Strategic Planning

Leaders often know important decisions are ahead, but need a disciplined process to understand what is shaping the current moment, what the organization is truly positioned to do, what the community needs from them, and how to set direction in a way that others can trust and carry forward. A strong strategic planning process does more than produce goals. It creates shared understanding, builds confidence in the direction, and gives the organization a clearer action plan that can be drilled down into daily operations.

Our Process

Our strategic planning process is grounded in facts, shaped through engagement, and built to move from insight to action.

Developing the Fact Base™

We begin with an internal and external assessment tailored to the needs of each client. This is a defining part of our process and one of the places where our work is meaningfully different.

The time invested here pays off in several important ways:

It delivers insights that advance the organization programmatically and financially.
It builds a SWOT analysis grounded in real research and discussion.
It creates deep organizational learning for Board and staff as findings are surfaced and discussed.
It ensures that goals are tied to a shared sense of reality.

This work is strengthened by the broader Osgood Sheldon team, including a PhD statistician and a Senior Research Analyst, whose expertise supports the rigor of the Fact Base and the quality of the insights it produces.

While tools can support efficiency, strong planning still depends on asking the right questions, probing where needed, and interpreting the subtle nuances that shape sound strategy. That judgment is critical to the quality of the process and the strength of the final plan.

Creating organizational reporting and dashboards

We provide templates and tools for assembling and analyzing key Fact Base findings in ways that can continue to be used after the planning process ends. This helps organizations track progress, measure what matters, and build stronger internal reporting over time.

Establishing the Aspirational Framework and telling the story

Using the research and insights from the Fact Base, we build the Aspirational Framework: vision, mission, core values and beliefs, and the goals and rationale that will guide the organization forward.

A distinctive part of our plans is that they tell the organization’s story. We connect how the organization got here, what shaped this moment, and why the strategic direction makes sense now. That narrative is not decorative. It helps show the rigor behind the work, build confidence in the direction, and create a plan that works both internally and externally.

Moving from inspiration to action

We connect the Aspirational Framework directly to implementation. That means defining strategies under each goal area and translating them into a practical action plan with timing, responsibility, and measurement for the next three years. This is how the work moves from ideas to execution.

Driving the work into operations

When clients need it, we help push the work beyond the plan itself by driving strategies and tactics down into staff roles, leadership expectations, and the organization’s performance management approach. This helps ensure the plan is not just a document, but work that is positioned to live inside the organization.

Project management throughout the process

We document the planning process in a detailed timeline and manage it closely throughout the engagement. We coordinate meetings, track deliverables, and keep the work organized so the process stays on course. We also leave clients with a shared drive containing Fact Base and planning materials, using the document-sharing platform that works best for them.

We lead and manage the process

Planning is a significant lift for an organization, and part of our role is to reduce that burden. We do the writing, organize the work, and keep the process moving so leaders and teams can stay focused on their day-to-day responsibilities. Clients always have the ability to shape and edit the work, but they do not have to carry the process themselves.

We stay connected

Our work does not end when the plan is finished. We stay in touch as a sounding board and source of advice as clients move into implementation and begin carrying the work forward.

What Comes From Our Process

The result is a high-quality strategic plan that is grounded, credible, and built to earn real buy-in from the Board and beyond. Because the work is shaped through research, engagement, and clear rationale, organizations leave with a plan that people can understand, stand behind, and use to guide decisions and action.

It was really a pleasure working with Nancy and Adam at The Osgood Group to develop Invest in Children's strategic plan. Their thoughtful, community-centered approach ensured that the voices of families, providers, and partners were meaningfully reflected throughout the process. By combining deep stakeholder engagement with clear, actionable insights, they helped us strengthen our direction and stay grounded in our commitment to equity and the evolving needs of young children and families in Cuyahoga County.

Shawna Rohrman, Ph.D.
Director, Office of Early Childhood and Invest in Children
Cuyahoga County