Being Strategic

Annette Lees

Strategy is:

• The essential link between vision and outcome

• The internal logic that links all parts of our work

• Both thinking and planning

Six parts to strategic thinking

1. Understanding your mandate2. Identifying the problem3. Articulating your desired outcome4. Picking your scale5. Designing the solution6. Delivering

1. Understanding your mandate

What is your organisation’s role in catchment management?

• Why are you engaged here?

• What are you obliged to achieve?

• What policies, plans and governance direct your work?

Mandate

What authority do you have? • Can you act directly or will you be working

through influencing and persuading others?• What is your promise to stakeholders and co-

collaborators?• How do you define the space for

collaboration?

2. Identifying the problem

You can’t solve a problem that you haven’t correctly identified.

Check:

•Have you identified the real problem(dilemma)?

•Have you got to the cause of the problem?

•Have you picked the most important problem?

•Have you picked a problem that can be solved within your mandate?

3. Articulating your desired outcome

What do you want to achieve?

4. Picking your scale

How big or small do we go?Ask:• At what scale are you

mandated to work?• How big is your problem?• Will your scale solve your

problem?• What is your budget?

5. Designing the solution

Design a solution that will solve the problem.- Check assumptions- Lay out the internal logic of your plan- Describe partners and stakeholders- Balance planning with action- Define promise to stakeholders- Assess capacity and budget- Plan monitoring and reviewing, learning and

improving

6. Delivering:Get your own house in order

Effectiveness will depend on:

- Know how and can do- Alignment in policy, planning and

regulation- Integration of understanding and

knowledge- Consistency in approach to community- Good communication

Group exercise

Is your dilemma linked to a strategy issue? Is there a bright spark idea to resolve it?

Going through the six parts of strategic planning, which parts has your organisation found to be the most challenging? Why? What can be done about that?