What are Strategic Issues?

Strategic issues are broad policy questions or critical challenges that affect an organization's mandates, missions, values, clients, customers, etc.

Strategic issues involve conflicts of one sort or another.

1. The issue should be phrased as a challenge the organization can do something about.
2. The issue should clarify what, in terms of the mission, mandates and internal and external factors, makes it a strategic issue.
3. The issue should outline the consequences of failing to address the issue.

How can FGCA strengthen the value of member public information officers to their client organizations?

External factors such as privatization, i.e., public relation consultants, budget restraints and public criticism of government communicator positions make this a strategic issue.

The consequences of failing to address this issue would be the possible elimination of public information officer positions and the members of FGCA not being of optimal use to their employers.

How can FGCA increase/enhance opportunities for new/additional government communicator positions in cities and counties within the state of Florida?

An informal mandate of FGCA is to provide professional development and training to its members. When this mandate is met, cities and counties realize the benefits of government communicators.

The consequences of failing to address this issue would be limited membership within FGCA and perhaps stagnated ideas within FGCA itself.

How can FGCA maintain and increase its membership?

The external threat of a larger, national organization makes this item a strategic issue.

Regardless of the outcome, FGCA's internal debate regarding membership should be resolved in order to solidify the organization's direction.

The consequences of failing to address this issue would be loss of membership and failure to provide a service to members of FGCA.

What can FGCA do to ensure that its members are on the cutting edge of technology?

The mission statement of FGCA states that members meet to exchange ideas and learn from experts how to perform their job more effectively. This is a strategic issue due to the fact in that it is a challenge within the mission statement.

The consequences of failing to address this issue would be that FGCA is not providing this service to its members and the members in turn are not effective employees.