The guide advises that strategic planning can strengthen the organization now, secure its future, and improve its performance, so that crime victims are better served. The first section of the guide describes the three steps required to prepare an organization for strategic planning. These involve development of a strategic planning group, finding out if the organization is ready for a strategic plan, and establishing common ground for strategic planning. The second section describes the steps in assessment, i.e., determining the current state of the organization. The steps in assessment involve using structured methods to assess the organization and the collection and consolidating of data about the organization. Other sections focus on determining where the organization wants to go, putting the plan into action, marketing the strategic plan, and determining how well the plan is working. Steps are described for each of these measures. For each section, a number of tools are described that can assist in achieving the proposed steps. Appended suggested reading list on strategic planning, suggested Federal grant funding resources, and highlights of the strategic planning process in five State strategic planning initiatives