Most organizations, including associations, prepare some kind of a plan or document to serve as their guidepost for operational directions and actions. This task emanates from the board of directors in the context of business organizations and board of trustees in the case of associations and other not-for-profit organizations in the Philippines.
According to the latest board self-assessment benchmarking data of BoardSource, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit organization that specializes in board service and governance, strategy and planning remains at the top of the list of areas needing board improvement.
The report also mentioned that nonprofits most often focus on creating one of four documents when engaging in strategic planning, but reliance on formal strategic plans is waning in favor of more flexible strategic frameworks. These documents include the following:
Operational/Annual Plan—incorporates strategic goals and their related objectives/strategies that identifies specific action steps, as well as a monitoring and evaluation process, complete with clear metrics and timelines.
Business Plan—combines programmatic and operational goals with financial forecasts and is often used in developing a new program or generating earned income through some mission-related business venture.
Strategic Plan—is a formal process for examining what actions are necessary to move an organization forward, taking into account its environment and context, and includes a written list of the actions needed to carry out a plan, often based on comprehensive data analysis, covering a period of time, usually three- to five-year horizons.
Strategic Framework—articulates organizational priorities and provides overarching guidelines for organizational operations, often instead of specific goals, that allow organizations to quickly and efficiently respond to change while still adhering to strategic principles.
Given the nonprofits’ increasing desire for more flexibility, many have begun experimenting with alternatives to formal strategic plans. Most often, nonprofits now turn to strategic frameworks, combined with business plans and more robust annual plans, to guide their operations. Frameworks allow organizations to adapt to change and take advantage of opportunities as they are presented. They focus on the big picture, not the nitty-gritty of the plan itself; are more flexible and nimble; and provide for prioritization and decision-making for management.
Strategic plans are intended to be living documents that evolve with the organization, but too often, organizations fail to hold themselves accountable for achieving the timelines and goals set forth in the long-term plans.
While strategic frameworks can provide a better way of guiding the organization without creating long-term deadlines and required actions, there are still important ways for organizations and their boards to monitor progress and evaluate performance. Among others, it may be prudent to refer back to the framework in less formal ways, such as using it to guide board and staff meetings, program development meetings, or performance reviews.
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The column contributor, Octavio “Bobby” Peralta, is concurrently the secretary-general of the Association of Development Financing Institutions in Asia and the Pacific (ADFIAP) and the CEO and founder of the Philippine Council of Associations and Association Executives (PCAAE). PCAAE is holding the Associations Summit 5 (AS5) on November 22 and 23, 2017 at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC), which is expected to draw over 200 association professionals here and abroad. The two-day event is supported by ADFIAP, the Tourism Promotions Board and the PICC. E-mail inquiries@adfiap.org for more details on AS5.
2 comments
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