CRP Strategic Planning & Execution 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which strategic planning tool analyzes internal strengths and weaknesses alongside external opportunities and threats?
- Balanced Scorecard
- SWOT Analysis (Correct answer)
- PEST Analysis
- Gantt Chart
Correct answer: SWOT Analysis
SWOT Analysis evaluates internal Strengths and Weaknesses combined with external Opportunities and Threats to inform strategic decisions.
Question 2: A recreation department's strategic plan should primarily be aligned with which overarching document?
- The department's annual budget
- The agency's or municipality's comprehensive master plan (Correct answer)
- The national NRPA guidelines
- The department head's personal vision statement
Correct answer: The agency's or municipality's comprehensive master plan
A recreation department's strategic plan must align with the broader agency or municipal master plan to ensure coherent community-wide goal achievement.
Question 3: When setting strategic goals, the SMART framework requires goals to be Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and:
- Realistic
- Resourced
- Time-bound (Correct answer)
- Reviewed
Correct answer: Time-bound
The 'T' in SMART stands for Time-bound, meaning each goal must have a defined deadline or timeframe for completion.
Question 4: During the environmental scan phase of strategic planning, a recreation agency reviews demographic shifts in its service area. This is an example of analyzing:
- Internal weaknesses
- External opportunities or threats (Correct answer)
- Organizational culture
- Financial capacity
Correct answer: External opportunities or threats
Demographic shifts in the service area are external factors that can represent either opportunities or threats in a strategic environmental scan.
Question 5: A recreation manager notices that program participation data consistently underperforms against strategic targets. The FIRST corrective action should be to:
- Replace underperforming staff immediately
- Analyze root causes of the performance gap (Correct answer)
- Reduce the strategic targets to match actual performance
- Eliminate the underperforming programs
Correct answer: Analyze root causes of the performance gap
Analyzing root causes of the performance gap provides evidence-based insight before any corrective action is implemented.
Question 6: Which planning horizon is most commonly associated with a recreation agency's strategic plan?
- 1 year
- 3–5 years (Correct answer)
- 10–20 years
- 25+ years
Correct answer: 3–5 years
Strategic plans typically cover a 3–5 year horizon, balancing long-term vision with realistic forecasting and adaptability.
Question 7: Stakeholder engagement during strategic planning is MOST critical because it:
- Speeds up the approval process
- Ensures the plan reflects diverse community needs and increases buy-in (Correct answer)
- Reduces the cost of plan development
- Limits legal liability for the agency
Correct answer: Ensures the plan reflects diverse community needs and increases buy-in
Engaging stakeholders ensures the strategic plan reflects diverse community needs and builds the political and community support needed for successful implementation.
CRP Strategic Planning & Execution 2
Which strategic planning tool analyzes internal strengths and weaknesses alongside external opportunities and threats?