Key Factor 4: Vision and Plan

A community readiness assessment must determine whether or not the community has an idea or a dream whose pursuit will provide a mission and rallying point for the prevention activity. A shared community vision of substance abuse prevention will provide the necessary direction for strategic planning actions and enhance the effectiveness of the prevention program.

Therefore, community readiness will require that the community establish and engage in a strategic planning process that will produce a plan of action for implementing the prevention effort. At a minimum, the plan must identify the objectives to be met, specific actions that will be taken, individuals responsible for implementing the various components, and timeframes within which objectives will be accomplished.

A community’s vision for prevention programming may be as simple as a desire to see penalties increased for violations of laws prohibiting driving while under the influence of substances. Or they may be as complex as the desire to eliminate substance use among youth under the age of 18 years old. The essential factor of a community’s vision is that it is shared by the major segments of the community, especially the major stakeholders who have a vested interest in seeing the vision realized and will represent the driving force behind the effort to achieve it.