Environmental scan
An environmental scan (a.k.a. e-scan) is a tool for collecting information about factors that could affect the future of an organization. It is used to learn about current conditions (social, economic, technological, and political) and plan accordingly for the future.
An e-scan might be used to gather information on internal factors, such as:
Budget issues
Enrolment fluctuations
Fundraising opportunities
Changes in staff or leadership
As well as external factors, like:
Demographics
Policy
Labor market
Technology
Economies
Research