ABSTRACT
The objective of this chapter is to put strategic planning and management in the public sector in a contemporary context. Strategic planning is generally perceived to work and produce beneficial outcomes in the public sector. It helps senior managers become clearer about the future direction of an organization, about paths to future success and about a vision of the future for staff. The chapter examines ideas about the difference between strategic planning and management, and the benefits of strategic planning reported by managers in the public sector. In the literature on management in the private sector one of the earliest tendencies was to refer to strategic planning or corporate planning rather than strategic management. International bodies such as the UNDP and OECD have encouraged governments to improve capabilities for public governance through placing greater emphasis on strategy and increasing the expertise of the civil service in strategic planning.
