Strategic planning is an organization's process of defining its strategy or direction, and making decisions on allocating its resources to attain strategic goals.

Furthermore, it may also extend to control mechanisms for guiding the implementation of the strategy. Strategic planning became prominent in corporations during the 1960s and remains an important aspect of strategic management. It is executed by strategic planners or strategists, who involve many parties and research sources in their analysis of the organization and its relationship to the environment in which it competes.

Strategy has many definitions, but it generally involves setting strategic goals, determining actions to achieve the goals, setting a timeline, and mobilizing resources to execute the actions. A strategy describes how the ends (goals) will be achieved by the means (resources) in a given span of time. Often, Strategic Planning is long term and organizational action steps are established from two to five years in the future. The senior leadership of an organization is generally tasked with determining strategy. Strategy can be planned (intended) or can be observed as a pattern of activity (emergent) as the organization adapts to its environment or competes in the market.

Strategy includes processes of formulation and implementation; strategic planning helps coordinate both. However, strategic planning is analytical in nature (i.e., it involves "finding the dots"); strategy formation itself involves synthesis (i.e., "connecting the dots") via strategic thinking. As such, strategic planning occurs around the strategy formation activity.

Strategic planning can be used in Project Management that focuses on the development of standard methodology that is repeatable and will result to high chances of achieving project objectives. This requires a lot of thinking process and interaction among stakeholders. Strategic planning in Project Management provides an organization the framework and consistency of action. In addition, it ensures communication of overall goals and understanding roles of teams or individual to achieve them. The commitment of top management must be evident throughout the process to reduce resistance to change, ensure acceptance, and avoid common pitfalls. Strategic Planning does not guarantee success but will help improve likelihood of success of an organization.

In educational institutions, strategic planning is also a need. We are already in a transitional period in which old practices are no longer permanent but require revision to meet the needs of academia, which is frustrating in the educational sector. To meet the changing needs of this new society, educational institutions must reorganize. Finding ways to maintain achievements while improving effectiveness can be difficult for educational institutions. Keeping up with society's rapid changes. Some strategic planners are hesitant to address societal outcomes, so they often ignore them and assume they will happen on their own. Instead of defining the vision for how we want our children to live, they direct their attention to courses, content, and resources with the mistaken belief that societally useful outcomes will follow. When this occurs, the true strategic plan is never developed or implemented.