SRDC Strategic Plan Guidance
Strategic Planning Overview
The 2002 Farm Security and Rural Investment Act authorizes the entire National Rural Development Partnership to be funded at $10 million, a small amount compared to many other government programs. This is evidence of Congress' confidence in the ability of State Rural Development Councils to leverage resources in order to achieve their goals of program coordination and barrier removal. To work productively from their small funding base, Councils must think strategically and make targeted investments of money, time, and expertise.
A strategic planning process allows Councils an opportunity to identify critical needs in their states and work to identify strategies to address these needs. Strategic planning gives Councils an opportunity to look inward as well—to have a chance to identify the vision and mission of each Council and communicate this clearly and succinctly to the outside world.
A good strategic plan accomplishes several tasks at once:
- It enables Councils to clearly define and articulate their missions. Thus, a strategic plan is the unifying element of each Council's activities.
- It lays out a simple set of guidelines from which Councils can establish goals and performance measures to track their progress and success.
- It is a marketing piece that can quickly illustrate to prospective funders and partners the Council's vision and mission. Thus, a strategic plan ultimately creates and helps maintain investor confidence.
In order to be successful, a strategic plan must be inclusive of the range of needs, goals and objectives of a Council – so do your best to engage as many board members and other partners as possible, in an effort to address their concerns and hopes.
Below is a basic outline for a strategic plan. This outline provides Councils a tool to guide thinking about the Council and its work; it is not a policy all Councils must follow. If you have any questions or problems, please contact your desk officer at the Office of Community Development.
Strategic Plan Outline
- Vision Statement: Why are you here? What is your “niche”?
- Values, Vision & Process
- What values will guide your activities?
- What kind of SRDC do you want to become?
- Needs Assessment: What needs are you addressing? (Illustrating your knowledge of state needs will provide context for your Goals.)
- Assessment
- Describe trends & conditions
- Identify problems & barriers
- Identify opportunities & assets
- Identify root causes of problems
- Show that the Council is filling a unique role (not duplicating services or efforts of others)
- Goals: What do you want to achieve in the long-term? What kind of impact do you want to make?
- Objectives: What are specific steps toward meeting your Goals?
Sample strategic plans are available upon request. Please contact your desk officer for assistance. For a simple, straightforward guide to strategic planning, download the Office of Community Development's “A Guide to Strategic Planning for Rural Communities." If you are unable to download this guide from the Internet, please contact OCD and we will mail you a copy.
