A model for strategy that listens, learns and leads with purpose

In a world that doesn’t stand still, how we plan and deliver change has to evolve too. Whether you’re working in public services, community organisations or systems change, strategy in 2025 needs to be more than a polished document — it needs to be a living, breathing, participative process.

This blog shares a model we’re learning from — designed to help us (and maybe help you too) build strategies that are adaptive, participative, resilient, innovative, and mission-based.

“Strategy in 2025 isn’t about having all the answers. It’s about learning together and moving with purpose.”

🌟 1. Start with a shared mission and bold vision

• Clarify your vision: What future are you working towards? Make it ambitious but grounded in real need. In Adur & Worthing, we anchored our workforce and participation strategies in themes like climate justice and economic inclusion.
• Anchor it in mission-based objectives: Break it into outcomes that reflect your values and purpose.
• Align with existing work: Make it coherent with local priorities, national strategies or organisational plans, like Our Plan.

🗨️ “A good strategy feels like a rallying cry — not just a roadmap.”

🤝 2. Make it participative from the start

• Co-design with people: Bring in staff, residents, partners, and people with lived experience from day one. At our Community Leaders sessions, we shape priorities together.
• Use inclusive methods: Workshops, listening sessions, participatory budgeting — whatever helps real voices shape the work.
• Close the loop: Show how feedback is used, and keep the conversation going.

🗨️ “Participation isn’t a phase — it’s a principle.”

🔄 3. Keep it adaptive, not static

• Set flexible goals: Let your milestones breathe and shift with what you learn.
• Prototype before you scale: Pilot ideas in small ways, like we do through Missions Labs, then build on what works.
• Plan for uncertainty: Use scenario planning to stress-test your direction.

🗨️ “A strategy should be solid enough to aim for, and soft enough to adapt.”

🛠️ 4. Build resilience into the system

• Plan for the long haul: Think about the people, funding and infrastructure needed to sustain your work.
• Address risk early: Use inclusive risk planning that covers social, economic and political change.
• Grow your people: Invest in leadership and learning at every level, like our Learning & Development roadmap.

🗨️ “Resilience isn’t just surviving — it’s staying true to your purpose through disruption.”

💡 5. Make space for innovation

• Encourage experiments: Try new things, fail well, and celebrate what you learn.
• Use design tools: Prototyping, design sprints and innovation labs can help you explore and adapt.
• Collaborate widely: Partner with others — from community groups to universities — to unlock new ideas and resources. We’ve found real energy in cross-sector working.

🗨️ “The future belongs to those who try things — together.”

🚀 6. Deliver through mission-based teams

• Set up Mission Boards: These cross-cutting teams help ensure delivery stays connected to the strategy.
• Clarify roles: Everyone should know how they contribute — from partners to residents.
• Back the big bets: Prioritise projects with potential to transform, not just improve.

🗨️ “Mission-led work connects people to purpose and progress.”

🧭 7. Make governance inclusive and accountable

• Involve people in oversight: Create advisory groups or participatory panels to steer the work.
• Report accessibly: Use plain English updates, visuals and stories — not just PDFs.
• Measure what matters: Use SMART goals, but don’t forget lived experience and qualitative insights.

🗨️ “Good governance listens. Great governance learns and adapts.”

🔧 8. Practical steps to get going

1. Host a mission visioning workshop to set direction.
2. Run a series of open design sessions to gather ideas.
3. Pilot your ideas and gather feedback.
4. Refine and share your strategy, then test it again.
5. Deliver through small, supported cycles of learning.

🗨️ “The best strategies feel like something everyone built together.”

💬 Final call: your strategy is a story in the making

Whether you’re leading a service, a programme or a whole system, you don’t need to have it all figured out. This model is about starting where you are, staying open, and moving forward with others.

📢 What’s your next step?

• Invite others into your process.
• Share a working draft.
• Launch a pilot.

Let’s make strategy in 2025 a shared practice — not a solo performance.

🧵 Got your own approach or lesson from the field? Share it. Tag us. Let’s learn from each other.

“A strategy that listens lasts longer. A strategy that learns goes further. A strategy built together changes everything.”