Strategic planning determines where an organization is going over the next year or more, how it’s going to get there and how it’ll know if it got there or not. The focus of a strategic plan is usually on the entire organization, while the focus of a business plan is usually on a product, service or program.
This chapter contains information on the strategic planning process as well as some samples of strategic plan and sample templates. ACE National Strategic Plan is also included in this chapter for each affiliate to review and include in their strategic planning process. Lastly, this chapter includes the Maturity Matrix for affiliates to use as a self-evaluation tool to determine the maturity of their affiliate.
Effective standards help ACE improve the quality, consistency, and continuity of programming and operations throughout all the communities we serve. These standards, set forth in a Maturity Matrix, enable individual affiliates to assess themselves, while allowing ACE National to evaluate the program overall.
The Maturity Matrix establishes eleven general categories related to an affiliate’s operation. Each category has a hierarchy of four levels.
A general process for developing a strategic plan is usefully explained in the following presentation created by FMI, a management consulting firm serving the design and construction industry. The San Francisco affiliate created a strategic planning process roughly similar to what FMI proposes.
