Step 6: Plan for Regular Review and Update to Plan (Strategic Planning Meeting 4)

Without a doubt, the biggest problem with developing a strategic plan is the failure to use that plan as a living document that guides program development. Don’t let this happen to your mental health strategic plan! Your final strategic planning meeting should focus on developing a specific, time-limited plan to revisit the plan and review accomplishments and a plan for training new staff and mental health consultants on the strategic plan. We recommend that you schedule a follow-up meeting no more than 2 months after you finalize your initial plan to check in and monitor progress, and to help brainstorm or problem-solve any barriers that emerge. You may even want to identify a separate group of individuals who can act as an “implementation team” for the strategic plan. An implementation team meets regularly to ensure that progress is being made and to oversee the implementation of key strategies. Regular check-in meetings are essential to ensure progress is made and to regularly update the strategic plan. At these meetings, it will be important to evaluate progress, and to re-visit, as needed, specific objectives or activities that may be more or less difficult to implement.

Finally, once the plan is developed, it is essential that all program staff, mental health consultants, and Policy Council members receive training or continuing education on the mental health strategic plan. Doing so will help your program to maintain a “shared vision” for mental health. This will help to ensure that the mental health vision and the steps that you have outlined for how to achieve it, are broadly understood among all program staff and families. Research has shown that programs in which staff feel there is a shared vision for mental health may be more successful in supporting mental health outcomes.