Halfway There: How to Conduct an Effective Mid-Plan Review

Strategic Planning That Stays On Track

Strategic plans are exciting. They help organizations dream big, set clear direction, and rally teams around a shared vision for the future. But even the best 3-5-year plans need tuning along the way. Enter the mid-plan review: your chance to take a breath, check your compass, and make sure your organization is still heading in the right direction.

Done well, a mid-plan review can re-energize your team, clarify priorities, and position you for stronger results. Done poorly (or skipped entirely), it can leave you spinning your wheels or pursuing goals that no longer serve you.

This is Mosaic Engagement’s guide to doing it right.

Why a Mid-Plan Review Matters

A lot can change in 18 to 30 months. Funding streams shift, teams grow or shrink, community needs evolve, and so do the people doing the work. A mid-plan review helps you ask:

• Are we on track?
  
• What’s working? What isn’t?
  
• What assumptions have changed?
  
• Do we need to adjust our goals or how we measure progress?
  

A good review isn’t about scrapping the plan but refining it. It’s a tune-up, not a teardown.

Who Should Be Involved?

The short answer: the people who live the plan every day and the people affected by it.

Include:

• Leadership team: To provide vision and accountability.
  
• Program and operations staff: They know what’s actually happening on the ground.
  
• Board members or governance representatives: For oversight and big-picture alignment, especially if they were involved in creating the plan.
  
• Key collaborators or community partners: If your plan touches external audiences, bring in their voices too.
  

This doesn’t mean assembling a 30-person task force. But do ensure diverse representation, especially across different roles and perspectives.

The Review Process (Step-by-Step)

Every organization is different, but here’s a tried-and-true process you can tailor to your organization’s needs:

1. Prep & Gather Data

Before you meet, pull together:

• Progress on each strategic priority (qualitative + quantitative)
  
• Program metrics and financial data
  
• Staff or collaborator feedback
  
• Notes on shifts in your operating environment
  

Tip: Create a short summary or dashboard to make this digestible. Don’t drown the review team in data.

2. Hold a Mid-Plan Review Session

Schedule a focused working session with your core review team. This can be in-person or virtual, but it should be collaborative and open.

Discuss:

• What’s been accomplished?
  
• What still needs attention?
  
• What’s no longer relevant?
  
• What opportunities have emerged?
  

You can structure this around your original goals or use a framework like Start / Stop / Continue.

3. Adjust and Realign

Based on your review, determine if you need to:

• Reprioritize goals or strategies
  
• Add or remove initiatives
  
• Update success measures
  
• Reallocate resources
  

Important: Changes should stay true to your mission, but reflect current reality. As we mentioned, lots can change in a few years. Don’t double down on your original strategies if they’re no longer realistic.

4. Communicate the Refresh

Share the updated direction with your wider team, and if appropriate, with funders or collaborators. Be transparent about what’s shifting and why.

Use the review as an opportunity to reconnect people to the plan and build momentum.

Dos and Don’ts

✅ DO:

• Make space for honest reflection (what’s really going on)
  
• Use the review to learn, not just report
  
• Celebrate successes so far
  
• Re-engage your team around what’s next
  
• Align any refresh with budget and resource planning
  
  

🚫 DON’T:

• Treat the plan as untouchable; it’s a living document
  
• Focus only on what’s gone wrong
  
• Forget to involve those closest to the work
  
• Delay the review “until things settle down” (spoiler: they won’t!)
  
• Make changes in a silo without broader input
  
  

Bonus Tip: Consider Using a Facilitator

At Mosaic Engagement, we help teams understand how to break through the noise, stay on track, and ensure you're getting what they actually need out of your mid-plan review. It's so common to get stuck. Cyclical conversations, distractions from the task at hand, one personal dominating conversation—we've seen it all. And, more importantly, we know how to handle it. 

Final Thoughts

A mid-plan review is more than a check-in. It’s an opportunity to lead with intention, reconnect with your mission, and make sure your strategy still fits the world you’re working in.

If you’re ready to do a review but unsure where to start, we’re here to help. Mosaic Engagement supports nonprofits and organizations in building (and refreshing!) strategic plans that work in the real world.

Let’s make sure your next few years are as strong (and strategic) as they can be.