Foursquare ITP helped SEPTA create a transformational strategic plan for the agency. When SEPTA set out to develop a new five-year strategic plan, the nation’s fifth-largest transit system stood at a crossroads. The pandemic, aging infrastructure, and fiscal pressures required SEPTA to focus on the basics; now was a chance to move from stabilizing the system to something more ambitious. SEPTA’s leadership seized that moment, giving its 9,000-plus employees a shared direction for the agency’s future.
From the start, SEPTA wanted a plan that could resonate with staff across the organization. Foursquare ITP’s role was to bring that vision to life by surfacing the priorities, ideas, and solutions already within the agency. We conducted extensive engagement and analysis, listening to and synthesizing the perspectives of more than 1,500 staff. Through collaborative workshops with senior leaders, we helped align those voices into a shared vision, mission, and goals. We helped create a program of actions SEPTA can take to reach its goals and performance metrics that keep the agency accountable.
The final plan outlines in clear terms the role every employee plays in achieving SEPTA’s mission. The SEPTA Board adopted the plan in 2026, charting a course from back-to-basics to best-in-class. Implementation was already underway before the ink dried, from new rail investments and a redesigned bus network to staff development programs and updated IT infrastructure.
Solutions and Outcomes
- Planning process built around staff engagement at all levels of the organization.
- State of the authority assessment, outlining the key strengths and weaknesses within the organization, and opportunities and threats that will impact its future.
- Overhaul of agency KPIs to measure the outcomes that matter most to the public, staff, and stakeholders.