Review the Following List of Key Terms and Determine Which One Typically Occurs During Strategic

Learn how to develop strategies for how y'all are going to go things done.

• What is a strategy?

• What are the criteria for developing a good strategy?

• Why develop strategies?

• When should y'all develop strategies for your initiative?

• How do you develop strategies?

What is a strategy?

A strategy is a fashion of describing how y'all are going to go things washed. It is less specific than an activeness plan (which tells the who-what-when); instead, it tries to broadly answer the question, "How do nosotros get there from hither?" (Exercise we want to have the train? Fly? Walk?)

A good strategy will have into account existing barriers and resources (people, money, power, materials, etc.). It will as well stay with the overall vision, mission, and objectives of the initiative. Frequently, an initiative will utilize many different strategies--providing data, enhancing support, removing barriers, providing resources, etc.--to reach its goals.

Objectives outline the aims of an initiative--what success would expect like in achieving the vision and mission. By contrast, strategies suggest paths to take (and how to motion forth) on the road to success. That is, strategies help you determine how you will realize your vision and objectives through the nitty-gritty world of action.

What are the criteria for developing a good strategy?

Strategies for your community initiative should meet several criteria.

Does the strategy:

• Give overall direction? A strategy, such every bit enhancing experience and skill or increasing resources and opportunities, should indicate out the overall path without dictating a particular narrow approach (e.m., using a specific skills training program).
• Fit resource and opportunities? A adept strategy takes advantage of electric current resource and assets, such as people's willingness to act or a tradition of self-help and customs pride. It besides embraces new opportunities such as an emerging public concern for neighborhood safety or parallel economic development efforts in the business community.
• Minimize resistance and barriers? When initiatives set out to accomplish of import things, resistance (even opposition) is inevitable. However, strategies need not provide a reason for opponents to set on the initiative. Good strategies concenter allies and deter opponents.
• Achieve those affected? To accost the outcome or trouble, strategies must connect the intervention with those who information technology should benefit. For case, if the mission of the initiative is to get people into decent jobs, do the strategies (providing education and skills preparation, creating job opportunities, etc.) achieve those currently unemployed?
• Advance the mission? Taken together, are strategies probable to make a difference on the mission and objectives? If the aim is to reduce a problem such equally unemployment, are the strategies enough to make a deviation on rates of employment? If the aim is to preclude a trouble, such every bit substance abuse, take factors contributing to risk (and protection) been changed sufficiently to reduce utilise of booze, tobacco, and other drugs?

Why develop strategies?

Developing strategies is really a fashion to focus your efforts and figure out how you're going to become things done. Past doing and then, you can achieve the following advantages:

• Taking advantage of resource and emerging opportunities
• Responding effectively to resistance and barriers
• A more efficient use of time, energy, and resources

When should you develop strategies for your initiative?

Developing strategies is the 4th stride in the VMOSA (Vision, Mission, Objectives, Strategies, and Activity Plans) process outlined at the beginning of this chapter. Developing strategies is the essential pace betwixt figuring out your objectives and making the changes to accomplish them. Strategies should always be formed in advance of taking action, non deciding how to do something after you have done it. Without a clear idea of the how, your group'southward actions may waste matter time and effort and fail to take reward of emerging opportunities. Strategies should too be updated periodically to meet the needs of a changing environment, including new opportunities and emerging opposition to the group's efforts.

How do you develop strategies?

Once again, let's refer back to our friends at the fictional Reducing the Risk (RTR) Coalition that hopes to reduce the chance of teenage pregnancy in its community. We'll walk through the process of developing strategies with this grouping so every bit to better explicate the who, what, and why of strategies.

Equally with the process y'all went through to write your vision and mission statements and to set your objectives, developing strategies involves brainstorming and talking to community members.

Organize a brainstorming meeting with members of your arrangement and members of the community

Remember, people will piece of work best in a relaxed and welcoming surround. Y'all can help attain this by:

• Making meetings a place where all members feel that their ideas are listened to and valued, and where constructive criticism may exist openly voiced. To aid meet these goals, you might post some "ground rules" so people feel costless to limited themselves. Ground rules might include:
  • One person speaks at a time
  • No interrupting each other
  • Anybody's ideas are respected
• Bringing fans or heaters (if needed) and so people will be comfy.
• Asking members to escort each other home or to their cars, the subway, or the bus stop if the meeting runs tardily.
• Providing refreshments. Never underestimate the power of homemade food, drinks, and other treats.

The RTR Coalition held brainstorming sessions amid organization members. They invited local teens, parents, teachers, counselors, church members, and other customs leaders to participate in listening sessions. These were used to help develop strategies to reduce the adventure of teen pregnancy. Bootleg cookies, fruit, and coffee helped make participants feel welcome.

Review (place) the targets and agents of modify for your initiative

• Your targets of modify include all of the people who feel (or are at run a risk for) this issue or problem addressed by your initiative. Recollect to exist inclusive; that is, include everyone who is affected by the problem or consequence or whose action or inaction contributes to information technology. For example, a coalition such the RTR Coalition would want to include all teenagers every bit potential targets of alter, not merely adolescents who seem peculiarly at risk, and parents, peers, and teachers whose actions or inactions might make a difference.
• Your agents of change include everyone who is in a position to aid contribute to the solution. With the RTR Coalition, examples of agents of change might include teens, teachers, guidance counselors, parents of teens, lawmakers, and others.

Review your vision, mission, and objectives to keep you on the right track

Information technology is helpful to review your mission, vision, and objectives to ensure that your strategies are all aligned with the goals expressed in your previous work.

Piece of work together to begin the best strategies for your initiative

The following list of questions can be a guide for deciding on the virtually benign strategies for your group:

• What resources and assets be that can exist used to aid achieve the vision and mission? How tin can they be used best?
• What obstacles or resistance exist that could make it difficult to achieve your vision and mission? How can you minimize or get around them?
• What are potential agents of change willing to do to serve the mission?
• Do y'all want to reduce the existing problem, or does information technology make more sense to try to forbid (or reduce chance for) issues earlier they start? For case, if you are trying to reduce teen sexual activity, you might consider gearing some of your strategies to younger children, for whom sex activity is not yet a personal issue; or, to promote academic success, to piece of work with younger children who withal have full potential for learning and school success.
• How will your potential strategies decrease the risk for experiencing the problem (due east.grand., young girls getting pressure for sex activity from older men)? How will the strategies increase protective factors (e.one thousand., support from peers; admission to contraceptives)?
• What potential strategies will touch the whole population and problem? For instance, connecting youth with caring adults might be skillful for virtually all youth, regardless of income or by experience with the problem. Also, merely 1 strategy, affecting just one office of the community such as schools or youth organizations, oftentimes isn't enough to ameliorate the state of affairs. Make sure that your strategies affect the problem or outcome every bit a whole.
• What potential strategies reach those at particular risk for the problem? For example, early screenings might assistance focus on those at higher run a risk for heart disease or cancer; past bookish failure or history of drug employ, for identifying with whom support and other intervention efforts might exist focused.

Permit'south look at the strategies proposed by the members of the RTR Coalition to preclude teen pregnancy.

Instance: The strategies of the RTR Coalition

We will pursue the post-obit strategies to reach each of our objectives:

• Assist local churches in implementing parent-child awareness sessions (for example, a series of talks might be given discussing how to talk to your preteen about sexual practice);
• Include comprehensive sex educational activity in the curriculum of students from kindergarten through grade twelve, including information on abstinence, sexual controlling skills, and family planning / contraception at historic period-appropriate times;
• Contain options for teacher-led and peer support programs in the schools;
• Survey and written report on educatee knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs related to sexual issues;
• Increment access to contraception;
• Organize a schoolhouse/customs action grouping to create supervised after-school activities, mentor programs, etc.

Things to note about the RTR strategies:

• They give overall direction (without dictating specifics, such as the particular sexuality didactics curricula to exist used).
• They fit local resources, including a variety of the bachelor agents of alter (in this case, peers, parents and guardians, clergy, and teachers).
• Some of the strategies try to change existing situations (such every bit increased access to contraception); others are geared to stop the problem of teen pregnancy earlier information technology starts (for instance, assisting local churches to improve early parent-kid communication).
• The strategies involve many different parts of the community, including churches and other groups from whom opposition to some strategies (such as access to contraceptives) might be expected.
• The strategies try to decrease some of the probable adventure factors for teen pregnancy (lack of information, lack of access to contraceptives, peer pressure level), and at the same time, they endeavor to increment some of the possible protective factors (increased parent-child communication, church involvement, educational activity, opportunities for a better futurity).

Check your proposed strategies for completeness, accuracy, and whether they contribute to the vision, mission, and objectives

Online Resource

Tom Wolff / AHEC/Community Partners. (1993).Coalition building tip sheets [Resource Sheets]. Amherst, MA

Concerns Report Handbook: Planning for Community Health

Preventing Boyish Pregnancy: An Action Planning Guide for Community-Based Initiatives

Preventing Adolescent Substance Corruption: An Action Planning Guide for Customs-Based Initiatives

Preventing Child Corruption and Neglect: An Action Planning Guide for Customs-Based Initiatives

Preventing Youth Violence: An Action Planning Guide for Community-Based Initiatives

Promoting Child Well-Existence: An Action Planning Guide for Community-Based Initiatives

Promoting Wellness for All: Improving Admission and Eliminating Disparities in Community Health

Promoting Healthy Living and Preventing Chronic Illness: An Action Planning Guide for Communities

Promoting Urban Neighborhood Development: An Action Planning Guide for Improving Housing, Jobs, Educational activity, Safety and Wellness

Reducing Risk for Chronic Illness: An Action Planning Guide for Community-Based Initiatives

Piece of work Group Evaluation Handbook

Youth Development: An Action Planning Guide for Customs-Based Initiatives

Print Resources

Berkowitz, W. (1982).Community bear on: creating grassroots change in hard times. Cambridge: Schenkman.

Brown, C. (1984).The art of coalition building: a guide for community leaders. The American Jewish Committee.

Fawcett, S., Francisco, V., Paine, A., Fisher, J., Lewis, R., Williams, E., Richter, K.., Harris, K.., & Berkley, J., with assistance from Oxley, L., Graham, A., & Amawi, L. (1994).Preventing youth violence: an action planning guide. Lawrence, KS: Work Group on Health Promotion and Customs Development, University of Kansas.

Fawcett, South.., Harris, K., Paine- A., Richter, K., Lewis, R., Francisco, V., Arbaje, A., Davis, A., Cheng, H. in collaboration with Johnston, J. (1995).Reducing risk for chronic affliction: an action planning guide for community-based initiatives. Lawrence, KS: Work Group on Health Promotion and Community Evolution, University of Kansas.

Hawkins, J., & Catalano, R., et al. (1992).Communities that care. San Francisco, CA.

National Highway Traffic Rubber Administration (1996).Strategic execution programme(DOT HS 808-377).

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Source: https://ctb.ku.edu/en/table-of-contents/structure/strategic-planning/develop-strategies/main

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