Strategic Plan (Sep16-Jun19)

Development of the Greater Sydney Landcare Network's Strategic Plan

Strategic Plan (Sep16-Jun19)

Development of the Greater Sydney Landcare Network's Strategic Plan

Building our Future -

LLCI012-012

The issue

The Greater Sydney Landcare Network (GSLN) started in October 2014. It has been growing in members and projects since this time, with the employment of two part time Local Landcare Coordinators in March this year. Since then, with the size and population of Greater Sydney it has been apparent that a plan offering advice and guidance on how best to meet the needs of Landcarers in the Region was required.

The solution

A workshop was held in May, 2016 with the Committee identifying the Network’s Mission and Vision, brainstorming a SWOT analysis and developing a number of monitoring measures. Prior to this, consultation was carried out with members over the phone and via email. This was accompanied with GSLN web posts, Facebook calls for comments and other member prompts heralded at GSLN events.

The first draft was too long, and was summarised over and over again to ensure the succinct amount of information remaining in the Final Draft was representative of all issues, interests and possible projects for the future.

The impact

Most significantly, the impact this document will have is critical to the Network making decisions on future projects. To date decisions on projects, events or even funding applications have been on hold without such a guiding document. Having an approved Strategic Plan will consequently enable the Network to function in a forward moving manner strategically appropriate for our Mission, Vision and Constitution.

Learnings

Strategic Plans are valuable documents for setting long term goals for a group or organisation, and guidelines on how to get to them. Producing a final Plan that stakeholders are happy with requires clear communication between a Committee and LLCs to ensure they reflect the interests, ideas and issues of all concerned. Lines of communication are key, dealing with a representative(s) of the Committee ensures the best possible outcomes in return for the least amount of time.

A valuable lesson learnt was not to get BOGGED down in details when developing the first Strategic Plan for a relatively new Network. The GSLN Strategic Plan is considered a living document and will be amended accordingly as the Network grows and as is required, not just at the end of its three year lifetime of June 2019.

Key facts

  • Committee workshop held in late May, 2016 to start development of the Plan
  • First draft prepared Mid July, 2016
  • Final draft prepared third week August, 2016
  • Open for comments from members September, 2016
  • Final draft approved at GSLN AGM, October 16, 2016