Background
Montgomery Planning is responsible for shaping the built and natural environment for our shared community, and we recently had the county’s long-awaited General Plan, Thrive Montgomery 2050, adopted for the next quarter-century of the county’s future. One way we’re building on that closer to home has been by developing our department’s first-ever internal strategic plan, which will guide how and why we do our work over the next five years.
We developed this plan in close consultation with staff, representatives from the County Council, and private-sector stakeholders in the development community. Ultimately, we created a call to action for how this department can have the greatest positive impact on residents—while also providing a workplace that nurtures employees and inspires growth.
The strategic plan is very much the beginning of a new era of our work. With this path forward defined, we will take steps to transition ideas into concrete actions that will inform our budget requests, department structure, and more.
This is a key piece in achieving our shared countywide vision of thriving, resilient communities for everyone, today and in the future.
The Strategic Plan Elements
Montgomery Planning’s Strategic Plan includes the following elements:
Vision (the ultimate good that we are working together to achieve): Thriving, resilient communities for everyone, today and in the future.
Mission (our unique role working in partnership to achieve our future vision): We collaboratively plan for equitable, sustainable and economically healthy communities.
Results (measurable, long-term impact we will achieve working partnership with others toward a shared vision):
- Accessible options for housing, employment, recreation and services.
- Engaged residents have a shared sense of belonging and purpose
- Healthy economy benefitting businesses and individuals
- Environmental health and resilience enhanced through land use, development and improved infrastructure.
Values (shared beliefs about how we will execute our mission and achieve our vision):
- Transparency + integrity
- Diversity + inclusion
- People + the environment
- Objective, data-driven decision making
- Equitable outcomes
Priorities (the most important areas of focus to advance our vision over a period of years):
- Employees
- Communities/Partners
- Efficiency
- Innovation
- Leadership
Strategies and Actions (a cohesive set of planned actions and functional tasks in pursuit of measurable impact): the department’s work program requests.
Our Strategic Planning Process
Led by our Strategic Planning Committee (below) with robust participation from our staff through a series of visioning, strategy, and feedback sessions, we began by listening to and learning from our constituencies of board members, partners, residents, and county leaders. Through one-on-one interviews, group feedback sessions, and surveys conducted by our planning consultants at Due East Partners, we gained clarity about our shared vision for the county, the Department’s unique role in propelling it, and how we can better work together to achieve it. Over the seven-month process, we engaged with nearly 700 stakeholders, including Board members, Department staff, members of partner organizations and agencies, and county residents:
- 68 staff members through internal survey
- 525 community members through external survey
- 105 number of external constituents through interviews (6), focus groups (24), and feedback sessions (75)
Key Takeaways on the Strategic Plan
Our new strategic plan is that framework, serving as our collective strategy for delivering a brighter, more resilient future for our community. The plan sets our shared vision, reaffirms our commitment to our core values, defines our unique mission, and outlines the strategies that will guide our work for the next five years. The multiyear strategic plan will not only define and prioritize our work but will also help us anticipate budgetary needs for future fiscal years.
At the center of the plan is our refreshed mission – to collaboratively plan equitable, sustainable, and economically healthy communities – and our refined vision – thriving, resilient communities for everyone, today and in the future.
These updated mission and vision statements are framed by our core values of transparency and integrity; diversity and inclusion; people and the environment; objective, data-driven decision-making; and equitable outcomes. Together, our mission, vision, and values serve as the foundation of our work.
The plan identifies five priority areas aligned with our values that will help us advance our mission and achieve our vision. These are:
- Employees – Increasing our impact starts with investing in the development and advancement of our current and future teams.
- Communities and Partners – Collaborating with intention, transparency, and integrity to increase our impact and overcome historic inequities.
- Efficiency – Improving process to deliver clear and consistent planning and development operations.
- Innovation – Support for staff to envision and develop strategies and tools to advance planning.
- Leadership – Advancing departmental excellence.
Within each priority area are specific strategies and key actions with measurable outcomes. When implemented with fidelity, this work will lead to:
- Accessible options for housing, employment, recreation, transportation, and services.
- Engaged residents with a shared sense of belonging and purpose.
- A healthy economy benefiting businesses and individuals.
- Environmental health and resilience enhanced through land use, development, and improved infrastructure.
The strategic plan is the beginning of our work, not the end. With a path forward defined, we will take steps to transition ideas into concrete actions that will inform our budget requests, department structure, and more.
Resources
- Montgomery Planning Strategic Plan Actions
- Montgomery Planning Strategic Plan Roadmap
- Montgomery Planning Board Staff Report on the Strategic Plan (October 24, 2024)
- Watch the October 24, 2024, Planning Board meeting presentation by Director Jason K. Sartori
I am thrilled to present to you the Montgomery Planning Strategic Plan for fiscal years 2025–2030. This plan is not just a document—it’s our collective strategy for delivering a brighter, more resilient future for our community. As the organization responsible for shaping the built and natural environment for our shared community, we invest our time and resources into creating plans and policies that strengthen our county’s economic competitiveness, sustain our environment, and support our commitment to equity. But to continue to effectively plan for the county’s future, we must purposefully plan for our department’s future.
This strategic plan serves as a roadmap for how we will prioritize and execute our work over the next five years. It sets our shared vision, reaffirms our commitment to our core values, defines our unique mission, and outlines the strategies that will guide our work. Grounded in many of the elements in Thrive Montgomery 2050, this plan is a call to action for how the Department will move our work forward having the greatest positive impact on Montgomery County’s residents.
This roadmap was developed with, for, and by planning stakeholders across our county, reflecting the voices of the many staff and community members who graciously contributed their insights throughout this process.
The strategic plan is the beginning of our work, not the end. With a path forward defined, we will take steps to transition ideas into concrete actions that will inform our budget requests, department structure, and more.
I am truly excited about what we will accomplish together for our county to achieve our vision of thriving, resilient communities for everyone, today and in the future.
- Montgomery Planning, part of The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC), is the lead organization responsible for shaping the built and natural environment for our shared community. Our work serves as a blueprint for the county’s growth and development.
- With the County’s land use plan for the future unanimously codified by the County Council in Thrive Montgomery 2050, it is essential that we have an internal framework that ensures the principles of Thrive are implemented efficiently, effectively, and with fidelity.
- Our new strategic plan is a framework that will serve as a collective strategy for delivering a brighter, more resilient future for our community. The plan sets our shared vision, reaffirms our commitment to our core values, defines our unique mission, and outlines the strategies that will guide our work for the next five years.
- The multiyear strategic plan will not only define and prioritize our work but will also help us anticipate budgetary needs for future fiscal years.
- Informed by insights gathered over the last seven months from nearly 700 stakeholders, including staff, partner organizations, and community members, this strategic plan is an actionable roadmap for how the Department will move our work forward with the greatest positive impact on Montgomery County’s residents.
- At the center of the plan is our refreshed mission—to collaboratively plan equitable, sustainable, and economically healthy communities—and our refined vision of thriving, resilient communities for everyone, today and in the future.
- These updated mission and vision statements are framed by our core values of transparency and integrity; diversity and inclusion; people and the environment; objective, data-driven decision-making; and equitable outcomes. Together, our mission, vision, and values serve as the foundation of our work.
- The plan identifies five priority areas aligned with our values that will help us advance our mission and achieve our vision. These are:
- Employees: Increasing our impact starts with investing in the development and advancement of our current and future teams
- Communities and Partners: Collaborating with intention, transparency, and integrity to increase our impact and overcome historic inequities.
- Efficiency: Improving process to deliver clear and consistent planning and development operations
- Innovation: Support for staff to envision and develop strategies and tools to advance planning.
- Leadership: Advancing departmental excellence
- Within each priority area are specific strategies and key actions with measurable outcomes. For example, when implemented with fidelity, this work will lead to:
- Accessible options for housing, employment, recreation, transportation, and services
- Engaged residents with a shared sense of belonging and purpose
- A healthy economy benefiting businesses and individuals
- Environmental health and resilience enhanced through land use, development, and improved infrastructure
- The strategic plan is the beginning of our work, not the end. With a path forward defined, we will take steps to transition ideas into concrete actions that will inform our budget requests, department structure, and more.
- As professional planners, it’s important for us to develop an organizational plan to guide ourselves in how we plan for communities and implement Thrive.
- The world is constantly changing, and it’s easy to get pulled in different directions as new opportunities arise—or mired down when there are unexpected challenges. To be most effective, we need a guide that clearly articulates goals, areas of focus, and strategies for advancing our work.
- Just like the Department approaches our planning projects, we need a framework for decision-making, developing timelines, and resource allocation. Thrive Montgomery 2050 and new leadership at Montgomery Planning provide an opportunity for the Department to chart our new path forward.
- Led by our Strategic Planning Committee with robust participation from our staff through a series of visioning, strategy, and feedback sessions, we began by listening to and learning from our constituencies of board members, partners, residents, and County leaders.
- Through one-on-one interviews, group feedback sessions, and surveys conducted by our planning consultants at Due East Partners, we gained clarity about our shared vision for the County, the Department’s unique role in propelling it, and how we can better work together to achieve it.
- Over the eight-month process, we engaged with nearly 700 stakeholders, including Department staff, members of partner organizations and agencies, and County residents.
- Unanimously passed by the County Council in 2022, Thrive Montgomery 2050 is the long-term land use vision for creating a vibrant economy, equity for all residents, and a healthy environment.
- The Department’s strategic plan is our roadmap for how we will prioritize efforts, offer an outstanding work culture and professional growth opportunities for employees, enhance our organizational structure, and strengthen relationships with partners and the community.