Managers of organisations, whether public or private, require strategic planning for a range of reasons, including:

• To provide a framework for decisions or for securing support/approval.
• To provide the basis for more detailed planning.
• To communicate the business to others in order to inform, motivate and involve.
• To assist in benchmarking and performance monitoring.

Strategic plans often provide the foundation for a more detailed business plan. The business plan will describe the organisation and its concept, its objectives, its strategies, the market it is in and its financial forecasts.