Action Planning

Eun Jaeho
The Korean Institute of Public Administration
Seoul, Korea

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Presenter

EUN, Jaeho
- Ph.D. in Political science (Policy science)
Ecole Normale Supérieure de Cachan, France
- Senior Research Fellow, The Korean Institute of Public Administration (KIPA)
Currently
- Vice president of the KIPA
- President of the Korean Association for Conflict Studies
- Invited professor, Graduate school of University PARIS 1 (Panthéon-
Sorbonne), France
 Overview

This toolkit provides a model for taking an organization

through an action planning process.

It takes the user through a basic action planning

format, step-by-step, covering all the key elements.

By following the format, any project or organization

should be able to prepare a comprehensive action
plan, in the context of a strategic planning framework.

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Table of Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1
Preparing action plan

Chapter 2
Action planning

Chapter 3
Implementing action plan

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INTRODUCTION

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 Introduction Ⅰ

WHY A TOOLKIT for ACTION PLANNING

• To help you know where you are going or why you are going there
• To help you do detailed, useful action planning

Overview Strategic Monitoring Evaluation

• Help you to see Planning • Help you to • Help you to
how action • Help you expand on the expand on the
planning fits into preparing for process of process of
the overall action planning monitoring evaluation
planning process

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 Introduction Ⅱ

• Limited experience
• No past experience

WHO • Unsure that you are “Doing it right”

needs it?

• Need to plan operationally

• Need some ideas to help you develop
• Ready to move a new organization or project
WHEN • Feel you need to review your operational plans
do you need it?

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 BASIC NOTION

Definition

• Action planning is the process that operationalizes your strategic

objectives and guides the day-to-day activities of your organization or
project

3. Time
schedule

2. The steps to
4. Responsibility
be followed

5. Clarification
1. What must be Action
of the
achieved
Planning inputs/resources

Action plan is operational plan

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 BASIC NOTION

Outputs
• Desirable results or goals of activities?

• Staffing needs already addressed, additional staff or support

required?
Human Resourcing Plan
• Capacity building needs in order to enable staff to carry out
activities?

Timing • When to do it?

<sequencing> • How to plan the time needed to carry out your activities?

• People
Resourcing • Time
<money (budget)> • Space
• Equipment etc.

Definition

• Action planning is the process in which you plan what will happen in the project in
a given period of time, and clarify what resources are needed to make it possible
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 Chapter 1
Preparing action plan
Strategic Planning

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 Before you begin

Action planning
Action planning does comes from strategic
not take place in a planning process.
vacuum, without a • What must be in place?
framework. • Who plans? Who should
be involved?

Your action plan must be related to a clear strategy helping you

achieve long-term goals and objectives

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 1. Which society or which
What must be in place? country you are working for?
- strategic planning 2. What are the social or
collective values functioning
as basis for what you are
trying to achieve?
1. Clear 3. What is your mission, how
vision should it be done, for whose
benefit and, where
6. Key
appropriate, and in
result
2. Set of partnership with whom?
areas
value 4. What is the ideal situation
that you are working to
Long-term achieve ultimately?
Goals and 5. What is the ideal situation
objectives that you are working to
achieve in the short- to
5.
Immediate
3. Clear medium-term, as your
objective mission contribution to the overall
or project
purpose statement goal?
6. What is the final area giving
shape to your strategy for
4. Overall
goal
achieving your immediate
objectives?
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 Action planning out of Strategic planning

Strategic Setting
Action planning
analysis strategic direction

Long-range Overall Accomplishing a set

planning accomplishments of objectives
(strategic goals) & (specific results) with
• Brainstorming each specific goal
overall methods
• Affinity diagram (strategies) • Operational planning
• SWOT • SMARTER • annual planning
• Specific • management
• Consensus-building planning
• Measurable • work planning
• Dialectic decision- • Acceptable
• Realistic • Budget
making
• Timely
• Delphi decision- • Extending
making • Rewarding

• Mission statement
• Vision statement
• Value statement
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 Who plans? Who should be involved?

The professional staff To clarify the implications of

(and Executive board) immediate objectives and the
result areas
Who should participate
in the action planning
process?
The full operational
team, including To do the action planning
administrative staff
Two
key If you can answer all of the
No one else key questions
questions

Planning to do too much in

too short a time
Who, if anyone, should
facilitate it? Not planning your activities
in enough detail
Not working out time-lines
to make sure that your
External facilitator to sequencing and scheduling
prevent the following makes sense
from happening Not making it absolutely
clear who has responsibility
and authority for making
sure that all the steps get
done
Not thinking through the
resourcing implications
rigorously
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 Preparatory Work I

• Action planning process focuses on efficiency and effectiveness

• Efficiency is about financial, human, time and material resources

invested in activities
Review • Effectiveness is about doing what you say you will do and what
you planned to do

• Making some factual enquiries before action planning

Getting the
Facts

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 Preparatory Work II
Questionnaire for preparatory work for action planning process

1. What result were we trying to achieve?

2. What activities did we plan in order to achieve it?
3. Did we achieve the planned result?
4. It not, why not?
5. Did the activities make sense in terms of what we
were trying to achieve?
6. Could we have achieved the same result at less cost,
spending less time, using fewer resources, with less
strain on the project or organization?
7. What would we do differently in future?
8. What have we learned from this analysis?

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 Chapter 2
Action planning

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 The Agenda
Big Picture Action planning process
Detail

Strategic planning process

Typical agenda for action planning process

8.
1. 4. 5. 6. Put it all
2. 3. 7.
Clarify Summary Assign Summary together
List the Sequence Summary
the result of the respon- of the in a
steps the steps of cost
areas outputs sibility HR workplan
schedule

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 Planning Activities
• Step-by-Step

Achievement
Break down
into steps
required to
achieve the
Define result
Desired
Result
- Theses steps need to be put into logical sequence
- Someone must take responsibility for making sure they happen
- Correct resources or inputs should be provided
- Preview potential barriers and possible solutions

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 Planning Activities
• What steps does it involve
– Before you can detail the steps, you need to reach agreement
about a strategy for arriving at the desired result. The best
way to do this is probably to brainstorm possible options.

In order to make better decision

Assess Compare

Advantage Disadvantage Alignment Staff capacity Cost Timing

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 Brainstorming
Distribute cards/small pieces of paper (A5) size to each person

Ask each person to write down the critical steps

Place the cards or pieces of paper on a wall

Organize or cluster the cars in sequence

Check that no critical steps are missing

Consolidate the steps in your basic action planning model

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 Planning Activities (Gannt Chart)
When must steps happen
Identify a date by when the required result must have been
achieved

Establish a realistic starting date for carrying out the activities

needed to achieve the result

Calculate how much time each step needs

Clarify what needs to happen before the activity can be carried

out and how much time that is likely to take

Clarify what needs to happen after the activity is carried out and
how much time that is likely to take

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 Responsibility
In deciding who should be responsible for a particular activity, it’s necessary to
take the following into account.

Experience

Willingness Skills

Time Capabilities

Confidence

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 Inputs / Resources
You need to determine resources available and clarify resources
that are needed to carry out planned activities

- Resources must be
Finances ADEQUATE to make the
work done

- COST of resources must

Transport People be defined
• The major cost will be
Resources the TIME of the personnel
working for the activities

- Take into consideration

POTENTIAL BARRIERS to
Materials Service
the accomplishment of
objectives
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 Planning Activities
• What must we achieve
– This is the “what” – the result that the activities are supposed to achieve. Once you
are clear on the what, you are ready to work out the steps to take to arrive there.

Result Area
- Goal(s)
- Indicator(s) :
- Mean(s) of verifications :
Action Steps Time frame Costs/Inputs Potential barriers Person
(What will be done?) (By when?) (Resources (What or who responsible
(Begin by, Complete available & might resist?) (Who will do it?)
by) needed)
Step 1.

Step 2.

Step 3.

Step n.

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 CLEAR and COMPREHENSIVE Action Plan

A clear approach allows for

• A plan that is easier to follow
• Better understanding of each person’s role and responsibility
• Consideration of and accounting for potential problems

A comprehensive approach allows for

• Better use of materials and equipment
• More resources available for materials and services
• Improved scheduling
• Great flexibility in staffing
• Better coordination of family and community involvement
• Shared decision-making and team-building

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Presentation of Plan
Cover page

Executive Summary

Contents Page

Profile of the organization or Project

Management/Governance Information

Problem analysis and solution analysis

Action Plan

Summary of outputs and timeframe

Summary of staffing and human resource needs

Budget

Appendices and supporting documentation

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 Presentation of Plan
What would you include under the different headings?
Cover page This should be clear and well designed. It should state the name of the project, the name of the
organization presenting the project, which contact details, and the date which the business plan was
completed. (An example of a cover page is given after this table.)
Executive summary The executive summary is very important. Some readers will only look at the executive summary. Try
to make it no longer than one page. Include:
• A brief statement of the problem and solution analyses;
• A brief statement of why your organization is well-placed to address the problem/provide a
solution;
• A “summary of the summary” of outputs and time-frames;
• A summary of the budget
You would usually write the executive summary last to encapsulate the main points made in the
document overall. It should be “Stand alone and not require the reader to refer to any other part of
the document in order to get a quick overview of the project.
Contents page Remember to put page numbers on your contents page – and check that they are correct. Sometimes,
when you make corrections to a document, page numbers shift and it creates a bad impression if the
page numbers on the contents page are correct.
Profile Here you would:
• Give brief information on the background and history of the organization and/or project;
• Indicate what sort of legal entity it is (e.g. voluntary association, not-for-profit company, etc.)
• Give the mission statement;
• Provide some kind of statement of main methodologies and operating principle;
• Provide some description of your track record.
Management/ Here you explain how the organization/project is governed and managed, where accountability is
Governance located, and who the key people are, including brief descriptions of their background to show
Information credibility, track record, etc.

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 Presentation of Plan
Analysis/solution (See also the toolkit on Strategic Planning.) Here you would briefly explain the problem the
analysis project seeks to address, your understanding of the causes and effects, what you intend to
achieve in addressing it, and your strategy (project purpose/immediate objective and key
result areas as dealt with in the Strategic Planning toolkit)
Action plan This is the detailed action plan. It could also be included as an Appendix.

Summary - outputs and See outputs, Timing and When Must Steps Happen? In this toolkit.
timeframe
Summary - human See Human Resourcing Plan in this toolkit.
resource needs
Budget See What Inputs/Resources are Needed? In this toolkit and the toolkit on Budgeting.

Appendices and Here you could include anything that might support your case, e.g.
supporting • Brochures about the organization and/or project;
documentation • Newspaper cuttings that support your case in some way;
• Recent audited financial statements;
• An organogram;
• Letters of support
And so on.

The business plan puts your original action plan into a broader context.

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 Chapter 3
Implementing action plan

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 Implementation
Workplans Individual plans Good Management

• Specifies the tasks • Reflect work unit’s • Help members set

• Who takes plans each staff standards
responsibilities member • Monitor
• When must be • What can I do in performance
done the specific period • Meet with
time? members regularly
• The resources
needed • How should I • Deal with things
evaluate my work? are going wrong

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Lists of management Styles

Directive Style Participatory Style

Management

Assertive Persuasion
Team Style
Style

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 Action Planning
Monitoring Collecting (information)
Are outputs being achieved within the
What sort of information do we need?
timeframes set?

Are resources being efficiently and effectively

How will we use the information?
used?

Are we doing what we said we would do and if How can it be collected with the least possible
not, why not? trouble?

Are work units meeting their objectives? Who will collect it?

Are individuals meeting their objectives? Who will analyze it?

You have to ask those questions regularly, because if there is something wrong,
you have time to correct it!
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 Collecting
• There is NO point in just collecting information
RANDOMLY.
– Focus on what you want
– More long-term perspective

Reflection

How did
How How How Who
they
many? well? often? benefited?
benefit?

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 Information
Origin Record-keeping

Documentation :
letters, reports,
Attendance Field officer
plans…
registers reports
Questionnaires

Anecdotal input Financial

Time sheets
record systems
Focus Group

Minutes of
meetings
Baseline information is Important !!!

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• Your methods should be appropriate to the
information you need, but as simple as
possible

– If you have set participation of community

members in development meetings as an
indicator of increased empowerment of the
community, then your information collection
tool might be minutes of development
meetings that include details of who said what.
– If financial stability is seen as an indicator of
sustainability, then regular bookkeeping records
should be analyzed to reflects this.

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 The END
6 reasons why some action plans fail !
1 • Too much activities planned for too little time

2 • Activities planned in not enough detail

3 • Not clear division of responsibilities

4 • Activities planned without any logical order

5 • Too small budget

• There is no person with responsibility and authority, who is responsible

6 for coordination of all actions and making the action plan done

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 Eun Jaeho
Ph. D. Policy Science
The Korea Institute of Public Administration (KIPA)
TEL +82(0)2-2007-0538 FAX +82(0)2-564-2158
e-mail : eun@kipa.re.kr
http://www.kipa.re.kr/