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Strategic Planning

We facilitate inclusive, effective strategic planning processes tailored to the unique needs of the public sector.

A large conference room is set-up with several tables in the middle. At each table is a different topic and post-its for attendees to brainstorm current efforts and new project ideas. Four people are arranged around the tables, from our view, and are all actively writing ideas on post-its.

Recent Projects

Process

Developing a Plan

The process of strategic planning is just as important as the product. This applies whether you are developing a citywide strategic plan or leading collective efforts across your region.

Part of our process is to simplify planning into manageable steps and to help you make decisions, collaboratively, along the way. We are thoughtful about the ways in which we engage people who will implement the plan as much as the decision-makers that have to monitor feasibility and viability.

CivicMakers’ Human-Centered Strategic Planning Process

  • Discover & Assess: Immersing our team in the context of the planning effort. Through desk research and initial interviews, we become more informed about opportunities and constraints.
  • Vision & Priorities: Collective visioning about a hopeful future in which goals are achieved and needs are met. This phase defines a North Star to move toward and a reference point to help prioritize efforts.
  • Projects: Identifying projects to make the vision and priorities actionable.
  • Data Validation: Vetting projects to ensure they reflect the needs and priorities that first shaped the vision.
  • Implementation Plan: Right-sizing projects and defining roles and timelines to clearly outline next steps. This phase brings to life all the parts of the process into a detailed roadmap and tools to monitor progress and adapt over time.

Whatever the project, you aren’t starting from scratch! We’ll help you uplift the expertise and creativity of those already doing the work. And, as a result, shape a plan that already has the support and momentum to move forward.

There is a wall of windows in a conference room looking out at the City of Los Angeles. On those windows are an array of post-its, and we see the silhouette of a CivicMakers team member actively documenting post-its at his laptop.

 

Implementation & Revisiting Your Priorities

To keep your plan actionable, and responsible implementers accountable, we’ll help you develop a cadence to regularly assess the plan for its continued relevance as priorities and conditions change.

What makes the implementation of strategic plans adaptive and human-centered is a commitment to reimagining priorities amidst change. Examples of change could be legislative, administrative or departmental shifts which may require your plan to adapt. We know the act of planning can be generative and, at times, fun! The trickier part is what happens after the plan is approved and the work begins. We will work with you as partners in implementation, which is really where your bold visions are brought to life.

Envisioning New Futures

Strategic plans are often focused on addressing challenges that we face today. They set ambitious visions, but end up focusing on what’s possible in the next five years.

But what if you want to look further ahead? What if you are interested in envisioning new systems, and not just improving the ones that we have today?

There is a long history of social movements using speculative futures and science fiction to reshape our society for the better. We design experiences that take people out of the present and into an environment where they shape the future they want to see.
Our futuring methods include scenario planning and backcasting, which allow us to envision both the best and worst possible futures. Then we map activities to get there, and what to avoid to ensure we stay on track.

Check out more about this work – and our partners – here.

Products

We’ve applied our process for annual Board and Council retreats and for citywide strategic plans. We’ve also worked in more specific contexts such as smart city action plans and county-wide workforce plans.

Surveys and workshops to regularly engage teams in building/vetting each component of the plan.

Visually-compelling plans that reflect your branding and can nicely package up the work ahead as well as the process to get here.

Implementation toolkits that help you move smoothly into action. This can include communications plans, project management templates, and tools to track metrics.