A pragmatic approach to strategic planning is presented for use
by public and non-profit organizations. Benefits of the process
are outlined and two examples of its application are presented-one
involving a city government and the other a
public health nursing service. Requirements for strategic
planning success are discussed. Several conclusions are
drawn, namely that: (7) strategic planning is likely to become
part of the repertoire of public and non-profit planners; (2)
planners must be very careful how they apply strategic
planning to specific situations; (3) it makes sense to think of
decision makers as strategic planners and strategic planners as
facilitators of decision making across levels and functions; and
(4) there are a number of theoretical and practical issues that
still need to be explored.