Virtual Series: Facilitating Strategic Planning

Includes Pro Bono Audit Track and Fee-Based Certificate Track

In the Audit Track, you get free access to all of the courses, tools, assignments and discussion forums with faculty and other participants -- everything to learn how to customize and facilitate strategic planning for any type of organization. In the Certificate Track, you pay a small fee for faculty to grade your assignments to earn a "Certificate in Facilitating Strategic Planning". Enrollment in the Audit Track is unlimited and enrollment in the Certificate Track is limited to 30 participants.

Description of the Series

The purpose of this highly accessible Series is to spread the core knowledge and skills needed to successfully facilitate strategic planning in any type of organization. The focus is on how to customize the planning process and facilitate the necessary strategic thinking to produce a Strategic Plan that is highly relevant, realistic and flexible.

This Series uses a state-of-the-art, blended approach to learning with resources that you can easily access at any time. You get instruction through concise, online videos -- each packed with practical, step-by-step instructions. Short quizzes affirm your learning from each course. Concurrently, you can frequently share questions, answers and resources with other learners and faculty in facilitated, online discussion forums.

The Series also includes 40 highly practical tools that you can download to use and share with others. The videos specify when to use each tool during your planning. You can also access the Series' portal to 100s of online, free, supplemental resources for facilitating and strategic planning. You use your private Learning Journal to document your ongoing learning and development during the Series.

Concurrently, the instructions and tools guide you to complete a highly adaptable template to produce a carefully customized, sample Strategic Plan. The Plan is customized to the most suitable strategic planning model, and to the culture and strategic priorities of the organization that is undergoing planning.

The Series requires approximately two hours per week over a seven-week period.

1. Explain the purposes and benefits of strategic planning to leaders and planners in their organizations.
2. Plan the necessary group structures and processes to facilitate for maximum participation, collaboration and engagement of all of the planners.
3. Equip planners to customize the best planning process for the nature of their organization and the purpose of their planning.
4. Gain the strong buy-in and commitment of all of the planners in their planning process and Strategic Plan.
5. Reference numerous techniques in facilitation to guide and support the planners during their robust strategic thinking and planning.
6. Guide planners to consider the most significant trends, inside and outside of their organization, to identify the most important strategic priorities to include in their Plan.
7. Show planners how to use at least one practical framework to identify the most useful strategic priorities based on their strategic thinking and discussions.
8. Support planners to clarify the critical success factors in planning, and the core competencies and unique value proposition for their organization.
9. Ensure planners' action plans are highly aligned, integrated and realistic for maximum effect and efficiency in their organization.
10. Show planners how to develop an easy-to-reference Strategic Plan document that contains all of the most beneficial components needed in a Plan.
11. Explain how planners can customize the communication of their Plan to each of their different groups of stakeholders.
12. Overall, ensure that their strategic planning remains relevant, realistic and flexible for their organization.

(This Series does not include guidelines and resources about filings to legally form an organization.)

"They led a national training for our Camp and Retreat professionals on "Facilitating Strategic Planning that Works". Even our most seasoned leaders gained valuable new insights."
-- Kevin Witt, United Methodist Camp and Retreat Ministry

Audiences -- Highly Motivated, Self-Directed Learners

In traditional educational programs, faculty, fees and grading can help to motivate learners through the programs. However, in online learning programs like this Series, learners must be highly motivated and self-directed to truly excel in the programs. This Series is also designed especially for the following types of learners:

1. Facilitators, planners and members of organizations who seek to:
   • Customize and facilitate the best strategic planning process in any type of organization
   • Be truly professional by knowing several models of strategic planning
   • Gain a large number of highly practical tools about all aspects of strategic planning
2. Organizations in these situations:
   • Have very limited resources for extensive planning and implementation
   • Have not done strategic planning before or have done planning, but were not satisfied with the results
   • Have highly unique nature and needs, and thus require a highly customized planning process.

Unsure about enrolling in this Series? We want to be sure that the Series will be of tremendous value to you, so please take 10 minutes to scan the questions in this brief strategic planning facilitation assessment. If the questions do not seem challenging to you because of your current level of expertise, then this Series is probably not for you.

1. Facilitating Group Decision-Making and Problem-Solving
2. An Overview of Sensible Strategic Planning (Part 1 in completing a Strategic Plan)
3. Customizing Your Strategic Planning Process (Part 2)
4. Deciding Your Strategic Priorities (Part 3)
5. Making Assignments and Monitoring Your Strategic Plan (Part 4)

The Facilitation course is first in the Series because the facilitator's responsibility is first to ensure high-quality facilitation, while adapting that to the process of strategic planning. The numerous learning objectives and handouts for each course are listed on each course’s webpage.

Optional Courses

As part of this Series, you can take these optional courses for free to embellish your learning about principles in working with highly diverse clients and in ethical and legally compliant facilitation, and successfully guiding change in organizations. You can take them for free any time during the course schedule referenced below.

How To Enroll in the Series

To Enroll in The Audit Track

Enrollment in the Audit Track is unlimited.

To Enroll in The Certificate Track

In this Track, you can earn the "Certificate in Facilitating Strategic Planning". Enrollment is limited to the first 30 enrollments for this term.
Requirements to Earn the Certificate