Interactive Planning

Abstract

Interactive planning is a participative undertaking drawing upon the skills, insights, and ideas of all stakeholders within an organization. As defined and promoted by Russell L. Ackoff, interactive planning focuses on “creating the future by designing a desirable present,” with the idea in mind that “an organization's future depends at least as much on what it does between now and then, as on what is done to it.” Interactive planning works backwards from where an organization wants to be now to where it is now. Moreover, it is an ongoing process that involves the organization’s stakeholders in the planning process. Interactive planning allows participants to know their organization more closely and, because it is ongoing, can be adapted to changes within the organization itself.