Strategic management is now prominent on the agenda of public administration scholars and practitioners. In this paper, the author outline why approaches based on strategy are suited to local government, noting the ways in which strategy varies across public organizations, seeks to match internal capacities to organizational environments, and shapes the impact of external and internal constraints on performance. Empirical evidence on the impact of strategy on performance is placed under the microscope, and while there are many positive relationships, the evidence base is limited in terms of its scope, data, methods, measures, and coverage. Local government with a high degree of strategic management and high stakeholder involvement had better perceived impacts of strategic planning than other local government.