Plans, plans, plans

To be honest I am somewhat circumspect about the value of strategic planning. Whilst there is definitely a need to think and plan strategically my doubts are in our apparent requirement to produce an ‘all singing, all dancing’ Strategic Plan, to be quickly followed by an Operational Plan and then by an M&E Plan; lots of plans! All the efforts and resources for the Mazabuka DATF (or any other DATF in Zambia for that matter) needed to do this planning are considerable, yet what will happen at the end of the process? Will the documents sit on a shelf and only be casually referred to over the next few years or when a funder passes by? Will the plans be so complex and detailed that they bear little relation to the resources available i.e. human = 1 person (my boss) and money = little and inconsistent? Will stakeholders buy into the plans given that they act and are funded independently of the DATF?

These were some of the questions buzzing around in my head as we began a two day strategic planning workshop where we had brought together a group of 30 of our stakeholders to discuss the HIV and AIDS issues affecting the district, and then to prioritise them (the tough bit). Once we got going (after the usual couple of hours late start) the debates, contributions and discussions were healthy and valuable. We went through the DATF vision and mission, the HIV and AIDS problems faced by the district, the responses so far by stakeholders, the weaknesses and gaps, and therefore the key issues that the district should focus on. We ran out of time at the end of the two days but got through most of the things that we had planned for. For now the task is to turn all of the notes and contributions into a draft Strategic Plan. So I wonder who will be doing that and when? To be continued . . .