Every organization runs into trouble from time to time. It’s a fact of business life. No entity goes straight up and to the right, and no business plan, corporate direction, or service strategy is effective in perpetuity. Things change—the economy, competition, organization, technology—you name it.

When it’s time to take a step back, assess the situation, and change organizational strategy, you need a critical process called strategic planning. Unfortunately, strategic planning can be complex and difficult, because the experience and ability to develop and manage the process is hard to come by. Luckily, your NRPA Board of Directors embraced a new approach in developing the FY 2014-2016 Strategic Plan that was recently completed and adopted (see the one-page map at www.nrpa.org/strategic_plan).

The Strategic Planning Task Force and Board realized that strategic planning is a crucial process that’s extremely challenging and commonly botched. How was this avoided?  After a number of meetings, calls, and email exchanges, and nearly 100 survey responses from a number of Network members, a light finally went on regarding the three pillars of NRPA:  conservation, health and wellness, and social equity. The next plan had to focus on and address these critical areas.

Next, we determined that there were four intersections needed for each of the three pillars:  awareness, research, education, and advocacy.  Subsequently, the remainder of the planning process consisted of defining dynamic goals for each of the pillars and intersections that the Board felt they were the most passionate about and that would drive the next three-year plan.

Importantly, we brought a broad range of perspectives into the planning process to allow us to capture the expertise from a sampling of Network members, as well as front-line and implementation-level staff.

Framing strategy in this manner was clear, specific, and even entertaining. In addition, information communicated in the one-page strategic map had a much higher absorption rate than typical bulleted lists. Now, with a shared understanding of the next strategic plan, the NRPA board and staff will use it to guide their decision-making.

Steve Thompson, CPRP
Chair of the Board of Directors