Operations Planning for Improved Performance in a Tough Economy

Unlike the organizational mission statement, which is concerned with identifying and addressing critical issues and challenges that affect the mission or community—in other words, why the organization exists—the operating plan looks at the base budget that funds operations, and addresses how the work is done and what is accomplished. It outlines and describes internal and external services (outputs) and the consequences of those services (outcomes), and it provides standards for measuring performance. In so doing, the operating plan enables the local government to link community well-being and quality of life to key services whose value and sustainability can be factored into long-term and annual financial plans.