A Strategic Plan is the critical document that ensures that everyone involved in the building, maintaining, and promoting of the Great Divide Trail is aligned in vision and action. A Strategic Plan sets the objectives and focus; it provides insight on current activities, a means of prioritizing future activities, and the ability to evaluate the success of these actions.
In 2024, the Great Divide Trail Association undertook a comprehensive strategic planning process to realign its long-term goals. This process began with an in-depth environmental scan and extensive outreach to stakeholders to gather diverse perspectives. The Strategic Planning Committee formulated key questions to obtain critical insights from each stakeholder group. The collected data was then analyzed and presented to the Board. This environmental survey informed a thorough Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) analysis, which in turn formed the basis of our self-evaluation.
The key finding from this exercise is that the GDTA undertakes a lot of work and is succeeding in its mission – there is a lot of great work going on, and it needs to continue. At the same time, the SWOT exercise highlighted a handful of key foundational areas that the GDTA needs to prioritize in the coming years. These have become our Strategic Priorities (page 9) and cover aspects of the Trail, the Association, and our partnerships. By providing focus on these specific areas, we will be able to increase momentum for activities in support of these areas.
Concurrently, the Board and Strategic Planning Committee have reviewed and updated the GDTA’s Mission, Vision, and Values to ensure they reflect our current priorities and aspirations. This document outlines the outcomes of these efforts, including the refined strategic plan and the updated mission, vision, and values.