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Strategic planning in the public sector means the government use of strategic planning, which is normally reserved for business organizations.

According to the Balanced Scorecard Institute: Strategy Management Group "Strategic planning is an organizational management activity that is used to set priorities, focus energy and resources, strengthen operations, ensure that employees and other stakeholders are working toward common goals, establish agreement around intended outcomes/results, and assess and adjust the organization's direction in response to a changing environment." Planers use strategic planning to guide their organization towards their intended goals. Strategic planning produces result-oriented plans that look towards the future by assessing the existing conditions and determining what course of action is necessary in order to move towards their intended goal they have for the future of their organization.

Richard D. Young stated that there are four key concepts that appear in definitions when explaining strategic planning. Those are the following: The first is Vision: "Developing a common "vision for the future" or a "conceptualization" of where an organization wants or desires to be in the long term. The second is Assessment: appraising or determining where an organization is currently (I.E. its goals, objectives, activities, results,etc.) The third is Strategies: Identifying how an organization will actually realize (via concrete and predetermined actions)its mission, goals, and objectives. The fourth is Measurements: Evaluating the progress of an organization in the implementation of its action strategies."

As stated before strategic planning dictates priorities, energy, and resources to ensure that employees and other stakeholders are working towards a common goal. Strategic planners in a management position have to understand the direction of their organizations, and the behavior methods of their public organization. Strategic planning and systems thinking operate in direct correlation to better manage the public sector of our government. "Step by step processes with definite objectives and end products that can be implemented and evaluated" help public organizations better define the overall mission. Strategic planners use systems thinking to understand "how the public sector interacts with other constituents of a system- that work together to produce a common behavior"

Advantages of Strategic Planning
Author Paul Posner in the 2012 journal of The Public Manager offers the suggestion that if government agencies can develop more sophisticated models and metric systems it will better be able to more clearly identify a government agency's contributions to complex issues and it will be able to better meet its long-term goals when it comes to developing valid outcomes and results that government can use. This makes it possible that government agencies will be able to attract and retain motivated people to fill vital positions and create a federal hiring processes that is more responsive than those in the private sector and a federal compensation scheme that is more flexible or performance focused as its private competitors. Paul then developed a promising two-step approach to the implementation of strategic planning and it showed positive results when it was used by a some government agencies. First it examines the agency's processes, organizational, design, and contextual aspects and top management leadership and commitment dimensions. Second, it examined those results and the measures of strategic planning effectiveness from those charged with strategic planning Author Francis Stokes Berry in the 1994 Public Administration Review lists these factors as necessary for the successful implementation of strategic planning as fiscal health of an agency,the larger the agency-the more likely strategic planning is happen, during gubernatorial administrations cycles happen, when agencies work closely with the private sector, and the greater the extent of government agencies in public reach. Author Sergio Fernandez in the Australian Journal of Public Administration provided a study of public sector reform in the United States and how frontline public sector employees are vital innovators based on data from  the 2006 Federal Human Capital Survey. Fernandez lists how this bottom-up innovation approach is an incubators of re-inventions, where ideas are discovered, learned, borrowed, adopted, and evolve through trial and error and is introduced throughout other agencies. It is also street-level bureaucrats who also influence the final form of the innovation and this is encouraging point for government agencies to keep building on this method. Author Paul Posner explains that the advantages of having government checks and balances in the Journal of the Public Manager which limit improper activity within government and outside of government such political appointments that increasingly layer the government positions with political leaders of close association.

Strategic planning is a productive tool that produces many benefits to help public organizations work better together. There are five main benefits that boast strategic planning implementation in the public sector. "1) Forces public organizations to look into the future and provide an opportunity to influence the future with a proactive role; 2) Provides a better awareness of the needs, and of the organizational related issues and environment; 3) Helps define the overall mission of the organization and focuses on the objectives; 4) Provides a sense of direction, community, effective staffing, and leadership; 5) Plugs everyone into thee system and provides standards of accountability for people, programs, and allocated resources". Result-oriented plans set agendas for organizations and creates focus for all stakeholders on the organization. "The key to strategic planning is the implementation of result-oriented plans, rather than goal-oriented plans." Result-oriented plans will keep the organization focused on a common goal which is the foundation of strategic planning.

Disadvantages of Strategic Planning
In a March 2013 report provided by the United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) it explains why it is hard for agencies to identifying the members of their acquisition workforce in addition with obtaining training for this particular workforce as a challenge to reaching the fundamental step towards keeping and retaining the best candidates for important jobs. retrieved on November 23, 2013 In similar findings, the GAO explains how some of the skills that are necessary to achieve Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's (EEOC) strategic planning goals state that the current strategies to address the gap and sustain critical skills are not based on identified gaps. Also, the EEOC is currently receiving less positive progress reports toward achieving its human capital goals because of the goals are not directly measurable or linked to its programming results. Author Aimee L. Franklin credits the passage of the Administrative Procedures Act of 1996, the Government Performance and Results Act 1933, and the administrative Procedures Act of 1946 as control mechanisms to deter government employees from acting in their self-interest and not society's interests. Formal Controls are presidential executive orders and legislative laws similar to employee handbook of national laws to discourage some behavior and it is more effective than informal controls such as ethical codes describing undesirable behaviors and are adopted by professional organizations.

Elements

 * Elements that consist in public sector organizations vary from the focus of specific organization. A study that was conducted by Theodore H. Poister and
 * Gregory Streib claimed that the most frequent elements used were the development of goals, objectives, visions for the future, reviews of their organizational missions and action plans.
 * These key elements are vital in having a successful strategic plan in the public sector because each element is unique in its own case. The tasks that each of these elements have can be defined differently depending on the organizations view's. The list below shows a broad task for each of these crucial elements:
 * Goals: the broad based strategies are sufficient to reach the organization's mission.
 * Objectives: are used to achieve the organizations goals and vision. These strategies are measurable, specific, action oriented, and realistic.
 * Visions: these are simple statements that the organization used as a future road map. These visions should allow enough room for all areas of impact but small enough to define their path.
 * Reviews: are used when the strategic plans are implemented by the organization. This is a very significant element in strategic planning. Reviews are used to monitor the success of the plan as well as the challenges that are being faced. When reviews are implemented to the plan they must find areas of weakness and reevaluate their goals and objective to fix the issues that have affected their original plan.
 * Mission: this element defines the organizations image. This statement usually includes the core goals and values of the organization.
 * Action Plan: the action plan is used when the plan has been outlines. The action plan will prioritized the organizations focuses and make sure that the strategy being implemented will meet the criteria for their plan as well as if the plan is possible.
 * Visions: these are simple statements that the organization used as a future road map. These visions should allow enough room for all areas of impact but small enough to define their path.
 * Reviews: are used when the strategic plans are implemented by the organization. This is a very significant element in strategic planning. Reviews are used to monitor the success of the plan as well as the challenges that are being faced. When reviews are implemented to the plan they must find areas of weakness and reevaluate their goals and objective to fix the issues that have affected their original plan.
 * Mission: this element defines the organizations image. This statement usually includes the core goals and values of the organization.
 * Action Plan: the action plan is used when the plan has been outlines. The action plan will prioritized the organizations focuses and make sure that the strategy being implemented will meet the criteria for their plan as well as if the plan is possible.

Interconnections

 * Interconnection between the elements are broad in range because neither overlaps another in priority; rather these elements work together to meet a common goal. According to The Exploring Strategy Model developed by Gerry Johnson, Kevan Scholes, and Richard Whittington claims that the elements are interconnected through strategic choices, actions, and position. Each of these elements can be sub-categorized into their specific category in which they fall under. Strategic Position is mostly with the goals of the organization as well as mission. Strategic choice involves the direction in which the strategy might move. Strategy in action is concerned with the strategy in actual practice. Interconnection between the elements must always be working together in order to be make the organization successful.
 * Interconnection between the elements are broad in range because neither overlaps another in priority; rather these elements work together to meet a common goal. According to The Exploring Strategy Model developed by Gerry Johnson, Kevan Scholes, and Richard Whittington claims that the elements are interconnected through strategic choices, actions, and position. Each of these elements can be sub-categorized into their specific category in which they fall under. Strategic Position is mostly with the goals of the organization as well as mission. Strategic choice involves the direction in which the strategy might move. Strategy in action is concerned with the strategy in actual practice. Interconnection between the elements must always be working together in order to be make the organization successful.

Function and Purpose
The function and purpose of strategic planning in the public sector can be very broad, despite strategic planning being primarily designed for the private sector. The primary purpose for strategic planning in the public sector is primarily used for managing complex networks. . Complex networks in the public sector are different than that of the private sector, as different assets, projects, and other networks are being managed and require a subjective approach to said management. An example of a similarity between the two however are IT networks. While different in their own right, IT networks require the same form of management because they revolve around computers and IT systems, though the applications of these may be different. Urban planning is also an example of the public sector utilizing strategic planning for their benefit. Often times in the process of urban planning and the development of cities and urban design, collaboration with the private sector is almost always guaranteed due to the interest and potential investment of private resources that could be potentially looking to construct an establishment designed for