Strategic Planning Toolkit

Strategic planning is understanding what you are supposed to do and figuring out how you are going to do it.
Eugene Whitlock, AVC and Chief People & Culture Officer

To fulfill its teaching, research, and public service mission in the coming years, UC Berkeley needs focused work to achieve results, build relationships, and create the future.

Strategic planning will:

  • Create organizational alignment on the purpose of the team, behaviors to drive the team’s mission, strategies to focus the team’s work, and prioritized action plans to take the work forward with clarity on ownership.

  • Enhance organizational and individual performance, as strategic planning creates a structure for inclusive, innovative, and collaborative future-oriented planning with results at the forefront of the process. 

  • Develop a workforce that is engaged, involved, and active in setting the course for the future.

What is strategic planning?

  • Strategic planning helps administrative and academic units thoughtfully and proactively plan their future.

  • Strategic planning is a systematic process of envisioning the desired future, and transitioning this vision into goals and a sequence of actions to achieve them.

Recommended model: OGSP

OGSP stands for Objectives, Goals, Strategies, and Plans. 

Four circles each with one word a piece with the text Objective, Goals, Strategies, Plans.

The People & Organization Development consulting team has worked in partnership with dozens of campus units using the OGSP framework to develop their strategic plans. There are areas of the campus in which the OGSP model is required for strategic plan development, action implementation, and tracking progress against the identified goals in the plan. 

Division and unit leaders should provide guidance to departments and teams on standards for strategic planning (timelines, foundational principles, the recommended or required framework and process, decision-making authority, and implementation accountability, tracking, and assessment).

Button to Access the UC Berkeley Strategic Planning Toolkit
Strategic Planning Cycle circle with: 1 - Prepare, 2 - Build Upon Foundations, 3 - Develop Strategic Plan, 4 - Plan Implementation, 5 - Assess Progress, 6 - Plan for the Future

Determining the Right Approach and Level of Support

If this is the first time your team is embarking on a strategic planning process: We would strongly urge you to review this whole toolkit first to understand the logic embedded in the stages. Then, determine which parts are needed for you to complete your plan and what kind of support you may want. Depending on the complexity and current state of your organization, some parts may be more relevant or time consuming than others.


If you are revising your strategic plan: Determine which parts of your current plan are fine as is and which parts need some revision. Then skip down to the relevant parts of this toolkit. Note that some of the terms or the way that we have used the terms may be different than in your original plan. 

Levels of support available to departments from the POD Grow Your Impact Organization Consulting Team:

  • Approach 1: Use the toolkit on your own and connect with POD consultants for support and informal coaching and thought partnership as needed. 
  • Approach 2: Use this toolkit on your own and work with POD consultants as your dedicated formal consultants and coaches to help you see through the process. 
  • Approach 3: Work with POD consultants to co-build, co-facilitate, and co-project manage the process (with the consultants as process experts, and the client – you, as subject matter experts and owners of the implementation). Let’s work together! 

(Note: This service is underwritten by UC Berkeley People & Culture as part of our standard campus offerings.)

POD is here to help! For all three approaches, fill out an intake form to get started!

Learn How Campus Leaders Have Partnered with POD on Strategic Planning

POD Strategic Planning Consulting - Leader Stories

Strategic Planning Cycle Information and Actions 

Setting the Context | Pre-Process Learning 

  • Get to know the OGSP framework

  • Consulting and facilitation support from POD

  • Everyone has a role

Stage 1 - Prepare

1a. Get ready for strategic planning

1b. Establish scope, timeline, approach needed, and accountabilities

1c. Assemble team

1d. Set context by engaging participants 

1e. Organize process

Notes:

  • Leadership needs to be involved (and POD GYI consulting/facilitation support as needed).

  • This stage can take 1-2+ weeks to complete.

Stage 2 - Build Upon Foundations 

2a. Analyze current strategies

2b. Review existing documentation

2c. Identify leverage points and challenges, assessing the existing landscape

2d. Communicate what we know, what we are learning, and the context for what’s next

Notes:

  • Leadership, direct reports, and potential stakeholders are involved (POD GYI consulting/facilitation support as needed).

  • This stage can take 1-2 months to complete.

Stage 3 - Develop Strategic Plan

3a. Agree on values, objectives, and mission

3b. Surface goals, strategies, and plans

3c. Finalize action plans, establish responsibilities and accountabilities, identify milestones, set timelines

3d. Prepare written strategic plan

Notes:

  • Leadership and/or direct reports are involved (POD GYI consulting/facilitation support as needed).

  • This stage can take 1-2 months to complete.

Stage 4 - Plan Implementation 

4a. Shift team focus from planning to implementation

4b. Communicate finalized plan to stakeholders

4c. Hold space to do the work 

Notes:

  • Leadership, direct reports, and others responsible for plans in the strategy are involved (POD GYI consulting/facilitation support as needed).

  • This stage can take a few weeks to organize and coordinate, with ongoing implementation meetings recommended.

Stage 5 - Assess Progress 

5a. Track milestones

5b. Communicate what’s on track, what’s in danger of falling behind, what’s behind, and what needs to be pivoted

Notes:

  • Strategic plan sponsors, strategy leads, and leads per strategy need to be involved and work in synergy to track and communicate updates about the plan (POD GYI consulting/facilitation support as needed).

    • This stage will last through the completion of the strategic plan.

Stage 6 - Plan for the Future 

6a. Determine cadence of regular strategic planning for department/division (in-depth details below)

6b. Continue to the succession planning process

Determining Cadence of Regular Strategic Planning Process Your for Dept/Division

Purpose and Overview of the Plan

Review the plan annually - as an initial reflection:

  • In what ways are we staying true to your mission, vision, and values?

  • In what ways are we finding success in your strategies? 

  • In what ways are we reaching your metrics in the goals set?

  • How are the action plans coming along?

  • Do we need to update or revise our action plans?

Mission, Objective (Vision), and Values

Reflect on these elements annually. Consider revision of mission every 5-10 years. Consider revision of your objective (vision) statement for each OGSP process.

  • How are we driving the mission, vision, and values of the team, division/school, and university? 

  • In what ways could we improve and be more reflective of our mission, objective (vision), and values?

Strategies

Reflect on strategies annually. Revise strategies every 3 years. If you can, reflect on how you are reaching the unit goals via the regular Achieve Together cadence 3x annually.

  • Ask, are these (still) the right strategies for success? 

  • What other areas of focus would help us be more effective?

Plans

Decide how often you want to visit the plans of the OGSP. It could be monthly, quarterly, or biannually. In these visits, ask:

  • What progress have we made? 

  • Are we on track to complete the plan in the time that was proposed?

  • Do any of the plans need updating? Revising? Changing? 

    • For example, if we finish one plan, is there a next step that needs to happen? (We’ve finished the assessment and analyzed the data; now we need to create a plan based on the data collected.)

Individual Performance Goals Tied to the OGSP

Check-in on these 3x annually through Achieve Together or through informal performance check-in conversations.

Metrics/Goals

Review thoroughly and on a cadence that makes sense for the goals, strategies, and plans set in the OGSP.

Accountability

The Sponsor of the strategy is ultimately accountable for its success. A Sponsor needs to approve and hold accountable those with responsibility, authority, and goal expectations outlined in the strategic plan. If applicable, a Strategic Planning Lead and Lead per Strategy should also have the responsibility to see through the plan’s success.

Glossary of Terms 

Mission

A concise sentence describing why we exist.

Objective

A sentence describing what success looks like for the organization over a normal three-year time horizon, typically highlighting two tangible outcomes externally and one internal improvement in capability. You might also define the purpose of the plan in this section. The objective can also be called the vision statement, a concise statement describing what success looks like. 

Values

Principles and behaviors that underscore how we do our work to support the success of the mission and objective (or vision). Check out our UC Berkeley value set.

Goals

Quantifiable metrics which track progress on any promises that are made in the objective statement, as well as any other measures of interest to the broader organization. Goals typically include a base year and then three planning years, creating baseline data. 

Strategies

Statements that define how you will be successful by allocating your people and financial resources. Strategies outline and prioritize our best thinking for reaching (closer to) the objective. You should be limited to no more than five total strategies to drive greater focus (four of which are typically focused externally with the fifth devoted to an area of internal capability requiring improvement to succeed). These strategies cover the chosen three-year time horizon. 

Plans

Specific initiatives that support a strategy spanning a 9-12 month period. Each plan must have a single point person with accountability for successfully achieving the plan, as well as a defined month/year due date. It is suggested to have no more than four plans per strategy at any given time to drive focus. 

Supplemental Resources

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