The strategic planning session requires high-level, key stakeholder participation to ensure buy-in for and implementation of final recommendations. When selecting participants, look to the state and national level public safety associations for key decision makers and talk to policymakers and members of the state government who participated in the informational interview phase. Consider what governance structures are currently in place that oversee first responders and deal directly with communications efforts. These individuals may become directly affiliated with the governance structure required for the implementation process.
The strategic planning session serves as a turning point, with focus shifting from planning to implementation. To support this shift, state representation at the session should slightly outnumber representation from the local practitioner community. Funding and political support must exist at the state level in order for improvements to be made at the local level, with all regions functioning as a collaborative whole.
Please see Appendix Z for a sample letter of invitation: strategic planning session.
Lesson Learned: Recruiting efforts in Virginia resulted in approximately 50 attendees at the final strategic planning session. Due to this session’s differences in design and purpose as compared to the focus group interviews, a higher number of attendees will not impede the meeting’s effectiveness.
Please see Appendix AA for a list of attending organizations.