The Re-Start MeetingWarren County School Strategic Planning Process

Action Team LeadersSeptember 25, 2013

The rest of the strategic plan is a fantasy if there are not detailed, implemental action plans to make it happen.

September 25, 2013 Action Teams Re-Start

Agenda

• Welcome• Why an Action Team Re-Start?• Informal Team Leader Updates• Intro to Abbreviated Team Leaders Guide• The Five Phases and Their Challenges• Focus on the Action Plan Writing Phase• Discussion of Sample of Action Plan• Strategic Planning Calendar - Deadlines• Question & Answer Session

The “Charge”As an Action Team, you are charged with creating an action plan which will provide us with step-by-step instructions for successful implementation of the strategy you were assigned.

Five Stage Process

Developing Action Plans

1. Strategy Analysis2. Research or

Information Gathering3. Moving to Action –

Identifying Results and agreeing on specific Result statements

4. Action Plan Writing5. Cost Benefit Analysis

Logical Sequence of Action Team Work

1. Action Teams analyze the strategy, learning about all of the thinking behind it – its intent

2. They gather information – searching for solutions in new places; investigating conventional and unconventional approaches; seek outside expertise, read, research, etc.

3. They distill the strategy into achievable results and results statements

4. They identify the steps that must be taken to accomplish each result

5. They complete a cost-benefit analysis

Strategy Analysis: Step One

• What does the strategy mean?• Why is this strategy in the plan?• What problems, circumstances aspirations,

etc. prompted the strategy?• Do you need to speak with the facilitator to

get further clarification?

Information Gathering: Step Two

• Imagine the strategy is already in place and working successfully? Describe it!

• What information is needed in order to accomplish successful implementation or your aspiration?

• What are conventional and unconventional approaches to achieving the desired end?

• What questions do we need answered by research and information gathering?

• Are there experts that we need to hear from in this process?

Moving to Action: Step Three

A. After the research reports have been given, team members list activities that need to take place to operationalize the strategy. What must occur in order to implement the strategy? (Post-its exercise)

B. Answer the question, what results would you expect from each of the activities and which activities are essential to your strategy becoming a reality. The full group eventually agrees on each result statement.

C. After looking at potential results from everything discussed , you must narrow down to what is most important to do and what results must be achieved for the strategy to become reality. These are the ideas that actually make it into the Action Plan.

Action Plan Writing

After answering these two questions, you are ready to begin Action Plan Writing:

1. Is each specific result necessary to implement the strategy?

2. Is the set of specific results sufficient to ensure the strategy will be fully implemented as intended?

Action Plan Writing: Step Four

• As Team Leader you assign one or more specific result statements to a person or subgroup. Each results statements leads to an action plan.

• The assigned person/subteam generates a sequence of steps or activities necessary to accomplish the result specified.

• Each results action plan should be achievable in one year, or split the activity into two.

Cost-Benefit Analysis: Step Five

• Do a formal cost-benefit analysis for each action plan after you have completed writing all of the plans.

• There are both tangible and intangible, costs and benefits.

• The internal facilitator (C.Davis and R. Hurley) will be able to direct you to the correct information source or to obtain the information you need.

Evaluating Action Team Plans

Presenting Your Set of Action Plans

• Team Leaders submit plans, cover letter and summary statements to the Facilitator by the established deadline.

• Facilitator sends all Action Team Plans to SPT members one week prior to the scheduled meeting of the SPT.

• Action Team Leaders make 20-minute presentation to the SPT.

• SPT members ask questions, if they have them.

Four Dispositions Available to SPT

1. They can accept a plan carte blanche.2. They can reject a plan.3. They can delete portions of the plan as long

as the deletion does not amount to a substantive change.(cannot add or modify)

4. They can return the plan(s) for additional development or for further justification.

Criteria for Judgment

1. Is the plan relevant to the strategy?2. Does the plan provide an acceptable return

on investment?3. Does the plan pass the sanity test?

Development of Action Plans: The Process of Approval

• The Actions Teams work over a period of 3-4 months to create operational plans to realize their strategy.

• At the end of that time the plans are presented by the Action Team Leaders to the Strategic Planning Team.

• The Strategic Planning Team will act on each action plan in one of three ways: (1) accept the plan as is; (2) return the plan with questions (3) or reject the plan as costs outweighing benefits or not relevant to strategy

Questions & Answers

DRAFT

WCS Strategic Planning Calendar

Tasks/Event Time Allotted Due/End Date

Action Teams Submit Completed Plans

7 Weeks November 13

Editing, Printing and Distributing to SPT

2 Weeks November 27

Strategic Planning Team Review 13 Action Plans

2 Weeks December 10

Team Leaders Present Action Plans to SPT/

Decisions Made

2-Days December 11-12

Plans Finalized and Distributed to BOE

3 Weeks +Winter Break

January 7, 2014

BOE Formal Presentation and Discussion

January 28 Work Session February 11, 2014BOE Approval Requested

Facilitator Tasks and Responsibilities

1. Read and comment on meeting agendas and reports from all 13 Action Teams

2. Meet monthly with each Action Team Leader or Team to offer feed-back and coaching and to assess progress.

3. Resolve problems, concerns, and monitor progress.

4. Direct Action Team Leaders to resources, when they make such requests

5. Receive Action Plans from the Team Leaders when they are completed ensuring that all are of high quality and submitted by the deadline.

6. Ensure the action plans and cost-benefit analyses are in the appropriate form for evaluation by the planning team.

7. Call Action Team Leaders together for a presentation practice run in preparation for the Second Planning Session.

8. Conduct and facilitate the Strategic Planning Team’s 2-Day Second Session

9. Call Team Leaders after the Second SPT Session with results