What planning covers Planning for the future allows you to take a close look at your organization or program, at your goals, and at what strategies and activities are needed in order to achieve the desired goals. Planning thus covers a wide range of tasks, from the setting of organization-wide goals for the future to the detailed scheduling of activities to be carried out next year. For the purpose of discussion, this manual divides the planning process into two chapters. This chapter discusses how to develop both program and financial plans to achieve your goals. The next chapter, Developing and Using Work Plans , discusses how to formulate detailed plans for the next year from the strategies and objectives that you have set.
Some organizations develop only annual work plans and are successful in their work.
Over time, however, the working environment and the program itself are likely to evolve and change. The process of planning a program can be difficult, but it can also bring a number of rewards. In addition to producing a well-organized program, the organization as a whole can be strengthened by successfully confronting the challenges of the planning process. Reaching agreement on goals and on how to achieve them is motivating because everyone involved ends up with a shared vision and with concrete ideas about how to surmount obstacles in order to achieve that vision. Disagreements among the staff about goals or how to achieve them are worked out in the planning process, so that internal conflicts don't pose obstacles to implementation.