Wisconsin Case Study

Strategic Planning Process to Address Tobacco-Related Disparities in Wisconsin

Timeline

Planning

• September: Designate Department of Health staff, develop strategic planning process, develop list of people to be invited to become workgroup members, mail out letters of information and invitation, follow up letters with personal telephone contacts, and plan videoconference agenda. Hold roundtable discussion at Second Annual Tobacco Symposium. Contact additional potential workgroup members developed from telephone calls, send out additional information about workgroup goals and responsibilities, hold statewide videoconference to announce strategic planning effort, solicit input, and request additional names for workgroup membership. Hold second roundtable discussion after videoconference. Hire consultants.
• October: Meet with Bureau epidemiologist and develop Workgroup meeting agenda for November. Hold staff/consultant planning meeting.
• November: Hold first Workgroup meeting. Develop schedule of Workgroup meetings. Use breakout groups to develop recommended directions for the Strategic Plan. Conduct telephone interviews with designated Workgroup members. Develop Workgroup meeting agenda. Conduct in-person interview with Project Director. Hold staff/consultant planning meeting.
• December: Hold second Workgroup meeting. Review available data and discuss missing data. Develop plan to how to obtain needed data. Determine which members to attend CDC training. Conduct exit survey with Workgroup members. Develop February Workgroup meeting agenda. Hold staff/consultant planning meeting.
• January: Attend CDC training, revise strategic planning process and plan February Workgroup meeting agenda.
• February: Hold third Workgroup meeting. Review results of CDC training. Set goals for next two Workgroup sessions. Make assignments for population assessments. Conduct exit survey with Workgroup members. Develop March Workgroup meeting agenda. Conduct in-person interviews with Project Director and Facilitator. Hold staff/consultant planning meeting.
• March: Hold fourth Workgroup meeting. Present results of population assessments. Conduct exit survey with Workgroup members. Develop April Workgroup meeting agenda. Hold staff/consultant planning meeting.
• April: Hold fifth Workgroup meeting. Conduct Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) analysis. Identify ten critical issues. Conduct exit survey with Workgroup members. Develop June Workgroup meeting agenda. Hold staff/consultant planning meeting. Invite designated members to attend CDC training.
• May: Plan Workgroup meeting agenda; attend CDC training; revise planning process to emphasize marketing plan. Draft preliminary Strategic Plan using combined critical issues.
• June: Hold sixth Workgroup meeting. Review whether six critical issues and their goals and strategies really reflect group values. Make assignments to solicit input from represented groups and other populations to review the working of each goal and its respective strategy statements. Conduct exit survey with Workgroup members. Develop July Workgroup meeting agenda. Hold staff/consultant planning meeting.
• July: Hold seventh Workgroup meeting. Review current draft of Strategic Plan. Develop milestones, timelines and a marketing plan. Write final draft of Strategic Plan. Invite designated members to attend CDC training.
• August: Attend CDC training, hold eighth Workgroup meeting. Review draft of Strategic Plan. Develop marketing steps needed. Conduct focus group with Workgroup members. Administer open-ended survey to Workgroup members. Develop additional Workgroup meeting agendas for developing marketing plan. Hold marketing planning meeting.
• September: Hold marketing planning meeting. Compile Marketing Tool from CDC materials.
• October: Hold ninth Workgroup meeting to develop marketing plan and review and approve final draft of Strategic Plan. Review the Marketing Tool and preliminary draft of Marketing Plan. Submit final version of plan to Department of Health and Family Services for printing approval process
  
  Prior to the beginning of the strategic planning process, 25 organizations and agencies were identified as potential Workgroup members. Three Department of Health and Family Services planning meetings were held. Tobacco Control Program staff who would work on the project were designated. Letters of invitation and information were sent out. A plan that included six all-day meetings was developed. A statewide videoconference was planned and the facilitator and evaluator were hired.

Implementation

Thirteen months elapsed between the beginning of the strategic planning process and the Workgroup's approval of the final plan. Eight meetings of the 13-member Workgroup were held; the first draft of the strategic plan was presented and the final revised report was submitted to the state. In addition, the Workgroup held an additional Strategic Plan marketing meeting and created a marketing plan that all groups agreed to implement. The Workgroup agreed to meet twice in the next year as an advisory board to aid in the marketing and implementation of the Strategic Plan.

Evaluation

Evaluation was implemented throughout the 13-month process. Exit surveys were conducted after six meetings; two telephone interviews and one focus group were conducted. The evaluator participated in meeting debriefings and team efforts to set the meeting agendas and objectives. The evaluator produced a final report in the form of a case study.