Congressional Management Foundation | Creating a Coordinated Agenda

Creating a Coordinated Agenda

*Excerpt from Keeping It Local: A Guide for Managing Congressional District & State Offices, Chapter 1, copyright Congressional Management Foundation.

DO...

DON'T...

Engage in strategic planning to set goals and priorities for the Member and staff, allocate resources and enable your office to be more proactive and effective.

Integrate the district/state and DC goals into a coordinated agenda that encourages both offices to work together for improved teamwork and effectiveness.

Consider the advantages and disadvantages of the basic planning methods (full-staff, liaison, small-group, hybrid) before choosing one that works best for your office.

Assess the following to guide your planning: the Member’s personal goals and interests; district/state needs; office strengths and weaknesses; and opportunities and threats.

Consider developing a two-year strategic plan, rather than just one-year, to take advantage of the full legislative cycle and to encourage comprehensive thinking for the entire congressional session.

Allow the Washington and district/state staffs to pursue separate agendas, which increase the likelihood for conflict, tension and costly mistakes.

Operate without a clearly-defined long-term vision of what the Member seeks to accomplish in Congress.

Write a mission statement that is too broad (“to make a difference”) or establishes too many themes. The more focused it is (preferably one or two themes), the more direction it provides the staff.

Include more than 3–5 short-term goals in your strategic plan. Single out what’s most important, most feasible and most consistent with the office’s mission statement.

Draft an action plan without deadlines or assigning responsibilities. Specific timeframes and clearly-defined roles are essential to keeping everyone accountable and focused on the plan.

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Tags:District / State, Strategy & Planning

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