In January 1986, Chicago City-Wide College (CCWC) began to revitalize its strategic planning process, striving from the outset to achieve institutional concensus during each phase of the effort. Before the strategic planning process could be implemented, the components of a strategic planning model had to be identified. An ad hoc planning committee of administrators, faculty, and staff identified the critical components of a strategic planning model: an institutional data base; statements of institutional identity, institutional direction, departmental mission, college goals, and departmental objectives; individual performance plans; a budget; and ongoing evaluation. Once these elements were identified, CCWC staff began to develop an implementation plan, which involved the following steps: (1) convincing faculty and staff of the need for a manageable and equitable process for budgetary and programmatic decision making; (2) selecting and training planning facilitators; (3) reviewing the existing external database and determining information needs; (4) involving the director of research and evaluation, the business office, key administrators, and faculty in the identification of appropriate data sources and methods of compiling statistics; (5) convening college-wide retreats and mini-retreats to achieve consensus on statements of institutional mission, direction, and long-range goals; (6) developing objectives for and by each college unit; and (7) relating planning directly to budgeting. (LAL)