The City of Raleigh’s strategic planning overhaul has been selected as North Carolina’s featured project in "50 States, 50 Breakthroughs," a national showcase highlighting one breakthrough public service project from every U.S. state.
The City of Raleigh rebuilt its strategic planning process into a human-centered, data-driven delivery framework—narrowing objectives and initiatives dramatically, clarifying ownership, and using phased research/testing/scaling to turn strategy into measurable outcomes aligned with resident priorities.
Other examples from other states featured things ranging from ingenuitive childcare approaches boosting productivity to AI toolkits reviewing legislation. The showcase is created by Apolitical, the National Academy of Public Administration and Humans of Public Service, and reviewed by a panel of expert practitioners and leaders from across the public service ecosystem.
Raleigh overhauled its strategic planning process by replacing an unwieldy, top-down system with a human-centered, data-driven model built for action rather than paperwork. After finding that its previous plan (25 objectives and nearly 100 initiatives) generated reporting instead of results, the City ran a six-month evaluation with more than 250 staff and experts to identify barriers like unclear ownership, inaccessible language and weak feedback loops.
Adopted in June of 2025, the new framework cuts objectives by half and reduces initiatives from 95 to 35, sharpening focus on measurable outcomes. Each initiative now begins with a tailored data packet, and a phased approach—research, testing and scaling—helps teams iterate using evidence. The redesign has boosted staff engagement and accountability, clarified roles and embedded strategic work into daily operations. Resident input from focus groups and surveys strengthened alignment with community priorities, turning strategy into tangible progress and making planning more responsive and effective.