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A strategic plan is an introspective evaluation of an organization that identifies its future course of action.  It establishes desired outcomes, identifies competitive advantages, analyzes hurdles, and sets forth a road map to achieve those desired outcomes.

Why Do We Need One?

The process of strategic planning is intended to be as valuable as the strategic plan, itself.  It involves a disciplined, coordinated, systematic, and sustained effort deliberately intended to foster communication between stakeholders, and set forth clear expectations.  

By actively engaging in the local economic development strategic planning process, not only will our community create an end-product that can be used to aid in the decision-making process, but we will also send out a signal loud and clear that Shenandoah County is a progressive, prepared, and business-friendly community.

So What’s the Process?

The strategic planning process often evolves as organizations make new introspective discoveries, and identify strategic goals.  However, the following step-by-step method is meant to serve as a procedural guide for developing our local economic development strategic plan. 

Step 1
Organizing the Effort

Task 1:   Local Government Endorsement of the Project’s Value
Before undertaking the strategic planning process, it is imperative that the local government body responsible for economic development endorse the fact that the strategic planning process will add value to the organization.  For Shenandoah County, this endorsement should come in the form of a formal action by the Board of Supervisors authorizing the county administrator to begin the economic development strategic planning process.  Although this formal endorsement is not required by law in order for the administrator to begin the process, it will, however, allow the Board to impart a high level of efficacy upon the project, while also providing an opportunity to garner media coverage and begin defining the project in the court of public opinion.

Task 2:  Establishment of a Steering Committee
Rather than create an entirely new committee, the County’s existing Economic Development Committee should be reconstituted so as to establish a Steering Committee comprised of the following:

• 2 Members of the Board of Supervisors
• 2 Members of the Industrial Development Authority
• 1 Member of the Local Planning Commission
• 1 Representative from the County School System
• County Staff should be assigned to facilitate the committee

Additions or substitutions to represent other vital stakeholder interests should be made at the Board’s discretion.  The purpose of the Steering Committee is to guide the strategic planning process by serving as a highly involved focus group and sounding board for the facilitating staff.  A diverse, yet nimble group, as proposed, would provide an opportunity to receive input from multiple perspectives, while still maintaining a roster that is a workable size.

Task 3:  Stakeholder Involvement
Stakeholders are individuals, firms, and organizations in the public, private, and not-for-profit sectors that have an interest in and ability to contribute to the strategic planning process.  The stakeholder management process recognizes that all stakeholders are important, and that some will be able to participate more than others. The following three questions must be answered:

• Who are the key stakeholders?
• What are their interests likely to be?
• What is the best way to involve them in the strategic planning process?

The benefits of involving stakeholders include:

• Stakeholders bring specialist knowledge and different perspectives making the planning process more robust
• They bring professional, financial and physical resources to the table
• They legitimize the process by being involved
• They forestall problems by being engaged in the process
• Business partners are likely to know much more than local government representatives about the true state of the competitive position of the community
• By involving higher tiers of government, strategies are likely to benefit from their support (including financial)
• Local community representatives are likely to be best informed about local problems and opportunities that could be addressed by the economic development strategy
• By involving communities, it is more likely that a volunteer effort could be established to support economic development implementation programs
• Jobs and economic growth are created in the private sector. Government is usually merely a facilitator in this process.

   Potential stakeholders include:

Step 2
Conducting the Local Economy Assessment

Task 1:   Information Gathering
In order to map out a path to a destination, you must first know your starting point.  Similarly, in order to create a strategic economic development plan for the tomorrow, we must first fully understand where we are today.  Therefore, it is imperative to begin the strategic planning process by conducting a local economy assessment.  Although it may be tempting to skip ahead to the visioning exercises that will paint a picture of the future, we must first dispel any preconceived misconceptions of the local economy, and gain a better understanding of the existing macroeconomic landscape. 

Conducting a local economy assessment involves compiling strategically valuable information and then analyzing it critically. Some useful types of information are:

• Demographic information, i.e., information about the people in the community, what they need and what they are capable of.
• Economic information. This information will provide an understanding of the local economy.
• Investment climate information. This will inform on how the local government treats its business community.
• Hard Infrastructure information. This will inform about the status of water, electricity and wastewater provision. The focus should be on economic areas.
• Regional and National information, to gather information on what is happening in other areas that impact on the community.

Task 2:  Analyzing the Information
Once pertinent information has been satisfactorily compiled, a SWOT analysis should be performed.  SWOT, short for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats, is a strategic planning tool that can be used to identify competitive advantages, determine the feasibility of objectives, and identify critical success factors.  This process is meant to be an interactive exercise that forces the steering committee to critically evaluate the community’s competitive position from multiple perspectives.

Step 3
Developing an Economic Development Strategy

Task 1:   Creating a Vision
A vision should be developed and agreed on by all stakeholders. The vision should be a description of the stakeholders' preferred economic future for the community. While it may not be fully achievable, it does give the community a clear sense of direction.  A visioning exercise involving a diverse group of stakeholders should paint a vivid picture of our desired economic landscape in 20 to 40 years.  In this process, a staff facilitator would ask thought provoking open ended questions and record individual feedback in a group setting.

Task 2:  Developing Goals
Goals point more specifically to the outcomes the community seeks to achieve. Goals are much more descriptive and concrete than a vision statement and should be directly related to the findings from the local economy assessment.

Task 3:  Developing Specific Objectives
Objectives are even more specific. They should be time bound and measurable. The aim is to leverage strengths, overcome weaknesses, exploit opportunities and deal with threats identified during the local economy assessment.  Objectives should be achievable.

Task 4:  Identifying Programs & Projects to Achieve Objectives
Programs and projects are the specific actions the community will take to achieve the vision, goals and objectives. Attention should be given to identifying a broad base of projects, some of which should provide 'quick-wins' for the strategy. These projects should include agreed actions for all stakeholders (not just the local authority).

Task 5:  Documenting the Strategy
A well-documented strategy is the roadmap to achieving the vision.  It should be adopted by the Board of Supervisors and made available to all members of the community, since realistically, the community itself is its own sales force.  This document will serve as the culminating representation of the preceding strategic planning steps.

Step 4
Strategy Implementation

With our destination identified, and our path chosen, following through on a successful journey is the next step.  Strategy implementation is a long-term step, meant to last throughout the planning window of 20 to 40 years identified in the strategic planning document.  Strategy implementation is never as clear-cut as the strategy development itself.  If often takes longer than expected and must adapt to a constantly changing economic and political environment.  Within each project and program that is being implemented, strategic decision making must occur every step of the way.  Ultimately these decisions should be made in such a manner that will maintain the advancement of the project in a rapidly changing environment.

Key issues to be considered by program administrators and project managers throughout the implementation process include the following:

• Who takes responsibility for each program or project?
• What are the targets in terms of outputs, timing and funding?
• What steps need to be taken to achieve the targets?
• What will be the reporting structures (including to stakeholders)?
• What are the performance monitoring and evaluation systems and processes?
• What has to happen to ensure they are in place and used?
• What are the budgetary and human resource requirements for the sustained delivery of the project or program?

Step 5
A Living Strategic Plan

Limited review of an economic development strategic plan should occur on an annual basis with the intent of keeping the plan a living document.  A living plan can be characterized as one that is always relevant, that changes with the times, but stays true to its vision and the core values necessary to achieve that vision. The Industrial Development Authority, the Planning Commission, and the Board of Supervisors should all be involved in the review process.  An annual review should consider the following issues:

• Is the SWOT analysis still valid or have circumstances changed?
• Is there more information at hand that changes the view of the issues?
• Are changes required in the vision, goals or objectives to reflect changing circumstances?
• Are projects achieving what was hoped they would achieve?
• If not, what should be done?
• Are the performance indicators being met?
• If not, why not?
• What changes need to be made?
• Should the indicators be changed?
• Should there be more action on projects?
• Should the projects be changed?

Credits

The basic format of this proposed planning process was adapted from the World Bank’s Making Local Economic Development Strategies: A Trainer’s Manual.  

Other resources used during its development include:

Formulating Strategic Goals Using the Visioning Exercise, by Michal Wilkinson, Managing Director, Leadership Strategies, Inc.

Promoting Local Economic Development through Strategic Planning, 2009, produced by the United Nations Human Settlements Program, UN Habitat.

Shenandoah Valley Technology Company Location Indications Identification Comparative Analysis & Strategic Marketing Study, commissioned by the Shenandoah Valley Partnership, prepared by Chabin Concepts, Inc. in January of 2001, and partially endorsed by the Shenandoah County Board of Supervisors in 2008.

Strategic Planning and Economic Development Planning for Your Municipality, by Triad Associates, featured in the March 2011 New Jersey State League of Municipalities publication.

Strategic Planning for Economic Development in Rural Areas and Small Towns of Oklahoma, written by Mike D. Woods and Gorden Sloggett for the Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service.

Strategic Planning for Local Economic Development Policy in U.S. Municipal Governments, by Myungjung Kwon, Dr. Frances Berry, and Dr. Richard Feiock, a Florida State University doctoral thesis.