Strategy for achieving the vision

"A plan for achieving each element of the vision, setting out the interdependencies and the benefits, and how these will be realised in practice"

Setting the vision is the first step. Making the vision a reality is the challenge, and a key to achieving it is to have a well-developed strategy. A strategy needs to be realistic - in terms of the time it will take, the staff resources required, and the outcomes expected at each stage. Developing such a strategy can be straightforward, but does require the commitment and agreement of all the key stakeholders - developing a strategy for how a group of organisations will work together locally really does need the consent of the other partners!

 Consider this:

 A little mouse found its way into a large forest, and quickly became lost. Getting more and more frightened, it eventually saw a wise old owl perched high in a tree. The mouse called to the owl and said "Hello Mr Owl, I am lost in this large forest, and very frightened. Can you give me a strategy to get out?" The Owl responded by saying, "Of course I can. You need to grow wings and fly out." To this the mouse responded, "But how can I do that?". The owl ruffled its feathers and looked disdainfully at the mouse, before saying, "I only deal with strategy. Don't trouble me with detail."

 So to be of any use, a strategy needs to be practical and implementable.