Signs are there to keep us safe while on the road. Curve Ahead. Cross Traffic Does Not Stop. Falling Rocks. Wrong Way. Paying attention to the signs is part of a successful road trip. A well-crafted strategic plan is essential for the success of an association. However, changing circumstances might put your plan at risk. Here are four signs to watch for that signal your association’s strategic plan might be out of date:
Shift in Member Needs
Associations exist to serve their members, and those needs can evolve over time. If your organization is still operating under assumptions that no longer reflect current realities, whether it’s in response to economic changes, demographic shifts, or emerging social issues, your strategic plan is outdated. Regularly reassessing the needs of the people you serve and ensuring your plan addresses those evolving priorities is essential for remaining relevant. For example, an association’s procedures called for a public policy priority survey to be done every two years, and in today’s political landscape, it became essential to set up a mechanism for members to share policy challenges twice a year.
Unmet Goals and Stagnation
If your organization is consistently falling short of its strategic goals, or if there’s little to no progress being made on key initiatives, it might not be for lack of effort by volunteers or staff. It could be the plan is no longer relevant. Sometimes, changing external conditions, such as funding shifts or policy changes, may affect the ability to meet these goals. When goals are no longer realistic or motivating, it’s time to revisit and update the plan to reflect attainable, inspiring objectives.
Technological Advancements Ignored
Technology plays an ever-increasing role in all aspects of association life, from communication and marketing to data management and fundraising. You’re likely falling behind if your strategic plan doesn’t address the latest technological tools and innovations. For example, associations not taking advantage of online donation platforms, social media outreach, or data analytics might struggle to engage donors and supporters effectively. Have you looked at your strategic plan in light of the exploding capabilities of AI or even thought about how AI can help form your strategic plan?
Lack of Measurable Impact
One of the key purposes of a strategic plan is to guide an association toward measurable impact. If you’re unsure whether you are making a tangible difference, it’s a sign that your strategic plan lacks the necessary metrics to evaluate success. An outdated plan might focus on activities rather than outcomes, making it difficult to assess whether your efforts are truly advancing your mission. Updating your plan to include clear, data-driven metrics will help you track progress and demonstrate value to stakeholders through the use of strategic dashboards instead of a plan that is a long list of checked-off to-do items.
Are You Watching for the Signs?
An outdated strategic plan can prevent your association from fulfilling its mission, adapting to changing conditions, maximizing volunteer time, and empowering staff efforts. By watching for the signs of shifts in community needs, assessing goal achievement, embracing technology, and ensuring measurable impact, your association will stay relevant and positioned for long-term success.
RGI offers project-based consulting for organizational alignment including strategic planning. Recently, RGI began a strategic planning project with an international scientific association, the process included organizational research, evaluation of revenue model, assessment of membership structure, determination of value proposition, overview of industry-related factors, stakeholder surveys, and program analysis.
Rachel Daeger, CAE, IOM, Communications Director
After earning a bachelor’s degree in journalism and business from Indiana University, Rachel started working with her first association in 1985. Energized by the passion that members have for organizations, she has never left association management.
After joining RGI in 2010, Rachel used her communication and organizational skills to meet her clients strategic objectives regardless of their industry. For example, she redesigned a client’s newsletter from two color publication to a full color publication, which tripled ad revenue while cutting expenses in half. In 2015 she earned her the Certified Association Executive designation.
Publications is her first love and she believes her super power is the ability to brainstorm content and create magazines when promised articles fail to materialize. Since 1995, she’s assisted the Stutz Club’s with their quarterly magazine. Stutz was an Indianapolis-made luxury automobile. Recently she began helping the Indiana Region of the Classic Car Club with the Hoosier Horn and was awarded the Beverly Rae Kimes Award as outstanding regional editor in 2020.