Straw Dog Strategy Document
What could a strategy document look like? It depends on what you are strategising to achieve, the context and type of organisation(s) involved. This page is a "straw dog" strategy document inspired from a different environment. Your job is to pull it apart and construct a document which makes sense to you and the people you hope will read it.
Contents
Vision
One or more of:
- Where or who you want be
- What you want to be doing
- What you want to achieve (in terms of change)
- Etc.
Word it in the present (Be the change you want to see in the world - Mahatma Ghandi)
Mission
Indicate what issues you are addressing or what changes you would like to make and what sorts of things you will be doing to accomplish your mission.
Values
Examples:
- Having a shared vision and clarity of purpose
- Transparency and good governance
- Integrity (professional, scientific, ...)
- Collaboration
- Trust
- Continuous learning and improvement
- People
- Life
- ...
Purpose (of the Document)
What is its scope? Who is it for? What effect will it have on them?
Introduction
Background
Explain how you got to the point of needing this document. Who is involved and who will be affected?
Context
Describe the current situation and indicate why change is required. What is the destination? Describe and strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Strategic gaps.
Desired situation
What will be the benefits of the change? What are the consequences of not changing?
etc.
Any other background information of relevance.
Tactics
Short term objectives (e.g. who will experience what by when in the next 6-12 months ?) and how you intend to achieve them: intermediate objectives, critical success factors, necessary conditions, actions, time lines, roles and responsibilities.
Strategy
Long term goals and how you intend to reach them.
Modus operandum
Principles of how you operate. For example:
- Collaboratively ...
- Transparently ...
- Efficiently
- Code of Conduct (example from a particular context)
- ...
Appendices
- Glossary
- Relevant higher level and/or related strategic documents
- Logical analysis or other appendices indicating
- what has been achieved so far
- activities
- intended outputs
- intended activities/actions - who will do what by when?
- intended outcomes
- intended impacts
- measures.
- Principles
- Guidelines
- Relevant Policies
- Business Plan.
Resources on Writing Strategy Documents
Please add:
- ...
- Processes for developing strategy documents
- ...
- ...
