Effective practices to incorporate community engagement in strategic planning
Strategic plans can integrate community engagement in both process and outcomes. Processes for involving community in strategic planning includes the following:
- Inclusive planning – involving diverse collaborators (e.g., residents, local organizations, companies, students, faculty, staff) in visioning and goal setting.
- Collaborative decision-making and co-creation – sharing power and responsibility with the community in identifying needs and solutions.
- Ongoing dialogue – establishing feedback loops—such as town halls, surveys, focus groups, or advisory boards—to gather input and inform how the strategic plan is enacted, evaluated, and adapted over time.
- Transparency and trust-building – ensuring open communication and accountability with community collaborators throughout the planning process.
Community engagement outcomes might be incorporated in the following ways:
- Distinct priority – community engagement is a defined priority or pillar in the strategic plan
- Integrated – community engagement metrics exist under each strategic priority
- Distinct and integrated – community engagement is a defined strategic priority, and community engagement metrics exist within other strategic priorities. This method supports avenues for strategic alignment between community engagement efforts and other institutional priorities.