Hi Tasha.
In response to your inquiry, a quick couple of thoughts, a couple of
examples, and a recommended resource:

A couple of thoughts:

* The 'SWOT' (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) framework is
often a good set of initial questions for the people  whose opinions are
sought in a strategic planning process, either in individual interviews or
in groups. They're useful questions in part because they're so wide open;
they get people thinking 'big picture' and allow unexpected issues to
surface.

* Different stakeholders will see issues differently. A strength to some
("The Board is skilled and professional") will be a weakness to others ("The
Board is out of touch with the community"). An opportunity to some ("More
people will need these services") will be a threat to others ("We'll be
overwhelmed with demand"). That's okay, in fact it's even healthy, because
it all helps inform the organization's decision-making. A good environmental
scan should help identify the important decisions the organization needs to
make, but it doesn't make the decisions.

A couple of examples:

* Strengths: "What is this community/agency/program really good at? What are
its most important assets? What things should it maintain or build upon in
the future?" (example: a strong community network; dedicated staff; useful
services)

* Weaknesses: "What things make this community/agency/program weaker? What
would you most like to see changed?" (example: poor housing; lack of program
evaluation)

* Opportunities: "What opportunities might our community/agency/program have
to improve its situation, now or in the future? Are there potential
solutions to move forward on?" (examples: new funding sources; possible
partnerships; new program ideas)

* Threats: "What scares your community/agency/program? What things do we
need to avoid/plan around to maintain ourselves?" (examples: growing
poverty; staff burnout; government policy changes)

And a recommended resource:

* One book I've found helpful is "Strategic Planning for Public and
Non-Profit Organizations" by John Bryson, published by Jossey-Boss. There
are a couple of companion workbooks (mine are on loan to a friend so I can't
cite the titles) that have lots of hands-on examples and templates. I've
found some useful stuff on-line too, but my web bookmarks are in a shambles
currently. If I recall, I found some good stuff at the Kellogg Foundation,
and also at the Canadian Centre for Philanthropy.

Hope these thoughts are of interest to you and the rest of the Click4HP
gang....

Glen Brown


Glen Brown & Associates
488 Parliament Street, #1
Toronto, Ontario M4X 1P2
T: 416-892-2286
F: 416-966-1362
E: [log in to unmask]

-----Original Message-----
From: Health Promotion on the Internet [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On
Behalf Of Tasha Beauchamp
Sent: July 18, 2002 4:16 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Environmental Scan and Needs Assessments: defining


Dear Glen,

Would you mind elaborating on the SWOT definitions? Also, is there an
article on environmental scans that you like?

Tasha Beauchamp

>Environmental scan conclusions are sometimes
>organized by a 'SWOT': Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats.

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