Writing a business plan - seven facilitated sessions

Overview

Ready to take things to the next level?

• Over a series of seven monthly meetings, we will support you to write a Business Plan for your organisation. This is useful for attracting funding and support and shows people beyond doubt that you are a professional, well-run going concern.
• Each session will build on the next to take you in a structured way through the whole process. We will give you a template to work through, but the sessions will help you to make it your own. During the process, you will be taking ideas, templates and knowledge back to your organisation which will help develop the whole team.
• As a study group, you will share your expertise, constructively critique each other's work and shamelessly nick good practice ideas. At the end of each session you will identify actions you are going to accomplish before next time.
• Tutor Caro Hart is an experienced senior manager who really understands how to tell the story of an organisation using a business plan.
• This course is suitable for anyone wanting to create a business plan If you are not in that position, but would like to learn how business plans are made - then it's good for you too; you can buddy with someone and help themto write their plan.
• Note: this courses but is suitable for anyone in the UK. There are limited places available.
• You can join the group up until the session in March 2024 Late-comers will be given a 1:1 session to catch up.

What you will learn

We will be covering several key concepts such as planning, risk management, financial sustainability, impact measurement and so on. As we cover these, you will be given free access to the relevant resources on the DCA Academy for the period of the programme. (This represents training worth more than £200.)

The sessions will cover roughly the following - although we will refine this as we go along:

• 18th January 2024 An introduction to business planning
  • Group boundaries and how we will work together
  • What is involved in a Business Plan
  • Group work on identifying your own priorities

• 15th February 2024Telling the story of your organisation
  • Origin stories and proof of need - the vision
  • Accomplishments, challenges and the difference you make
  • Group work on impact reporting

• 21st March 2024 Core plans and goals
  • Strategic goals and how you are fulfilling your mission
  • Understanding the external context of your organisation
  • Organisational risk assessment
  • Group work on opportunities and threats

• 18th April 2024 Marketing, partnerships and stakeholders
  • Stakeholder analysis
  • Market research and using it to drive strategy
  • Group work on marketing and communications planning 

• 16th May 2024 Financial planning and cashflows
  • Presenting your financial position effectively - making solid assumptions
  • Cash-flow forecasting
  • Organisational risk management
  • Group work on quantifying fundraising and income generation

• 20th June 2024 (date is up for discussion) Creating a coherent narrative
  • Becoming a sustainable organisation
  • Mission to strategic goals to operational priorities!
  • Group work on showing the difference you have made

• 18th july 2024 Summary and final planning
  • Reprise key areas
  • Critique drafts
  • Group work on action planning for completing any work outstanding

Please note that topics are subject to adjustment as the group decides.

What you require

If you have existing plans and reports, you will need to bring these with you to add to the process. Otherwise, all of the concepts will be explained and you will be given tools and templates.