Assisi Development Foundation: Strategic foresight for 50 Years and Beyond

As Assisi Development Foundation (ADF) marks its 50th year, the organization finds itself at a threshold moment—a time to honor its legacy of loving service while preparing to meet the demands of an uncertain but promising future. Over the past five decades, ADF has faithfully stood alongside the poor, the marginalized, and the excluded, responding with compassion, creativity, and a steadfast spirit of solidarity. Yet today’s world presents shifting social patterns, new forms of poverty, and urgent ecological and political challenges that require fresh approaches. The anniversary becomes more than a celebration; it is an invitation to pause, reflect, and chart a renewed path forward.

The strategic planning process that accompanies this milestone is envisioned as a journey of discernment, foresight, and collective imagining. It is not simply about producing another plan, but about asking deeper questions: What does the future demand of us as a faith-driven development institution? How do we honor our roots while preparing for new horizons? In what ways must we adapt to remain a relevant, resilient, and trusted partner for the next 50 years? These guiding inquiries frame the entire process.

The objectives are fourfold. First, to explore emerging trends and map their implications for ADF’s mission, governance, and operations.

Second, to create spaces for reflection on ADF’s legacy, culture, and identity, recognizing both achievements and areas for renewal.

Third, to surface actionable priorities that are aligned with evolving stakeholder ecosystems: government, church, civil society, grassroots communities, and global partners.

Finally, to co-create a future-proof framework that enables adaptive, agile, and sustainable positioning.

The methodology integrates both foresight tools and reflective practice. Through horizon scanning, ADF will identify key social, economic, and environmental shifts that shape development work. Strategic driver mapping will help clarify systemic forces that either open opportunities or present risks. Scenario exploration will invite participants to imagine “what if” futures, stretching beyond the immediate horizon. Back-casting will ground these visions, working backward from preferred futures to identify practical steps that can be taken today. Narrative synthesis, drawing from stories of communities and partners, will ensure that the process remains rooted in lived realities. Most importantly, the process will be participatory, inclusive of board, staff, partners, and community voices, recognizing that diverse perspectives strengthen discernment.

Guiding this journey are values that echo both continuity and renewal. Relevance ensures that strategies remain attuned to anticipated futures rather than past assumptions. Resilience underscores the need to prepare for uncertainty with courage and adaptability. Respect honors the institutional wisdom, relationships, and traditions that have brought ADF to this moment, even as renewal is embraced. Curiosity invites openness to new questions, new voices, and new ways of serving. Equity ensures that marginalized and underrepresented communities are not only beneficiaries but co-shapers of the future. Finally, reflective-analytical thinking will ground deliberations in both data and faith, bridging rigorous inquiry with discernment rooted in the spirituality of loving service.

The process draws on a rich set of inputs: organizational vision and mission, past strategic plans, governance and financial profiles, evaluations and stakeholder maps, and the evolving policy environment. These resources provide the foundation for assessing organizational realities: staffing, systems, capacities, budgets, and program portfolios. They also anchor discussions on board and executive expectations, the roles of participants, and the timeline of milestones.

By weaving together these elements, the planning process becomes a space not just of analysis, but of co-creation and hope.

At its conclusion, the process aims to yield a clear and compelling strategic framework that positions ADF for the next half-century of service. This will include renewed clarity of mission that integrates the spirituality of loving service with innovative approaches to poverty alleviation and social transformation. It will articulate strategic priorities in education, health, livelihoods, indigenous peoples’ empowerment, ecological stewardship, and peacebuilding. It will outline a roadmap for implementation with milestones, accountability measures, and adaptive review points. Most importantly, it will reaffirm ADF’s identity as a faith-driven institution that serves the poor with humility, courage, and imagination.

The 50th anniversary is therefore both a celebration and a call to the future. By combining legacy with foresight, faith with innovation, and institutional wisdom with inclusive participation, ADF can continue to embody its mission of loving service in a world of constant change. This process seeks to ensure that for the next 50 years and beyond, ADF remains a beacon of compassion, justice, and solidarity, walking alongside communities, strengthening hope, and transforming lives.