Plan Strategically
Unlock strategic planning expertise tailored for legal aid organizations on our Model Practices & Innovations platform. Gain actionable insights, tools, and success stories to fortify your strategic vision, maximize impact, and effectively navigate challenges in the legal services landscape.
Unlock strategic planning expertise tailored for legal aid organizations on our Model Practices & Innovations platform. Gain actionable insights, tools, and success stories to fortify your strategic vision, maximize impact, and effectively navigate challenges in the legal services landscape.
What is a Strategic Plan?
An organization's strategic plan serves as a roadmap for the next three to five years to show where an organization is headed, how it will get there, and how it will monitor progress in implementation.
Who should be involved in the process of creating a strategic plan? The board, organization, leadership, and staff, as well as external stakeholders.
A good strategic plan provides clarity internally (to the board, leadership, and staff) and externally (to funders, community partners, and the low-income population) about the organization's mission and its vision and/or values. The plan also identifies the goals to work toward the mission, strategies to achieve the goals, and action steps to implement who will do what and when.
Why Are Strategic Plans Important?
With critical legal needs in mind, the strategic plan:
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Informs the service delivery model
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Guides the organization's priorities and advocacy strategies
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Helps to identify and address gaps in services
Using Impact Advocacy and Litigation to Expand Access to Justice
Learn about Legal Services NYC's (LSNYC) tips, tricks, and strategies for conducting impact advocacy. This case study dives into LSNYC's key takeaways and lessons learned from some of the organization's most impactful casework over the years.
In order to maintain momentum toward fully implementing a strategic plan, key individuals should be identified at the beginning. These key people would be responsible for accomplishing action steps. Regular check-ins should also be scheduled to guide any adjustments that may need to be made to the action steps or the schedule.
So where do you start?
Needs Assessment and Priority Setting
Strategic planning starts with an assessment of the most pressing legal needs and covers internal management, organization mission and growth, and relations with the external community.
Strategic Plan Development
The data gathered during the comprehensive needs assessment process provides the foundation for your organization's board of directors and staff to develop a strategic plan. A strategic plan provides guidance in fulfilling the organization's mission with maximum efficiency and impact.
Evaluation
A necessary component of strategic planning is an organization's internal evaluation. To develop a meaningful strategic plan, an organization should fully assess its capacities and the effectiveness of its work. This process establishes the foundation for realistic strategic planning and success of the plan.
YouTube Playlist: Plan Strategically
This Model Practices & Innovations playlist features videos highlighting key elements that will help grantees strategically plan their legal service delivery models, including: using data to implement positive organizational changes, assessing project sustainability, recruitment and retention, educating legislators, data-informed decision-making, and adaptable business models.
Case Study: Strategic Planning
Learn about developing and revising comprehensive strategic plans with Utah Legal Services in this case study.