In the first step of the SWOT analysis, looking at internal strengths and weaknesses, your planning team should examine the management, programming, and financing capabilities of your program or organization by asking questions such as those in Analyzing Internal Strengths And Weaknesses below. Sometimes, especially in large organizations, it is beneficial to have some members of the planning team interview different levels of staff to gather information before the SWOT meeting on internal strengths and weaknesses.

As your planning team goes through all the questions listed in the following box, you should decide whether the answers reveal strengths or weaknesses. For example, if the answer to the question, "What level of community support does the program enjoy?" is "Very little," that would reveal a weakness which you would need to take into account as you plan for the future.

Organizational structure: Does the organizational structure and culture lend itself to a free flow of information, both from the bottom levels up and from the top down? Does the organizational structure hinder or facilitate efficient and client-responsive implementation of activities? Do all staff, including volunteers, have clearly defined roles?

Planning: Have feasible long-term and short-term plans been made, involving all of the staff and the community to be served in the process? Do these plans guide the work of the organization? Have they led to the success in achieving goals?

Coordination: How well do different departments or divisions within your organization cooperate and coordinate with each other? Are any groups (formal or informal) or departments in a chronic state of conflict, and if so, why? How well does the organization coordinate with other family planning and health organizations?

Staffing: Do you hire people with the appropriate skills and attitudes for their positions? Does each staff person have a job description with a clear delineation of roles and duties? Are there staff whose job descriptions overlap, so that the division of responsibilities is unclear? Are on-going training and on-the-job feedback provided consistently to ensure high performance?

Supervision: Do all staff at every level have regular personal contact with a supervisor? Do all staff (including the supervisors themselves) view the supervisor's role as one of guidance, assistance, and support? Do supervisors help set performance objectives for those they supervise and check progress towards these objectives? Do the supervisors effectively solve performance problems through their interventions? Does each supervisor have a supervisory schedule and a supervisory session plan?

Training: In what areas does each type of staff need training? In what areas is each type well-trained? Will training resolve the problem? Do some staff people have unused potential or skills that could be useful to the program? Do you regularly assess training needs of new staff and of existing staff who have performance problems or who are assuming new responsibilities? Are the training goals and content closely linked to these assessments? Does the evaluation of your training examine trainee satisfaction, increases in knowledge, changes in on-the-job performance, and the impact of training on service delivery? Are all providers trained in counseling and communication skills?

Management Information System: Do managers have accurate information on the progress made toward the objectives of the program and on whether or not activities are happening as scheduled? Do supervision reports provide information on the reasons for a lack of progress in any given area? In the areas of finance, supplies, and planning, do managers have sufficient information to forecast trends and make decisions? Does the management information system also provide information on non-quantifiable issues such as quality of care and user satisfaction?

Commodities Management: Are there stockouts at any level of the supply system in any essential commodity? Does the central warehouse conduct an inventory at least once a year? Do all warehouses and supply depots employ the "first to expire/first out" (FEFO) system? Is forecasting accurate enough to prevent both stockouts and wastage from expired contraceptives? Do conditions at all storage points prevent damage to or loss of supplies and contraceptives? Are there any contraceptive methods that would improve the client's choice but are not currently offered? Are clinics or community posts adequately equipped? If not, list what is missing or in disrepair.

Programming Capabilities

What is the potential capacity of the program to provide services, train, and/or educate? Does the current level of client/trainee/educational activities match this capacity? Is the program able to expand simply by increasing its efficiency, without requiring a significant new source of revenue? If so, how can this expansion be implemented? What is your assessment of the quality of care in your program? What can be done to improve it? What is the current user discontinuation rate? What is the level of client satisfaction? Is the transportation that is available adequate for program needs? If not, describe what is needed for which type of personnel and in which areas. (Transportation could be inadequate for a certain level of staff, such as community promoters, or for a geographical region.) What are the weak points in your programs? What are the reasons for these weak points? What are the strong points? What expertise exists among your staff that gives you the ability to run your programs? Is this expertise under-utilized? Are existing staff overworked and unable to undertake new activities? Are they under-utilized, with free time on their hands? Are there any activities that would enhance your current program but that you can't carry out for lack of human or financial resources?

Financing Capabilities

What is your current level of self-financing? What are your current sources of financing? How stable are they? Are they likely to increase, decrease, or remain the same in the near future? In the distant future? What would have to change in the external environment or within your organization in order to secure additional funding or generate more revenues? Which of these changes are feasible? Where can you cut costs in your program? What level of community support does the program enjoy? Are there community boards? Community-level fund-raising programs? Volunteers? Donations of materials or supplies?

For example, if the environmental analysis identified a major new funder entering the family planning field, this would be considered an opportunity. The more information about the guidelines and funding criteria of this new donor you can gather before the meeting, the more able your program will be able to take advantage of this opportunity.

Similarly, if a major donor is withdrawing from family planning funding from your country or region, you will need to address this serious threat to your program's survival during the planning process.

This part of the SWOT analysis is usually carried out in a brainstorming session by the planning team. This step can be done quite efficiently if the staff produces a written summary of the environmental analysis a week or so before the SWOT meeting takes places.

You may find it helpful to disseminate the finding of the SWOT analysis to key managers (such as departmental heads) within the organization for their advice and consent. This step should be carried out before discussing the findings with donors and other financial providers.