to: Mayor and Town Council
from: Roger L. Stancil, Town Manager
subject: Proposal for Strategic Planning Process
date: February 11, 2008
The Mayor and Council have expressed an interest in developing a strategic planning process that would clarify the Council’s vision for the community and provide a clearer and more focused course of direction to the staff. The Council asked the Manager to propose a process for consideration.
This memorandum proposes a two-phased process for developing a strategic plan. The process includes a near term and a longer term step:
Council currently has a budget work session scheduled for Wednesday, February 27. We recommend that the Council use this work session to further refine this process and begin discussion on the budget at the previously scheduled March 6 budget work session.
An effective strategic planning process has the potential to strengthen the shared understanding and commitment of the Town’s elected officials, employees, appointed boards and commissions and the community at large to the Council’s vision and goals for the community.
The staff has researched the process of strategic planning and analyzed examples of strategic plans from various communities across the country. Although strategic plans vary in size and scope, they commonly include:
As part of the process for creating a vision, the Council has identified the importance of testing some of the underlying assumptions associated with current and future decision-making. The 2000 Comprehensive Plan includes the broadest guidance to staff as captured in the list of themes (attached). Other possible examples include the assumptions that:
The development of a strategic plan also offers a framework for weaving together annual and semi-annual reports (e.g., Data Book, Periodic Reports to Council and the public) and other statements of Council priorities (e.g., the Annual Budget, the Comprehensive Plan, the Capital Improvements Program) into one centralized and coordinated message for the staff and the community at large. To complement this effort, the staff can develop a work plan to serve as an internal management tool allowing staff duties to be assigned and progress to be measured. The example plans discussed below and attached to this memorandum provide visual representation for the possible organization of the general strategic planning components noted here.
DISCUSSION
With the enhanced level of understanding provided by a strategic plan, staff from all departments can be better equipped to achieve the Council’s prioritized near term and longer term goals. Because strategic planning tends to relate work output to broader goals, employees have an opportunity to understand how their specific role and level of responsibility contributes to fulfilling the Council’s vision. The plan can also become the basis for a performance management system throughout the Town organization to strengthen accountability.
The Town has already embarked on the development of strategies for economic development and housing. These processes reviewed previous assumptions and adjusted for current conditions. Efforts such as these can be incorporated into a Town-wide strategic planning process.
The two strategic planning documents described below were selected from the staff’s review of a number of plans from various communities throughout the country. We believe they could serve as examples of the kind of plans that the Council could consider for Chapel Hill.
The City of Colorado Springs Strategic Plan 2008 (attached) provides an example of a component-based strategic plan that showcases an overarching vision supported by both new and existing planning instruments. By combining the guidance from the City’s Comprehensive Plan and the Five-Year Capital Improvements Plan with the Council’s vision and prioritized goals, the City of Colorado Springs has developed a clear and simple five-year Strategic Plan.
The City of Charlottesville Vision Strategic Work Plan (excerpts attached) is an example of a second layer of specificity that can be included in the strategic planning process. Because it is designed around the vision and goals of the elected officials, the Work Plan serves as a detailed internal management document which allows for accountability and monitoring of the specific actions selected for goal attainment.
The staff has developed a list of possible near term and longer term action steps for the Council to explore. The proposed process takes into consideration the Council’s desire to further reflect upon the outcome of the 2008 Council Retreat and to target and review some of the underlying assumptions deemed critical to current and future decision-making.
This proposal is not intended to affect the current set of working assumptions that are drawn from various plans and reports (e.g., Comprehensive Plan, Northern Area Task Force Plan) as they relate to land use and development decisions in the near term. However, in the next 30 – 60 days, we anticipate that the Council will identify certain working assumptions that require further testing and investigation. Over the longer term (60+ days), we propose that the Council test the identified assumptions about future growth and translate the results of this work into the formulation of a vision for the community.
In light of the information above, the staff recommends the following strategic planning process for the Council’s consideration.
Near Term (30 – 60 days
Longer Term (60+ days)
RECOMMENDATION
We recommend that the Council schedule a work session for Wednesday, February 27 to further refine the proposed process outlined above.