The first six months of this year have been extremely busy for me working with a wide range of sports organisations in football, motor-sport, hockey etc. During my travels to places such as South Africa, the Caribbean and Central Asia ‎I have been working on creating strategic plans for sports governing bodies and this got me thinking about the importance of creating a strategic plan for sports organisations in the UK and Ireland.

A strategic plan is a road map that will not only help your sport achieve its vision but clearly define the key goals and objectives over the coming years.

So what are the key elements that go into a strategic plan?

Well for starters a good strategic plan starts with internal and external research with key stakeholders to get a complete view of your sports organisation.

Once the research has been conducted, a strategy workshop is important to agree the key components within the strategic plan. These include:

– Developing a mission statement for the organisation – why do you exist?

– Creating a challenging but inspiring vision ‎- where do you want to be in the future?

– Establishing strategic goals – what broad goals should the organisation focus on in order to achieve its vision?

– Establishing clear and measurable objectives with associated action plans .

– Creating corporate values for your organisation.

For me a stage that is frequently overlooked is the measurement and regular review of the objectives and action plans to ensure you stay on course.

There are other elements that go into a strategic plan but the above are the key components that a sports organisation should consider.

Geoff runs his own Sports Consultancy, working with clients such as FIFA across the world. He is also on the board of Tourism Northern Ireland.  You can follow Geoff on twitter @geoffwnjwilson or connect on Linkedin at www.linkedin.com/in/geoffwnjwilson