IPR Praha: Case study: Strategy as a Living Document

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Prague 7 began developing a new strategy in 2020, two years before the previous one expired. The new approach reflected a shift in how the district viewed strategic planning and a desire for a simpler, more practical framework.

The municipal district commissioned an external provider to help clarify its priorities and lay the groundwork for the new strategy, which was then completed internally. The result is a 13-page “living” document that is continuously updated and formally reapproved each year.

This article is based on an interview with Václav Kříž, who served as Head of Strategic Management Department at Prague 7 until the end of 2024.

The approach is: “Don’t be afraid to do things differently.”

“Historically, our strategy was a conventional, fairly comprehensive document, following the traditional structure of analytical, strategic and implementation sections. We tried to work with it, but it was too complex and the different sections were not always well connected. Overall, it may have been an unnecessarily complicated management system.”

Process

How the strategy was developed

“We were aware that we did not have the capacity for extensive mapping and a large-scale process, so we were looking for an approach to strategic planning that would actually make sense in our context. We found a provider who shared our perspective and was not afraid to try doing things differently with us.”

Prague 7 selected an external provider through a customary public procurement process to help develop the new strategy. The main goal of the eight-month collaboration with GovLab was to identify what really matters to Prague 7 in its strategy and how it could be structured to make it genuinely useful in practice, continuously worked with, and responsive to the district’s changing needs.

GovLab brought an outside perspective and showed that strategic planning could be done more flexibly and with more room for experimentation. This helped the strategy manager find a balance between the formal requirements of local government and the administration’s actual needs.

“For institutions and people to have meaningful conversations about where they are going and why, they need a high degree of transparency, discipline and, above all, a safe environment.”

What Does Prague 7’s Current Strategy Look Like

The new approach resulted in a concise 13-page strategy. Instead of providing detailed guidelines for specific situations, it offers a simple framework for thinking, acting and guiding discussions. It helps the district administration respond to changing needs of residents and work more effectively.

The Prague 7 strategy is:

CONTINUOUS

It requires ongoing, not just occasional, attention from the people involved.

LIVING

It reacts to new needs, priorities and changes within the administration.

DEVELOPMENT-ORIENTED

It enables development in different directions depending on the administration’s needs and capacity at a given time.

HONEST

It reflects the administration’s internal functioning and gives responsibility back to the people involved.

REALISTIC

It reflects what is actually happening and what needs to be addressed.

UNEVEN

Its development varies according to available capacity, vision and management approach in different areas.

LEARNING

It is reviewed and adapted every year.

BUILT ON PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY

It is rooted in the thinking and actions of the people who work with it, allowing everyone to see the strategy as their own.

How the strategy works

“How we use the strategy depends on the needs and capacity of each department. It can be used in depth or in a very minimalist way.”

Responsible department:

Strategic Management Department
Established during the implementation of the strategy; initially had only one strategic management coordinator
Today, it has a Head of Department (strategy management coordinator), two analysts and an ISO 9001 Quality Manager

The strategy is built around:

Vision – Why are we doing this? What do we want Prague 7 to be?
Goals – Where do we want to go? What will help us fulfil the vision?
Interventions – How will we get there?
Projects – What will we do in practice?
Citizen participation through systematically gathering information and data

Key thematic areas defined by Prague 7:

Children
People facing social or health-related disadvantage
Public space for everyone
An open, resident-oriented local government

Working groups:

Each thematic area has its own working group
Each group has two lines of responsibility: political and administrative, with one designated as the primary lead
The political lead is responsible for the vision and goals, while the administrative lead is responsible for interventions and for individual projects within the action plan
The political lead sets the focus of the meetings based on the vision
The leads establish the framework for the group’s work and can invite external guests or experts to meetings as needed
Groups meet four times a year. Strategic management is also integrated into other administrative processes between meetings. The aim is not to create additional meetings, but to connect strategic management with existing agendas and workflows
Groups complete evaluation templates every quarter

Coordination group:

Core members: City District Secretary, political lead for strategic management, strategy manager, analysts, Head of the Strategic Management Department, Head of Communications, and ISO 9001 Quality Manager
Meets once a month
Oversees the direction of strategic management across the administration, monitors quality and supports the working groups

Evaluation templates:

A simple internal evaluation tool using a traffic-light system for each category – vision, goals and interventions
Originally as PDF forms, but now in Excel due to ease of use and access
Completed quarterly and reviewed by the Strategic Management Department

Data collection and citizen participation:

Within the administration – analysing evaluation data, meetings with responsible staff and collecting feedback from working groups
With the public and other stakeholders – analysing existing data and conducting ad hoc surveys through the district’s own channels, with the scope and frequency determined by current needs
- Methods include surveys, focus groups and ethnographic research
Collaboration with external providers when additional research or analysis is needed
Participation is also part of spatial development projects
Data is analysed by the Strategic Management Department’s analysts

Action plan

A set of projects linked to the implementation of the strategy and planned for a defined period
- Originally covering one year; it now covers a three-year period
Each project has a political and administrative lead
Linked to the district budget
Reviewed every quarter

Updating and approval

The strategy is updated throughout the year based on the evaluation templates and quarterly reviews of the action plan
A new version is formally approved each year by the Prague 7 District Council and Assembly

Experience with using the strategy

“When we introduced annual updates and approval of the strategy, it was new for the administration and therefore challenging. Not everyone initially realised that they would need to regularly reflect on the strategy and provide the necessary input. At the same time, people saw the value in having a simpler document.”

Over the first three years of implementing the new strategy, Prague 7 received considerable recognition for its innovative approach. The former Head of Strategic Management Department also observed positive changes in action planning and in the way processes are organised across the district administration. He also considers the expansion of the department’s capacity by three new positions to be a success. Today, he sees strategic management as indispensable.

The concise strategic document, which requires continuous attention and use, has nevertheless brought new challenges. A less extensive document does not mean less work to maintain and implement it. What matters is that managers and teamleaders have a clear understanding of where their work is heading and why. The success of the strategy depends on the responsibility of the people implementing it, as well as on regular evaluation and learning from the information collected. The strategy provides a framework for thinking about how the administration operates and where it is heading, but the document alone cannot ensure that people will actually use it.

“The goal is not to create a perfect document, but for the administration to make it its own, for people to accept it and want to use it.”

Final tips

1. Clearly define what the administration needs

“If the municipal office doesn’t know what it wants, providers today can deliver a 200-page text generated by artificial intelligence, charge a large sum for it, and then nothing will happen with it.”

2. Simplify the document as much as possible

“We could have simplified the strategy even further, cut everything that was unnecessary, kept only the essential minimum and focused our capacity on that. We could have defined the key principles, developed them from that minimum and explored how they worked in practice. The strategy should be designed for the people who will actually use it, recognising that they do not have the capacity to devote a great deal of attention to it.”

3. In public procurement, assess quality and not just price

“We also received a completely generic proposal that gave the impression that only the names and categories had been changed.”

4. Build on real processes within the administration, not theoretical principles

“Don’t try to design the perfect framework, certainly not based on theories or ideological approaches. The key principle is that everything should happen continuously and correspond to the processes that actually take place within the administration. Don’t be afraid to use your intuition and set things up in a way that makes sense in the local context.”