A master plan is a living, long-range planning document. It must be reviewed, and, if necessary, revised, either annually or in the event of significant changes to the facts upon which it is based. While drawings may provide supplemental information in the master plan, the document is primarily a narrative generated in five steps: Review organization's Mission Strategy document   |   1 The organization's Mission Strategy document, prepared by organization leaders, should provide the foundation for the entire Master Plan. The document specifies all of the organization's programs, which gives general guidance in determining what facilities are needed. This document also defines the organization's goals and will indicate the organization's intentions and strategies related to growth. Review existing facilities   |   2 The Architect gathers data on and studies the existing facilities to determine how the organization presently uses its space. The Architect either secures existing drawings or develops new measured drawings of all existing facilities. He also defines each space in terms of use (single- or multi-purpose), average number of users, user demographics (age groups, etc.), and frequency and intensity of use. Determine required facilities (spaces, buildings, etc.)   |   3 By comparing the organization's Mission Strategy document to the inventory of existing facilities, the Architect determines the existing facilities' shortcomings. This information aids development of a Space Program enumerating the types of spaces, and their respective quantities and sizes, to be provided. The Space Program may also address any perceived need for expandability of particular spaces. Depending upon the level of definition desired by the organization, the Architect may also further define each space, in terms of character, amenities, equipment and systems, expandability, and flexibility, in a detailed architectural program. This document may require considerable effort (and significant professional fees) to fully outline, in great detail, the organization's needs. Therefore, developing an architectural program for all phases of the Master Plan may be counterproductive, since the organization's needs and priorities will most likely change in future. Instead, a more general description of each building's purpose and function may suffice. This abbreviated approach still allows for appropriate allocation of the site for each use, while allowing for change in the organization's needs over time. The organization may also choose to have the Architect develop design guidelines simply describing the general character of each new structure. This allows for considerable flexibility in the design of future buildings and additions while retaining continuity from one structure to the next. Since all master plans aim in some way to deal with land use, it is imperative that the document address location, size, and function of each structure and site element. The land use study should relate buildings, parking, pedestrian and vehicular traffic flow on the site, surrounding traffic patterns off the site, terrain, visibility, aesthetics, utilities, and so on. Finally, throughout the scope of work identified within the master plan, a single, critical goal always exists that should be honored. Although the nature of the goal differs from project to project, the Architect and the organization's representatives must ensure that the design accomplishes this goal while minimizing its interference with secondary concerns. Failure to do so may jeopardize the growth of the organization. Develop estimates/budgets (construction/project)   |   4 In order to remain realistic and to supplement financial planning efforts, the master plan must address cost issues. Depending upon the timeline for each component as well as the extent to which each component is defined, a cost estimate's degree of precision may vary. For the bulk of the master planning effort, cost estimates must be based on conceptual cost estimating methods. The most common of these methods calculates a total using unit costs (dollars per square foot) plus allowances covering various unknown costs. The Architect also allows for various project costs, ranging from professional fees and land costs to furniture and soil testing. A long-range master plan should also consider the effects of inflation on the project. Neglecting to do so will harm an extended capital funds campaign. Assist in developing the Implementation Plan (Phasing)   |   5 The master plan should address when and how the various elements are packaged into phases through listing and describing the various events that may trigger each phase. Generally, the organization's leadership, and not the Architect, provides this information. Alternatively, the organization may want to designate certain benchmarks as triggers for phase transition. For example, typical benchmarks for a church might include targets measured by average event attendance, average offerings, status of a capital funds campaign, balance of building funds, etc. In this model, average attendance might even be subdivided into various age groups in order to determine where building funds might be directed at any given time. The organization's leadership should periodically re-assess the master plan's validity, taking current conditions into account. Finally, the organization's leadership should take the lead in defining an approximate timeline for completing each phase of the master plan. This information is crucial to defining a project budget if certain phases are years away from actual construction.