The next step in your process is to develop prioritized actions that need to be taken in the coming year, resulting in an implementation timeline. In doing this you will need to consider:
Your planning group can be divided into smaller committees, one for each strategic direction. Let people choose which one they will work on. Then that group takes their boxes of ideas and decides what 3-5 major items they can accomplish in one year and calendars the necessary steps or benchmarks on a timeline created on the wall in the front of the room. Each committee reports out by placing important action steps on the calendar of the whole. They will need to consider who will be responsible for making sure the action happens and what the budgetary implications may be.
TIP: Timely documentation shared with all members of the planning team is critical for forward momentum, as is check-in with responsible leaders in each arena of work. |
Creating Your Action Plan
This is the step where the “rubber hits the road” as the saying goes. We decide what concrete, measurable accomplishments, events, or products we will complete in a given time frame. Implementation planning typically takes place annually. If preferred, a phased plan for 3-5 successive years can also be created.
Click the links below to access an action plan template and sample 1-year and phased action plans:
One-Year Action Plan Template (blank) [Word Doc: 41KB]
Sample One-Year Action Plan [PDF: 64KB]
Sample Three-Phase Action Plan [PDF: 52KB]
Sample Four-Phase Action Plan [PDF: 52KB]
OVERARCHING QUESTION: |
The documentation of your Vision and Strategic Directions sessions will be needed for the following process, as participants will be accessing the cards, title sheets, etc. Ideally, this documentation is still up on the wall from the previous session. You will also need an Action Plan Template like the example pictured below (see previous link).
STAGE 4 – STEP 4 | Action Plan Template
1) Review Vision and Strategic Directions
2) Teams Develop Action Steps
3) Teams Propose Actions
Click here [PDF: 63KB] to access a list of sample actions a district might pursue in its arts education plan, which can help jump-start the group’s thinking during this step.
- Are there any clarifying questions?
- Will these projects move us forward in the strategic direction?
- Is this doable in the time frame? If not how shall we deal with this?
- Is there overlap?
- Who is responsible for each major event or product? (attach a name to each project)
4) Key Action Steps in Year 1
This part may be done by smaller committees and/or staff.
- Where do these actions overlap?
- How do these new tasks fit with our ongoing work plan?
- What can be combined?
- Is there a logical structure in terms of committees emerging?
- Name the committees and decide when to meet again.
- What needs to get dones?
- When? Where? Who is responsible?
- What will it cost? Estimate funding implications.
- Is there overlap?
- See sample plans at the end of this section for ideas on how to record these steps.
5) Closing Conversation: Prioritizing Events or Initiatives
- Create a priority arrow graphic on chart paper (see sample below).-
- Have each group name the KEY action in each of the arenas of work from the strategic directions and make a card.
- Look at all the cards. There will be 6-9 depending on the number of boxes that make up the strategic directions.
- Looking at these prioritized events or initiatives, which one seems to be the key to unlocking everything else? How does it catalyze action on the other events or projects? Then ask, which two actions are next in importance? Continue, filling in each of the boxes in terms of priority.
- For more ideas on creating priorities, see the end of this section.
Priority Wedge
Creating a Phased Action
Creating Priorities | Optional Exercises
There will be a time in the planning process where team members realize that in all likelihood there will never be enough money to provide everything. There will be hard choices to make in establishing priorities. Compromises need to be made – additional funding partners may need to be cultivated.
Ultimately, the team needs to decide – first things first. But what are those first things? For one district, it may be restoring music to the elementary schools, for another it may be providing professional development so that classroom teaches can teach visual arts. For another, it may be offering more artist-in-residence programs.
The Dream House exercise was developed as one way to define priorities. It is a metaphor that everyone can relate to and refer to when the tough decisions have to be made.
In comparing the Arts Education Plan to a Dream House, the group goes through the process of first finding out what is desired, what is really necessary and then finally at the bottom line, how to go about funding it. It has been our experience that the team can become discouraged if the “not enough money” issue dominates every discussion. We suggest putting the dollars in their proper place – at the end of the discussion – not at the beginning. Each box on this table represents a half-sheet on the sticky wall. The facilitator will place the half-sheets on the wall one-by-one. There can be discussion at any point; but it is really meant more to be a reflective exercise.
Instructions to the Group
Establishing Priorities
BUILDING OUR DREAM HOUSE | ||
Central Questions | The Dream House | Arts Education Plan |
What’s it going to look like? | What’s the overall style? | What is our vision? |
What do we absolutely want to have? | What’s an outstanding feature of our house? | What’s a key component of our plan? |
What do we absolutely have to have? | What sort of kitchen do we want? | Is there a core area that we need to develop first? |
What about infrastructure? | What utilities do we need? | What resources do we need? |
Who will help us build it? | Who are the various contractors we will need? | What partnerships do we need to develop? |
Are there any barriers in our way? | What are the state and city building codes? | How will arts instruction fit into the school day? |
What about the future? | How shall we protect and maintain our house? | How can we ensure sustainability? |
How much will the house cost? | Let’s compare prices for flooring and get the best estimate. | Let’s take a look at salaries and material costs. |
How will we pay for it? | What are our financing options? | What is our funding strategy? |
Invite participants to share their observations after hearing how these two scenarios line up. In later discussions about priorities, team members may say, “ Remember the dream house; we need to keep that in the plan!”
Another fun exercise to reflect on priorities is “Price Tags”. Using real (or approximated costs), the exercise encourages the group to reflect on the initial implementation steps in an arts plan.
Click here [Word Doc: 37KB] to access the price tags that are used in this exercise. The price tags can be enlarged or written on half-sheets and affixed to walls, desks, or chairs positioned around the room. You can give the team a “budget” to work within or simply allow them pick their top priorities. The price tags are provided in Microsoft Word format to facilitate adaptations to your own context.
Instructions to the Group
Focused Conversation | Reflecting on the Price Tag Exercise
Objectives
Context
Objective Level: | Which tag caught your attention first? Where did most people cluster? What items were not chosen? How would you describe the process of physically moving to a priority area? |
Reflective Level: | What surprised you about this exercise? What was an easy choice? What was a difficult choice? Where are we disagreeing? Was there a point at which you felt confused or indecisive? Was there a moment where you felt exhilarated or elated? |
Interpretive Level: | On what basis did you make your choices? Could you defend those choices to others? What questions did this raise for you? Where did you feel that you needed more information? What insights are beginning to emerge about budgeting and leveraging funding? |
Decisional Level: | What appear to be our key priorities as a group? What is the overall cost to provide our priorities and how does this match with our budget? Are there priorities that will need to drop off the list at least this year? |
Closing
This exercise has given us an interesting way to approach the difficult task of looking at budget implications and competing priorities in a district. A group consensus begins to emerge when people “vote with their feet.” Thank you for expressing your priorities.