Strategic Planning 

Strategic planning determines the direction an organisation will take over the next three to five year period, and sets out how it is going to achieve future goals. It is a long term view which enables a committee and staff to understand and work toward the same goals.

All plans need to detail actions to follow to achieve agreed outcomes over a designated period of time. Your organisation’s plans are important tools that can assist with longevity, financial stability, innovation and general success. They are also useful for keeping people on track, they can save you time and duplication of effort.

Helpful Resources

Strategic Planning is so important in assessing where your association/league currently is and where you want to be. The process of documenting and establishing a plan to ensure you align with your vision and purpose can be overwhelming, so we have created some strategic planning templates and guidelines to help guide you through the process.  

Useful Templates and Resources 

Strategic Planning

These goals should be agreed upon by the committee and should be SMART:

  • Specific – what, who, where and when
  • Measurable – what is the indicator
  • Achievable – plan for success
  • Realistic – given your human resources
  • Timebound – year calendars are a great tool here

A process for setting goals should be conducted annually, where club members and stakeholders can have input. This can be achieved by conducting planning meetings or by gathering information via a survey. At least every three months, the agenda for committee meetings should give time to look at the organisation's progress against its goals and to establish additional actions where needed.

 Strategic planning for sporting clubs or organisation's is:

  • a way to gain consensus – sharing and working towards a vision for the future which can develop cohesion among members
  • a tool which enables club members to focus on specific outcomes
  • a tool that allows and encourages an opportunity for ownership by the organisation
  • an opportunity for development of the organisation’s purpose and autonomy
  • a dynamic and ongoing process where goals are ‘time framed’ to ensure a sense of achievement
  • a management tool to be used for effective interaction with external bodies.

A business plan is simply the strategy to achieve the ‘business’ objectives of the organisation. A business plan prepared for the club will need to include evidence of potential income generation.

The business plan should clearly identify all the important facts about the organisation, its history, the current financial position, the objectives and the ‘business’ activities to be undertaken.

A club may undertake a business plan for a range of purposes. For example:

  • to raise funds towards facility development
  • to ensure it remains financially stable over a specified period of time, or
  • to ensure it can host a special event without falling into financial trouble.