Strategy: a plan to achieve your policy

We have already touched briefly on strategy when developing a theory of change. A strategy is a plan of action that is designed to realise your goals and objectives.

Policies guide strategy while strategies aim to realise policy objectives and outcomes.

Policies outline decisions made by an organisation to achieve a specific outcome. Policy can refer to a set of proposals, the decisions of government, a programme of action, an aspiration or expression of general purpose. Once a policy has been agreed or adopted formally, a strategy outlines how that policy is implemented.

Policies cannot make an impact unless they are enacted. The most effective policies include action plans, which help translate the goals and objectives of the policy into outputs, outcomes and impact.

How does it all fit together?

Put simply, goals set the vision and a desired impact or targets. Policies indicate commitment to the goal through outlining clear objectives. Strategy is the plan of action to realise these objectives. Programmes are part of the strategy, creating aligned activities with meaningful and measurable outputs and outcomes which contribute to the desired impact (covered more in week 3).

Let’s look into this in more detail with reference to the SDGs.