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Comments about the Strategic Plan Process |
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We received significant feedback on our draft strategic plan through conference calls, individual conversations and our DoPeace discussion forum. For all of you who participated, thank you so much! Enclosed is a summary of comments regarding specific feedback, questions and general input on the plan - as well as a link to the updated plan.
Overall, most of the input we received was supportive and showed excitement regarding the plan. There were three key areas of feedback/questions that consistently arose which we are addressing:
- The decision-making timeline and how well it represents the networks' desires.
- The large scope of the plan and our capacity to fulfill it.
- How to move Department of Peace legislation moving forward. We are looking at this plan as a "living document" that can grow and evolve. The majority of the feedback received was specific to how we implement the plan, which we will collaboratively address as we move forward.
For each section of the strategic plan we will form a working group. These groups will include staff and some board, as well as any grassroots supporters who feels moved to participate. Groups will form and communicate through list-serves and conference calls. The groups will help to steer how each section's individual action plan is prioritized, providing further input on our direction.
As we've said before, we recognize the full plan right now is larger in scope than we can accomplish with our given resources. It is meant to show a roadmap we believe will help us get to our end goals and inspire the support and interest of the people we need to join with us. The operational planning will help us "step in" our initial action priorities, focusing on things that will have the most impact, thus helping us continue to grow and move the full plan forward.
The two elements of the legislative plan, a focus on Peacebuilding Structures and Peacebuilding Work, received wide-scale support. Through this process we have learned that we need to extend the conversation about the Department of Peace. We will continue to be in discussion about the operational component of how we will advocate for the Department of Peace. We will give this conversation more time and attention in order to come to a better collective understanding and alignment about how to move forward in order to address the varying views and questions held. During November we will make the exploration of this topic the very first one we take on in our operational planning process, and allow it to take the time needed to decide how we want to move forward.
This is the first time as an organization we have initiated a collaborative planning process at such an intensive level. This is also the first time this organization has ever developed such a long-range strategic plan. Thank you for your feedback through emails, conference calls, and on the DoPeace Forum. We were very excited to be a part of this process with you and look forward to deepening our collaborative processes in more dynamic ways moving forward. You helped the evolution of the strategic plan evolve into the strong plan that it now is. With your support, we will begin implementing the plan, and adjust the plan as needed to make it even better.
Gratitude!
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