Strategic Planning Process Overview
Forward Sheridan called on a pool of dedicated community volunteers to guide the development of the EDSP. The Plan was created with input from over one hundred committed and concerned citizens from various backgrounds and walks of life, as well as information from past assessments conducted in the community.
This plan will focus on goals and strategic initiatives for the next five years, including:
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Sheridan County's strengths (those assets that define the County)
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Challenges that must be addressed in order for the County to achieve its economic goals
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Specific goals to be met within a designated time frame
- Organizations and individuals whose input and cooperation are needed to achieve those goals
4.1 SWOT Analysis
The assessment of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) as they relate to economic development began in the fall of 2006 with a series of three in-depth workshops. Participants in these workshops included elected officials, business owners, representatives of civic and non-profit organizations, and ordinary citizens. A separate series of meetings focusing on governmental entities, such as volunteer and appointed municipality and County boards, sought the perspectives of those most actively involved in the community. The goal of these meetings and workshops was to understand and incorporate the perceptions of as many community members as possible.
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4.2 Economic Development Strategic Planning Task Force
The EDSP Task Force was organized in the spring of 2007 to quantify community strengths and identify their related vulnerabilities before identifying goals, and to quantify challenges and identify specific methods for converting each one into a strength. The overarching mission of the EDSP was to develop an economic development plan for implementation by Forward Sheridan, Inc., in order to make Sheridan County an economically thriving and financially prosperous community for all its citizens.
From March through June 2007, the Task Force conducted weekly workshops on each of the twenty strengths and challenges in turn. Area individuals, task forces, or committees with expertise in each of the subject areas were invited to relevant workshops to participate in discussion and subsequent initiative development. Resulting strategic initiatives were then documented by Task Force members to form the foundation for this EDSP. The draft EDSP was presented to the Forward Sheridan Board of Directors for review and endorsement in July 2007, and the consolidated findings are presented in this document.
The complete documentation produced by the EDSP task force is available for review in the Strategic Plan section of the Forward Sheridan website at www.forwardsheridan.com.
4.3 Strategic Plan Implementation
Forward Sheridan staff will oversee the formation of issue-specific implementation task forces necessary to successfully execute the solutions identified in the EDSP. Throughout the winter of 2007-2008, Forward Sheridan will conduct a public information campaign to promote a thorough understanding among citizens, businesses, and public officials of the EDSP findings, goals, initiatives, desired outcomes, and accountability.
The EDSP Task Force, in conjunction with the Forward Sheridan Board of Directors, will continue to monitor the implementation of the EDSP through quarterly review and measurement of progress. Following each quarterly meeting of the EDSP Task Force, a progress report will be provided on the ongoing efforts and accomplishments of the implementation task forces. This report will be distributed by email to the EDSP Task Force members as well as to the Forward Sheridan Board of Directors.
The chairs of all implementation task forces will meet regularly to discuss the overall plan and to collaborate and align efforts as appropriate and necessary to meet their goals.
Minutes of all EDSP task force and implementation task force meetings will be available on the Forward Sheridan website at www.forwardsheridan.com. The Implementation Plan will also be posted at this site and will be updated regularly to inform the public, businesses, and government officials about the progression of the EDSP.
EDSP progress will be reviewed and assessed annually at a joint meeting of the EDSP Task Force, Forward Sheridan Board of Directors, and invited guests.