The SDF can be seen as a planning process which guides a community to develop a long-term, collective vision for its future. In doing so, the community becomes better prepared to, for example, set its long-term priorities and development goals, and develop relevant , strategies to achieve them, while maximizing the impact of using the limited resources at the community level. The project undertakes different tasks; starting by mobilizing the local community to develop its own community profile, members from each Local Government Unit (LGU), along with the private sector representatives develop a plan, highlight their needs for the future, and eventually create an investment plan to fund that vision.

In the past, local government’s abilities have varied; some often plan randomly or without a practical or prescient view of the path forward. Local councils and mayors are sometimes unfamiliar with the basics of strategic developmental planning or, for example, the role local participants should play in the planning processes, and the availability of the resources such as skilled staff with sufficient technical know-how in strategic planning money and tools to complete various tasks. As such, one must be deliberate and methodical when managing developmental planning processes; at the very least, this new experience on the region requires a sincere commitment, genuine determination, and a belief that there must be change.