Resources - Shercon Associates Inc.

Planning Model

Strategic planning in the public, not-for-profit sector is different from the planning done by private, for-profit corporations. Three of the major differences are:

The public sector environment can be more turbulent, since organizations are impacted by political, legislative and social policy variables as well as economic variables.
There is a greater requirement to involve a wide range of stakeholder groups in the planning process.
It is more difficult to establish concrete outcome measures. Profit lines and share prices are not applicable, and financial performance is only one aspect of overall success.

The planning model is drawn from Dr. David Sheridan's original doctoral research on strategic planning by public sector organizations, conducted at the University of Toronto in the late 1990's. Since then, the model has been successfully employed to develop effective strategic plans for more than 50 not-for-profit organizations.

View/Download the Planning Model.

Strategic Planning Research

Dr. Sheridan's 1998 thesis on Strategic Planning Practices at Ontario Colleges was selected as "Dissertation of the Year" by the International Association for Educational Planning and the Canadian Society for the Study of Higher Education.

View/Download a PDF version of the thesis (approx. 75MB).

Board Self Review Questionnaire

Boards are professional teams, and in a good position to monitor and regulate their own activities. Board self-study has proven to be a useful approach for refining and improving board performance. The US-based Association of Governing Boards has made extensive use of the approach, and several health associations have also produced guidelines and check lists for board review.

Typical variables addressed in board evaluation include the following:

Board Functioning:

Level of participation
Coordination
Information support
Conduct of meetings
Consensus levels
Obstacles

Degree of focus
Membership skill mix
Communication
Decision making
Resources and supports

Governance:

Understanding of mandate
Actual vs. perceived board roles
Board/staff role delineations
Adherence to values
Governance style
Guiding principles

External:

Public accountability
Community linkages
Resource development and provision
Response to issues
Strategic behaviour

A questionnaire template that measures many of these variables is attached. Boards have found it to be a useful vehicle for self-examination and continuous improvement. Findings can be tabulated manually or on a computer spread sheet. The questionnaire may be downloaded and used without charge, although appropriate credit would be appreciated.

Benchmarks from Boards who have used the instrument are also available by contacting SHERCON ASSOCIATES.

View/Download the Board Self Review Questionnaire.

Seniors Mental Health and Addictions Study - Brantford and Brant County

View/Download the Seniors Mental Health and Addictions Study.

Master Aging Plan

The Master Aging Plan for Brantford and Brant County was carried out in 2008 by a community based steering committee. David Sheridan supported the Committee, facilitated sub-committees, ran broad community consultation process and prepared the final report. He also facilitated the development of an implementation plan in 2009.

View/download a PDF of the original report.

Other Questionnaires

Samples of other questionnaires used in Shercon Associates client projects may be viewed by going to Surveys and/or the Surveys Archive.

Other Resources

Numerous other instruments, templates, training materials and papers related to governance, planning and organizational development are available. Contact David Sheridan directly: dsheridan@shercon.ca