1.9 Planning Your Approach

Relax! Writing your policies could be as basic as just putting in writing your existing systems and practices.

Developing policies shouldn’t lead you into a bureaucratic nightmare. It may seem you are being asked to formalize things which defy official definitions. However, written policies and procedures need not eliminate the casual and relaxed relationships, the consensus-based systems or authentic motivations which people bring to your programs. These are some of the hallmarks which distinguish community-based literacy.

Policy writing is a planning exercise.You don’t have to be a lawyer or an MBA to participate.We can all get involved in building the infrastructure that will ensure a long-term commitment to literacy. The first rule is that there is no ONE right way! As you will note in the following steps, your approach to policy development starts long before you begin to craft your words and switch on the computer.

1. Start with getting to know your current context. This is the background information and/or parameters that you now operate within. This includes:

• your constitution and by-laws (reviewing what you were legally formed to do);
• any legislation or government guidelines that you are subject to;
• existing contracts and obligations which bind you (such as leases, mortgages, insurance and other regulations for your premises);
• current policies, documents, and employment contracts that relate to your staff.

2. Without a mission, what’s the point? Your mission statement should be definable and supportable and written in a clear statement.