Nottinghamshire YMCA will be recognised for its excellence as a leading local and regional voluntary organisation.This document follows on from our Core Values document, and lists the Strategic Priorities we have chosen. These priorities will guide our day-to-day work, as from these priorities, we set the objectives for the Annual Operational Plan.
We welcome any feedback regarding this document. Please Contact Us if you would like to contact Nottinghamshire YMCA.
Over the past four months, an in-depth strategic planning process has been finalised. This process included active participation by clients, staff, volunteers and stakeholders and for the first time in our history, a set of four core values has been created.
A number of internal and external factors have been examined which have the ability to influence this organisation. The fact that we live in a dynamic and ever-changing world means that the YMCA must be proactive in managing change in a positive and constructive manner to ensure and guarantee our long-term viability.
Nottinghamshire YMCA Strategic Priorities - 'Changing People's Lives' - was developed to facilitate the achievement of the following important elements of the Association's objectives:
Nottinghamshire YMCA will be recognised for its excellence as a leading local and regional voluntary organisation.
To be relevant as a proactive, cultural, social, and economic resource for the county of Nottinghamshire.
To have our character displayed as an open, caring Association where equality and diversity, good governance, value for money and sustainable development are demonstrated.
Twelve strategic priorities were submitted the Nottinghamshire YMCA Board of Trustees, where it was decided to adopt four priority headings with the greatest potential for continually improving the service delivery of Nottinghamshire YMCA.
Children & Young People
Enjoying & Achieving
Safe & Healthy Communities
Sustainable Development
Children & Young People
Enjoying & Achieving
Safe & Healthy Communities
Sustainable Development
Underpinning our strategic priorities is a firm commitment to:
Good governance
Value for money
Equality and diversity
Risk management and health and safety
Sustainable development
In serving to address the above vision elements and priorities, the plan is comprised of nineteen strategic actions that will be addressed during the period of 2006-2010 along with a number of objectives that are set each year to help meet the key priorities.
Our belief is that the successful implementation of this strategic plan will prove to be a defining event in the history of Nottinghamshire YMCA. The strategic priorities and objectives demonstrated in this plan have tremendous potential to strengthen the image and prestige of the YMCA while expanding and enhancing the quality of our clients, staff, volunteers and stakeholders.
Welcome to 'Changing People's Lives', Nottinghamshire YMCA's Strategic Priorities Plan 2006-2010. The following will give you a 'taste' of our agreed priorities and objectives. We have also identified the emerging drivers and priorities that will shape our decisions and guide service delivery for 2006 and beyond.
"Vision without action is merely a dream,
Action without vision just passes the time,
Vision with action can change the world".
Joel Barker, organisational development consultant
A strategic plan is not a 'problem to be solved'. It is about dreaming about our future together, using the dreams to engage and inspire people, and generating the energy among our staff, volunteers, members, participants, donors, partners and other stakeholders to bring the dreams to reality.
Past strategic priorities have allowed us to be clear about our mission and vision; to establish goals and objectives to deliver this promise and to communicate these to the broader community, to ensure the most effective use of our resources by focusing on our key priorities and to provide an opportunity for the Association to address major issues within the communities we serve.
When we reflect, almost fifty percent of our staff members are employed in programmes and delivery that were developed as a result of the 2003-2005 strategic plan. That is how important these plans can be to our YMCA and to the area of Nottinghamshire.
We are about to embark on the review of our mission and implementation of the Association's values to make sure they are relevant and create a vision for the next three to four years. This vision will help drive and develop the strategic themes and initiatives that will be featured in the strategic plan.
The approval of the new Strategic Priorities in March 2006 facilitate the integration of the operational objectives of the Association for 2006-2007.
We will know we have a quality plan with achievable outcomes when the plan balances initiatives with respect to growth, infrastructure and branding; it should always remain relevant to the communities in which we serve. The plan is based on an inclusive process, and the initiatives are measurable according to 'SMART' standards - i.e. Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely.
However, we must recognise that we cannot achieve our goals alone. That is why we are continually in the process of developing partnerships with like minded associations and organisations. With their support and commitment, added to our own determination and strategies for success, we are confident that we will be able to achieve our ambitious vision for Nottinghamshire YMCA.
The following factors are primary strategic drivers affecting all participants in the development of individuals and related market sectors in the UK.
Attitudes of young people
Overall, young people today are physically healthy although there are other health concerns such as obesity, substance abuse, sexual health, crime and suicide that continually need addressing. National and global surveys have found that young people feel strongly that their ideas, views, abilities and participation in the community are not being sought.
Early school-leavers are finding it increasingly difficult to enter the workforce directly from school due to increased qualification requirements by employers. Schools of the future will need to consider keeping young people at school for longer and provide skills that will prepare them to join the workforce. This can be achieved through strong alliances with private, statutory and voluntary organisations to educate young people in skills that are not being offered through traditional knowledge based education.
Social and Family Structures
It is predicted that children, both today and in the future, will remain under the support and care of their parents for longer periods of their lives. This lifestyle is indicative of young people getting married and having children later in life. Research suggests that this trend, which leads to increased family pressures, may see a need for collaborative family programmes between private, statutory and voluntary organisations.
Current trends suggest that there is increasing government support for initiatives that will equip and improve skills within communities so that quality of life will eventually be enhanced. This support is evident in community programmes aimed at early intervention and prevention.
The current trend identified by researchers is that families are reducing in size and there are a higher percentage of two-parent working families. Forty six percent of children in the UK are born out of wedlock and single households are on the increase.
Indications suggest that the need for childcare services will be on the rise; a fact evident in the commitment of the government to policies and funding that improve the standards of childcare facilities as well as the number of available places.
Internationally, governments are shifting resources away from crisis programmes and into identifying 'at risk' young people and applying holistic interventions designed to limit progression into crisis mode. This trend is expected to increase.
Community Interaction
There are opportunities for community organisations in the forefront of the model of community capacity building through nurturing existing and new relationships forged between themselves and government departments.
Corporate sponsorships for community programs are gaining a higher profile in today's market with all major corporations developing strategies that display a certain amount of 'community responsibility'.
Sponsorship trends extend beyond monetary means with some organisations in the US offering intense and short periods of employee working time to volunteer for specific community projects.
Volunteers
There is a certain degree of change to traditional volunteerism with volunteers requesting duties that are more rewarding, challenging and sophisticated. Young professionals are volunteering their time to complete specific projects and older volunteers are looking for opportunities to acquire new skills and knowledge.
Many larger organisations that use volunteers are introducing volunteer management programs that will induct, train and help volunteers to make them feel a sense of benefit and importance from their efforts.
Advances in Technology
Due to the speed at which technology is advancing by way of processing power and communication, disadvantaged groups in the community with limited or no access to these technologies continue to lag further behind in their learning and employment opportunities.
Corporate, government and community organisations are taking on the responsibility of bridging this gap in the access to information and communications technology.
Other Issues
The ageing population trends affect young people by the perception that their community will continually increase the burden on them to care for the older generations. Future community programmes will need to consider this factor as part of their future strategies.
There is increasing community and stakeholder pressure for not-for-profit bodies like the YMCA to have effective, efficient and transparent governance processes in place that ensure effective organisational leadership, which facilitate the provision of community based services.
To review the mission statement and core values, click here.
Process
The process will have been successful if it has been transparent, informative, engaging, evaluative and has been inclusive of our major stakeholders.
| Values | Results |
|
|
| Strengths | Weaknesses |
|
|
| Opportunities | Threats |
|
|
