Strategic Planning in Hanover County

In 2006, the Hanover County Board of Supervisors approved the development of two strategic plans: a Human Services Strategic Plan to assist in providing policy direction for setting priorities in delivering human services to County’s citizens and a Public Safety Strategic Plan to advance the concept of a safe community. Each of those strategic plans covered the years 2007-2012 and has been reviewed and revised as needed. These joined several strategic plans that were already in place for individual departments: Economic Development, Planning and the Schools under 2007-13 Long-Range Plan.

In 2009, Hanover County undertook the rigorous process of seeking a U.S. Senate Productivity and Quality Award (SPQA), Virginia’s premier award. The SPQA is presented only to those private and public organizations which meet the Malcolm Baldrige Criteria for highest performance. In June 2010, Hanover County became only the second County government in Virginia to receive an SPQA award, receiving the SPQA Certificate for Commitment to Performance Excellence.

From the SPQA committee’s site visit in April 2010 grew the conviction that the County should have an overarching strategic plan for all of the County government’s functions. This process formally began with the adoption by the Board of Supervisors in April 2011 of an Initiative calling for the development of a model for an overall County Strategic Plan.

In July 2011, the Board of Supervisors adopted new Vision, Mission and Value Statements as the first step towards an overall Strategic Plan. From these were developed several focus areas, each of which will have strategic plans that will interconnect with the other strategic plans. The focus areas are: Community, Education, Safety, Human Services, Economic Development, Stewardship-Creativity-Innovation and Service-Engagement. Each focus area will have strategic goals, objectives and key indicators that will enable the County to measure whether objectives are being accomplished.

The most recent presentation to the Board of Supervisors can be viewed here.

The Board’s adopted Fiscal Year 2013 Initiatives call for completion of this County Strategic Plan in the Fiscal Year that begins July 1, 2012 and ends June 30, 2013. The plan which was adopted on September 12, 2012 may be viewed here.