All steps in the strategic planning process are important. Two of them are critical, however, getting organized and implementing the Strategic Plan. If the process is not properly organized at the start, all that follows will be made more difficult, and the process may be fatally flawed. And if the Strategic Plan is not implemented, there will be no systematized economic development flowing from the planning process.
The management of the process will be the responsibility of a carefully chosen group of community leaders, which will be called here the Strategic Development CommissionorCommission.
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A Strategic Development Commission is a group of community leaders that manages strategic planning process. |
How this group is identified and organized will go a long way toward determining whether the strategic plan will be credible and represent a true community-wide consensus.
The idea to undertake strategic planning will probably begin with the mayor, the senior elected official. However, in some instances, it may be a deputy mayor, a member of the municipal council, or other municipal official who may serve in the role outlined below for the mayor.
The mayor will thus be the initiator and advocate of the idea of strategic planning and will have to gain approval and financial support from the City Council to do strategic planning. The strategic plan should be also approved by the City Council before implementation for it to be a legitimate document.
The deputy Mayor and head of Economic Development Department, if there is one, will work closely with the Mayor at this stage, because one of the major motivations for initiating strategic planning will be the need to create a more effective economic development program for the city. Concerns regarding a decreasing job base, the need to assist small and medium-sized business development, and efforts to attract external direct investment are some of the issues found in most cities.
The mayor in cooperation with the City Council, should identify those who will be asked to serve on the Strategic Development Commission and issue invitations to become members. The purpose of strategic planning, as we have mentioned, is to arrive at consensus and a shared vision. Therefore, it is critical that those who manage the process are credible, committed leaders with a long-term interest in the community’s economic future.
Structuring the Commission
How large should the Commission be, and what kinds of people and interests should be asked to serve?
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Experience proves that smaller is often better, with a minimum of twenty and a maximum of about thirty-five.
The Commission must be large enough to insure representation of all major groups in the community, but small enough to carry on meaningful discussions and reach consensus.
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The Commission will be a decision-making body, responsible for managing a complex process over several months. The consultant will advise on the size and membership of the Commission.
What kinds of persons should be asked? Although the focus of the process will be economic development that term will be broadly defined. In essence, economic development itself is a process that enables a community to make the transition to new economic activities in response to the changing requirements of the economy. Therefore, leaders of all major segments of the community should participate.
They may include the following:
- Elected public officials – Mayor, deputies of City Council.
- State administration representatives (raion or/and oblast).
- General directors or managers of large industries and businesses.
- Entrepreneurs.
- Manager of local bank.
- General directors of the electric and gas utilities.
- Heads of departments of City Hall.
- Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce.
- Local realtors and land lot developers.
- Administrators of high school and technical schools.
- Regional economic development agencies.
- Rector of university.
- Newspaper publishers.
- Director of district labor office.
The above list is not intended to be definitive or exhaustive, but is offered as representative of the key decision makers who must be involved. Participation of CEOs and senior managers of the leading companies in the community is essential, because there is a direct relationship between the growth of these companies and the growth of the community. These people are likely to have ideas about what should be changed or accomplished in infrastructure development, education, or transportation to facilitate the growth needs of their companies.
Action plans often deal with the availability of fully serviced sites and infrastructure for business development. Therefore, we suggest that real estate firms and utilities (the water and sewerage systems, electricity, gas, Telecom, and others) be represented on the Commission. The local business community should be also represented on the Commission. Cities whose businesses participate in Chambers of Commerce or other business associations have an advantage because they can more easily cooperate with their business leaders who represent the local business community. If these key citizens are not involved in the project, the Commission’s credibility will be weakened, and its work will not command community support.
In identifying candidates, local political realities and the need for City Council’s support should be taken into account. Although the plan will represent the agreement of many public and private interests, City Hall will usually be responsible for implementing most of the objectives (projects). The City Council will have to allocate the needed financial resources. Therefore, members of all elected bodies, including those who represent the opposition in the Council, should be invited.
There is one more category of potential Commission members — City Hall administrators. Though their decision-making power is limited, they should be included in the planning process. They will provide the Commission with necessary technical data and information, and their participation will contribute to the plan’s credibility and the timely implementation of its objectives.
How should invitations be extended and by whom? If the chairman of the Commission has been identified before invitations are mailed, both the mayor and chairman should sign an invitation letter. This will emphasize the city’s commitment to the public-private partnership and will encourage a positive response from those invited. However, if this is not practical, the mayor will know the key leaders well enough to encourage participation with a personal letter followed by a telephone call.
The Commission’s Responsibilities
The Commission’s functions and responsibilities will include the following:
- Develop and maintain a definite timetable for the project.
- Serve as spokespersons to create public awareness of the strategic planning project and the need for community input and support.
- Invite others to participate in various phases of the process to broaden awareness and commitment to the strategic planning project.
- Review and approve Commission and sub-commission reports.
- Conduct business attitude survey interviews.
- Serve as chairmen and members of sub-commissions and task forces.
- Resolve disputes, conflicts and inconsistencies so that the strategic plan will represent a true consensus and shared vision for the community.
- Become the core of a permanent public-private partnership to manage the implementation of the action plan.
It is recommended that the mayor ask a prominent, private citizen to serve as chairman. This will enhance both the perception and reality of the public-private partnership and thus the Commission’s credibility from the outset. It will also make clear that the project is not motivated by City Hall’s political agenda.
If the strategic plan is to belong to the entire community, which will be critical to successful implementation, it must be clear that the project truly represents a public-private partnership.
Orientation
The first meeting of the Commission will be an orientation session. The consultant will review the strategic planning process and the project schedule. Each community will organize itself to meet its particular needs and to take advantage of its resources. However, the following suggestions reflect recent experiences in several communities from Central Europe and are offered as guidelines.
The first several weeks of the project will be concerned with gathering information about the municipality. At the same time, the groundwork for insuring meaningful public participation in the process will be laid. Therefore, the chairman may appoint two sub-commissions to deal with (1) data gathering and preparation of a community profile and (2) completion of a business attitude survey by all important employers and entrepreneurs.
The reports of these two sub-commissions will be the major input into step two, the environmental scan, which will be the subject of the next chapter.
