I recently had the pleasure of presenting a Scribe Academy webinar on strategic planning for councils. For those who couldn't attend, or those who want a refresher, I'm delighted to share the key points we covered about developing a simple yet effective strategic plan for your parish or town council.
The Problem: Why Most Councils Need Strategic Planning
In my experience working with parishes and towns across our region, I've observed that most councils don't plan more than a year ahead. In fact, the furthest many councils look into the future is about 14 months - typically just their next budget cycle. Some larger councils may have a 3-year budget plan, but when you examine it closely, it's often just the current budget with projected inflation increases.
Even among councils that do have strategic plans, these documents are often lengthy, not written in plain English, and created with minimal input from stakeholders. As a result, very few people read or understand them, rendering them largely ineffective.
This short-term focus creates several problems:
- Short-term focus: It can be harder for the council to achieve meaningful goals when timeframes are so short. Budgets remain short-term and resources can be used less effectively.
- Internal issues: Without a shared vision, councils often experience friction between competing priorities where the loudest or most persistent voices determine direction rather than consensus. This can leave both officers and councillors feeling directionless and frustrated, as if "wading through treacle."
- External issues: The community doesn't understand what the council is for or what it's doing. Being reactive becomes the default setting rather than proactively addressing community needs.
The Solution: A Simple Strategic Plan
The solution I'm advocating is straightforward: develop a simple strategic plan, implement it, and review it regularly. Let's break this down into five practical steps.
Step 1: Working Out Where You Are
Before setting your destination, you need to understand your starting point. Finding your starting point involves:
Preparation
- Collect information through surveys, feedback, and user data
- Consider both quantitative measures (like ratings) and qualitative comments
- Remember that you will be lucky to get a 10% response rate from physical surveys and it is likely to be closer to 3%. They also require significant time to process.
Workshop
- Gather the information together and review it in a collaborative setting
- Consider using frameworks like:
- SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats)
- KALM (Keep, Add, More, Less)
- SCOR (Strengths, Challenges, Opportunities, Risks)
- Online meeting tools for remote collaboration
Identify
- What is working well
- What isn't working
- Areas for improvement
Step 2: Creating a Strategy
Your strategy should be simple, concise, and accessible - ideally just 2-3 pages for most councils. Focus on these key elements:
Purpose of the Council
- In just one plain English sentence, set out the purpose of the council
- Focus on what you're trying to do for your community, not the legal definition of your council
- If your strategy starts quoting the Local Government Act 1972, you've probably missed the point!
Goals and Values
- Make clear in short bullet points the council's strategic goals and values
- These should be high-level principles, not operational details
Vision of Success
- Succinctly describe what 'success' would look like for your council
- This helps everyone visualize the end goal you're working toward
Objectives and Budget
- Identify the council's strategic objectives and the medium-term (three to five years) budget
- Remember, in most cases if it doesn't have money attached to it, it's unlikely to happen
- Your strategy should include financial planning that matches your aspirations
Step 3: Developing a Plan
Now it's time to get more specific:
Identify Priorities
- You could use the outcome of a SWOT analysis to help determine priorities
- Focus on the most important areas that need addressing
Set SMART Targets
- Specific
- Measurable
- Achievable (this is often overlooked but critical)
- Relevant
- Time-bound
Consider Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
- Examples might include:
- Social media followers (e.g., target 250 Facebook followers by year-end)
- Positive feedback about council services
- Number of service users (e.g., vacant allotments let out)
- Website visitors
- Attendees at council-managed events
Develop Specific Objectives
- These should flow from your high-level goals but be more detailed
Consider the Resources Available
- Be realistic about the people power and skills needed to implement your plan
- If you don't have the internal resources to achieve a goal or a budget to pay for external support, how likely is it to happen?
Step 4: Implementation
A plan is only valuable if it's actually implemented:
Publicize and Inform
- Make sure stakeholders know the plan exists
- Consider sharing it or parts of it on your website and in other external communications
Explain and Train
- Help people understand the plan and their role in it
- Provide any necessary training to support implementation
Get the Right Tools in Place
- Ensure you have the necessary tools to measure progress
- For example, if you're tracking social media engagement, make sure you're using Meta Business Suite or something similar
Develop Systems and Procedures
- Create processes for reporting, adapting, and moving forward
- Establish clear responsibilities for implementation
Step 5: Review
This is often overlooked, but creating a document is not the end point - it's just the beginning:
Set a Calendar for Regular Reviews
- The frequency will depend on your council's size and complexity
- Larger councils may need more frequent reviews
Adapt the Plan When Required
- Your strategic plan should change over time, not remain static
- As you achieve goals, set new ones; as circumstances change, adjust accordingly
Hold a 'Grand' Annual Review Once a Year
- This could coincide with your Annual Meeting
- Take time to thoroughly reassess progress and direction
One particularly effective approach shared during our Q&A was to include the plan as a regular agenda item at monthly council meetings, with progress updates on each objective. As one clerk noted, this practice "makes me move everything forward because if I didn't put it on the agenda, it would have been forgotten...and we are actually achieving our objectives much quicker."
Words of Wisdom to Guide Your Planning
As Leonard Bernstein wisely said: "To achieve great things, two things are needed: a plan and not quite enough time."
Every parish and town council knows the reality of never having quite enough time, but with a simple strategic plan, you can start taking control of your destiny rather than simply reacting to events.
Strategic planning helps your council define its purpose, set clear goals, allocate resources effectively, and measure success. All of the above leads to better outcomes for your community and a more effective council.
Remember that strategic planning isn't just about ticking a box. It’s about creating a useful tool that helps your council move from being reactive to proactive, allows for better resource allocation, reduces internal conflicts, and improves community communication.
Resources to Help You Get Started
To help you implement these ideas, I've created several free resources that are available through Scribe Academy:
- Creating Vision and Strategic Plan for Your Parish or Town Council - Slides from my webinar
- Simple Strategic Plan Template - A basic template that you can adapt for your council
- Simple Strategic Plan Resource Pack - Additional tools and guides to support your planning process
- NALC's Points of Light 2022 - For inspiration on goals and objectives
These resources are designed to be practical and adaptable for councils of all sizes. Whether you have a precept of £1,000 or £1 million, the principles remain the same - though the level of detail and work will of course vary.
For most parish and town councils, your strategic plan might be just 2-3 pages of A4. It should be written in plain English and involve as many people as possible in its creation and review.
Watch the Full Webinar
Did you find this information helpful? I invite you to watch the complete webinar recording on YouTube for more in-depth insights, additional examples, and to see the full Q&A session where I address more specific questions from attendees.
The recording includes detailed explanations of each step in the strategic planning process and practical advice you can implement right away in your council.
Frequently Asked Questions
How can we engage younger demographics in our community surveys?
Digital formats are essential when trying to reach younger people - they're much more likely to complete something online than on paper. Consider using social media platforms, QR codes at transport hubs or community spaces, and partnering with trusted community figures like sports coaches or youth leaders.
For school-age children, working with local schools can be effective. For working professionals, think about where they congregate and how to make participation quick and convenient.
What's a good platform for surveying residents?
For councils with limited budgets, free tools like Microsoft Forms and Google Forms can work well. When choosing a platform, consider data protection implications (especially with services hosted outside the UK) and only collect the information you actually need.
The most important thing is to think through what you're trying to achieve and what questions you're asking. Start simple - even a Facebook poll can provide useful initial feedback before investing in more complex systems.
We're a small council - do we really need a strategic plan?
Even small councils benefit enormously from having clear direction. One webinar participant shared that their council has just seven councillors, one part-time clerk (25 hours/week), and a precept under £100,000, yet they successfully implement a four-year plan organized around five key pillars.
Their approach includes reviewing the plan at every full council meeting and conducting annual reviews of achievements and continuing priorities. This has helped them accomplish more in less time and with greater focus.
How should we prepare for potential devolution of services through government reform?
If your council is in an area likely to be affected by devolution, start thinking now about:
- What services might be devolved to your level
- What budgets would be required to manage them
- What skills and capacity your council would need
- Whether you would accept or decline certain services
- How you'll consult with your community about these decisions
Remember that what seems like a minor service to a unitary authority (like public toilets) can have significant implications for a parish or town council's budget and workload.
How can we convince skeptical councillors about the value of strategic planning?
Ask them to consider:
- How many meetings end up bogged down in debates about minor issues
- Whether the council feels like it's truly achieving its potential
- How easily officers can implement the council's vision
- What they would do if this were their business with the same turnover
Also emphasize that having a clear plan makes recruiting new councillors easier - people are more likely to join when they can see what the council is trying to achieve and how they can contribute.
Tom Clay is the Chief Executive at East Riding & Northern Lincolnshire Local Councils Association (ERNLLCA), supporting parish and town councils across the region.
