National Implementation Month 2021

In January 2020 I declared that January would henceforth become National Implementation Month. This idea was developed as a follow-up to an October 2019 article related to National Planning Month entitled, “Implementation, the Lost Step in Comprehensive Planning“. This article delved into the fact that implementation is the most important part of Comprehensive Planning. Yet implementation is often where comprehensive plans fail to have impact. As stated, “Unfortunately, many comprehensive plans sit and collect dust on some shelf, only to be picked up for reference on a random land use decision or potential legal matter.”

That’s where National Implementation Month steps in. It dedicates a full month each year to reviewing your community’s plans. It’s time to set aside time to develop a work schedule toward the implementation of action items to the goals set forth within it.

January is an ideal month for National Implementation Month. Everyone is looking to start a new year with an energy and vigor that stirs souls to get things done.

This first month of the year is also ideal as many of us in the upper Midwest are holed up inside trying take off the chill while dreaming of warmer days. Why not use those day dreams to plan how you plan to move forward with implementation activities? So throw another log on the fire, then sit down and write up some action steps for the next year to get things done.

Sure, this blog has no official capacity to declare an entire month as National Implementation Month. I don’t even have the power to declare such for the community that I work for. But who needs an official resolution or presidential declaration to make things happen? Implementation is about making things happen yourself.

If you need proof as to the success of National Implementation Month just look at the inaugural event in 2020. If you think about it, January was about the least screwed up month last year. Coincidence? You decide!