PLANNING

AND
PROGRAMING
 PLANNING

• A plan is a course of action for reaching a goal beginning now or at

any predetermined time in the future.

• Planning it is a process of mapping out one’s activities towards the

accomplishment of goals and projecting the means or resources of
achieving them.

• A plan may be short range/medium term or long range/long term.

In order to achieve the objectives, Joseph Huntage stresses that
plans must be consistent with human needs, must be based on the
philosphy of the profession and the agency, must be based on
research, must flexible enough to give room for whatever changes
have to be made, must be easily communicated and understood,
and must contribute to the improvement of services.

Reason for Planning

As the saying goes, ‘We plan or we perish’. Planning is needed
in all levels of operation and every worker should do this as part
of her/his daily routine.
According to Rex Skidmore, the reasons for planning are as follows:

1. Efficiency- this means to achieve goals with a minimum of cost and effect.

2. Effectiveness- this means to achieve the desired result which is to help people in
need.

3. Accountability- Planning is needed for evaluation and accountability to the public,

to families, and to the clients.

4. Morale- every staff member needs to understand exactly what to do and how to
do the job. These can be achieved if the administrator and staff members jointly
plan the total operation of the agency.
 Essential Planning Elements
In short, a plan, according to Ray Johns, must contain the
following elements:
1. Goal or the what;
2. Resources, means, procedures, and methods or the how,
3. People involved in achieving the goals or the who,
4.Method of evaluation and review; and
5. Condition under which the plan will be implemented.
Principal Types of Plans
plans maybe substantive or procedural

1. Substantive plan- this plan is design to achieve program objectives. it calls

for the formulation of broad issues confronting the program. for example
plans maybe made for the different programs and activities to be
undertaken to achieve the objectives.

2. Procedural plan- this plan is designed for the organizational structure within
which are embodied the various administrative mechanisms such as rules,
guidelines, standard operating procedures, requirements and the like.
According to Walter Ehlers, et al, the major type of planning in any organization is
resource planning which includes; finances, facilities, equipment, supplies and
personnel.

Characteristics of effective planning

the following best describe a plan:

1. It should be based on clearly well-defined objectives or goals.

2. It should be simple and easily understood.
3. It should be flexible.
4. It should be easily analyzed and classified.
5. It should be able to maximize existing or limited resources such as funds and
personnel.
Planning principles
according to Harleigh Trecker, these constitute the principle of planning;

1. Planning should grow out of the expressed interests and needs of

the persons who compromise the agencies.
2. Those who will directly affected by the results of planning should
have a share in making of the plan.
3. Planning must have an adequate factual basis.
Social Media Follower

4. The most effective plan have come out of a process which combines
face-to-face methods with more formal methods of committee work.
5. The planning process must be individualized or particularized
because of the differences in situations.
6. planning requires professsional leadership.
7. plannings requires the effort of volunteers, non-professionals,
community leaders, as well as professionals.
8. planning calls for documentation and full recordings so that results of
discussion and deliberations will be preserved to provide direction and
continuity.
9.planning should make use of existing plansSocial
and resources
Media Follower rather than
starting from scratch with very new problem.
10. planning is dependent upon thinking prior to action.
 Basic Planning Steps
According to Skidmore, “in social work and in social service agencies, planning is
recognized as never before, to be an essential ingredient in the effective delivery of
services.

Skidmore gives the seven steps which particulary important in the planning process
in social work.
1. Select objectives- objectives are destination, goals or targets. they relate to the
purposes and policies of the agencies.
a. Overall and long range- this is based on the aimsSocial
and purposes of the agencies
Media Follower

charter and policies.

b. Specific and short range- this involves the present and immediate future. Planning
as an anticipatory process should have targets which are specific, simple and
attainable.
 Management by Objectives

Inputs Activities Outputs

(Objectives) (Activities) (Results)

Skidmore says, There are tow main kinds of goals and objectives:

1. Strategic goals, which are concerned with developing new

ideas and with overall or long range planning.
2. Operational goals, which are specific and measurable.
2.Consider agency resources- consider the agency’s economic resources (budget
and monies avialable) the physical resources (agency facilities) the personnel and
stuff (number available their quality competencies attitudes and feelings).

3. Enumerate the alternative- consider numerous paths carefully describe this and
anticipate each.

4. Anticipate the outcomes of each alternative - this includes the following anticipate
and estimate what is likely to happen when an action occurs, look at various
vantage points what is likely to happen, weigh the choices and come up with what is
best.

5. Decide on the best plan- setting the priorities is needed.

6. Plan a specific program for action- to reach the agreed upon targets, a
blueprint or mapmaking should be prepared wherein the step-by-step action is
outlined and recorded.

7. Be open to change- flexibility is fundamental in planning.

Case management
This is fast becoming a “major component in social work practice specially in
larger agencies and in intervention with complex and fragmented services” as
observed by Skidmore. Social Media Follower

As defined in Skidmore’s book, “case management’ is a methods of providing

services whereby a professional social worker asesses the needs of the client and
the client’s family and when appropriate, arranges, coordinates, monitors,
evaluates, and advocates a package of multiple services to meet the specific
clients’ complex needs.
“Practice Key Skill” Significant to Case Management as presented by Vourlekis &
Green are the following:

1. Client identification and outreach

2. Individual and family assesment and diagnosis
3. Planning and resource identification
4. Lingking clients to needed resources
5. service implementation and coordination
6.Monitoring service delivery
7. Advocacy to obtain services
8. Evaluation
Program/Project Planning and proposal Writing

In order to develop the plans and make the program more effective, the worker
usually has to look beyond the resources of his/her on agency. After carefully
formulating and designing a project, it is equally important to right a proposal which
will attract the necessary funding . Proposal writing is a skill which requires
knowledge and project.

General suggestions and consideration to observe in proposal writing:

1. The project proposal must be a reflection of the background work already done
and logically set out.
2. Use clear, concise, and simple language in the proposal which says exactly what
is meant.
3. Use appendices to avoid crowding the body of the proposal and disturbing the
flow of the narrative.
4. Tailor your request and presentation to the agency being approached.
5. Express a willingness to be interviewed personally by the funding agency once
they have received and read your proposal request.
6. Do not be discouraged if your proposal is not accepted.
7. Find out in advance what sources of funding are available through government,
international agency, or private foundations.
8. Reflect in the proposal the degree of local initiative, the utilization of available
resources within one’s agency or country, and the plans for the project to self
supporting once the initial funding has been spent.
9. The project should be practical, not too costly, and must have the potential to be
repeated or reflected and other situation.
10. Show to what extent your project support and supplements existing activities
and is designed to overcome identified needs.
Proposal Format

The following headings and division constitute the proposal format:

1. Title page – this page can serve as both the title page and the cover letter for the
proposal. It should include the following:

a. Title of project
b. Name of person applying for funds
c. Name of organization sponsoring the proposal
d. Length and date of project

2. Proposal summary – The first thing that a funding source will read is the summary
which may also be referred to as an “abstract” or “synopsis”. Should be a concise,
clear and specific.
3. Introduction and background development situation – This is the section where the
proponent identifies himself. More often than not, proposals are funded on the basis
of the refutation or “connections” with the applicant organization or its key personnel
rather than on the basis of the program’s content alone.

4. Problem statement or assessment of need – This section should make a logical

connection between the organization’s background and the problems and needs that
are to be resolved or met.

5. Program/Project goal/objectives and beneficiaries – A major concern to consider in

preparing a proposal is to see to it that there is logical flow from one sector to
another.
6. Program/project description and methods – This section is the longest and most
comprehensive in the proposal. It will answer the essential question of what or the
project components, including the strategic information on the how or the methods
on how the project will bring about the result on the implementation plan and the
process and answer some elements of who, where, and when.

7. Evaluation – An evaluation of the project of program will determine how effective it

is in reaching the objectives that have been established. It also can be used as a tool
to provide information necessary to make appropriate changes and adjustments in
the program as the program proceeds.

8. Budget – The budget should be a realistic estimate of all costs involved in

implementing and operating the project.
The component for the cost estimate include personnel’s salary for each position and
percentage of time on the project and fringe benefits and the non- personnel costs.
The cost estimate is usually broken down into the following components:

a. Space cost – This includes the actual rent and those which are being donated for
use. Include also the cost of maintenance services and renovations if they are
absolutely essential to the program.
b. Rental, lease or purchase of equipment – include here all the equipment, donated
or to be purchased, that will be used in the program.
c. Consumable supplies – these include supplies and materials such as paper clips,
typewriting papers, pens, pencils, etc.
d. Travel and per diem – These include local and out-of-town travel costs.
e. Others costs – this catch-all category may include postage, insurance,
professional association’s dues, subscriptions, publication, and other items that do
not logically fit elsewhere.
f. Indirect costs, These cover management fee for bookkeeping, payrolls
maintenance, and overseeing the project.

9. Schedule - This section should include the Gantt Chart, Which answers the
question of when the activities in the project description will be carried out as well as
the sequence of the sequence of the activities.

10. Future Funding/Sustainability – The funding sources would also want to know
how the program would be continued when the grant runs out. Present plan that will
assure the funding source to the greatest extent possible that you will be able to
maintain this new program.

Definition
Hungate defines a program as a unit of planned purposive action. On the other hand,
programming is the process of preparing or setting up the program involving a
specific period of time of services.