They say that a good plan is half the battle. And a bad one? I would say that it is the beginning of failure. A bad plan, instead of leading to the right goal, leads to wasting human energy, time, money, lost opportunities, defeats in competition and even disasters.

The Polish Nationwide Agreement of Local Government Organizations warns that the quality of new development strategies of municipalities is low and… they are right (link in first comment). A significant number of them, although they meet formal requirements, are weak or even bad development plans, and their implementation will lead to numerous, long-term and painful problems. This applies not only to spatial issues of these municipalities, but also to social, economic and environmental ones. It is time to change this We need to build a culture of strategic governance in local governments. Laws are not enough – mayors, presidents and municipal management must know this governance and apply it on a daily basis. Today, this is one of the most important development needs of Poland.

I have independently trained authorities and management in this area in about 70 municipalities, and more are waiting in line. That is why The Society of Polish Urban Planners and The Foundation in Support of Local Democracy have entrusted me with preparing materials for training on strategies, which they conduct for hundreds of other municipalities on behalf of the Ministry of Development and Technology. I am glad that in this way I can contribute to the dissemination of knowledge, on which the quality of life of all of us depends.