been developed and implemented in the cities and municipalities of the Western
Europe. A representative model contains several components that have to be
considered when formulating the strategic planning process in the local self-
government, with special emphasis on the following:
• Environment - Each process planning, especially if it is a strategic planning
process, has to be based on an objective estimation of the environment
conditions within the community. This includes the assessment of external and
internal factors. External environment can be such that the local self-government
is not in a position to change certain conditions which are prescribed by the
higher-level authorities. However, the local authorities can and have to be ready
to affect the local conditions having a bad impact on the process.
• Vision and values - in the nature of the assessment of the local community’s
working environment, it is of vital importance to develop a system of local values
and a vision which are reasonable for the majority of representatives of the local
authorities and wider community, i.e. citizens and economic agents. The vision
of a community represents a wider perspective for the future and should serve
as a guideline for all participants in the strategic planning process. Its role is also
to ensure that all participants in the process, even when they do not act
identically, stay on the same track during the process. Values are common
knowledge, opinions and attitudes of all participants which are related to the
purpose, internal (organisational) culture and general behaviour in an
organisation and the society. Both the community’s vision and its values are
usually long-term and change only over a long time intervals. The main role of
values is to ensure that the community’s vision and its future are not disturbed
by future political or non-political changes.
• Mission and leadership - In so far as the vision of the community reflects a
wider perspective, the mission of the community is a clearly defined wide system
of objectives which serves to explain this wider picture in a more detailed way. It
is typically a short description of the future of the Municipality (with or without an
explanation). Mission can be essentially defined as a standalone, widest
objective of the community.
• Objectives - Objectives are management tools aiming at precise explanation of
the ways for best materialisation of both vision and mission. While mission gives
a wider course and meaning, multiple objectives are there to make a concrete
orientation in the everyday work of municipal authorities and of other agents
involved in the process. Such objectives are often defined during the budget
development process in order to achieve the defined vision and mission of the
community considering the available resources.