A successful strategic planning process recognizes the need to monitor what is being accomplished and to compare these accomplishments with the plan. The first requirement for monitoring is that an organization be created to assume this responsibility. An Implementation Management Commission (IMC) must be created to keep track of results and maintain the momentum.
One of the benefits that accrue from the strategic planning process is the involvement of the community’s leadership in the process and the resulting high visibility that the process gives to those who have served. Therefore 6 to 10 members of the Commission should be asked to serve on an IMC. Both public officials and private interests should be represented, with the latter being in the majority. This will reflect the continuing importance of the public-private partnership as the key to consensus building and getting the job done.
The monitoring process should track the following activities:
- Progress on each strategy compared with the scheduled progress according to the action plans.
- Time and financial resources spent compared with resources allocated.
- Changes in individuals and organizations that may affect their abilities to complete assignments.
- Changes in the external environmental scan that might necessitate changes to the plan.
- Evaluation of the results after strategies are implemented.
Inasmuch as the strategic plan consists of many components, the monitoring function can be burdensome. There are three questions that the monitoring function repeatedly addresses:
- Did this program reach its goal?
- Is this objective still relevant?
- What is the return on investment of this program?
Monitoring is difficult, because it is often impossible to say with certainty whether a program was successful. The plan is designed so that its objectives and strategies are measurable and can be monitored, but it may be difficult to measure how much an objective contributes to reaching its goal. The success of the Strategic Plan’s goals can be evaluated only if performance measures related to the goals were agreed on.
Monitoring is necessary because it assures that actions are taken and that the effort is kept on target by providing a way to adjust to changes in available or needed resources or in the environment. If the environment should change dramatically, such as by the closing of a major business, an unexpected loss of essential infrastructure or the arrival in the community of a new, major employer, the IMC can reconvene the Commission to consider new or alternative strategies.
Within one year after implementation has begun, the mayor should reconvene the Strategic Development Commission for a formal progress review. This will provide an opportunity to update the action plans and make certain that the assumptions of the strategic planning process are still correct. This review is also a means to maintain interest within the community’s leadership group.
If the critical issues selected are the truly important ones and reflect fundamental priorities, the strategic plan should, with periodic updating, last for three to five years. Of course, in the rapidly changing environment, keeping track of the external factors is important, and the IMC will have that responsibility as well. When a major revision of the action plan is needed, the process begins all over again with the environmental scan.
