Strategic Planning and Cultural Sector Trends

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Strategic Planning

Strategic planning is based on:

• a clear organizational purpose
• an assessment of environmental factors that may help or hinder that purpose
• actions that focus resources on priority goals
• the ability to adjust to change

Articles and Reports on Strategic Planning

• Best practices in strategic planning (Charity Village, 2003)

• Strategic planning (in nonprofit or for-profit organizations) by Carter McNamara, 1997-2008.

• What is a strategic plan? (Suite101.com, 2007)

Books on Strategic Planning

• Strategic planning for public and nonprofit organizations : a guide to strengthening and sustaining organizational achievement  by John M. Bryson. Jossey-Bass, 1988 edition and 2004 edition. Copies available through inter-library loan or Publisher’s web site
  

• Strategic planning for nonprofit organizations: a practical guide and workbook, 2nd Edition by Michael Allison and Jude Kaye. Wiley, 2005
  Copies available through inter-library loan or Publisher’s web site
  

• Strategic planning workbook for nonprofit organizations, revised and updated by Bryan W. Barry. Fieldstone Alliance, 1997.
  Copies available through inter-library loan or Publisher’s web site
  

Toolkits

• Overview of Planning (Civicus, 52 pages)
  

  "This toolkit should…enable the user to make a clear distinction between
  strategic planning and action planning, both of which are dealt with in detail in separate toolkits. It also provides some ideas about techniques to use in planning. It should provide a fairly inexperienced planning team in any organisation with a clear picture of what planning should involve, and of how planning links to monitoring and evaluation."

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Cultural Sector Trends

Information on trends within the Canadian cultural sector assists organizations in assessing factors which may impact on the fulfillment of their purpose, as part of their strategic planning process.

• Statistics Canada: reports on the cultural and leisure sectors
  

• Canadian Conference of the Arts: reports and publications

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