Establishing a Process of Strategic Service Planning

Locating a partnership in the context of municipal objectives and reform requires a partnership to emerge from a structured, strategic planning process that takes in the considerations discussed above, and sees partnerships within the broader sphere of urban management and governance. This may be obvious and easily achieved in some contexts, but not in all. Chapter 12 presents some of the key issues concerning the strategic management process and the development of municipal procedures.

Chapter 2 has already stressed the importance of understanding municipal problems and objectives. A simplified strategic planning process that precedes the development of a partnership can be conducted within the municipality by undertaking a number of key steps:

•  identifying the problems to be solved;

•  defining service objectives;

•  analysing the key factors influencing service delivery;

•  understanding the opportunities and constraints of potential stakeholders and their roles in service delivery; and

•  investigating partnership alternatives and coordinating a system of service delivery.

The strategic planning process will thus involve the formulation of municipal objectives and the development of a strategy to service delivery that responds to an analysis of the stakeholders and the context. This should include a strategy for focusing the partnership on the poor. This strategic process creates a platform for decision-making linked into broader municipal management, service delivery and poverty reduction goals. This will mean, for instance, that the proposed strategy for water and sanitation services might be developed alongside a strategy for solid waste management or energy. The aim is to ensure that a coherent pattern of infrastructure development occurs - one that recognises opportunities, constraints and livelihood implications as well as community and municipal capacities.

To supplement this discussion, Chapter 5 focuses on the importance of developing partnership approaches that actively contribute to poverty reduction. Chapter 6 provides an in-depth discussion of the range of actors involved in partnerships that follow a good governance approach.