the king south east - jalal nono (the reading strategies book TXT) 📗

Competitors

In not-for-profit arts organisations, competition can be thought of as anything that inhibits or stops an organisation from achieving its goals.

Consider who, or what else, competes for your markets’ time, attention, interest and money. These can be direct or indirect competitors; think broadly, logically and laterally about where your current and future markets spend their time and money (e.g. other forms of entertainment such as watching television or playing sport, on-line communities, hobbies). Are current funding partners directing their money elsewhere? Use any research that you may already have. Bear in mind that other arts organisations may help increase the local desire for art, rather than compete for your markets’ time. Also consider threats or barriers to your target markets engaging with your organisation (e.g. poor parking or public transport, lack of marketing budget/information, other demands on your prospective markets’ time).

Goals and KPI’s (Key Performance Indicators)

Your Goals should describe what you would like your organisation to be achieving within a given timeframe and demonstrate progress towards your Purpose. The plan will usually have no more than six goals and each should consist of one specific, clear and tangible objective. The Goals should be explicit and implicitly relate to both the Purpose and your organisation’s constitutional objectives. The Goals should also be defensible against your analysis of your internal and external situation as described in the Context section.

KPIs are used to demonstrate how well your organisation is progressing towards achieving it Goals. An effective KPI is specific, measurable, achievable, important and controllable by your organisation. Each goal can have as few as one KPI or more as in Figure below.

Strategies

Strategies are the major initiatives you will undertake to achieve the Goals. In one page you can show that your Strategies can fulfill one or many Goals (see Figure 1 below). Those Strategies that can satisfy many Goals are more likely to have a higher priority for you.

Figure Error: Reference source not found outlines Strategies in a simple table format with columns for:

Priority: which Strategies you will focus on, have the most impact or provide the most resources;

Measures and milestones: timetable for delivery; and

Responsibility: what position in your organisation is responsible for ensuring this happens.

Action Plans

Each of the Strategies should be attached to a specific project or action plan. These actions plans are not included in the business plan, but are there for your organisation’s and its Board’s reference. Each action plan should be detailed. It should clearly indicate what needs to happen by when and by whom for the strategy to be achieved. There will most often be multiple actions with accompanying target dates and different persons responsible for each action.

Artistic Program

This describes your general artistic program - exhibitions, tours, special projects, residencies, performances, creative developments, workshops, commissions, publications etc. Start with a paragraph outlining what you expect to achieve annually, what impact, why it is an improvement on previous years (if appropriate) and then provide a summary of your overall program. Include:

a statement about the artistic rationale of the program;

an overview of the program for each year of the business plan; and

ways to measure artistic success, including a model for self-evaluation (e.g. visitor feedback, critical reviews, audience reviews, media and peer reportage).

Marketing Plan

Provide a multi-year plan of the marketing goals and strategies that you intend to use to achieve your KPIs. Consider including all your markets, such as: education, specific communities, sponsors, media, peers, funding bodies and philanthropists. Your marketing plan should flow logically and expand on the analysis within the Context section.

Your marketing plan should demonstrate:

an understanding of target markets (current and potential);

the responsiveness of programming to target markets and segments; and

evidence of market research.

If applicable, you may need to develop separate action plans for marketing communications or promotion, sponsorship and philanthropy.

(Please consult the Companion Resource: Core Elements of a Strategic Marketing Plan below to assist you to complete this section.)

Financial Plan

The financial plan should flow logically from the conclusions drawn about your organisation's financial situation within your Context. It should include:

an assessment of your organisation's current financial situation (where are we now); and

a vision of the financial situation at the end of the period covered by the business plan (where do we want to be).

You should provide a financial forecast (as shown in Figure below) for each year covered by the business plan. The figures in your forecast should support and demonstrate the statements made in your financial plan and throughout your entire business plan.

Break-even or deficit forecasts across several years are not desirable without explanatory commentary.

Organisational Structure

Include an organisational chart showing role and responsibilities for each position, and to whom they report.

Role of the Board and Governance

This will be a list of your Board members, the skills they bring to the Board and specific role(s), if any, that they have on the Board. You should provide this information as shown in Figure below.

It should give a clear indication of the demarcation between the Board and executive staff, and detail any delegations of responsibility.

Succession Plan

An effective succession plan