Shared Planning and Strategic Plans

There are many ways to access local data that may help you better understand your community’s strengths and needs. See the Data and Surveillance section for more information about collecting and using local data.

You may also consider conducting an environmental scan to identify factors that may impact and inform action planning. An environmental scan aims to understand context, collect information, and identify resources, links, and gaps.[1] It can be used to identify barriers and facilitators to solving priority health problems such as the overlapping nature of suicide, overdose, and ACEs. Environmental scans can also be used to learn lessons about the effectiveness of other efforts and share those with community partners and stakeholders. The CDC provides an example of how environmental scans can be a beneficial public health tool.

SOAR Analyses can also be helpful ways to assess where your LHD’s strengths and opportunities exist. SOAR stands for strengths, opportunities, aspirations, and results. It is designed to assist teams as they:

• reflect on the strengths of your organization, including what is already being done in the community;
• consider current opportunities that could be leveraged;
• identify your LHD’s aspirations, hopes, and goals for working at the intersection of suicide, overdose, and ACEs; and
• imagine what future results could look like.

The SOAR Analysis is a modern, strengths-based iteration of a strategic thinking framework called the SWOT Analysis. SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, and looks at where the team currently is, while the SOAR strives to be forward-thinking and looking at where the team can be. While either the SWOT or the SOAR analysis can be beneficial, the SOAR analysis can assist teams in removing deficit-based thinking, focusing on possibilities, and identifying possible outcomes to track progress. The SPACECAT Quick Start Guide provides a guide for teams looking to engage in the SOAR Analysis.

Let the data and your team’s assessment of its own strengths and opportunities tell the story of your community, assist you in defining your vision of success, and drive the next steps of action planning for addressing the intersection of suicide, overdose, and ACEs.

[1] Willburn, A., Vanderpool, R.C, Knight, J.R. (2016). Environmental scanning as a public health tool: Kentucky’s human papillomavirus vaccination project. Preventing Chronic Disease, 13:160165. http://dx.doi.org/10.5888/pcd13.160165external icon

There may be internal teams that are currently doing work that is relevant or even directly related to the intersection of suicide, overdose, and ACEs. These teams may already have developed internal buy-in, connected with community partners, and/or secured funding for related work. Use the Crosswalk worksheet to find relevant activities and goals in other teams or internal departments’ strategic plans, identify who is responsible for them, and how you might be able to “join forces” to help them achieve their goals while further work at the intersection.

Once you have collected information on your community, its needs, and work that is already been doing related to the intersection of suicide, overdose, and ACEs, draft a vision for how and what the community can do together to address the intersection. Begin by developing a shared vision, which lays the groundwork for goal setting, action planning, and in time, a more formal strategic plan.

Each partner, team member, and community participant will bring his/her own needs, priorities, and goals to the table. Everyone will have a unique “why” that explains their stake in the work, but there are likely to be areas of overlap. The process of developing a shared vision can lead to alignment or getting everyone on the same page and moving in the same direction. This can result in strengthened buy-in for future activities, a shared sense of responsibility and active engagement for new partners, reinvigorated relationships with current partners, new ideas for action, and activities that are better tailored to reach populations of focus.

When creating a shared vision, it is important to understand the group, including its goals, values, ideas, and challenges. There are many ways to approach developing a shared vision. The V2MOM approach encourages groups to consider and discuss:

• Vision: what you want to achieve or accomplish; what is most important to you
• Values: principles of beliefs that are important to you as you pursue the vision; guide everyday decisions
• Methods: actions to achieve your vision or bring your vision to reality
• Obstacles: what blocks progress or makes progress difficult
• Measures: how you know when you’ve achieved success; measurable outcomes of your work

• Advancing Integrated Mental Health Solutions: Creating a Shared Vision for Collaborative Care
• CDC Division of Violence Prevention’s Strategic Vision
• Planning: Developing the Coalition’s Vision, Mission, Objectives, Strategies and Action Plans

Everyone, regardless of their role in the LHD, can contribute to the development of a strategic vision or plan. The Roles in Strategic Planning Worksheet is one way to begin thinking intentionally about where each team member can contribute. This worksheet can be used at the beginning of the process and throughout to ensure that all levels of the LHD are being represented and their voices heard. Encourage staff at all levels to provide input, formally or informally, through focus groups, surveys, and discussions with LHD leadership. Recognize and celebrate the role that each level of staff contributes. For example, incorporate the important observations and feedback of frontline staff as they often have the most direct contact with those who are most impacted by programs. Develop the process and outputs such that managers and supervisors can easily communicate updates to their staff. Continuously strive to keep your teams connected to the vision by welcoming and including information that might change the LHD’s readiness, staff’s buy-in, or the ability to prioritize intersection work.

Once the group has developed a shared vision, it will be time to begin the work. To maintain momentum, keep lines of communication open, and coordinate activities across teams and partners, consider developing a workgroup within the LHD who can manage this emerging area of work. This workgroup should include members from multiple departments who are (1) currently working on some of the activities identified in your crosswalk of other teams, (2) able to attend regularly scheduled meetings, and (3) committed to the shared vision of addressing the intersection of suicide, overdose, and ACEs. The workgroup can not only track community, LHD, and partner efforts but also seeks to understand how these efforts are being communicated, supported, and further developed. The workgroup may also play a role in seeking funding opportunities, developing partnerships, and informing the larger team of new data related to shared risk and protective factors.