Develop a Strategic Planning Plan For Community Development
When communities face many unique challenges, they need to develop a strategy to ensure the future success and viability of their local economy. Many business professionals and community leaders mistakenly believe, "There is no money" in community development. While there may not be enough sources of local resources for most communities, there is always the potential to find new sources of local income. Developing a comprehensive plan for identifying potential sources of local income and then developing a plan for investing in those resources can help local changemakers know how best to better improve their neighborhoods in the most efficient and logical ways possible.
This section provides an overview of the current status of the funding options available to local leaders and planning team members. It first examines the availability of current federal funding and programs. The second part of this strategic plan examines the expected need for additional funding over the next five years. All the funding options considered in this strategic plan are provided with detailed discussion and recommendations for how the funding should be used.
The third part of the strategic plan examines how current local programs can be improved to support the planned activities. Two examples of improvements recommended by the planning team include: (a) developing a stronger program of child care in each geographic area, and (b) encouraging more responsible alcohol retailing. Developing a stronger child care program requires an increased investment in community-based day care and early childhood education initiatives. It also means investing in current alcohol retailing restrictions through zoning variances and other creative solutions. These three actions alone will have a positive impact on the amount of funds available for implementation. However, if additional funding is needed to support the full implementation of these strategies, the final section of the strategic plan identifies the additional funding requirements for each area.
The fourth section analyzes the strategic direction suggested by each of the five strategic directions. The planning team identifies what types of measures will be required to achieve each of the desired outcomes, including (but not limited to): reducing crime, enhancing workforce training, attracting and retaining a healthy population, increasing revenues, implementing better business regulations and improving quality of life for residents. Each of the measures considered in this section will require implementation by the governing committee. This section is also written to include the recommendations of the executive management team as well as key stakeholder groups.
The fifth section of the strategic plan addresses community assessment. An area-specific community assessment provides a valuable tool for evaluating the existing condition of the local economy and identifying future needs and sources of revenue. Conducted in collaboration with affected stakeholder groups, the community assessment considers a broad range of factors that impact the health and well being of local residents. This community assessment will include (but is not limited to): demographics, (a) economic conditions, (b) employment rates, (c) health indicators, (d) housing costs, (e) transportation needs, (f) amenities and (g) recreational activities.
Developing strategic plans for community development must be grounded in well-recognized principles of strategic planning and good decision making. Such principles make sense for most stakeholders and it makes sense to work with these stakeholder groups in the development process. The key principle is the recognition, "There is no magic to strategic planning". It is not a project in which the "good guys" win and everyone gets a prize.
Developing strategic plans for community development must be conducted in collaboration with affected stakeholders, which includes: the local government, affected organizations, affected residents, business stakeholders, other local government agencies, stakeholder groups, and outside experts. Stakeholders are the people who will be directly impacted by the strategic planning process. The plan "starts with the people" and ends with the people - end result is an integrated community development plan (CDSAP).
Developing a strategic plan for community development involves more than just "follow the money" methodology. Stakeholders must also be included in the process so as to ensure the "they get their money" part of the bargain. In addition, the plan should be developed in a manner that facilitates and provides flexibility for change based on feedback from the stakeholders. Developing a strategic plan is more than spending time with your "good guys". It must provide guidelines for effective implementation that takes into account current and future conditions and consider what will affect you.