Strategic Planning for Water and Wastewater Utilities

A strategic plan is necessary to ensure that water and wastewater companies have organizational direction, project clarity, and effective communication. The Strategic Planning for Water and Wastewater Utilities course will discuss various types of tools and metrics to use in creating a successful plan.

Attendees working in the water and wastewater industries will have the opportunity to develop a strategic plan and/or refine a current plan by identifying gaps and process inefficiencies. A strategic plan begins with developing a simple Vision and Mission and building upon these to organize and achieve goals and objectives. The tools to be reviewed will include SWOT analysis, affinity mapping, balanced scorecard, Porter’s Five Forces, as well as details on how to write the plan, perform a gap analysis, and develop a process for change management.

Learning Outcomes

• Develop organizational vision and mission statements
• Utilize strategic planning tools and frameworks to achieve business goals
• Measure and analyze organizational and departmental KPIs and other metrics using progress reports and dashboards
• Write, present, and revise a strategic plan that includes workflows and change management strategies

MONDAY, JANUARY 29, 2024

Vision and Mission Statement Development

• Goals
• Organization
• Challenges

Strategic Planning Tools

• SWOT
• Affinity mapping
• Balanced scorecard
• Porter’s Five Forces
• Visioning

Strategic Frameworks

• OGTM – Objectives, Goals, Tactics, Measures
• OGSM – Objectives, Goals, Strategies, Measures
• VSEM – Vision, Strategy, Execution, Metrics

Key Performance Indicators and Other Metrics

• Working capital
• Debt to equity ratio
• Current ratio
• Return on equity
• Consumer acquisition cost to lifetime value
• Progress reports and dashboards

Writing the Actual Plan

• When to use the right tools and how to select it
• Single page strategic plans?
• Plan development
• Plan presentation

Performing a Gap Analysis

• Identify areas of improvement
• Analyze operations
• Define Objectives
• Define gap
• Create plan

Workflows for Revisions

• Annual and leadership reviews
• Initiation and communication
• Updating the plan

Change Management

• Change management tools and process
  • Readiness assessments
  • Communication planning
  • Sponsorship and stakeholder roadmaps
  • Training
  • Resistance management
  • Employee feedback
  • Change reinforcement
  • Results management
• Change management potential failures

John Nolte, GIS Manager – Administrative Services, Denver Water

John M. Nolte, GISP is the GIS Manager for Administrative Services at Denver Water in Denver, Colorado.  He is responsible for managing the spatial analytics GIS group for the utility and is working with data analytics and asset management.  John has 10 years’ experience in water and wastewater utility and was previously a state-certified water and wastewater professional.  He has extensive knowledge of asset management and the use of GIS to analyze infrastructure.  He has also been a manager in GIS for over ten years and teaches leadership and management courses specific to the GIS profession.  He currently serves on the board of directors of URISA International and is treasurer of the local Rocky Mountain Chapter of URISA.  John is also a member of the GIS Advisory team for Emily Griffith Technical College in Denver where he helps build structures for curriculum and study goals for the certificate program.

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