Email: belinda@belindacoghlan.com.au | Phone: 0414 642 921
Perth-based Strategic Planning Facilitation
WHAT
is Strategic Planning?
Strategic planning is the process of getting a group - a board, a leadership team, an entire organisation - to a clear, shared plan they'll actually own and act on.
Done badly, it's a workshop everyone forgets by Monday. Done well, it's a facilitated process that clearly articulates your desired future and how you'll get there - built for participation, ownership and accountability, and encouraging initiative along the way.
As a Technology of Participation (ToP) accredited facilitator with a track record leading strategic planning programs across government and industry, I design the process so the plan belongs to the group in the room, not to me.
WHO
needs Strategic Planning?
Almost every organisation or group reaches a point where the old direction stops being clear enough to act on — and that's where strategic planning earns its place.
Why? Because the groups I work with are usually facing one or more of the same pressures.
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Boards and leadership teams setting or resetting direction
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Organisations facing a major shift — funding change, reform, new leadership
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Groups who need to align stakeholders with genuinely different priorities
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Anyone who's sat through a strategy day that produced a document, not a plan
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Groups where staff hold back concerns or new ideas because the room doesn't feel safe enough to speak up
Whatever's brought you here, if your planning process has been tying up your people's energy instead of pointing it in the same direction, I'm here when you need me.
HOW
does Strategic Planning Work?
I co-design the process with you, using Technology of Participation (ToP) facilitation methods to maximise the group's participation, ownership and accountability. This isn't me presenting a strategy — it's the group building one they'll carry forward, with a clear purpose and outcome set before we start.
The process moves through four stages: building a shared view of the desired future, critically analysing what's currently blocking progress, determining a set of strategies, and constructing an implementation framework complete with responsibilities.
I draw on a broad toolkit beyond ToP - Force Field Analysis, World Café, Open Space Technology and online collaborative platforms - depending on what the room and the outcome need. Workshop outputs are then collated into a succinct, accountable plan within your cascaded planning framework.
WHERE
to apply Strategic Planning?
Wherever a group needs a shared plan they'll act on, that's where strategic planning earns its place — a document without ownership rarely survives contact with Monday morning.
Good strategic planning starts with genuine participation, then builds outward: a plan the group actually owns, not one handed down to them; stakeholder alignment achieved in the room, not fought over afterwards; a structured, repeatable process, not a one-off away day; and outcomes built for follow-through, not just for the strategy document.
With practical experience in corporate cascaded planning we can help you align your strategic planning document with operational team plans and individual performance plans.
Strategic planning connects naturally to my other work — it often surfaces the leadership and culture shifts that Organisational Development addresses, and the individual leadership capability that Executive Coaching builds once the plan is set. Where a room doesn't yet feel safe enough for people to speak up, this pairs naturally with my Human Skills Training work too.
WHY
choose me?
I'm a Technology of Participation (ToP) accredited facilitator, certified by the Institute of Cultural Affairs, with a track record leading facilitated learning and strategic planning programs across government and industry, including as Lead Facilitator on a major national program.
ToP methods are intentionally designed to heal power imbalances, enable shared power, and provide a structured process that distils high-quality outcomes while sustaining trust and commitment to what's agreed - not just consultation theatre.
The ToP Consensus Workshop and ORID Conversation methodology have four phases.
Phase 1 grounds the group in a shared objective data
Phase 2 reflects on internal/emotional responses
Phase 3 captures the meaning, insights and learning
Phase 4 has the group reflecting on all the data to make an informed decision.
As a People and Culture specialist, certified S.A.F.E.T.Y psychological safety model and founder of the Psychological Safety Systems Blueprint, I have oversight of organisational and operational challenges and integrated planning frameworks. This knowledge adds significant value to a strategic planning experience.
Our plethora of skills can add value to facilitating highly participatory workshops for:
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Strategic planning
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Operational planning
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Priority planning
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Community consultations
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Thinktanks
What clients say
"Belinda Coghlan was Lead Facilitator with the Farm Business Resilience Program run by Curtin University, which successfully developed and delivered critical parts of the Pilot of Drought Reform Measures for the Australian and Western Australian governments. Belinda effectively stepped into leading the delivery teams and facilitated the learning program to achieve very good strategic plans for farmers across WA. We were able to use her extensive knowledge in change management, strategic planning and workshop design to make continual improvements to the program. I would highly recommend Belinda for her comprehensive skills in delivering facilitated learning programs."
John Noonan, Farm Business Resilience Director, Curtin University
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you facilitate for boards as well as executive and operational teams?
Yes - I co-design the process around who's in the room and what decision they need to reach.
What's ToP facilitation?
Technology of Participation — a structured facilitation methodology built to maximise genuine group participation and ownership of the outcome, not just consultation theatre.
How do you deal with dominating people in the room?
I'm upfront about respectful, psychologically safe behaviours in the room to set the tone, and my methods ensure everyone gets the chance to speak. Depending on the situation, that might mean more pair or small group work. Otherwise, a private conversation may be needed to understand what’s driving the person’s reactions, to work with it instead of against it.
Can you run this across multiple stakeholder groups?
Broad thinking and perspectives by people impacted by a decision are critical for the best results.
Yes, depending on your budget we include head office, local or regional groups need to align on shared direction. This may include subject matter experts or thought leaders in the field.
What do we walk away with?
A strategic plan the group built, owns and is committed to actioning. The plan contains a purpose and vision statement, strategic drivers, strategic directions with implementation actions, timeframes, custodians, performance targets. On request, we can develop a Strategic Plan on a Page.
