o Development of mission and vision
o Definition of objectives and tasks
o Training and presentation of the process (if necessary)
o Provision of appropriate (neutral, accepted by all team members)
premises for the work of the strategic planning team
o Collection of information, including the analysis of project advantages,
weaknesses, possibilities and challenges, as well as the estimation of
available funds (internal and external)
o Identification of available alternatives
o Definition of priorities and decision-making process with public
participation
o Regular informing the public on the results and implementation phases.
How to make a sustainable process?
It is essential to avoid situations where strategic planning starts being a theoretical
exercise with no reference to the real life, or just a “single-shot attempt” which is not
going to be realised in the future. Some of key elements and/or characteristics of the
process that deserve special attention in order to avoid the “single-shot attempt”
concept are the following:
• All local participants have to be involved in the process from the very beginning
• The process has to be transparent and the public has to be informed
• The process must not be realised ad hoc; it must be recorded and described in
full detail for the needs of future preparation
• Strategic planning structure and procedures have to be realised on regular basis
• It is of vital importance that participants make special efforts in order to be
successful in the first attempt of process implementation
• During the implementation and towards the end of the process, the local self-
government should evaluate the process and foresee any necessary changes
for future implementations
• The process should be internationally supported, as well as locally (local
experts) so as to promote ideas and experiences acquired during process
realisation to other subjects and local-self-governments
• Time and resources must be foreseen in such a way as to enable planning in the
long run
Model of Local Strategic Action Planning
The strategic planning model, as described here, can be considered applicable in
Serbia because it represents one of many successfully standardised models that have