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Client Testimonial
"AMR's creative team continues to exceed our expectations. Their clever and creative designs have produced excellent branding for our website and other published materials. Moreover, the online real-time membership directory and listserv services that we incorporated into our website redesign allow our members to efficiently network and contact one another."
Regina Hilbert, plan administrator - Suffolk County, New York Supplemental Retirement Plan and NAGDCA past president

Strategic Plans—Taking Them from the Shelf and Translating Them into Action

Strategic planning is an integral process for non-profit associations, because it provides direction and structure to support the operations of all facets of the association. However, there are many planning methods available and factors to consider that could influence whether a strategic planning session is effective or whether the resulting strategic plan is relegated to a dusty shelf. AMR Management Services (AMR) can assist associations in developing their strategic plans and determining what planning methods will work best for them.

In AMR’s experience, a critical success factor for strategic planning is the effective facilitation of the planning process. For its association clients, AMR staff works to customize a strategic planning process that is relevant, realistic and flexible. AMR consults with a client association’s board and executive leadership to tailor the strategic planning process to suit its nature and needs. One AMR example of a customized strategic planning initiative involved association client, the National Association of State Procurement Officials (NASPO). The NASPO Board of Directors met in Lexington, Kentucky, and participated in a customized two-day strategic planning session to review and revise the current NASPO strategic plan as well as lay out the framework for on-going monitoring and implementation of the plan.

Some general practices that AMR utilizes to facilitate the strategic planning process include: 


  1. Conducting realistic situational analyses of factors external and internal to the association.
  2. Establishing consensus-driven strategic direction for the organization, including a meaningful mission (and vision and/or values, if preferred), goals and strategies.
  3. Developing realistic and flexible implementation plans, including action, performance, and staffing plans along with an operating budget.  

In addition to facilitating the development of an association’s strategic plan, AMR also works with clients to ensure that their plans do not “end up on the shelf”. AMR actively works with client associations, such as NASPO, and their leaders to monitor their strategic plans and develop specific operating plans that detail actions that will accomplish the strategic plan’s goals and objectives.

Through an effective facilitation process and a strategic plan that turns the association vision into action, AMR helps to ensure that its client associations keep their strategic plans “off the shelf” and achieve their goals.





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