Scenario Planning
What is scenario planning, and why is it important?
Scenario planning helps teams prepare for unexpected obstacles and opportunities and to stay focused on their primary goals and objectives as they work within complex and ever-changing healthcare and community environments.
Scenario planning also helps teams anticipate future implementation challenges and opportunities that they might otherwise overlook and create action plans to address them. This helps them to avoid being caught off guard and gives them a critical head-start when unexpected obstacles or opportunities arise.
When should I conduct scenario planning?
Conduct scenario planning after designing—and before implementing— care delivery transformation and payment mechanisms. The estimated time to complete scenario planning is 3-4 hours which can be spread over multiple meetings. See the Scenario Planning Facilitator Guide for details.
How should I conduct scenario planning?
Review the Scenario Planning Facilitator Guide below. It walks facilitators through each step of helping a team conduct an in-person or virtual scenario planning exercise.
Resources to complete Scenario Planning
Scenario Planning Facilitator Guide
Make sure to review the Scenario Planning Facilitator Guide in its entirety before leading your team through the exercise.
Questions to Help You Determine if Scenario Planning is Necessary
Discuss the following questions as a team to determine if it would be beneficial to conduct or update a scenario planning exercise.
| Discussion Prompts | Next Steps |
|---|---|
Has the team adequately anticipated initiative disruption of their care transformation? | YES: * How? (e.g., via scenario planning or a similar exercise) * What are the most likely types of disruption? Are there response measures in place and ready to be implemented should the disruption(s) occur? ———- NO: * Consider conducting scenario planning for implementation and maintenance of the care transformation. |
Has the team adequately anticipated potential facilitators or opportunities that could enhance, strengthen, expand or help sustain their care transformation? | YES: * How? (e.g., via scenario planning or a similar exercise) *What are the most likely types of facilitators or opportunities that might occur? *Are there response measures in place and ready to be implemented should the facilitators or opportunities occur? ———- NO: * Consider conducting scenario planning for implementation and maintenance of the care transformation. |
Has the team adequately anticipated initiative disruption of their payment model? | YES: * How? (e.g., via scenario planning or a similar exercise) * What are the most likely types of disruption? Are there response measures in place and ready to be implemented should the disruption(s) occur? ———- NO: * Consider conducting scenario planning for the implementation and maintenance of the payment model. |
Has the team adequately anticipated potential facilitators or opportunities that could enhance, strengthen, expand, or sustain their payment model? | YES: * How? (e.g., via scenario planning or a similar exercise) *What are the most likely types of facilitators or opportunities that might occur? * Are there response measures in place and ready to be implemented should the facilitators or opportunities occur? ———- NO: * Consider conducting scenario planning for the implementation and maintenance of the payment model. |
About the Roadmap Goal and Objective Setting Tool
Use the Roadmap Goal and Objective Setting tool to facilitate and document the development, implementation, and evaluation phases of your health equity initiative. It will help your team realize your vision to reduce and eliminate health and healthcare inequities by providing a centralized resource to
- establish process goals that align with each Roadmap component;
- document task status, identify project champions, and maintain detailed notes;
- monitor progress across multiple Roadmap components simultaneously; and
- promote consistent team communication, accountability, and progress.