Context:
Johnson County Community Health Services provides essential public health services to residents of Johnson County, Missouri through a team of approximately 32 employees. The department's previous strategic plan dated to 2016-2017 was nearly a decade old and leadership was ready to chart a new course.
Challenge:
The department wanted to take a more proactive position: building toward future accreditation, strengthening community partnerships, and improving data-driven decision making. But the process needed to be efficient. With a lean team and limited budget, a long, drawn-out planning process wasn't an option. The bigger challenge was producing a plan that staff would actually own and use, rather than file away.
Solution:
Platform Civic Strategies facilitated a focused, leadership-driven process:
Conducted a virtual kickoff with the administrator and leadership team to align on scope, timeline, and decision-making
Reviewed the previous strategic plan, existing health data, and relevant organizational documents
Designed and analyzed a staff and board survey to surface priorities and themes
Developed a strategic snapshot — including a SWOT analysis — to ground the planning sessions in current reality
Facilitated two in-person working sessions with the leadership team to set goals, define strategies, and assign ownership
Drafted the full strategic plan and a brief visual executive summary
Presented the final plan to the Board and supported adoption
The result is a focused, practical plan that sets clear 3–5 year priorities, aligns with public health accreditation requirements, and gives the department real metrics for tracking progress.