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Strategic Planning
Creating your strategic plan:
Is your community group or local government department anxious to see brownfields redeveloped as a part of a comprehensive community plan or project? Brownfields could be only one component of a larger project, or there could be a need for a comprehensive plan for brownfields in your community. Whatever your situation, first things first! A clear, thought-out strategic plan is the first step in identifying the need of brownfield redevelopment as it relates to your group's interests and goals. Develop a strategic plan in order to communicate your needs and concerns with potential funders, elected officials, and other community members.
A strategic plan is a document that describes your organization's purpose, what you would like to accomplish, and how you plan to go about completing your project. All plans vary in length based on the information provided, but range between 3-10 pages. All strategic plans contain and present content differently according to the problem addressed. This outline is summarized from the Alliance for Nonprofit Management. Refer to other links to view different types of outlines, or to view sample strategic plans.
Outline
- Table of Contents
- Introduction - A one page introduction by the President of the Board, or project leader.
- Executive Summary - A 2-3 page summary of the strategic plan letting the reader know what is most important about the project.
- Mission and Vision (vision: an idea of how things should be in your community; mission: what are you going to do and why is it important to the community?) Learn more about writing vision and mission statements from the Alliance for Nonprofit Management.
- Organization Profile and History -The story of your organization and its efforts pertaining to the project.
- Critical Issues and Strategies - May be omitted if strategies are sufficiently covered in the next section, Goals and Objectives. Inclusion might be important to better describe the importance and benefits of project to the community.
- Goals and Objectives - The difference between where you are (current status) and where you want to be (vision and goals) is what you do (target objectives and action plans). This statement shows that you need to build your goals and objectives on the foundation of your vision. As the heart of the plan, this section expresses what you intend to "do" as it relates to your vision and mission.
Goals are specific ideas of what you want to happen. For example, a goal for a community development project might be "decrease the number of brownfields in the downtown area to encourage business growth and downtown revitalization."
Objectives are how goals can be measured. An objective might be: "By 2007, 25% of identified brownfields in the downtown business district will have completed the environmental assessment process, making them suitable for redevelopment."
Strategies/Action Plan
Action plan charting can help with applying strategies to goals and objectives by concisely display "how" certain actions will be accomplished
| Action Step |
What will happen? |
| Person(s) responsible |
Who will do what? Identify partners outside of your group that will be involved. |
| Dates - timeline |
When will it happen? How long will it take? |
| Required Resources |
Include budget and human resources needed. |
| Funding Sources |
List potential/acquired funding. |
| Collaborators |
Who are the other stakeholders or other interested parties? |
- Appendices (if needed) - Include maps, charts, or other data to support your plan.
Useful Links
- The Community Toolbox offers a comprehensive guide for developing strategic and action plans, including an action planning form that helps guide planners by assessing different variables associated with each action. Also, learn more about the "VMOSA" (Vision, Mission, Objectives, Strategies, and Action Plans) process to develop a clear plan for your project.
- The Alliance for Nonprofit Management is an excellent resource for nonprofit organizations. The FAQ page guides you through the strategic planning process, from developing a vision and mission to producing a final written plan.
- PlanWare provides more information on strategic planning. A sample plan outlines a typical business strategic.
- Lakes to Locks Passage worked with various community organizations and state/local agencies in developing a corridor for exploring the Lake Champlain region (New York) via waterways. Several of the individual strategies and action plans are highlighted at the bottom of the page.
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Redevelopment Success Stories 
Orrick Building in Wheeling, WV
A brownfield in Wheeling, West Virginia was recently developed into the
Global Operations Center for Orrick, a multi-national law firm.
Read More Success Stories |
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Env Jobs for WV Kick-Off
WVU Safty & Health Extension & the Northern WV Brownfields Assistance Center team up with EPA to help train 80 northern WV students for placement entry-level environmental technician jobs.
Click here for more information
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