Strategic Planning Program

The situation

A government agency was at a pivotal moment, one that called for more than managing the present. The organisation needed to lift its gaze, get clear on where it was heading, and build the internal alignment to move there together.

Different teams were operating with different priorities, and the leadership team recognised that without a shared strategic direction, progress would be uneven at best. Taking It Forward was engaged to design and facilitate a strategic planning program, working across the organisation team by team.

The approach

Workshop design and facilitation

Eight strategic planning workshops, each tailored to a different team: where they sat, what they were responsible for, and what they needed to contribute to the broader direction. Each was carefully designed before it was facilitated, with clear objectives and the right questions to create space for genuine thinking.

Stakeholder engagement and communication

A stakeholder engagement strategy and communication planning ensured the thinking emerging from each session was connected across the organisation, not siloed within individual teams.

Strategic roadmap

The work culminated in a strategic roadmap with clear milestones, accountabilities and monitoring mechanisms, a practical guide for turning strategic intent into operational reality.

The outcome

Teams left each workshop with clarity, alignment and a concrete plan specific to their context. Across the organisation, a shared strategic direction emerged, built from the ground up through genuine participation rather than handed down as a finished product.

Each team received action plans, strategic frameworks and templates they could keep using well beyond the life of the program, building an ongoing planning capability, not just a one off exercise.

At a glance

• Eight facilitated strategic planning workshops across different teams
• Future focused direction setting and priority alignment
• Stakeholder engagement and communication planning
• Strategic roadmap with milestones and accountabilities
• Team specific action plans and strategic frameworks
• Templates and resources for ongoing planning capability