For any club aiming to survive, thrive and endure, a strategic plan is a vital tool that needs to be implemented. 
Strategic plans provide a direction, goals, and timeline to clubs to ensure they continue on the right track into the future, by detailing the actions and steps the club will take.
These plans also help to determine the principles and values of the club, highlighting the way a club presents itself to the world.
Additionally, having a strategic plan lowers the amount of risk a club undertakes, and can act as a guide in times of emergency or uncertainty.
Strategic Planning Resources
Creating a strategic plan can be a long process, which may require outside help to gain fresh perspectives and guidance.
Fortunately, many states and territories host an array of freely available resources such as fact sheets, videos and guides that directly address strategic planning. Additionally, a range of organisations provide consultancy assistance.
- Queensland – ClubIQ
- Queensland – Sports Grants Queensland (Offers paid consultancy)
- New South Wales – Office of Sport
- New South Wales – Sport NSW (Offers free resources and paid consultancy,)
- South Australia – Office for Recreation, Sport and Racing
- South Australia – SportSA
- Victoria – Leisure Networks – ClubHelp (Offers free resources and paid consultancy)
- Victoria – Vicsport (Offers free resources and paid consultancy)
- West Australia – Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries
- West Australia – SportWest (Offers services and resources to members)
- Tasmania – Active Tasmania
- Canberra/ACT – ACT Government Sport and Recreation
- Northern Territory – Department of People, Sport and Culture
- Australia wide – Clearinghouse for Sport
- Australia wide – Football Australia – Club Changer (Provides resources and education to members)
- Australia wide – Belgravia Sports Community (Offers free resources, paid consultancy and training programs)
- Australia wide – Australian Sports Commision – Game Plan (Free platform and toolkit for sport clubs)
Strategic Planning Processes
Strategic planning will differ from club to club depending on how each approach the situation, especially if working groups are consulted.
However, the phases of a strategic planning project will share similarities.
Stage 1
Clubs will often begin strategic planning by scrutinising club documents and key matters in order to review the health of the club and to understand the club’s identity.
This process will evaluate a wide breadth of material such as the club’s guiding constitution, policies, rules, financial documents, fundraisers, membership, club infrastructure, social media profiles, programs, teams, levels of success and more.
After completing the first stage, clubs may undertake a member survey. They can be a very useful tool, as they gather a valuable understanding of the attitudes a club’s community may have about its stature, culture, future, and what they want to see from it.
Stage 2
Next, a club would begin to discuss its future by highlighting goals it wishes to achieve.
Goals can be diverse and range from off-field to on-field matters, however they should always be relevant to the club and achievable. By setting objectives, you ensure that the club is working together towards something every day.
Across this process, timeframes and actions should be explored to create a plan of how to achieve the outlined goals. It can be advantageous to delegate goals to specific people or boards to ensure that multiple projects can be worked on and tracked at once, instead of having them all be lumped on one individual or being nebulously attached to no one.
This phase also presents the opportunity to reflect on the principles and values of the club. While it can appear superfluous, a small selection of small meaningful words can be incredibly impactful. A club’s chosen values describe the club to those outside of it, reminds club members of its purpose, and can also help formulate the goals, objectives and vision of the club.
Stage 3
Once a club has moved past goal setting and is beginning its action plans, reaching out to legal and accounting firms to review materials and provide advice can be highly valuable.
These organisations can provide comprehensive details on where to make adjustments for governance and how to budget effectively.
Stage 4
Finally, the club will begin to formulate the final document of the strategic plan before presenting it to members.
When creating the document, ensure it can be easily understood by a wide array of audiences.
Additionally, include a concise yet detailed summary of the plan so it doesn’t require members to read the document fully.
Conclusion
As time passes it is important to check in on the strategic plan to ensure that the club is on track for its goals and that the document is still relevant. Circumstances can change, so it can be beneficial to amend the plan to ensure it is still applicable to the club.
However, it is important to note that strategic plans are a long-term investment, and can take years to fulfill, so do not be over eager in manipulating them.
