Page 75 - FGLN SC Onboarding Binder 2021

THE PLANNING PROCESS
In the spring of 2018, Miller Consultants Inc. replied to FGLN’s request for proposal to support the development of a high-level strategic plan, and for a more granular operational plan for their 2019-2020 fiscal cycle. Miller Consultants Inc. was engaged in July, 2018.
Various factors shaped the ultimate design of the strategic planning process, but three were crucially important:
a. Thatabroadrangeofsourcesofinputintotheplanwouldbesolicited.Tomeet this requirement, key players were included in the initiative at several different stages.
b. That all plans and strategies would align with the founding values and mandate of the network
c. That the strategic priorities, goals, and actions recommended in the plan would be sufficient, comprehensive, realistic, achievable and measurable. It was critically important that the direction of the process be grounded in the needs and capacities of the network, and that FGLN could — and would — implement the plan. Throughout the planning process, contributors were asked if strategic targets were important, unique, necessary, and sustainable. As a result, all goals were given timelines, accountabilities, and tangible measurements.
The first stage of face-to-face work was a one-day meeting with the FGLN’s staff and Steering Committee on July 30, 2018. The meeting was designed to get a sense of the Committee’s shared commitment to the value of a plan, to outline the planning process, to establish boundaries, and assign responsibilities for necessary tasks.
The Committee was then walked through the planning outline offered by the Mission Model Canvas process, which helped to specify:
1. The Value Proposition of the Network: What programs and services does FGLN deliver? What is FGLN trying to solve? What value does FGLN deliver to the beneficiaries?
2. TheNetworkBeneficiaries:ForwhomisFGLNcreatingvalue?Whohelps FGLN create desired outcomes?
3. The Deployment Channels of the Network: How does FGLN reach beneficiaries? How does FGLN communicate outward?
4. Buy-in and Support: What kinds of relationships beneficiaries want from FGLN?
Flint & Genesee Literacy Network Strategic Plan 2019-2022
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