Master Plan – True Vision Demands Real Clarity

The diverse environments of campus, school district, municipality and city are all supremely complex. There are now too many separate elements, from ten year vision to what most needs to be done in the next ten weeks, for decisions to be taken safely without a robust framework in place. The Master Plan from Schmidt associates provides just such a framework.

The Destination Defines The Journey

To travel in hope, with numerous surprises along the route, may be a delightful vacation prospect. But in the world of multi-million-dollar budgets and multiple stakeholders in large and complex built estates, it is at the very least disconcerting. The situation calls for, in fact demands, a plan. The Schmidt Associates Master Plan answers the case in three critically important regards. It establishes the resources available today. It builds a picture of where an organization or a community wants to be tomorrow (where “tomorrow” might be a decade from now or more). And it determines the key steps required to reach the desired state.

That’s the overview. In reality, no two contexts are ever identical. There will always be a range of stakeholders, situations and objectives that are unique to each client. But the principle holds good: a shared understanding of clear objectives replaces “stuff happens” with genuine progress toward a goal. The Master Plan is not however a mechanistic approach. At Schmidt Associates, we are completely committed to consensus. The foundation of all our planning is the involvement of a wide range of key stakeholders. The output is certainly an “intentional” approach to management and development of the built estate. But the inputs are very definitely the intentions of each community.

Many Years From Now …

With a Master Plan in place, short-term and long-term objectives are clearly identified. We can confidently build out a strategy to pursue goals and implement values, while maintaining trusted transparency with the community. Within this framework decisions of all weights, from the every day to the once in a lifetime, can be taken in context and made to deliver against clearly identified benefits. That’s a clear benefit for today. And it’s crucial for tomorrow for a range of key reasons from improved physical functionality to enhanced fundraiser appeal. For so many institutions and organizations, reputation and profile have never been more critical. A Master Plan conveys purpose and confidence. And people of all kinds will tend to gravitate to the purposeful and the confident, today and tomorrow.