Understanding your situation

• Overview
• Getting Started
• Visioning
• Understanding your Situation
• Other Resources

There is a stage in strategic planning where analysis is required to identify the key issues to which a community needs to respond. It is important to conduct thorough research and technical analyses based on statistics and data about the current situation and likely future scenarios. For resources to help with this kind of analysis, see the socio-economic insight and analysis sections of REDDI.

In addition, it is important to gather the informed perspective of people who experience local realities in day to day life and not limit your assessment to statistical analysis. For instance, evidence of growth or decline in employment in a local industry sector may show up in a statistical analysis but community members may be aware that this resulted from a personal decision of a large business owner to relocate rather than reflecting an overall business trend. Among the variety of methods which can be used to gather the insight of community members are SWOT and S.C.O.R.E.

Readiness Assessment Tools

Here is a more detailed discussion of methods to assess community readiness: Community Readiness.

Later Stages in the Strategic Planning Cycle

The Community Strategic Planning section of REDDI has provided an introduction to the initial stages in a strategic planning process. For other resources for dealing with the subsequent stages in planning local economic development, visit these other sections of REDDI:  Analyze Your Economy, Set Strategies, Implement Projects and Track Progress.

Go to:

• Overview
• Initiating the Process/Getting Started
• Visioning
• Understanding your situation
• Links to other resources