This toolkit, written by Rick James, is a concise guide to strategic planning intended specifically for use by small non-governmental organisations (NGOs). The toolkit is one of five produced as part of the Strengthening Small Organisations with Big Ambitions project (2021-22), which aimed to strengthen small UK-based NGOs working in international development. However, it can be used by any small NGO; those who make grants to partners and those who implement work directly with communities on the ground.

In addition to the PDF version downloadable below, there is also an accessible, online version of this toolkit made using Gitbook. This version is lighter and more suitable than the PDF for users on low broadband or who can only access the web via mobile phones. It also features image descriptions for visually impaired users and/or in case the images do not load correctly.


Strengthening Small Organisations with Big Ambitions is a two-year project aiming to support small UK charities working internationally, to improve their resilience and provide more effective support to partner organisations and communities overseas. Funding is provided by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) through a Small Charities Challenge Fund (SCCF) Capacity Development Grant.


This toolkit is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. You can view a copy of the license here.

Download:

BA SP Toolkit

.pdf (1.21mb)

Download:

Strategic planning tool 1 - PESTLE analysis template

.docx (0.09mb)

Download:

Strategic planning tool 2 SWOT analysis template v2

.docx (0.08mb)

Download:

Strategic planning tool 3 - prioritisation activity guide

.docx (0.27mb)