Facilitator for Strategic Planning Meeting

Save to Favorites

Strategic Planning Facilitation

Logistics: Strategic Planning meeting will be January 29, 2022 from 9 am to 4 pm at the Union League Club

Objectives:

1. Allow the Executive Director and Board members to participate fully at the meeting.
2. Time management to ensure all parts of the agenda are covered.
3. Meeting is a successful team building exercise.
4. Everyone contributes ideas and inputs.
5. Meeting time is fruitful and results in a strategic plan framework.
6. Key decisions are captured.

Responsibilities:

1. Prior to the meeting, meet with the CEO and Board Chair
   1. Discuss desired outcomes with the CEO and Board chair
   2. Understand the strategic plan structure that the CEO and Board chair want to use at the meeting. The agenda will be organized around this structure.
   3. Review agenda with the CEO and the Board Chair make suggestions. Provide recommendations as appropriate.
   4. Agree on how the strategic plan content will be captured. Examples:
      1. Whiteboard
      2. Screen with projector and laptop

• Handwritten notes taken by Board secretaries

1. Review the pre-workshop assignment to understand its purpose and how it will be used at the workshop. Pre-workshop assignment could include:
   1. An article or whitepaper on non-profit strategic planning
   2. The marketing presentations from CEO’s marketing students

• An icebreaker

1. Review "ground rules" that the CEO and Board Chair which may include but are not limited to:
   1. No question is a bad question.
   2. Everyone agrees to be good listeners.

• Everyone’s opinion and ideas will be sought.

1. We will try to stay with the agenda, to make sure we cover all areas.
2. Facilitator may cut off conversations and note topics for further follow-up outside the meeting

1. At the meeting

1. CEO and Board Chair will introduce facilitator. After a few opening remarks, they will hand the meeting over to the facilitator.
2. Facilitator will review agenda with the group, ask if there are any questions or suggested changes.
3. Facilitator will explain ground rules and how he/she will keep the meeting flow going
4. During the meeting, the facilitator is not supposed to answer the questions posed to the group or develop the strategic plan content. Instead, the facilitator helps the group work through each part of the agenda and makes sure that all the salient points are captured. The facilitator can take notes or ask one of the board secretaries to take notes.
5. Facilitator will maintain a 'parking lot’ of questions or tactical ideas that emerge during the discussion that the Board and CEO may want to return to after the workshop.
6. Topics which are not fully resolved will be summarized in terms of 1) where there is agreement; 2) where more information is needed; and 3) outstanding questions (keep a 'parking lot list’)

1. After the meeting
   1. Facilitator will share notes and observations with Board Chair and CEO.