Time to raise the bar on nonprofit strategic planning and implementation

Abstract

Purpose

This large-scale survey, initiated in 2012 and concluded in 2013, marked the first time a broad cross-section of the nonprofit community was asked to describe the strategic planning and strategic management practices they employ and to rate them for their impact on overall organizational success.

Design/methodology/approach

Respondents were asked to self-rate their organization for overall success and the likelihood for continued success in the foreseeable future. Results from this data were then used as a filter to analyze practices across all responses by level of success (N = 507).

Findings

Fully 93 percent of the most successful organizations, regardless of size or budget, credited their strategic planning and strategic-management efforts as having “some” to “critical” impact on their organization’s overall success.

Practical implications

The evidence in this survey is so compelling that we believe the successful practices it identifies should be adopted by nonprofits of all sizes, demanded by boards, and supported by funders.

Originality/value

This research indicates that funders should consider not only supporting strategic plan development, but also supporting development of ongoing plan management/implementation practices and requiring plan assessment reports/updates as part of the grantee’s reporting

Citation

F. Reid, M., Brown, L., McNerney, D. and J. Perri, D. (2014), "Time to raise the bar on nonprofit strategic planning and implementation", Strategy & Leadership, Vol. 42 No. 3, pp. 31-39. https://doi.org/10.1108/SL-03-2014-0019