Part 1: Getting Started

The Strategic Planning Process

Conducting awareness campaigns “strategically” means applying the standard strategic planning process to the planning and execution of your activities to raise public awareness of literacy.

There are four basic steps in the strategic planning process. In simple terms, these are:

Where are we now?
Where do we want to be?
How will we get there?
How did we do?

In the initial phase of the process, all relevant information is gathered and analyzed to produce a short list of Key Issues. These are the most critical factors affecting public awareness of literacy and they become your focus for the rest of the plan. By clearly establishing the Key Issues upfront and relating all subsequent activity back to them, your completed plan will concentrate your resources and energy where they are most needed for success.

The plan itself has five sections, as outlined below. These correspond to the four steps of the process, plus an overview which establishes the fundamental ground rules for how your organization will operate. The challenge lies not in understanding the strategic process, which is fairly simple, but in having the discipline to apply it initially, and then to adhere to it so that new learning can be identified for future benefit. (To access further details, templates to create your own plan, or examples from actual plans, click on the links below.)

A. Strategic Overview

The Strategic Overview section establishes “the big picture” of how your organization will conduct itself in raising public awareness of literacy issues. This overview is consistent with your organizations values, vision, philosophy, and operating procedures, and it provides guidance (i.e., “sets policy”) for the eventual selection and execution of Tactics. It is important to appreciate the difference between “strategy” and “tactics”. Because tactics are short-term initiatives designed to address the current situation, they change as conditions change. Strategy, however, states the fundamental philosophy of how your organization will conduct public relations and, once established, rarely (if ever) changes. When tactics are consistent with strategy, your organization’s philosophy and values are translated into action. The Strategic Overview sets the stage for this.

B. Situational Analysis

This section contains all information relevant to public awareness of literacy. It starts with a review of external and internal conditions. This could include external information such as demographic data and trends (such as the level of literacy awareness itself), the activities of other literacy organizations, or government policy, and internal factors such as facilities, funding, and staffing. This section incorporates the key learning you have gained from your experience, and ultimately results in a concise list of Key Issues, which become the focus for the remainder of your plan. Because it is documented, important knowledge gained through experience will continue to benefit your organization after changes in key personnel. Although Situational Analysis can include any relevant information, the standard components are Review of Operating Conditions, SWOT Analysis, and Lessons Learned, which lead to Key Issues. Identification of the Key Issues is a critical turning point in the strategic planning process.  Defined loosely as what stands between you and success, the Key Issues lead directly to the setting of Objectives for the coming year, and then to the tactical initiatives that will be carried out to reach those Objectives.

C. Objectives

Once the Key Issues have been identified, specific targets are set for each one. In some cases, a Key Issue can be addressed completely by activities carried out in the course of a single plan. In other cases, however, several steps are necessary over many years before a Key Issue is no longer key. Having attainable intermediate Objectives allows for periodic success while you continue to work toward your ultimate goal. Objectives must be realistic, precise, and measurable so that it is clear what is expected and so that after the fact there is no debate as to whether or not a particular Objective was accomplished. (However, that there could still be plenty of debate and valid reasons as to why an Objective was not achieved!)

D. Tactics

Tactics are the specific initiatives conducted to achieve the Objectives, thus ultimately addressing the Key Issues. It is this direct linkage back to what is standing between you and success that ensures your resources will be deployed optimally. Often, more than one Tactic is necessary to achieve a particular Objective, but it is also common for a major tactical initiative such as a Public Service Announcement or an event to address more than one Key Issue. The completed Strategic Public Awareness Plan will detail a series of Tactics that, in total, will address every Key Issue with enough combined activity to achieve the Objectives.

E. Assessment

The initial step in assessing results is a simple “yes/no” determination of whether or not the Objectives have been achieved. From there, a more subjective discussion may ensue as to “why” or “why not” certain Objectives were achieved. Reasons will fall into two broad categories: those within your control, and those you could do nothing about.  The goal of assessment is not to make excuses, to place blame, or to find a scapegoat, but to understand what has occurred and how to do better in the future. All significant new learning, whether positive or negative, is incorporated into the Lessons Learned portion of future plans, and thus your organization learns from its experience and consistently improves from plan to plan.