An examination of the development and implementation of strategic planning in a North Atlantic Treaty Organisation’s (NATO) military headquarters

<p dir="ltr">This case study examines the development and implementation of strategic planning at the North<br>Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) Special Operations Headquarters (NSHQ) across three<br>one-year cycles to determine if it improves the organisation’s ability to account for its resources<br>and achieve collective results. The study of this military headquarters is set in the context of<br>broader political questions driving examinations of NATO’s purpose and its subordinate<br>organisations’ use of resources. Extensive secondary source review of the organisation’s<br>databases between 2019-2023 were analysed. Additionally, senior directors from various nations<br>serving within the organisation during this timeframe were surveyed and interviewed to explore<br>perspectives and explanations behind patterns in the perceived successes and challenges<br>extracted from the secondary source analysis. The finding suggested that the intent and process<br>was thoroughly laid out in 2020 but atrophied with each annual cycle thereafter. Strategy<br>updates were released, but holistic assessments were stopped. While significant changes<br>occurred in geopolitics during this timeframe and the organisation experienced unusually high<br>turnover rates of the commander, success in establishing strategic planning was limited. The<br>organisation did, however, succeed in annually updating and communicating an explicit strategy<br>– something that it had lacked prior to 2020. Further cross-organisational research is needed to<br>understand whether this case study has broader application across the field of strategic planning<br>in other multinational, public-sector, or military headquarters.</p>