introduction
why plan?
A plan is a method by which something is to be done. It is like a recipe - it records not only the ingredients and their quantities, but also how you put it all together and in what order.
Planning can be quite simple or very complicated. The trick is to get the balance right for the size of your group - for example, not everyone will need a communications plan and many smaller groups may combine their strategic and operational plans.
Your community group needs a plan (or a set of plans), primarily for itself but also for your clients. Without plans your group may:
- be less likely to go forward together as one organisation, with one vision
- be unclear about whether or not you are achieving your vision
- seem less credible to others
- run into difficulties that could have been avoided.
Once a plan has been developed, a common mistake made by groups is not to review their progress and update their plan. To be of any use, a plan needs to be a living document that can be changed as your organisation changes to meet the changing needs of your community.
what's in this section?
This section covers a range of areas to do with planning for community groups. It is designed to give groups some guidelines for planning and evaluation processes which are basically the same regardless of what type of plan you're developing (see Figure 1).
This section also links to several others in the kit, namely Section 1 - Getting Started, Section 3 - Organisational Structures, Section 6 - Financial Management and Section 9 - Communication.
Figure 1: Planning/Evaluation Cycle
types of plans
There are several different types of plans that are useful for community groups (see Table 1). Each of these plans is dealt with below or elsewhere in the kit as indicated.
Table 1: Types of Plans
|
Type of plan |
Description |
Timescale |
Responsibility |
|
Strategic plan |
- looks at the kaupapa and long term outcomes for the group
- sets the overall vision/mission and the broad strategic direction of the group
- sets out how you plan to achieve these outcomes.
|
- 3 - 10 years
- performance measured annually
|
Governing body (the committee/ board) |
|
Operational plan/ business plan (also called annual plan) |
- more detailed plan – the steps to make the strategic plan happen
- includes SMART1 objectives
- monitored at regular (monthly/quarterly) management committee meetings
- may include sub-plans e.g.
- financial plan/budget/funding calendar
- marketing plan
- communications plan.
|
Annual |
Management (with people specified for all the detailed action steps) |
|
Project plan (may also be called action plan) |
A detailed plan for a specific project or event – sometimes referred to as event management or project management. |
One-off, as required |
Management (usually with a project manager) |
|
Financial plan |
Includes a budget and forecast (see Section 6 – Financial Management). |
Usually annual |
Treasurer (with other people in the organisation) |
|
Communications plan |
May relate to the overall communication activity of the group, or to a specific project or programme (see Section 9 – Communication). |
Often associated with specific projects |
Management |
|
Marketing plan |
Linked to the operational (or business) plan, the marketing plan focuses on how your group reaches its market(s), which may include members (current and potential) as well as the wider community/ clients. |
Annual – links to operational plan |
Management |
|
Feasibility study |
An initial planning process to check on whether the idea for a community project/ organisation is realistic (feasible). |
Before setting up your group and/ or before starting a major project |
Management |
|
Risk management plan |
A plan that documents how you can reduce potentially significant risks. |
Often associated with specific projects |
Management |
1. SMART = Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and with a Timeframe.