How one can Write A Strategic Planning RFP

The 4 Myths of Technique

1 May 2025

Amazon, Trump, and Tariff Prices; Amazon Haul and Temu; Political Classes – Stratechery by Ben Thompson

30 April 2025

What to think about doing earlier than strategic planning (stakeholder engagement)
In case you want analysis & benchmarking, take into account doing it first somewhat than inside the identical RFP/vendor (it is a very totally different space of experience than strategic planning and facilitation)
Issues that aren’t important inside a strategic plan however that may be accomplished earlier than, alongside or afterwards (however will add to the time, funds, scope) reminiscent of state of affairs planning, aggressive evaluation/P5F, benchmarking, and so forth.
Key components of the method that must be included (outlining our course of basically)
Why area of interest subject material experience isn’t important in your strategic planning facilitator.
Why it’s higher to have a facilitator than a guide method when creating your personal aligned technique + the danger of getting a subject knowledgeable who shouldn’t be an knowledgeable in aligned technique improvement or facilitation
Different issues – time, funds, location, journey, and so forth. Be certain to e-book a name with probably distributors – it provides time, however how are you going to make certain they perceive your full context in case you don’t join first? Be weary of ones who simply wish to submit a proposal and don’t wish to join for a chat.

Whereas direct procurement is a stronger, extra collaborative method to choosing a strategic planning facilitator and repair supplier, some organizations could also be required to work by means of an RFP course of to pick out a vendor from a brief listing of 3-4 prime suppliers.

Your group might obtain many proposals in response to your strategic planning RFP, so it’s essential that it’s nicely developed in order that the bids you obtain are aligned with the outcomes you want to obtain from the strategic planning course of.

By guaranteeing your RFP is aligned with strategic planning greatest practices, whereas additionally leaving room for knowledgeable enter from the bidding organizations, you’ll cut back the danger of losing worthwhile time and assets reviewing proposals that don’t suit your wants. As a substitute, you’ll optimize your assets and higher equip your management crew to slender down the highest suppliers who will ship one of the best outcomes in your group.

Define: How one can Write an RFP for Strategic Planning

What to think about and who to incorporate earlier than the strategic planning course of
Who to incorporate inside the strategic plan improvement
Important parts of the strategic planning course of
Crucial vs non-critical areas of experience for service suppliers
Different issues in your RFP
Strategic planning RFP guidelines

What to think about and who to incorporate earlier than the strategic planning course of

A nicely developed strategic plan considers enter from essential stakeholders, and isn’t developed in a silo. It’s essential that your management crew or strategic planning committee considers the way you want to collect issues and enter forward of the strategic plan improvement, and whether or not that is one thing you’ll undertake internally or with the assist of a facilitator.

Stakeholder Engagement:

Stakeholder engagement classes might help collect insights and enter from key exterior or inner people and teams that will help you higher perceive your present state and to extend the chance for buy-in round your future state as soon as your strategic plan is developed.

Moreover, strong inner stakeholder engagement (i.e. with board or key crew members) earlier than AND after the strategic plan improvement might help enhance the chance for ongoing alignment and efficiency round technique execution.

Working with a facilitator might help you optimize these advantages as they’re an goal, third-party who’s expert in asking the suitable questions and getting key essential enter out of engagement classes. If facilitated stakeholder engagement is one thing you want to embody as part of your strategic planning course of, take into account mapping out your stakeholder teams to find out what number of classes you want to maintain and to uncover any distinctive wants or lodging totally different teams or people might have.

Different actions to tell strategic planning:

Moreover, there are different analysis actions which can be separate from strategic planning that some organizations might want to undertake to assist inform the planning course of. These actions might embody market analysis, organizational benchmarking, or different R&D actions.

In case your group is all for these actions, take into account creating a separate RFP for actions which can be adjoining to strategic planning: The most effective strategic planning consultants will not be advertising and marketing or analysis consultants, and one of the best advertising and marketing and analysis consultants will not be expert in strategic planning or facilitation.

Abstract of Stakeholder Engagement & Different Pre-Planning Concerns:

Have we mapped out your stakeholders? If not, when will we map out our stakeholder teams and any key people?
Which stakeholders would we wish to generate suggestions from forward of our strategic planning classes?
Which stakeholders will we’d like alignment and buy-in from after our classes with the intention to execute the plan?
What’s the greatest format to have interaction with these teams? Have they got any particular wants or boundaries?
Will we stock out the stakeholder engagement internally, or would we like the advantages of working with a facilitator to construct these into the strategic planning course of?
What different data do we have to analysis or acquire forward of the strategic planning course of? Can we do that ourselves, or do we have to subject a separate RFP?

Who to Embody Inside the Strategic Plan Improvement

When creating a strategic plan, it’s essential for everybody with choice making energy and people who might be main the implementation to have a seat on the desk. Whereas there is no such thing as a magic quantity, having between 7-14 key leaders collaborate round One Vacation spot in your group’s future tends to be vary. With 6 or much less people, you could not have sufficient totally different views and views to tell selections. With 15 or extra people, the method can take lots longer, and it may be more difficult to achieve alignment, particularly if there are totally different ranges of choice making energy within the room.

Participant preparations that we’ve seen work nicely in classes embody:

Full board of administrators with the ED or CEO (particularly for non-profit organizations the place the board’s position is to align round a strategic route for the group)
The ED or CEO with the complete govt crew (with board engagement & approval earlier than/after if required)
A strategic planning committee comprised of key board members, the ED or CEO, and different key leaders or workers who might be concerned with implementing the plan

To make sure the classes are productive and collaborative, it’s essential to make sure that all session members have cleared their schedules to allow them to decide to a distraction free strategic planning course of.

When writing your RFP, it’s essential to think about forward of time who you want to on the desk, and who you want to have interaction in order that the bidding group can scope a really perfect variety of engagement classes and allocate sufficient time for strategic alignment relying on the scale and complexity of your group.

Since some individuals is not going to have a seat on the choice making desk in the course of the planning classes, pre-planning stakeholder engagement is a good way to generate enter from these key people and teams. This can assist slender down a smaller crew of 7-14 leaders that may make key strategic selections for the group whereas contemplating stakeholder views and key themes.

Abstract of Participant Concerns:

Who’re the important thing leaders and choice makers in our group?

Are there some other key people we want to embody within the full planning course of (i.e. deeply concerned board members or key personnel)?

How many individuals will we’ve concerned on this course of? If there are over 14 individuals on our listing and a few of them usually are not key choice makers, is it doable to incorporate them in stakeholder engagement somewhat than within the planning classes?

Are these people conscious of the targeted time dedication required to develop a fulsome and aligned strategic plan?

Important Parts of the Strategic Planning Course of

Whereas there are numerous actions that facilitators can make use of to develop a strategic plan with a corporation, there are essential parts that must be integrated into each strategic planning course of with the intention to assist alignment in direction of a imaginative and prescient with readability round how this vacation spot might be reached.

Key components of the strategic planning course of to include embody:

Present state evaluation – The place are we now?

A present state evaluation builds on the knowledge uncovered forward of the strategic planning course of that was obtained by means of stakeholder and participant enter. It’s essential for management groups to first pinpoint the place they’re now previous to discussing the place they wish to find yourself.
Splendid actions on this part might embody a celebration of how your group arrived at the place you’re at right now, an inner group SWOT scan, and thorough development evaluation reminiscent of a PESTLE exercise to debate political, financial, social, technological, authorized, and environmental tendencies that your crew is seeing and anticipates to both improve or lower over the following 3-5 years.

Be aware: some other pre-work that your crew decides to tackle outdoors of the usual strategic planning course of (i.e. market analysis, benchmarking) might be woven into these discussions and the discussions to observe.

Future state alignment – The place are we going?
Whereas all areas of the strategic planning course of are essential, alignment round your group’s future state, or One Vacation spot, is of the utmost significance. It’s essential that your management crew is absolutely aligned and acquired into the place you’re going over the following 3-5 years earlier than beginning to mirror on priorities and actions to tackle.

Splendid actions on this part might embody a 3-5 12 months imaginative and prescient alignment exercise, in addition to a 3-5 12 months mission alignment dialogue targeted on who you’re, what you do, and who you do it for.

Discussions round potential obstacles – What may get in our means?
As soon as your management crew has aligned round the place you at the moment are and the place you wish to be in 3-5 years, it’s time to unpack what may get in the way in which of reaching your One Vacation spot.

No strategic plan is threat free, so specializing in each inner and exterior components that would decelerate or derail success is a worthwhile course of to assist design your techniques to achieve your imaginative and prescient and mission.

Splendid actions on this part might embody a dialogue round how your organizational values and behaviors can both assist or hinder you from reaching your future state (relying on whether or not or not they’re aligned with the place you wish to go), and a fulsome threat evaluation.

Roadmap to achieve your required vacation spot – What do we have to do to get to the place we wish to go?
After discussing what can get in the way in which of the place you at the moment are and aligning round the place you wish to be 3-5 years sooner or later, the following step is to find out the place you’ll prioritize your focus and the way you’ll gauge your progress alongside the way in which.

Splendid actions on this part might embody a prioritization exercise to align round three (or as much as a most of 4) key areas of focus that may mitigate your prime dangers and assist you to attain your imaginative and prescient. Then it’s essential to develop measurable aims and SMART targets so that you’ve got clear quantitative metrics that will help you decide if you’re forward, behind, or on monitor as you’re employed by means of implementing your plan.

A path for implementing your plan – What processes & capacities do we’d like in place?
Whereas some strategic planning processes wind up after the earlier step is full, we extremely suggest guaranteeing that you’ve got a plan for implementation in order that your strategic plan doesn’t grow to be a doc that sits on a shelf. That is the place essential motion and communication plans to drive your strategic plan ahead are developed alongside discussions round your management crew’s capability to cascade and execute your plan.

Splendid actions on this part might embody creating a fast wins motion plan, a communication plan for ongoing technique rollout and implementation, and an evaluation of management capacities to steer the implementation course of.

Different Concerns:

However, it’s equally essential to make sure that your chosen facilitator has developed a fulsome course of that considers components of every of the 5 steps above as a way to have an entire and implementable strategic plan.

Abstract of Course of Concerns:

Do we’ve a robust understanding of our desired outcomes?

Do we’ve an concept of the varieties of processes we’re all for, with sufficient flexibility to work with a strategic planning facilitator to include their experience?

Have we allotted sufficient time to work by means of all the strategic planning course of and to achieve the specified outcomes we’re aiming for?

Be taught extra about our strategic planning course of that will help you write your strategic planning RFP.

Crucial vs Non-Crucial Areas of Experience for Strategic Planning Consultants/ Facilitators

When looking for a strategic planning facilitator, it’s essential to grasp that, whereas not unimaginable, it’s unlikely {that a} guide or group who’re consultants in your area of interest discipline are additionally consultants in strategic planning. Subsequently, it’s extremely probably that probably the most expert strategic planning facilitators are consultants in technique, and never essentially inside your particular discipline. One other threat with hiring an business knowledgeable to steer your strategic planning course of is that they could arrive to your classes with unconscious bias about your business and discipline, which can result in a slender scope and subjective lens.

If it’s important in your procurement course of to make sure that your facilitator has expertise creating strategic plans in your business, ensure you mirror on why that experience is essential and the way the facilitator is anticipated to use this information. If you’re in search of recommendation on choice making, take into account hiring an business guide to work immediately along with your crew alongside having a strategic planning facilitator somewhat than looking for a facilitator who can also be a subject knowledgeable in a distinct segment discipline.

The advantage of hiring a facilitator who’s an knowledgeable in alignment and strategic planning is that they may arrive with an goal lens, much less business bias, and might be able to assist your crew with inventive considering and innovation. A powerful strategic planning facilitator will nonetheless guarantee to tell themselves about your sector, business, and group, in addition to interview key stakeholders and crew members forward of the session to allow them to perceive your crew and your context.

Finally, it’s essential that your strategic planning facilitator is an knowledgeable in two areas: the strategic planning course of and facilitating alignment in direction of a singular imaginative and prescient (One Vacation spot).

Abstract of Facilitator Experience Concerns:

Can we require a facilitator with particular area of interest subject material experience past strategic planning and facilitation?

Or, is it extra essential for us to work with an skilled facilitator who’s an knowledgeable within the strategic planning course of and facilitating crew alignment?

If we’d like each, can we take into account hiring an business knowledgeable advisor (who is probably going not a strategic planning or facilitation knowledgeable) earlier than the planning course of to assist information our selections and execution?

Different Concerns for Your RFP

When creating an RFP for strategic planning, there are numerous different issues you could want to incorporate:

Making time to take calls with distributors:

As you write your RFP, take into account if and when you’ll settle for calls from certified distributors to allow them to perceive your group higher earlier than crafting a proposal. In case you determine to not take calls, there’s a threat that potential bidders might not absolutely perceive what it’s you need or try to attain. Whereas it could take extra time on the entrance finish to just accept calls to make clear data for bidders, you’ll spend much less of your worthwhile time studying numerous lengthy proposals that aren’t tailor-made to your wants or what you want to accomplish.

One other profit of getting a dialog with potential facilitators forward of your choice course of is that there could also be issues you weren’t conscious of if you wrote your RFP that the facilitator can carry ahead. Subsequently, the facilitator is not going to solely perceive your needs for the way the method will unfold, nevertheless it offers you a possibility to grasp how their experience and thoroughly designed processes might be utilized to your strategic planning session.

Format and site: Contemplate forward of time what one of the best format might be in your strategic planning crew. Some groups would like to work by means of this course of intensively over a couple of days in-person, whereas different groups might discover it simpler to unfold the method out over a couple of weeks nearly, with extra time and house between every session. In case you determine to have your session in-person, take into account the place you want to maintain your session reminiscent of in a boardroom at your office, at an offsite location, at a retreat heart, or elsewhere.

If you’re uncertain about which possibility is greatest in your crew, be taught extra concerning the totally different advantages of digital and in-person strategic planning.

Timing: Previous to releasing your RFP, take into account figuring out an approximate time that you simply want to work by means of your stakeholder engagement and the strategic planning classes. In case you pre-select particular dates nevertheless, remember that this might weed out nice facilitators who may not have availability on these actual dates. As a substitute, take into account ample lead time (not less than 3-6 months) and establish some goal weeks that the classes may happen as a way to collaborate on dates and occasions with the facilitator greatest suited in your wants.

Finances: Whereas it could be tempting to omit a funds to see what bidding organizations suggest with none financial biases, itemizing your funds vary will enable the bidding organizations to tailor their choices to your required outcomes according to your funds somewhat than guessing at how a lot you wish to spend, which may lead to both over bidding or underneath bidding.

Testimonials vs references: Whereas requesting one reference as a last step in your choice course of might be an efficient technique to vet your prime proposals, take into account using vetted third occasion testimonials early within the course of somewhat than a number of references with the intention to slender down your prime candidates. This manner, you don’t must spend your time making a number of telephone requires a number of bidders as part of your choice course of, however can as an alternative name only one reference in your prime two or three candidates after pre-vetting them.

SME Technique and plenty of different consulting organizations use Clutch for vetted third occasion testimonials.

Implementation Plan: Contemplate if you have to management coaching, capability constructing or accountability assist as you implement your plan. Whereas many organizations are involved primarily with creating their strategic plan, that is solely the tip of the iceberg. Strategic plans might be developed over days and weeks, whereas they take a number of years to implement. It’s essential that your crew has the talents, talents, and capacities to execute the methods you’ve created, in any other case your plan could also be shelved. If you’re all for facilitated implementation assist, take into account what your funds will seem like, each in phrases of time and cash.