Due to the unprecedented rapid spread of COVID-19 in 2020 and the subsequent rapid changes in the political and economic environment, public organizations in 2021 are facing various global crises. In this crisis, public organizations must efficiently inject limited resources and capabilities in accordance with priorities, making accurate analysis of the internal and external environment and establishing and implementing rational strategies more important. Based on this awareness of problems, this study aims to find ways to improve the efficiency and performance of public organizations in response to rapid changes in the administrative environment and the increase in various demands. To this end, the strategic planning theory will be reviewed through the literature, and based on this, the planning status of public organizations will be analyzed, and the direction of development will be suggested.
Based on the strategic planning theory, it is expected that it will be a basic study to effectively apply strategic planning to public organizations that carry out innovation-related tasks such as research and development and innovation diffusion. To this end, first, we explored the concept and characteristics of strategic planning through theoretical considerations on strategic planning and prior research, and examined the need for strategic planning by identifying the positive value of strategic planning. In addition, we examined the applicability of the model to public organizations in Korea by examining representative theoretical models of strategic planning presented by Hudak (1985), David (1997), Allison & Kaye (1997), and Bryson (2017). Second, we investigated strategic planning examples of domestic and foreign public organizations, including the US Federal Government case, the US Audit Office (GAO) case, NASA case, and Korea e-government construction case. Through this, we looked at the utilization of strategic planning, success factors, and recent trends, and found common ground among successful domestic and foreign cases by introducing strategic planning. Third, Bryson, a representative theorist in strategic planning, examined the steps presented by Bryson, 2017 and compared and analyzed the planning process of the Rural Development Administration, a public organization in Korea, over the past decade.
Policy implications presented in relation to the utilization of strategic plans for the improvement of public organizations' performance based on research results are as follows: First, the participation of various stakeholders in the strategic formation process should be strengthened. In particular, in order to promote communication and cooperation within the organization, various efforts should be incorporated, such as removing the cross-departmental partition, building trust among members, activating information sharing through digital transformation, and exercising leadership. Secondly, a systematic strategic formation system must be established. We propose the use of eight approaches to identifying strategic issues as identified in Step 5 of Bryson's 10-step planning process model (identifying strategic issues). Furthermore, we propose the utilization of three approaches (step 5 method, visual strategy mapping, principle-focused strategy formulation) revealed in step 6 (forming strategies for issue management). Third, in order to enhance the feasibility of strategic planning in the execution and evaluation of strategies, it is necessary to improve planning capabilities at an organizational level. The curriculum for improving planning competence shall be expanded and strengthened in the educational programs of the affiliated educational institution (the Rural Human Resources Development Center). In addition, in order to improve the capabilities of the self-evaluation committee, it is proposed to manage a multi-faceted pool of human resources with expertise in the agricultural industry by database (DB).
In conclusion, strategic planning cannot be achieved only by the efforts of the planning and performance management personnel. When the participation of many stakeholders inside and outside the public organization and the active will of the head of the agency are combined, the most effective strategic planning will be established and implemented and will can lead to improved performance of public organizations.