RDA views planning as the opportunity to bring all stakeholders to the table, ensure that all parties are heard, map the system of service, and collaboratively develop state of the art programs to meet the needs of community people. We believe that it is important to achieve the following elements in any planning process:

• Make sure that all the stakeholders are at the table including consumers of the system
• Get the data – analyze it and talk about it with the stakeholders
• Make sure that everyone gets to hear about best practices in the field
• Keep the conversations focused on the best interests of the clients – that's what everyone cares about
• Make sure that the program design is systemic – and that it is developed and implemented collaboratively.