You’d think “strategic planning” would be obvious. It has long been a common practice in the corporate world. It has, however, only recently been applied to the public sector. Local governments find such planning increasingly useful as they strive to overcome the constraints imposed by traditional, short-term government planning practices. These 24 articles examine sound (proven) public sector strategic planning theories. They demonstrate the different kinds of planning used in 16 successful governments, and provide assessments of the future of this important tool.

Roger L. Kemp, Ph.D., ICMA-CM, has been a city manager on both the East and West coasts for more than 25 years. He is presently Distinguished Adjunct Professor of Public Administration at Golden Gate University and a Fellow of The Academy of Political Science.

Edited by Roger L. Kemp

Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 320
Bibliographic Info: tables, charts, glossary, references, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2008 [1993]
pISBN: 978-0-7864-3873-0
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments      viii
Preface      ix
Introduction      1

Part One: The Theory
A Public Planning Perspective on Strategic Planning      9
Applying Private-Sector Strategic Planning to the Public Sector      29
Strategic Management in Local Government      58
Strategic Management by Design      83
Initiation of Strategic Planning by Local Governments      94

Part Two: The Application
The Bellingham 2000 Project—An Experiment in Mid-Sized Community Planning      115
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg 2005 Plan—Managing Through Strategic Planning      123
Putting Strategic Planning to Practical Use in Cleveland Heights      131
Clifton Prepares for the 1990s—The Future Vision Project      140
Duarte’s Resurgence—Strategic Planning for the Year 2007      149
Strategic Planning in Hampton—Choices and Challenges      153
Strategic Planning in Hennepin County—An Issues Management Approach      161
Charting the Course for Kirkwood’s Future      175
The Results of Strategic Planning in McKinney      180
Scenarios for Milwaukee—Citizen Participation in Projecting Futures      191
Oak Ridge—Strategic Planning for a Strategic City      199
The Placentia 2000 Project—Long-Range Planning in Local Government      213
San Francisco—The Unveiling of a Strategic Plan      219
Santa Barbara County’s Transformation Program—Meeting the Challenge of a New Reality      230
Strategic Planning in Local Government—The West Hartford Approach      238

Part Three: The Future
The Future of Strategic Management      247
Forces Shaping Local Government in the 1990s      274
Cities for the Future      280
The Management Challenges      286

Glossary      297
About the Contributors      305
Index      307

“timely [and] accessible for readers interested in local government”—Booklist.