At Public Works Partners, we believe the strongest plans are built with organizations, not simply for them. That idea is at the center of our new Strategic Co-Planning Framework, an approach within our broader Strategic Planning service that gives organizations a more collaborative and flexible way to develop their plans.

Strategic Co-Planning brings an organization’s knowledge and expertise together with Public Works’ experience in strategy, facilitation, stakeholder engagement, and project management. Instead of outsourcing the entire planning process, organizations determine where their team should lead, where Public Works should lead, and where the work is best done together.

The result is a planning process that is flexible, inclusive, and designed to build capacity along the way. By actively involving staff, leadership, boards, and other stakeholders, co-planning can create greater ownership of the strategy—and stronger momentum to implement it.

Our framework lays out five phases for moving from planning to action: Kickoff & Scoping; Discovery & Current State Assessment; Strategic Direction Setting; Plan Development; and Activation & Accountability. Each phase provides opportunities to intentionally determine how responsibilities are shared based on an organization’s capacity, priorities, and needs.

Most importantly, Strategic Co-Planning recognizes that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to strategy. The goal isn’t to divide the work evenly, but it’s to divide it intentionally, so organizations leave the process not only with a stronger Strategic Plan, but also better prepared to put that plan into action.

Ready to rethink how your organization approaches Strategic Planning?

Download the Public Works Strategic Co-Planning Framework to explore the approach and learn more about how our Strategic Planning service can help your organization turn its priorities into an actionable plan.