Strategic Plan Project
Develop a strategic plan addressing a priority opportunity or challenge within your organization, department, or team. The project applies program learning across the five focus areas — and this year, every plan puts AI to work on the issue.
How Your Plan Comes Together
Executive Summary
Provide a brief overview of your project focus and expected outcomes.
Situation Analysis
Describe the current state of your organization, department, or team related to this project.
- What internal strengths and weaknesses impact this issue?
- What external trends or industry challenges are relevant?
- What is this issue costing today — time, revenue, audience?
Strategic Objectives
List 3–5 objectives for your plan.
- How do these objectives connect to business performance?
- Which align with one or more of the five focus areas?
Action Plan
Describe the initiatives and tactics you will implement to meet your objectives.
- What are your timelines and milestones?
- Who is responsible for each step?
- How will you engage and motivate your team?
- Which initiative will you implement first during the program year?
Financial Considerations
Provide a high-level overview of budget or revenue impact.
- What resources are required?
- What financial metrics will you track?
Risk Mitigation
Identify potential barriers to success and your contingency plans.
Measurement and KPIs
Explain how you will measure progress and success.
- What leading and lagging indicators will you monitor?
- What is today’s baseline for each metric?
Implementation Plan
Outline how you will communicate, manage change, and provide support during implementation.
- Whose buy-in is required, and how will you secure it?
- What cross-department coordination is needed?
AI Model
Describe the working model that supports your project — or, if AI can’t directly serve the project, the organizational need it addresses.
- Purpose — which component of the plan it supports, or the need it serves
- Inputs — data, prompts, workflow
- AI processing — the tools or automation used
- Outputs — what it produces: content, reports, decisions
- Expected results — the savings, efficiencies, or gains those outputs create
- Status — built, partially built, or framework only — and what full development requires (cost, tools, experience)
Five Focus Areas Integration
Leadership Development
Financial and Business Literacy
Emotional Intelligence and Working with People
Networking and Relationship-Building
Facing Challenges and Leading Through Change
Get Started
The Word template is just below — download it, start with your Executive Summary, and bring your one-page outline to Virtual Session 1 in September.
Questions? Contact Sara Willard — Program Director, America’s Newspapers
Download the project template here.... |
| ||