Purpose

The purpose of this second stage is to create a new or revised Corporate Plan based on the strategic options identified during the previous stage - Review strategic direction. This typically occurs during February to late March.

At this time, councils prepare formal statements of their strategic direction, outcomes and strategies.

On completion of this stage, council will have a draft new or amended plan ready to be made available for public consultation and feedback.

Key questions

Following completion of Stage One - Review strategic direction, councils will have an in-depth understanding of the issues facing council (Where are we now?) and a broad picture of their strategic direction and strategic options (Where do we want to be?).

The logical next step is to develop a Corporate Plan document that reflects council's primary purpose, its overall strategic direction and how it intends to achieve planned outcomes on behalf of the community.

This will usually coincide with a review of council performance in terms of service delivery, operating and capital projects, and follow-through on strategic tasks.

Checklist 19 - Formulate a Corporate Plan

Whether council is formulating a new or amended Corporate Plan, the following questions will assist:

• What does council expect of the Corporate Plan in the short, medium and long term?
• Does council need to update the existing Corporate Plan or create a new one?
• Who should be involved in developing the Corporate Plan?
• What methodology and frameworks should council adopt?
• How will the Corporate Plan align with other planning processes?
• What is council’s commitment to recurrent programs?

Process overview

The corporate plan is not developed in isolation. It needs to be consistent with council’s strategic direction and reflect council’s capacity to achieve the proposed corporate plan outcomes. Councils are encouraged to follow a four step process as follows:

Step 1: Establish the planning context

• Identify who should be involved
• Agree on corporate plan terminology, format and content
• Examine council’s current planning framework

Step 2: Plan for corporate outcomes

• Establish a project plan (optional)
• Define the performance assessment framework
• Assess council performance

Step 3: Prepare the corporate plan document

• Implement the project plan (optional)
• Compile a draft corporate plan

Step 4: Monitor the planning process

• Meet targets and milestones
• Ensure coordination with the operational plan and budget process

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