Developing a strategic plan that will guide us over the next four years.
In early 2020, the YWCA Toronto Board of Directors initiated a strategic planning process to determine the Association’s strategic priorities and to develop a strategic plan that will guide us over the next four years.
The first meeting of the Strategic Planning Committee happened days before the initial lock-down in response to COVID-19. The process took a brief pause, to allow staff and stakeholders to focus on managing our COVID-19 response. The commitment to plan for the future of YWCA Toronto in a post-COVID-19 world was strong, and the planning process continued in late Spring.
An environmental scan and SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis process was conducted in April through to August. This process included:
on-line surveys;
interviews and focus groups with seventy-six (76) individuals and key stakeholders inside and outside of YWCA Toronto;
a review of internal documents and a selection of recent literature; and
external research conducted by the consultants.
In September, the YWCA Toronto leadership team and Board members participated in two strategic planning sessions to redefine the Association’s foundational statements, confirm the strategic priorities, and identify what success would look like. The draft strategic plan was crafted in October 2020 and approved the following month. In early 2021, the Association developed an Implementation Plan to guide us in achieving these strategic priorities.