What is This Guide About?

Why Strategic Planning?

Strategic Planning is defined as the formal consideration of an organization's future course. Although generally associated with the operation of an entire organization, any activity or endeavour can be planned strategically. Just as entire organizations operate more effectively with a strategic plan, so do various departments within an organization. This can be further extended right down to the management and execution of activities within a department, such as public awareness campaigns.

If it seems that a formal planning process is a lot of trouble for individual or one-off initiatives, note that you can use as much, or as little, of the process as you like, and the more you use it, the easier it becomes. With greater familiarity, the strategic approach eventually becomes second nature.

The prime benefit of strategic planning is efficiency. When you prioritize and target the most important issues affecting literacy awareness, you apply your available resources to where they will do the most good. Like most people these days, you probably do not have enough time, personnel, or money to do everything you would like to do. That is all the more reason to invest a little time and effort into creating a strategic public awareness plan that will ultimately direct what you do have to where it will make the greatest impact.