We are now about two thirds of the way through the strategic planning process, with a completed plan expected by the date of the January 2020 Board of Trustees Meeting. Adam Keller and Andrea Taylor, two current trustees, are co-clerking the committee. Rebecca Geary and Thomas Henning are the lead staff liaisons. Matt Visser, of Design Group International, is our external consultant. The full Strategic Planning Committee is comprised of trustees, year-round staff, summer staff and camper representatives.
The Discovery Phase of the plan was conducted throughout the spring and summer. Our constituent groups are parents, campers, summer and year-round staff, trustees and alumni. Data from these groups was collected via an on-line survey, in-person focus groups, staff and board retreat sessions, and individual interviews. The data was analyzed and presented by Matt Visser in a Discovery Synthesis Report. In the report, Matt identified ; 1) the common themes that emerged (what we do well, what we value); 2) potential pathways that can propel the organization forward (areas we need to explore in more depth; 3) barriers that can limit success (internal realities and external forces); and 4) the organizational tensions we are holding (potentially competing ideas and values).
We are now moving into Goal Development Phase. Our goal is to ensure complete transparency and full participation while also being efficient and avoiding redundancy. To that end, the data is being further reviewed and analyzed by the full strategic planning committee, which is charged with identifying Areas of Focus and SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Agreed Upon, Realistic and Time-Bound). These will be further refined and prioritized by the full board and staff over the next two weeks.
The third phase of the planning process involves developing a work plan for each of the agreed upon goal areas. This work will be done by Goal Teams, comprised of trustees, staff and other stakeholders, who will be charged with creating a three to five year “roadmap” /strategies for accomplishing each of the goals.
Readers can expect a subsequent report by the end of October which outlines the agreed-upon Focus/Goal areas and identifies accompanying SMART goals. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact any member of the core planning team.
Andrea Taylor and Adam Keller
Rebecca Geary and Thomas Henning