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

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