Policy planning

Implementable and feasible

Local governments are often confronted with the challenge of preparing a multi-year plan that not only sets ambitious policy goals, but is also implementable and feasible in practical terms. Moore Public offers a structured and integrated approach to developing a strategic multi-year plan that addresses the unique needs and future vision of each municipality.

Environment analysis

A clear analysis as the starting point

We support you in preparing an environment analysis, which forms the basis for the multi-year plan and is a mandatory component of policy development. Our approach starts with preparing or updating the municipality profile.

The environment analysis allows local administrations to examine both their direct environment and broader societal trends. In so doing, the wishes and requirements of all stakeholders (such as citizens, associations and businesses) are identified. This analysis is essential for developing suitable policy. Systematically identifying external trends - such as demographic, economic and ecological developments - provides a solid basis for the external analysis.

Internal analysis
 At the same time, we conduct an internal analysis of the municipal organisation, based on the principles of the Guidelines on Organisational Control.  We identify both the strengths and areas for improvement of the organisation and test them against the organisational control and the performance of the municipal operations.

Strategic tool for policy-making
The analyses are not a goal in themselves, but act as a strategic tool for developing informed local policy. They ensure that the policy goals match both the current reality and the future needs of the community. The environment analysis results in an inspiration note, in which the administrations make recommendations to the new policy team to respond to the trends from the analysis. This document acts as a compass for municipal ambitions and strategic priorities in the long term.

In addition, the environment analysis acts as an important communication tool to the public, in which future policy choices are clearly explained.

Citizen participation

Involvement of citizens and staff

The citizen survey is part of the environment analysis and is an important preparatory step for the multi-year plan. This survey is crucial to allow residents and entrepreneurs to have their say. It helps the administration better understand and respond to the needs and expectations of the community. The survey can help gauge satisfaction with different policy areas, such as mobility, safety, environment and municipal services. This process offers the municipality valuable insights with which it can develop a supported and future-oriented policy that is in line with both social trends and the expectations of citizens.

A plan with broad support is essential for realising the policy goals. At Moore Public, we have developed a wide range of citizen participation tools that allow us to organise citizen participation tailored to every municipality. We take various factors into account in this regard, including demographic diversity (reaching both young and old), digital literacy, centre versus periphery areas, and language barriers. These tools can be used both ad hoc and structurally, depending on the needs of the municipality.

Financial balance

Financial sustainability and realism

Financial feasibility forms the basis of a realistic multi-year plan. Based on the identified priorities, we conduct a comprehensive financial analysis to identify both investment capacity and potential risks. This allows the municipality to ensure a balanced allocation of resources and ensures that budgets are accurately linked to policy objectives and action plans. The result is a financially sustainable plan that provides room for responsible growth.

In addition, the state of the financial balance is presented, with a breakdown into:

• Situational balance: the available budgetary outcome.
• Structural balance: the adjusted self-financing margin.

Multi-year plan (strategic + financial)

Within our team at Moore Public, we see our expertise in policy, strategy and financial management as a key asset in creating a robust multi-year plan. This plan sets a clear course for the future and ensures that municipalities put themselves in a strong position, ready to respond effectively to the opportunities and challenges of tomorrow. Moreover, we have extensive experience in garnering broad support, both within the administration and between the Management Team and the College of Mayor and Aldermen. Our process links policy, resources, staff and results, meaning that the plan is not only strategic but also implementable. The multi-year plan, with the strategic objectives and financial overview, includes the following components:

• Preparation: A sustainable multi-year plan is rooted in both the strategic vision of the administration and its core priorities. We guide the municipality in bringing together the inspiration note and the substantive priorities of the administrative agreement. The administrative agreement focuses on the policy goals of the new administrative team, while the inspiration note provides strategic direction from the administration. By integrating these elements, a coherent plan is formed which translates the ambitions into concrete and implementable actions.
• Strategic note: This note offers an overview of the stated policy objectives, including action plans and actions, and the desired impact. We provide measurable objectives and differentiate between priority and non-priority policy.
• Financial note: Contains the link to budgets and cash flows (income and expenditure). It also presents the 'state of the financial balance', split into a situational balance (available budget result) and a structural balance (adjusted self-financing margin).
• Explanation: In the policy reports, only the necessary data are included which are required for policy and financial monitoring/approval. The explanation provides additional information to clarify the data in the reports.
• Documentation: This section supports the policy reports and is intended to substantiate, for example, the environment analysis (EA), list of affiliated entities, overview of policy areas, etc. This ensures transparency in the reports.