ding a common sense of direction and purpose. It need not identify every step in the process; that can be left to the implementation plan. The guideline, however, must be commonly agreed upon and in place before day-to-day activity can have meaningful implementation. Assessing the external environment.There are many ways to assess the external environment. Trend analysis is a method of examining changes over time in order to anticipate future conditions and events. Trends within the economic, demographic, social, and political arenas, sometimes referred to as the macro-environment, can also be examined in relation to each other to identify patterns that may have implications for the organization's future. (4)Competition is a factor to be examined in the external environment. Some members of social service and educational organizations think they are outside of the competitive market place, but that is not the case. The competition for limited funding is fairly clear. The turf problems frequently encountered between agencies are, at heart, competition for clients. An important factor for community educators is assessing current needs and projecting future needs for the community as a whole and for the various constituencies that may be served by the community education program both now and in the future. Typical questions posed during an external assessment include: What is my community like today? Are the demographics changing? How? What are the implications of today's trends for the future of my community? What other agencies currently serve my community? What services do they provide? To whom?What needs exist today? What needs are anticipated for tomorrow?How Is It Done? The most basic question to ask before starting a strategic planning process is whether to develop a strategic plan. Unless this question is answered honestly in terms of the organization's current status and the attitudes of its members and leadership, the planning pr...
