Another Face of Planning: Human Service Planning in Direct-Service Agencies

Abstract

Interviews with people engaged in planning in direct-service agencies reveal considerable differences from more con ventional planners, as portrayed in the literature They are less likely to be tech nicians and more likely to consider the political aspects of planning important, they are involved in decision making and implementation as well as planning, and nearly all of them claim to be satisfied with their planning work. Their exper iences may provide valuable lessons for more coventional planners, but their single-agency focus and limited technical abilities represent problems that must also be recognized For human service plan ning, advocating greater political sensi tivity and skill may be less useful than showing how political and technical skills can be combined in equal proportions.