The Strategy Process of the City
In the public sector the strategy formulation process is a political process. The political parties represented in the municipal council decide on the strategic objectives of the municipality.
The strategy process of the City of Helsinki has several sub-processes:
- The extensive city-level strategy process with strategy formulation, alignment and evaluation is synchronized with the City Council's four-year term
- The annual sectoral strategy formulation process to implement the city strategy
- The annual sectoral strategy implementation process
- The annual sectoral strategy evaluation process
According to the Local Government Act, the City Council decides on the strategic objectives and goals of the city.
In Helsinki, the City Council formulates the common strategies for the city in the first year of a new City Council. The City Council evaluates the need for the realignment of the common strategies in the midterm of the council period. The City Council evaluates the results and effectiveness of the common strategies in the end of the council term.
The common strategies can be called the city strategy, and they are analogical to the corporate strategy in private sector companies.
The corporate level city strategy is implemented through a yearly strategy process by the city departments. The City Council and the City Board give the city departments guidance in January and February, emphasising certain themes of the four-year city strategy.
The formulation of the department strategy is a yearly process where the city departments update their strategy in connection with preparing their next year's budget proposals for committee and board approval in May.
The alignment of the city strategy and the department strategies prepared by operational civil servant managers is controlled in the budget negotiations in August.
The political approval of the strategies is negotiated between party groups in late autumn before submittal to the City Council for approval.
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