analysis phase must be balanced with the need for a short, uncomplicated process that will not lose momentum or direction Analysis behind Strategy 2020 Our changing world: trends 2020 International order Migration Climate change Disaster trends Violence Health trends Science and technology Globalization Communities Volunteering Humanitarian and development system Demographic changes Economic uncertainty Women as a force for change Urbanization Faith and culture As with all good strategic plans, the analysis behind the development of Strategy 2020 was far more detailed and complex in its scope than the resulting document. In looking at who we are and our place in the world, the strategic planning teams and many contributors examined a wide range of issues related to the complexities and challenges in our changing modern world. In particular, the analysis looked at: Changing patterns of vulnerabilities some improvement in broad areas, but combined with some increasing and some new vulnerabilities emerging The humanitarian landscape what is happening in the world of humanitarian and development aid geopolitical trends and changing dynamics connectedness of the world Trends within the Movement the changing roles and capacities of individual National Societies, changing relations The strategic review was really holding a mirror up to the organization and its work. As a result of that review it was clear to us that there were many marginalized and vulnerable groups in the community who were simply not being addressed by Red Cross services and programmes. Secretary general of a National Society

18 18 > six steps for strategic planning Step 2 Strategic planning guidelines for National Societies between National Societies, their IFRC and its secretariat, the influence of changing relations between governments and National Societies, and the changing strategic direction of the Movement as a whole. These complex issues require a clearly defined and common strategic direction and action that will enhance the internal strengths within the IFRC and the wider Movement allowing us to take full advantage of the available opportunities to more effectively prevent and alleviate human suffering. existing reliable secondary sources from other organizations that have carried out such research. If there is not sufficient information available to allow a thorough analysis to take place, it may be necessary to organize activities using participatory research methods (for example based on some of the tools included in the Vulnerability and Capacity Assessment toolkit) 7. Collecting this information may take a few months, but having this information is indispensable to developing a relevant Strategic Plan. Community consultation is very important for us to be informed about their needs. We promote participation for everyone, volunteers, communities, and affected people themselves. We have been informed that local communities have diverse needs. So if we do not go to local communities we will not know of their needs. Survey and assessment allows us, at the central level, to develop sound policies and strategic plans to respond to the needs of communities. Director of disaster management in a National Society A similar analysis would need to be carried out at the national level. A key advantage of aligning with Strategy 2020 is to benefit from the global analysis behind the framework that offers a common foundation to National Society strategic analysis and planning worldwide Vulnerability analysis ÔÔWho is vulnerable in our country? During this phase, existing information on the current and emerging vulnerabilities in the National Society s operating context should be collected and analysed by the strategic planning team and wider consultative group. In the case of National Societies operating internationally and domestically, this analysis would cover both the domestic and international operating context. Key questions for this phase include: Who are the most vulnerable people? What are the main causes of their vulnerability? What are the trends, positive and negative, that will affect vulnerability in future? However, if there are no existing participatory process or practices in the National Society, it may be difficult to develop these skills whilst also managing the strategic planning process. In this case, it may be useful to include the establishment of such processes as part of the new strategy, rather than trying to quickly include some brief and potentially unrepresentative assessment and analysis in the strategic planning process. In this case it may also be worth considering working with other organizations who have experience in this area, in order to collect some information on specific target groups, communities or issues of concern to the National Society. This may also be the first step in building capacity in this area of participatory research. 7 Note that the collection and analysis of information on vulnerabilities is different from consulting with beneficiaries on the development of the strategy (see section 1.4.1), however many of the methods may be the similar and the resulting information may be linked. Ideally, the necessary information about vulnerabilities in the operating environment would come from reliable statistical data from government sources, NGOs and the National Society itself. This should be combined with existing participatory research already carried out by the National Society, or from

19 Name of the National Red Cross Society Strategic planning guidelines for National Societies 19 Carrying out consultations with the community needs to be carefully considered to ensure representative views and opinions. TOOls and resources Toolkit section key resources for step 2, which includes references to: Vulnerability and Capacity Assessment What is VCA How to do VCA VCA toolbox VCA training guide The IFRC Project/programme planning guidance manual provides concise guidance on two tools for vulnerability analysis stakeholder analysis (p.16) and problem analysis (p22). VCA is a much more complete guide The Better Programming Initiative looks at vulnerability from the perspective of communities affected by social and cultural divisions and violence (VCA toolbox p38-46) 2.3. External assessment and analysis ÔÔWhat is happening around us? During this phase, existing information on the National Society s operating environment should be collected and analysed by the strategic planning team and wider consultative group. Key questions to be asked are: What are the resources, capacities and weaknesses of external actors in helping to address vulnerability or alter these trends? What are the main threats to the National Society and its work? What are the main opportunities that could benefit the National Society and its work? External analysis can be broad ranging, and the main focus should be clearly defined in the initial stage. It is often helpful to focus on two areas external stakeholders (institutions, associations and individuals) and external trends: a) Stakeholders Who are our stakeholders? (other than vulnerable people) Which other organizations are working to reduce vulnerability? Which other organizations have an interest in and/or influence on our work? What are our stakeholders priorities, interests and problems? How is our relationship with each stakeholder? b) External trends What are the social, political, economic and environmental trends that may affect vulnerabilities in the future? Which can we influence? Which can we not influence? What are the social, political, economic and environmental trends that may affect our work in other ways? Different contexts may require further external analysis based on different categories, but these would need to be defined according to the particular context. TOOls and resources Tool 2.2a SWOT analysis - external threats and opportunities A simple and commonly used tool for strategic external analysis is the focused on external opportunities and threats Tool 2.3 Stakeholder analysis See also the key resources Project/programme planning: guidance manual, and Project/programme monitoring and evaluation (M&E) guide for other examples of stakeholder analysis tools. Tool 2.4: Example questions to ask external stakeholders Resources section A 1.1 VCA Toolbox secondary data review (VCA toolbox RRS 1 p48) which outlines reviewing analysis documents from external organizations such as UN agencies / World Bank, international and national NGOs, government (individual ministries), relevant research institutes.

20 20 > six steps for strategic planning Step 2 Strategic planning guidelines for National Societies 8 Often the internal and external analysis using the SWOT tool may be split into internal strengths and weaknesses and external opportunities and threats. However, it is often important to look also at internal opportunities and threats. Crescent Society Name of the National Red 2.4. Internal assessment and analysis ÔÔWhat are our strengths and weaknesses? The overall objective here is for the National Society to assess its own capacity and performance so as to determine the best approaches for their self-development. This is also the general objective of the Organizational Capacity Assessment and Certification (OCAC) process, and therefore any National Society engaged in that process should use that as the basis for their Strategic Plan (see below for more detail). Internal analysis should address these basic questions: What are the main strengths (and opportunities) within the organization? How can they be built on and maximized? What are the main weaknesses (and threats) 8 within the organization? How can they be reduced and overcome? What is its unique competence: what can it offer that others do not? What needs to change to be able to meet the new challenges and trends in vulnerability in the external analysis? Part of the information that the planning team should look at when carrying out the internal analysis should always include: Reviews/evaluations of the previous Strategic Plan that were carried out Large-scale reviews and evaluations of programmes carried out over the past years Audits and financial records Internal and external annual reports. It will also include a number of different facilitated discussions, with individuals, in groups and sometimes without workshops or other organized events. Exactly how these discussions are organized and facilitated will need to be designed for each individual context by the strategic planning team (including external facilitators) Organizational culture An important aspect of internal analysis is considering the organizational culture that exists within the National Society. Within the internal operating environment, a National Society s culture is the climate in which people act, including the norms, values, behaviours and the unwritten rules that exist alongside formal mechanisms. Given the power of an organization s culture to help or hinder progress and change, it is important to identify the main characteristics of the National Society s culture, and to examine how these should be supported or changed. What are the strengths and weaknesses of the organizational culture and how should these be developed for the betterment of the National Society? Is the internal culture participatory and consultative enough, and are innovations and suggestions welcome at all levels? It should be noted that it is important to get the views of all levels of the National Society during this internal analysis stage. Exploring the National Society s strengths and weaknesses may require honesty, open debate and a willingness to hear and learn from criticism from within. This is often an indication that a meaningful and fundamental internal analysis is taking place and that the leadership really wants to strengthen the National Society. Are the voices of vulnerable people sought and listened to, and do they have a platform in the National Society and contribute to changes in policies and practices? If governance has carried out a self-assessment of its own capacity, what are the recommendations for areas of improvement? Organizational Capacity Assessment and Certification (OCAC) The Organizational Capacity Assessment and Certification process (OCAC) is a key tool developed by the IFRC secretariat to

21 Strategic planning guidelines for National Societies 21 support the third enabling action of Strategy 2020 Building Strong National Societies. It focuses on self- and peer-analysis around six core competencies: the capacity to exist, the capacity to organize oneself, the capacity to relate to others and to mobilize resources, the capacity to perform, and the capacity to adapt and to grow. The main objective of OCAC is to enable National Societies to assess their own capacity and performance so as to determine the best approaches for their self-development. This captures precisely the main objective of this phase of the strategic planning process. There are many links therefore between OCAC and strategic planning. National Societies may choose to engage in the full process as part of their overall strategic planning exercise the outcome of an OCAC process may point to need for a revised Strategic Plan, even if this was not envisaged National Societies already involved in an OCAC process would normally complete at least the first phase (self-assessment) before engaging in the following steps of strategic planning. TOOls and resources Tool 2.2b SWOT analysis - internal strengths and weaknesses Tool 2.5 Example questions for internal discussion in branches Tool 2.7 Analyzing different aspects of National Society capacity Organizational Capacity Assessment and Certification is a much more detailed and thorough process to assess and analysis organizational capacity, and is specifically designed for National Societies. See the FedNet page (referenced in toolkit section 2.1) for further information and resources on this process Ask difficult questions ÔÔWho are we really? There may sometimes be a risk during this analysis step (and the entire strategic planning process) that some of the more difficult or even taboo questions about the National Society are not asked, despite going through the different analysis steps outlined here and in the various tools provided. For a strategic planning process to be useful, it is important for it to be as direct, honest and open as possible. Therefore, whatever the different analyses that are carried out, it can be very useful for the strategic planning team to ensure that underlying questions are answered through the process. These may differ from one society to another, but some main ones include: Are we ready to make necessary changes to implement the strategy? Strategic planning deals with making choices which are sometimes difficult, and may lead to changes in the way the organization works in order to grow stronger and more effective. The implications of this can sometimes be challenging for the organization and those who work in it especially if means giving up old ways of working that are no longer relevant. If this involves restructuring the organization, this can be especially traumatic. Everyone involved in the strategic planning process needs to be ready to tackle these sensitive issues. Who has the power in our organization? While all National Societies have governance and management structures, it is not always obvious how decisions are made at the highest levels. Clarifying which groups and individuals hold decisionmaking power officially or unofficially - is crucial for the strategic planning process. It will influence the relevance and success of the final plan itself and its implementation. What is our operating model? While many aspects of how the National Society works may be brought up during the SWOT analysis, it is useful to check if the broad picture of the society s overall way of working is clear including the way it funds its activities. For example, does it rely primarily on income from services it provides, on funding from outside sources for specific projects and services, or a combination? Our Services Criteria and Assessment Tool helped us to judge our existing services against ten criteria in terms of their relevance to the organization s mission; consistency with seven identified thematic areas; need and vulnerability; service gaps; results, quality and accountability; resources; partnerships; participation, reputation enhancement; and risk management. One of our most stark examples of failure was that we had gone for 94 years with no meaningful level of engagement with indigenous people and communities despite the fact that our mission purports to focus on the most vulnerable people both in our own country and internationally. We made a commitment to engage communities and service recipients in the development of future services and that new programmes would be based on evidence and increased talent and diversity in both volunteers and staff. Secretary general of a National Society

22 22 > six steps for strategic planning Step 2 Strategic planning guidelines for National Societies Does it rely primarily on revenue generated in its own country, from outside or both? With our current operating model, what level of activity can we comfortably sustain? Once these answers are clear, the National Society will then need to ask during the next step: do we need to change anything about how we operate and can we? How inclusive are we? The Fundamental Principle of unity states that every National Society must be open to all. While all National Societies endorse this principle, ensuring that fair and equal representation of all different sections of society at all levels of a National Society can sometimes be a challenge. Meeting that challenge allows for a more inclusive and comprehensive strategy, so this issue can be important to consider. How well do we understand the needs of vulnerable people? This question should normally be answered through the detailed vulnerability analysis described earlier. However, it is an important question, and sometimes difficult to answer honestly as gaps in knowledge or understanding are not always immediately apparent or easy to admit. Finding creative ways to answer this question can be another useful challenge for the strategic planning team. TOOls and resources Tool 2.2 a/b: SWOT analysis internal strengths and weaknesses Tool 2.5 Example questions for internal discussion in branches Tool 2.6 Analyzing different aspects of National Society capacity. 2.6 How shockproof does our Strategic Plan need to be? However thoroughly an organization prepares its Strategic Plan, there will always be a few cases where unexpected events have such an impact on the operating context that the plan will need to be reconsidered or even drastically modified. Such situations typically include when a unusually large disaster or quicklydeveloping health crisis strikes the country, or an internal or international armed conflict either erupts or rapidly worsens, affecting the infrastructure in the country and stretching the National Society s operating capacity to the limit. It can be useful during the analysis and subsequent phases to consider what approaches the National Society could adopt in the face of unexpected events, and how the Strategic Plan can be best prepared so that it is robust yet flexible enough to adapt to dramatically changed circumstances. In countries that face these kinds of situations, National Societies understand the importance of analyzing their own and other s capacity to respond to such situations, to avoid developing an unrealistic strategic or operational plan. To support this analysis, ensure that as much information as possible is available on disaster patterns or the conflict situation, as well as on the normal level of the National Society s response to such situations. It may often be useful to carry out that analysis with representatives of IFRC and ICRC.

23 Strategic planning guidelines for National Societies Defining options and making choices Defining, selecting and deciding on which strategic options to take is an activity that the planning team does throughout the entire strategic planning process. Making such choices is a key part of the process at every stage, and decisions may change a number of times during this process. Occasionally, National Societies experience disasters, conflict, or other events on scale that could never have been predicted and may require a response beyond the normal operating capacity of the National Society. The Movement response to such events is a demonstration of the strength and unity of the global network, with different components working in partnership with the National Society of the affected country, reaching more people than would otherwise be possible. With such large-scale response operations come a number of opportunities, but also some risks for the host National Society. It is important for both the host National Society, and for those working to support it, to discuss and agree how such large-scale operations can be best integrated into the Strategic Plan that was in place before the disaster or conflict situation arose. It is important that the host National Society s long-term interests are protected so that it can incorporate the assistance and opportunities in order to grow bigger and stronger in a sustainable way continuing to grow steadily after the operation scales down and the presence of Movement partners in the country reduces. However, at the end of this step on assessment and analysis moving into the next step on defining there is a decision point where the planning team will make the initial choices about the direction the National Society will take. All those involved in the strategic planning process will discuss various options of different opportunities for positive change that emerge from the analyses carried out, both externally in the community and internally within the National Society. The National Society then has to prioritize and decide which opportunities to engage in and how. This leads to identifying initial strategic priorities that will support the achievement of the National Society s mission (or lead to a revised mission) and the framework of Strategy Looking at the different vulnerabilities identified, the external environment, and current and potential organizational capacity identified, strategic choices need to be made of which areas the National Society will focus on, for example through drawing up a set of criteria. Some of these criteria may be specific to the context, but could include the following: How can we best use our identified potential to address the most urgent identified vulnerabilities?

24 24 > six steps for strategic planning Step 2 Strategic planning guidelines for National Societies What are the challenges when we compare the identified vulnerabilities to our existing capacities? Which of the vulnerabilities identified are best supported by Strategy 2020 and the National Society s mandate? Are there any vulnerable groups that can only be reached by the Red Cross Red Crescent? Which groups are not already served by other organizations and therefore require prioritized attention? What issues of vulnerability should we consider addressing because no other organization is able or willing to address? Which internal issues most urgently need to be addressed as part of the strategic planning process? TOOls and resources Tool 2.7: Strategic option decision sheet Tool 2.2a/b SWOT analysis can also be used to evaluate different options Yoshi Shimizu/IFRC

25 Strategic planning guidelines for National Societies 25 Step 3 Define develop the Strategic Plan ÔÔWhat do we want to achieve? In this step, the planning team and participants of the strategic planning process will use the information from the assessment and analysis to define what the National Society will do over the next few years, normally a four-six year period. This reflection and definition is based on the analysis described in the previous steps, focusing in particular on the strategic options that have been (or will be) identified. The National Society will define, validate or revise the vision, mission, and values statements of the organization, looking at them in the light of all the analysis carried out so far, including the overarching vision of Strategy It will then set about defining the strategic goals and outcomes that translate that vision into results. All these elements taken together are sometimes referred to as the strategic framework and constitute the essence of the Strategic Plan. Issues around power and ownership of the strategic framework/ plan which is now being formulated are crucial to address here a crucial question is, whose vision is it?. A key focus in this step is to ensure that the analysis and conclusions from the previous steps are properly incorporated into the emerging strategy. key resources to refer to ÎÎThe Fundamental Principles ÎÎDecisions of the IFRC and Movement governance bodies ÎÎStrategy 2020 ÎÎStrategy for the Movement ÎÎRegional strategies 3.1. Define the vision ÔÔWhere do we want to be? The vision describes an image of the future situation that the organization would like to see accomplished. A compelling vision of the future inspires people to act and reach desired goals. The vision may often be focused on the changed situation that the organization would like to see externally, such as: > A nation of safe and resilient communities without discrimination > An nation of empowered, healthy and self-sustaining communities that responds to the needs of its most vulnerable people > A world where everyone gets the help they need in a crisis > Contributing to poverty reduction and the protection of humanitarian values of vulnerable people. Other National Societies may find it useful to focus on a more internal description of a future change, or a statement that combines the two. > To be an efficient, self-sustainable and independent humanitarian organization committed to provide immediate relief to human suffering and reducing vulnerability under the Fundamental Principles of the Red Cross, through its network of Red Cross workers throughout the country working closely with communities and governmental and nongovernmental organizations in a democratic, transparent and participatory way. If this more internal vision approach is taken, then care should be taken to ensure that the mission statement does not simply duplicate or re-write the vision, but complements it as described below. vision MISSION

26 26 > six steps for strategic planning Step 3 Strategic planning guidelines for National Societies Valérie Batselaere/IFRC 3.2. Define the mission ÔÔWhat is our purpose? The mission statement describes the overall purpose of the organization, defining why it exists and what it does it may also describe whom the organization serves and how. It defines the way in which the National Society will work towards its vision. Most National Societies already have a mission statement. Examining the mission should also involve looking at what the National Society is obliged to do under its statutes and national legislation, and as member of the IFRC and of the Movement. This will ensure that the ensuing strategy is coherent with the wider statutes, strategies and policies that guide the National Society s work, such as Strategy 2020, decisions of the International Conference and General Assembly, and Council of Delegates resolutions. Looking at the mandate of the National Society will also help clarify the scope and the parameters of what it can and cannot do beyond its obligatory services. Good mission statements are short, clear and memorable. Above all they provide a clear image of what the National Society does. Examples from National Societies include: > To prevent and alleviate suffering by working with communities, local authorities and other partners to provide quality services to vulnerable people in accordance with the Fundamental Principles of the Movement > We work with communities to help them improve their health and livelihoods and prepare for and respond to disaster > Mobilize the power of humanity so that individuals and communities have the capacity to prepare for, deal with and recover from crisis > To be a leading humanitarian organization, improving the lives of vulnerable people through programmes delivered and promotion of humanitarian laws and values. If it is important for the National Society to be more explicit about one aspect of its work (for example who it aims to serve), this could be included in the mission statement, although care should be taken to keep the statement concise. > To alleviate the situation of the most vulnerable people, which include those affected by disasters, epidemics, armed conflicts, and the poorest communities in both urban and rural areas, focusing especially on vulnerable women, children, the aged, and disabled people. Note that defining (or-redefining) the mission statement may often lead to discussions and debates on the purpose of the National Society and how it works, in addition to the main discussion on how to best describe this. Discussions that seek to establish and clarify the consensus within the National Society on these points are generally a sign that the strategic planning process is going well, as it is tackling the important and sometimes difficult questions of the current and intended organizational characteristics of the National Society Define the values ÔÔHow do we work? Underlying the mission are considerations about the values of the National Society. The Fundamental Principles define to some extent the values of all components of the Movement, and some National Societies find that sufficient however others have found it useful to also define specific organizational values that support them in their mission. The values statement is essentially about defining how the organization works to carry out its mission for example in terms of how it relates to the people it seeks to serve, its staff and volunteers, and people and organizations it works with. For example, in Strategy 2020, the values of the IFRC are stated as People, Integrity, Partnership, Diversity, Leadership, Innovation and each value is further defined in the document (p5). Defining the values involves defining and maybe changing the organizational culture of the National Society. It requires looking

27 Strategic planning guidelines for National Societies 27 at the ways in which the National Society is working now, discussing honestly and openly about how people feel it should be working, and reaching a consensus on which values-based issues are important, especially where it is felt that changes need to be made. For example, in the case that a National Society felt that historically they had not done enough to ensure they recruited their staff and volunteers from all sections of the community, it might include the a value such as Diversity: The National Society celebrates the diversity of communities, volunteers, staff, and partners with the policy of non-discrimination and the principle of impartiality in order to reinforce the principle of impartiality in a targeted and direct way Tips on writing the vision, mission and values statements The greatest risk with vision and mission statements is to end up with a sentence which seemed good during the development but in fact means very little to most people in the organization, is seen as a confusing statement that people feel no ownership of, and may even be associated with a lack of direction in the organization. While there is a wide range of advice that can be found on the best way to write vision, mission and values statements, it is not always helpful to try to stick to hard and fast rules about exactly what the statements should contain and how they should be phrased. A few characteristics are given on the right, and further four key characteristics of good mission and vision statements Î Concise Î No jargon or unnecessary words Î Easily understandable to anyone Î A useful and inspiring statement for everyone in the organization resources are available in the toolkit in section A1.2 General external resources on strategic planning. A useful guiding principle is that the statements should be useful for the organization, bearing in mind the definitions and guidance given above. Occasionally, it may be useful to combine the vision and mission (and the values) into one statement. However, it is important to be clear about which elements in the statements refer to the vision of the organization, which elements to the mission, and which to the values. One example of a National Society s mission statement that includes elements both of a mission statement and a values statement is given here: > A humanitarian organization led by volunteers and guided by its Congressional Charter and the Fundamental Principles of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, will provide relief to victims of disaster and help people prevent, prepare for, and respond to emergencies. The mission statement below includes some elements of both an internal vision (be a leading humanitarian organization) and an external vision (improving the lives of vulnerable people), with a short statement of how the National Society works (through programmes delivered and promotion of humanitarian laws and values). > To be a leading humanitarian organization, improving the lives of vulnerable people through programmes delivered and promotion of humanitarian laws and values. It may take quite some time and many drafts to arrive at statements that everyone agrees on. It may sometimes seem like the process is too abstract and takes too much time discussing word differences or phrasing. However, the common experience in strategic planning is that allocating sufficient but not excessive time to get these statements clear and agreed brings clarity to the direction of the organization and is worth the time invested. Layton Thompson/British Red Cross

28 28 > six steps for strategic planning Step 3 Strategic planning guidelines for National Societies Strategic Goal 1 vision MISSION Strategic Goal 2 Strategic Goal 3 It can be useful to read through a number of mission and vision statements by different organizations to get a better idea of what works and what doesn t work. There are many examples of clearly-written mission statements that can inspire the strategic planning team when writing their own. There are also many examples of poorly-written vision and mission statements which are long, or confusing, or use overly-complex terms or are so vague that it is not clear what the organization does looking through these bad examples can also help clarify what to avoid when writing mission and vision statements. For more examples and guidance on writing the vision, mission and values statements, refer to the tools and resources referenced at the end of this section and in the toolkit that accompanies this guide for more information, in particular in section 3.1 key resources on writing mission and vision statements Define the strategic goals and outcomes ÔÔHow will we get there? In this step the main focus is setting out how the National Society will get to where it wants to go how it will achieve its mission. This is done by determining the long-term results that the Strategic Plan seeks to achieve (goals), followed by the medium-term results (outcomes) the ways in which the goals will be achieved. We will also look at how to measure the progress towards achieving the strategic goals and outcomes in the next section Strategic goals: what are our long-term aims? Strategic goals are statements that set out the results necessary to achieve the mission and work towards its vision. They define the long-term results that the organization seeks to achieve or contribute to during the life of the strategy. and can be written in a variety of ways. The common defining features are that these statements should be: ÔÔ Clear, succinct, and motivating ÔÔ Provide a short but comprehensive set of results that are necessary and sufficient to the achievement of the strategic mission statement ÔÔ Broad statements which guide a programme or management function of the National Society, but do not attempt to provide the detail necessary for programming ÔÔ Illustrate how one or more of the strategic aims or enabling actions of Strategy 2020 can be translated into the national context ÔÔ SMART Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-Bound (but see Step 6: Measure, review and modify for more information on how goals are measured and made time-bound through the use of indicators). Examples of goal statements from a selection of different Strategic Plans: > Strengthening national emergency preparedness, response and recovery. > We will make people and communities more resilient by helping them prepare for and withstand disasters. > Intolerance, discrimination and social exclusion are reduced. > Strengthen the capacity of the organization to effectively monitor and evaluate its work. > Strengthening the National Society s positioning as a leading humanitarian organization. The way in which a strategic goal is phrased is important, but not all goals have to be phrased in the same way from one Strategic Plan to another. However, it is clearer and easier to read if all the goals within one plan are phrased in the same way. These statements may be called different things such as strategic aims, strategic priority areas, and strategic directions

29 Strategic planning guidelines for National Societies Outcomes: what are the primary changes we need to bring about? Outcomes are defined here as the the primary results the strategy seeks to achieve, most commonly in terms of the knowledge, attitudes or practices. They are an important transitional step bringing the strategic vision set out earlier into practical action on the ground, and will form the basis of operational plans (as described in the next section). The key questions to ask when defining outcomes are: P What are the key changes in knowledge, attitudes or practices that are necessary to achieve our goals? P Which of these changes do we have the capacity to bring about? Outcome 2: Communities understand the importance of being prepared for natural disasters and other emergencies and actively prepare for them. Outcome 3: The immediate needs of households and communities are met during times of natural disaster or other emergencies. Refer to Tool 3.4: Illustrative example of a National Society strategic framework for further examples of goal and outcome statements (and the indicators which measure them). Outcome 1.1 Strategic Goal 1 Outcome 1.2 Outcome 1.3 Examples of outcome statements (for the strategic goal Reduce the negative impacts of natural disasters and other emergencies on individuals, households and communities. ) Outcome 1: Individuals and communities have the support and knowledge they need to effectively recover after a natural disaster or other emergency Translating strategic objectives into operational plans The goals and the outcomes together form the link between the strategic and the operational plan. Normally, the goals and outcomes identified are carried over into separate operational plans (for projects, programme and services), where they may be further refined or expanded. Exactly how this happens will depend on the specific context how many strategic goals have been identified, and how closely related they are. A fairly typical situation would be that for each strategic goal identified (and associated outcomes), a separate operational plan for one to two years would be developed. More detail about developing operational plans is given in the following section 4. In some cases it may be useful to develop separate plans for four to five years just for that goal area. For example a National Society disaster management department may find it useful to have a four-year plan to guide its work over that period 9. How to develop operational plan based on the Strategic Plan is outlined in some detail in section 5 Implement making the strategic plan a reality. 9 This may also sometimes be referred to as a Strategic Plan for that sector.

30 30 > six steps for strategic planning Step 3 Strategic planning guidelines for National Societies figure 3: Translating strategic objectives into operational plans vision 3.6. Defining risks in strategic planning ÔÔWhat might go wrong? And how can we avoid it? When analyzing the external and internal environment, in addition to seeking to define where a National Society wants to be and how to get there, the strategic planning team should also be looking out for where there might be obstacles or other difficulties along that path. Some of these obstacles may be manageable, like an uneven road. Others may be more difficult or impossible to manage, like a broken bridge 10. NS Strategic Plan MISSIon Risk management is essentially about limiting as much as possible the effects of those obstacles on the path to implementing the Strategic Plan. Key questions that the strategic planning and implementing teams can ask themselves are follows: 10 In the IFRC risk management model, risks are categorized as internal or external. The definition of external risks is similar to how assumptions are defined here and in the IFRC project/programme planning (P) guidance manual (see box) 11 Questions modified from 20 questions directors for not-for-profit organizations should ask about strategy and planning (Hugh Lindsay, chartered accountants of Canada) 12 Text in brackets and page numbers related to key terms in the IFRC risk management model see resources/support/audit/managing-risk/ 13 See IFRC risk management model, p5 Operational plan for strategic goal 1 Outcome 1.1 Output Outcome 1.2 Output Outcome 1.3 Output Activity Activity Activity Activity Strategic Goal 1 Activity Strategic Goal 2 Strategic Goal 3 What could happen that would affect our ability to meet our objectives? 11 (risk identification, consolidation and classification p12-13) 12 How likely is it to occur? (likelihood of occurrence p14) How serious might it be? (prioritization: impact of the risk event, p15) What are our top ten risks? (finalizing top risks, p17) What else do we know about our top risks? (in-depth analysis p18) What can we do to manage the risk? (action planning risk strategy p18-19 For risk management to be effective, it should be seen as the responsibility of everyone within the organization, especially at the implementation level 13. However, the overall responsibility for ensuring that risks are managed effectively belongs to governance, who may also establish an Audit/Risk Management Committee. They are responsible for monitoring the organization s processes for managing risk, and give direction to the senior management and implementing teams in key approaches to ensure risks are well managed. These approaches should include:

31 Strategic planning guidelines for National Societies 31 Promoting an awareness of the need to manage risk Identifying and assessing the risks that could affect the achievement of their strategy Developing and implementing methods and procedures for managing risk Learning from their experiences with risk. Such risk management processes should be well-considered during the strategic planning process, both in terms of planning, assessing analyzing for future risks and how to manage them (action planning). This should also include reviewing and analysis previous reports and lessons learned on risk management from the previous strategy or recent years. key resources for section 3.6 ÎÎIFRC risk management model ÎÎProject/programme planning guide Assumptions & Risks p33-35 ÎÎProject/programme monitoring and evaluation (M&E) guide Risk Log, Annex 17, p113 ÎÎSee toolkit section 3.1 for references 3.7. Define how the strategy will be measured and reviewed ÔÔHow will we know when we get there? This monitoring and evaluation framework consists primarily of identifying indicators (measures) which can be feasibly and reliably tracked during the life of the strategy, and putting in place the necessary resources to be able to collect, analyze and report on that information. It also consists of establishing a plan for what will be reviewed and evaluated during the lifetime of the strategy, and how. In this way, the monitoring and evaluation framework is the primary support to establishing accountability of the organization regarding the implementation of its strategic plan. Experience shows that it is essential to design this system at the same time as defining the objectives of the strategic framework. The actual monitoring and reporting of progress happens only once implementation has begun, so the details about how to develop the framework and how to monitor indicators and conduct reviews and evaluation are discussed in detail in Section 6: Measure, review and modify, along with a list of tools and resources. TOOls and resources Toolkit section 3.1 Resources on writing mission and vision statements Tool 3.2a: Creating the vision Tool 3.2b: Visioning exercise Tool 3.3: Affirming or creating the mission statement Tool 3.4: Illustrative example of a National Society strategic framework IFRC risk management model definitions Risk: any event, action or decision preventing an organization from achieving its goals and/ or successfully implementing its strategies Risk management: deciding on responses to opportunities and threats that affect the achievement of its strategic objectives. It is crucially important to measure and review the implementation and success of the strategy and accompanying operational plan in order to be able to know whether progress is being made, and to know what is not working and may need adjusting. The part of the Strategic Plan that summarizes how we will measure and report on progress is referred to here as a monitoring and evaluation framework. Refer to detailed chapters on and exercises vision and mission development in detailed strategic planning guides referenced A 1.2 General external resources on strategic planning Refer to the FedNet page: Our IFRC/about the IFRC /Strategy 2020 for a list of current National Society Strategic Plans for more examples of vision, mission and values statements - fednet.ifrc.org/our-federation/about-the-federation/strategy-2020/.

32 32 > six steps for strategic planning Step 4 Strategic planning guidelines for National Societies John Sparrow/IFRC

33 Strategic planning guidelines for National Societies 33 Step 4 Agree finalizing, endorsing and disseminating the Strategic Plan 3. Governance formally approves the final document 4. Dissemination and explanation across the National Society Drafting the text of the Strategic Plan ÔÔDo we agree on our Strategic Plan? The vision, mission and strategic objectives defined in the previous step form the backbone of the Strategic Plan. Most National Societies also find it useful to include more detailed text in the finalized version of their plan, which describes the objectives and provides the background, rationale and context behind them. It is the final document produced at the end of this step that is normally referred to as the Strategic Plan. There should be extensive consultation and feedback opportunities during the development and drafting of the document and, like the objectives themselves, the narrative text may go through many drafts and changes before agreement is reached. This is a normal, necessary and useful feature of the process. This may also lead to further suggested changes to the objectives although ideally any changes to the objectives at this stage should be minor. It is important to structure the drafting and review process, assigning clear responsibilities to individuals or groups for drafting or review of specific sections of the final document. It is also useful to define what type of feedback is being asked for (general, technical, focus on particular details or a decision to be made) as well as who is responsible for writing which sections. This step can be split into four stages: 1. Drafting the text of the Strategic Plan around the draft objectives 2. Feedback from leadership at all levels and other reviewers, including National Society governance and senior management, staff and volunteers, reviewing and modifying the document (and if necessary the strategic objectives based on this feedback) A small group of people should be tasked with drafting the text of the Strategic Plan. This should involve people from the planning team, normally from the working group (if there is one). The drafting should take on board all the findings of the process up to this point, starting with draft (or final) vision, mission and objectives statements developed during step three, and including the summaries of the vulnerability, external and internal analyses in order to explain the background and context. It is important to allow sufficient time to get the specific wording and structure clear and agreed on however it s also important to get the balance right between being very precise and not allowing the drafting process to drag on for too long Feedback from leadership at all levels and other reviewers A Strategic Plan will only be successful if understood, owned and committed to by all levels and members of the organization. To ensure that this happens, in addition to detailed consultation during the preparation, analysis and definition steps, it is good to share drafts of the actual strategic plan at different stages with: National Society leadership Reviewers within the National Society branches, members, volunteers, staff IFRC secretariat (country, zone, Geneva) National Societies working in-country ICRC Government and NGOs. The next steps would be to organize a final consultation meeting with the team involved with the strategic planning process from the beginning (e.g. strategic advisory group and strategic DrafTINg a STrategIC plan do s and don ts Do P Ensure the drafting team represents the conclusions of the consultation process P Allow sufficient time P Use clear language P Have a clear structure P Use diagrams P Be patient. Don t O Have too many people (or only one) working on the document O Allow personal opinions to overly influence the document O Try to produce a perfect draft first time O Procrastinate.

34 34 > six steps for strategic planning Step 4 Strategic planning guidelines for National Societies working group) with the leadership of the National Society to develop a feedback form and get all the feedback received from reviewers in-country and abroad. On the basis of this final consultation, the drafting team should revise and update the Strategic Plan document, checking its accuracy and relevance, as well as approve the main conclusions and recommendations made. Finally the draft can be submitted to the governing body for approval along with a short presentation of the main elements of the planning context, content and process Governance and senior management approve the final document All National Societies will have their own statutory processes for formally adopting the strategy, for example at the central committee, other governing body or annual general membership meetings. At such meetings, the final Strategic Plan will be fully discussed including the implications that will follow its adoption in terms of the National Society s ways of working. Such discussion is essential to foster full understanding and ownership of the final Strategic Plan, and generate the commitment to put it into practice Making the Strategic Plan known By this stage, the staff and volunteers of the National Society should be well aware of the strategic planning process - through the preparatory communications from the leadership, and through the consultation and participation exercises. With the Strategic Plan completed, it must now become a part of their thinking and their daily work. many grassroots members as possible and ensuring their engagement with the process. This is even more powerful when the same senior management had toured the branches at the first stage of the planning process to receive ideas and suggestions from vulnerable groups and volunteers the second visit then shows how their ideas were turned into aspects of the plan which will result in high motivation and ownership of the plan. The strategic planning working group and the National Society s communicators should plan a concerted communications campaign to disseminate the messages of the Strategic Plan. The messages have to be robust, concise, and should address the ways in which the Strategic Plan will affect beneficiaries and partners as well as the National Society s own staff and volunteers. Such a campaign might include: A launch day for the new strategy Presentations to the governing bodies of all branches Media events Presentation meetings with governmental and other local partners Road-show presentations around the country Regular updates in newsletters as to the Strategic Plan s progress Articles in external journals or newspapers Sharing the plan with the IFRC and the ICRC. TOOls and resources Tool 4.1: Example Strategic Plan format Tool 4.2: Presenting your Strategic Plan to partners The leadership should not delegate the communication of the Strategic Plan, but must become its champions. In some National Societies, the senior management have toured the branches, explaining and discussing the Strategic Plan to as

35 Strategic planning guidelines for National Societies 35 Step 5 Implement making the Strategic Plan a reality ÔÔHow will the strategy bring positive change in people s lives? In this step, the secretary general, senior management, programme directors and staff should develop the operational plans that will facilitate the implementation of the objectives summarised in the Strategic Plan. A Strategic Plan without a realistic operational plan is completely insufficient, like a beautiful car without an engine. The operational plan sets out the outputs and activities necessary to achieve the outcomes in the Strategic Plan, as well as the operational budget and staffing requirements. The details of how to develop an operational plan, focused on the logical framework methods are summarized below (and in more detail set out in the Project/programme planning guidance manual). It is equally important to include within the operational plan appropriate mechanisms for the development, maintenance, or expansion of on-going services provided by the National Society Aligning operational plans and budgets to the Strategic Plan As explained in section 3.5.3, the goals and the outcomes form the link between the strategic and the operational plans (see figure 3 on page 30). One challenge in operational planning is to get the balance right between aligning the operational plan with the organization s broader strategic directions on the one hand, and designing projects, programmes and services in a participatory way, rooted in the local context on the other. organizational priorities and capacities. The Project/programme planning manual states the following: The goal and outcomes of an intervention are often taken directly from an organization s Strategic Plan or influenced by it. Even when this is the case, the process of defining objectives based on analysis is nonetheless a vital step in order to check whether there are additional outcomes specific to the situation. It also acts as a necessary validation of the relevance of the wider strategy to the particular context in which the project/programme is being developed. One or more outcomes can be adopted, depending on the context of the intervention. 14 These two potentially opposing requirements can however help to ensure well-designed interventions that take into account the project-specific requirements as well as the established 14 Project/programme planning guidance manual, IFRC 2010, page 30.

36 36 > six steps for strategic planning Step 5 Strategic planning guidelines for National Societies The National Society has had good collaboration with the Government s Provincial Health Department and other related departments in its effort to fight HIV and AIDS. As a result of its national strategic plan and local Branch plans that flow from this, the Red Cross is an important agent to support people living with HIV and AIDS living in remote areas which are not accessible to some NGOs. Head of Provincial Government HIV and AIDS Office 5.2. The operational planning phase in the project/programme cycle. In the Project/programme planning guidance manual, the planning phase is defined in the context of a four-phase project cycle (see p6-7). The planning phase defines an intervention s intended results (objectives), the inputs and activities needed to accomplish them, the indicators to measure their achievement, and the assumptions that can affect the achievement of the results (objectives). The planning phase is organized into stages and steps as described below. This is very similar progression as the strategic planning process outlined in this guide, but focused on the specific project context and going into much more detail on the practical or operational aspects than the strategic planning team would get involved in. figure 5: The project/programme cycle EVALUATION IMPLEMENTATION & MONITORING REFLECTION AND LEARNING INITIAL ASSESSMENT PLANNING Analysis stage Situation and problem analysis This involves identifying the main strengths, interests, needs, constraints and opportunities of the implementing team and of primary stakeholders, and identifying the problems that need to be solved and their causes and consequences Development of objectives This involves developing objectives based on the identified problems and verifying the causeeffect relationships Selection of objectives This involves identifying the different options available to achieve the main objective and determining which one the implementing team or agency is best suited to tackle. Design stage Logical framework (logframe) matrix This involves refining the intervention s objectives, identifying the assumptions, indicators and means of measuring them, and developing a summary of activities. These logframes take selected strategic goals and outcomes from the Strategic Plan for particular technical (sectoral) areas and complete them by setting out the lower level objectives (outputs) that will be necessary to achieve the medium and long-term results stated in the goal and outcomes. The outcome statements from the strategy may also be refined, adapted and added to in order to suit particular contexts Activity scheduling This involves determining the sequence of activities, estimating their duration, setting milestones and assigning responsibilities Resource planning This involves determining the inputs needed and budget on the basis of the activity schedule Developing a monitoring system for the intervention. In addition to these points outlined in the Project/programme planning manual, the operational plan would normally include Assignment of roles and responsibilities to individuals, who become accountable for the progress of their allotted specific objectives and activities

37 Strategic planning guidelines for National Societies 37 A resource mobilization plan that outlines from where and how the different resources required will be gathered Capacity enhancement initiatives should normally be built into each project and programme. There may also be some cross-cutting capacity building initiatives in the strategy that support the overall implementation, in this case it should also be elaborated in the operational plan. An annual cycle of evaluation progress for the operational plan, linked to evaluation of the strategic goals (see Section 6: Measure, review and modify ) Local-level monitoring and reporting should be developing in line with both local project management needs and the need to aggregate (roll-up) data on indicators to the national, regional and global levels (see the following section 6: Measure, review and modify) Reports and lessons learned at local levels from monitoring and evaluation should inform the next strategic planning process. Strategy 2020 National Society Strategic Plan National Society operational plan 5.3. Linking between branch and national level A National Society needs to find the right balance between topdown planning, where the national Strategic Plan influences the planning choices made at branch level, and bottom-up planning, whereby the needs and issues at branch level influence the direction of the Strategic Plan. Branch plans This is one reason why the development of the Strategic Plan should include thorough and meaningful consultation at the branch level as described above. If branches have a sense of ownership of the Strategic Plan, developing branch-level operational plans that are in line with the strategy will be logical and straightforward. In this case, the branch can focus on its own annual operational plans using the National Society Strategic Plan as its beginning point and, with a local situation analysis, can develop a local operational plan for the year. The National Society leadership should encourage branches to find better ways and to innovate within the broader strategy. New approaches that prove to be effective should be incorporated into the next Strategic Plan Branch plans should include descriptions of the monitoring and evaluation and means of reporting on financial management and programme results TOOls and resources For this step 5, because implementation covers such a broad range of practices within a broad range of sectors, there are no specific tools listed, just the two key resources listed in section 5.1 of the toolkit: Project/programme planning: guidance manual Project/programme monitoring and evaluation (M&E) guide Both are available from and on the CD ROM that accompanies this guide. Practitioners should refer to the standard guidance on budgeting and finance from the IFRC available at as well as guidance on budgeting and financial management from within their own National Society. There are a wide range of sector-specific implementation guides (e.g. community health, water and sanitation, disaster preparedness, humanitarian values) that provide detailed guidance based on the specific recommendations for programming in that sector area. These guides are numerous and often updated, so are not listed here but can be found in the relevant pages of the website and the extranet.

38 38 > six steps for strategic planning Step 6 Strategic planning guidelines for National Societies Benoit Matsha-Carpentier/IFRC Benoit Matsha-Carpentier/IFRC Sonia Cervelló/Spanish Red Cross

39 Strategic planning guidelines for National Societies 39 Step 6 Measure, review and modify assess progress and make changes ÔÔHow can we know if our strategy is making a difference? During this step, the National Society will measure the extent to which progress is being made towards achieving the vision, mission, goals and outcomes. This will allow a National Society to be accountable 15 to its stakeholders. For clarity, we can refer to these ways of measuring as a monitoring and evaluation (M&E) framework. The process to define this framework would normally start at the end of the step 3 define (see section 3.7 above), and the actual monitoring and evaluation would begin as part of step 5 implementation. However, because monitoring and evaluation requires significant and dedicated efforts, it can be useful to place particular emphasis on the use of this framework by focusing on it as a separate step. If we think of the Strategic Plan as being like body of the car, and the operational plan as being like the engine, then the monitoring and evaluation framework can be compared to the dashboard in the car. It will show you the crucial information about your journey how fast you are going, how much fuel is key resource for this section ÎÎThe IFRC Monitoring and Evaluation Guide provides detailed information on how to plan and carry out data collection, management and analysis as well as reporting and utilization of information generated through the data collection and analysis from the M&E framework and systems put in place. It is available at and on the CD ROM that accompanies this guide. left, and whether there are any problems that need to be fixed. Guide pdf 6.1. Developing a monitoring and evaluation system for the strategic and operational plans ÔÔHow will we measure progress? The operational plan is the means through which the strategy is achieved. Therefore to know about the progress towards achieving the strategy, the overall monitoring and evaluation framework needs to encompass both the strategic and operational level. The challenge here is to develop a comprehensive framework without the strategic planning team getting stuck in the details of operational monitoring systems. Specific guidance for monitoring and evaluation at each level of the strategic and operational plan is given below. It is useful to have a focal point (or group) tasked with carrying out regular monitoring and updates on the strategy, using the indicators set out in the strategy and based on the operational reports this may be the same multi-sectoral working group who guided the development of the strategy, or it may involve other people Measuring progress towards the mission (and vision) The team should define a few carefully selected high level indicators and broad evaluation questions that are to be reported on at the strategic level. The leadership should ensure that there is a review of progress according to those indicators at least annually, or if a major event has radically altered the National Society s operating environment (and therefore the premise upon which the strategy was created). The M&E framework is like a dashboard that guides the implementation of the Strategic Plan. 15 Here accountable is taken to mean that the National Society can more easily answer any questions that any stakeholder might ask about the progress of its Strategic Plan and accompanying operational plan, through the data that will be collected through the monitoring and evaluation framework.

40 40 > six steps for strategic planning Step 6 Strategic planning guidelines for National Societies To ensure that beneficiaries are making progress, volunteers make regular checks on their health, psychological state, clothing and nutrition. Volunteers visit our beneficiaries twice or three times a month and conduct a meeting to discuss the data gathered. We keep note of our beneficiaries with the help of our volunteers. Branch Secretary of a National Society The mission is a long-term objective towards which continual progress will be made. For this reason, indicators can be tracked to show progress e.g. how many people are we reaching? but there may be no specific overall target for the mission. Measurements for the mission may include: The key performance indicators from the Federation-wide Databank and Reporting System 1) number of (#) people volunteering time, 2) # paid staff, 3) # people donating blood, 4) # local units (i.e. chapters, branches), 5) # people reached, 6) # total income received, and 7) # total expenditure. Impact data (see further explanation below), e.g. specific data on changes in the level of vulnerability of the people reached by the National Society s projects and services, as closely linked as possible to the target group/area, but may need to be collected from secondary sources, e.g. government data Many organizations may choose not to measure against the vision, as it represents an even higher level of desired achievement than the mission. However, it may be useful to consider tracking a very few indicators at the national level, using secondary data (for example government statistics on Millennium Development Goal indicators such as poverty rates and infant mortality rates) in order to keep informed about the extent to which the vision of the National Society is (or isn t) becoming a reality Measuring the strategic goals and outcomes High-level key impact indicators 16 should be defined for the goal, and key outcome indicators 17 defined for the outcomes. These indicators then need to be incorporated into operational M&E frameworks and systems, so that the overall framework is coherent. As the goal and outcome statements in the strategy will be the basis for the goals and outcomes in the programmes, the indicators for those objectives should also be incorporated into the programming documentation Measuring the operational outputs and activities In addition to the measurements at the strategic level, a more comprehensive set of indicators should be monitored and reported on for the operational plan, with sufficient specific indicators at the output and activity level to guide the management of the projects, programmes and services. Although monitoring of indicators at this level is primarily an operational issue, it is important for the strategic planning team to be aware of the complexity and scope of monitoring at this level, so that the broader systems and approaches they put in place can be easily linked to by this level of monitoring. In that Table 2: Measuring the strategic goals and outcomes Planning level Results level Indicator level Example frequency of data collection 16 Quantitative and/or qualitative criteria that provide a simple and reliable means to measure achievement or reflect changes connected to the goal (the long-term results that an intervention seeks to achieve). 17 Quantitative and/or qualitative criteria that provide a simple and reliable means to measure achievement or reflect changes, most commonly in terms of the knowledge, attitudes or practices of the target group in the medium term. Strategic: high-level objectives to be achieved Operational: how strategic goals and outcomes will be achieved Strategic goals Impact indicators Every 3-12 months Outcomes Outcome indicators Every 3-6 months Outputs Output indicators Every 1-2 months Activities Process indicators Weekly monthly

41 Strategic planning guidelines for National Societies 41 way, it is easier for the information from operational monitoring, reporting and evaluation to act as a support to monitoring and evaluation at the strategic level, providing essential background to the information collected on the high-level indicators and evaluation questions. key resources on indicators ÎÎProject/programme planning guidance manual, pages indicators ÎÎProject/programme monitoring and evaluation (M&E) guide, in particular pages what is M&E? Both available at and on the CD ROM that accompanies this guide. monitoring information takes time and money, so it is important to focus the organization s efforts. The different projects, programmes and services in the operational plan should develop detailed systems to collect data at all levels (goal, outcome, output, activity) in order to be able to measure progress at the operational level. This data will also serve as the basis for measuring progress at the strategic level, but what is measured and reviewed will be only a selection. One useful criteria is to see whether the data for an indicator can be feasibly collected by all projects under the strategic plan. Those that are feasible can then be aggregated ( rolled up ) to provide useful information for senior management at a strategic, rather than a project or programme level. For example, although almost all projects can and should collect information about how many people they reach, an indicator like number of water points constructed to national standards or levels of pollutants in drinking water are only relevant for a water and sanitation project aiming to providing clean drinking water, and should therefore be monitored only at the operational level. However, an indicator such as number of people reached by new or improved water and sanitation facilities can be aggregated along with the numbers of people reached by other projects and services. Some examples of strategic performance indicators used by National Societies are: 6.2. Measuring strategically Measuring strategically can be understood as measuring only what is needed in order to inform adjustments in the implementation of the strategy. Collecting, analyzing and reporting on Number of people reached by services and programmes Number of active local volunteers Percentage of expenditure against budget Percentage of funding against budget Level of satisfaction of beneficiaries of programmes These first two indicators here are taken from the set of seven Federation-wide indicators 18. They are key proxy indicators - indirect measures used due to the difficulty of measuring impact directly in such a large organization. The example below shows how measuring the indicator number of people reached in every 18 The Federation-wide indicators are a set of seven indicators endorsed by the IFRC General Assembly 2009 as part of measuring Strategy All National Societies have committed to work towards reporting on the 1) number (#) of people volunteering time, 2) # paid staff, 3) # people donating blood, 4) # local units, 5) # people reached (disaggregated by service areas), 6) Total income received, 7) Total expenditure.

42 42 > six steps for strategic planning Step 6 Strategic planning guidelines for National Societies # people reached Project H1 # people reached Health programme 19 [This indicator] reflect the social, economic and environmental conditions in which children (and others in society) live, including their health care. Because data on the incidences and prevalence of diseases (morbidity data) frequently are unavailable, mortality rates are often used to identify vulnerable populations. Indicators for Monitoring the Millennium Development Goals, UNDG, The indicator provides a measure of the coverage and the quality of the child healthcare system in the country. Immunization is an essential component for reducing under-five mortality. Indicators for Monitoring the Millennium Development Goals, UNDG, aspx?content=indicators/handbook.htm # people reached Federation-wide Strategy 2020 # people reached National Society Strategic Plan # people reached Project H2 # people reached Project DM1 # people reached Disaster management programme # people reached Project DM2 project in the National Society allows the project data to be aggregated to give strategic monitoring information at the national level, that can also be further rolled up to give monitoring information on the progress towards the achievement of Strategy This same principle can be followed throughout the monitoring and evaluation framework, by ensuring that the key indicators included are ones which can feasibly be monitored in most of the projects and services guided by the strategy. This helps to ensure that only succinct and relevant information is provided on the progress of the Strategic Plan. However, it is important to balance this information with measurement of long-term changes ( impact ) that may often be specific to one project or programme, as described in the paragraph below The challenge of impact measurement Impact indicators measure sustainable changes on the long-term and often cover the most significant changes to people s lives and wellbeing. For this reason they are of crucial importance at the strategic level, as this also deals with long-term change. However, the complexity of collecting and analyzing data related to these long-term changes is a well-known challenge. Some key indicators that may be tracked for a project or programme are also recognized as being useful measurements for impact on overall wellbeing at the community level or wider target area. For example, how many of every 1,000 children die before age 5 (under 5 mortality rate) 19 and the percentage of children less than 1 year old who are vaccinated against measles 20. the measurement of impact is challenging, can be costly and is widely debated. This does not mean we should not try to measure impact; it is an important part of being accountable to what we set out to achieve. However, we should be cautious and understand some of the challenges in measuring impact. Typically, impact involves longer-term changes, and it may take months or years for such changes to become apparent. Furthermore, it can be difficult to attribute observed changes to an intervention versus other factors (called attribution ). For example, if we measure changes (or no changes) in psychological wellbeing following a psychosocial project, is this due to the project/ programme, or other factors such as an outbreak of dengue fever or an economic recession? Despite these challenges, there is increasing demand for accountability among organizations working in humanitarian relief and development. Therefore, careful consideration should be given to its measurement, including the required time period, resources and specialized skills. From the IFRC M&E Guide 2011, p18

43 Strategic planning guidelines for National Societies 43 These indicators are used to measure Millennium Development Goal 4 (reduce child mortality) as they not only give very good information about child mortality, but also about the overall state of a country s health care systems and overall well-being. Therefore indicators like these ones may be extracted from operational monitoring to inform the measurement of progress at the strategic level. It is highly recommended to find and use recognized impact-level indicators like those used to monitor the Millennium Development Goals. Such well-recognized indicators have existing detailed guidance on how to measure them, and in many cases other institutions may already collect the data. A National Society can then cross-reference its data on how many people it reaches with child health services and the number of such services provided with secondary data on indicators such as the under-5 mortality rate. For example if the National Society has child health services in six of 12 districts, and has data on how many services provided and how many people have been reached, and in those same districts, government statistics show that the under-5 mortality rates are lower than the national average, an argument can be made that the National Society s work appears to be having an impact on reducing child mortality although this argument would have to be further tested to be able to conclusively claim attribution How will we get the information? Establishing mechanisms to collect data on the progress towards strategic objectives As mentioned above, one challenge for the strategic planning team is to ensure that monitoring and evaluation of the strategy is taken seriously throughout the organization, without getting too involved in the practical details. Some issues that the team might choose to focus on, and include in the Strategic Plan and its monitoring and evaluation framework, are: Ensuring and enabling good understanding of the benefits and importance of M&E throughout the organization, including orientation, training and other capacity building measures if necessary Ensuring that sufficient human and financial resources are allocated or mobilized for M&E Ensure that issues around monitoring and evaluation mechanisms, including data collection and analysis, will be included in operational planning Ensuring that efficient reporting and knowledge-sharing systems are in place so that the main strategic monitoring information is shared with the right people at the right time in order to make decisions related to the progress of the strategy, and especially whether any changes of direction might be necessary. Six key steps to develop good quality monitoring and evaluation systems at the project/programme operational level are explained in detail in the IFRC Monitoring and Evaluation guide (referenced below) Review assess the progress at different stages ÔÔAre we there yet? In order to be sure that the Strategic Plan remains relevant, and make adjustments if necessary, it is very useful to carry out periodic reviews or evaluations of the progress towards the stated objectives, using the data collected through project/programme monitoring. Many National Societies who have implemented a Strategic or Development Plan have conducted a mid-term review. Most have found that the process should be participatory and relatively informal. The strategic planning working group, or the senior management, should use data on a few key indicators to review progress and assess the need for adjustments or a particular focus on certain parts of the plan. But of equal value has been taking an opportunity to re-engage with representative staff, volunteers, beneficiaries, partners and donors in the Rob Few/IFRC

44 44 > six steps for strategic planning Step 6 Strategic planning guidelines for National Societies strategic planning process through discussion and debate. This can help refresh the plan s relevance. Formally evaluating progress according to the indicators at the end of the planning period may well involve the use of external consultants. This can be a lengthy task, depending on the extent of consultation and participation required from the National Society s staff, volunteers and partners. However, National Societies that have learned lessons from previous strategic planning processes through a formal evaluation exercise find that they are able to create a new Strategic Plan more efficiently and more effectively. Mistakes are avoided and the process becomes less time-consuming as people s orientation to strategic thinking and their strategic planning skills increase Modify make changes as you go along ÔÔWhat should we change? All the information gathered through the monitoring and evaluation activities described above is only really worthwhile collecting if it is reviewed, analyzed and acted upon. In many cases the information collected and analysis based on this information will confirm that that strategy is on the right track, and there is no need to make and major changes to the overall strategic directions (objectives) of the Strategic Plan, or even to most of the aspects of implementation. In other cases, the information that is collected and analyzed through the monitoring and evaluation framework will lead to changes in the implementation of the strategy, or may even lead to making some adjustments in the strategic directions themselves. While some care should be taken to not make frequent major changes without reasonable justification, making some corrections to the directions being taken as the National Society travels along the road of implementing its Strategic Plan is an important and necessary part of making sure that the strategy remains relevant to the needs of the people it seeks to serve, and the changing capacity of the different parts of the organization implementing it. TOOls and resources The IFRC Monitoring and Evaluation Guide provides detailed guidance on different types of evaluation (pages 13-17), as well as detailed information on the data collection, analysis, reporting, human and financial resources and capacity building that need to be in place for efficient evaluation. The IFRC s Framework for Evaluation provides detailed guidance on different types of evaluation and on evaluation criteria that inform what we evaluate evaluation standards that guide how we evaluate standards with specific practices to guide the evaluation process. Both are available at and on the CD ROM that accompanies this guide.

45 Olivier Matthys/IFRC

46 46 > six steps for strategic planning notes Strategic planning guidelines for National Societies Notes

47 The Fundamental Principles of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement Humanity The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, born of a desire to bring assistance without discrimination to the wounded on the battlefield, endeavours, in its international and national capacity, to prevent and alleviate human suffering wherever it may be found. Its purpose is to protect life and health and to ensure respect for the human being. It promotes mutual understanding, friendship, cooperation and lasting peace amongst all peoples. Impartiality It makes no discrimination as to nationality, race, religious beliefs, class or political opinions. It endeavours to relieve the suffering of individuals, being guided solely by their needs, and to give priority to the most urgent cases of distress. Neutrality In order to enjoy the confidence of all, the Movement may not take sides in hostilities or engage at any time in controversies of a political, racial, religious or ideological nature. Independence The Movement is independent. The National Societies, while auxiliaries in the humanitarian services of their governments and subject to the laws of their respective countries, must always maintain their autonomy so that they may be able at all times to act in accordance with the principles of the Movement. Voluntary service It is a voluntary relief movement not prompted in any manner by desire for gain. Unity There can be only one Red Cross or Red Crescent Society in any one country. It must be open to all. It must carry on its humanitarian work throughout its territory. Universality The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, in which all societies have equal status and share equal responsibilities and duties in helping each other, is worldwide.

48 For more information about this IFRC publication, please contact: Planning and evaluation department or Learning and organizational development department P.O. Box 372 CH-1211 Geneva 19 Switzerland Telephone: Telefax: Saving lives, changing minds.