Strategic Planning: Strategic Gap Analysis
About strategic gap analysis
A Strategic Gap Analysis is a Strategic Planning tool used regularly in health and social care planning. It seeks to triangulate evidence from multiple sources to
- Compare the status quo with good practice
- identify the gaps between the two
- explore the mechanisms to close the gap to inform future strategy and planning.
Information on how you might carry out a Strategic Gap Analysis can be found in "Using a Strategic Gap Analysis to guide your plans", as can a national strategic gap analysis for mental health and substance use (Appendix 2, p20). The themes within this national analysis can help you structure reflections and analysis within your local system.
Gap Analysis is also referenced within the Analyse stage of the Good Practice Framework for Strategic Planning and the Good Practice Skills for Strategic Planning.
Supporting protocol – how you might use this tool:
When looking at developing and implementing a local mental health and substance use protocol, this tool can:
- Establish where your current practice sits in relation to the protocol
- highlight structural components to how co-occurring substance use and mental health are support, including the dynamics of interfaces between services
- develop a shared understanding of how the whole system is operating to either meet, or not meet, good practice
- structure more detailed exploration and critique of key areas of practice, to include implicit models of care
- support the prioritisation of work
- build understanding around the types of change required – e.g. is the gap centred on culture, relationships, processes, service provision etc.
The Protocol Self-Reflection tool can be used to help structure the gathering of information on which to base your analysis.