STRATEGIC PLANNING FOR Economic development THE GOLD RIVER EXPERIENCE Kathy

USING THE STRATEGIC PLANNING TOOLKIT Kathy - This is the introductory web page in the Toolkit. Steps outlined here with an brief overview are: I want to dive right in but……… Can I complete the process by myself? How long will this take? Do I have to complete every step? What other support do you offer?

USING THE STRATEGIC PLANNING TOOLKIT The Strategic Planning Toolkit enabled us to: Focus our efforts on community values; Create a Strategic Plan that is ‘right-sized’ for the community; Concentrated our work on ease of implementation; and Set out a clear path for the community. Geoff The tool kit was a great resource. It clarified a number of areas for the Project Team and Municipal Council. Connected the community vision to the strategic plan. Built a collaborative plan. Created a plan with goals that were specific, measurable, achievable, relevant to the community and their vision, and time based (ease of implementation). Created flexibility linked to anticipated growth, available budget and human resources.

PLANNING PROCESS FROM TOOLKIT VISION – COMMUNITY VALUES COMMUNITY CONSULTATION DEVELOP STRATEGIC AREAS NEXT STEPS – CREATE GOALS IMPLEMENTATION STAGE PLANNING PROCESS FROM TOOLKIT Geoff – The steps in the planning process are logical, sequenced and begin and conclude with community values. In general terms – this process is how we interpreted the Toolkit actions for Gold River. Gold River

GOLD RIVER PERSONALIZED TOOLKIT Approval & Project Team appointment by Council (including hiring consultant) Draft Economic Development Strategy Community Meeting and Input Project Team Planning Meeting Final Economic Development Strategy Literature Review Presentation to Council Stakeholder Engagement Geoff - Here in more detail is how we personalized the Toolkit to Gold River. Revise/Adopt by Council Project Team Strategy Planning Session Implement Gold River

THE COMMUNITY IS PROVIDING DIRECTION Geoff - Through a variety of tools in community consultation it was the community members who pointed the way. Gold River

COMMUNITY CONSULTATION On line Survey One on One Meetings and Business Sector and Community Focus Groups Geoff – How did we connect with the community? Survey Monkey for On-line surveys. Kept the survey simple with just eight questions. We didn’t have age of respondents or length of residency in Gold River. Something to consider for next time. Organizing one on one meetings – with suggested contacts from project team input. Time consuming but certainly very important. Some local business owners and others in the community did not want their opinions aired in public. Take time to set up the Focus Groups – be organized, arrange hospitality (coffee/water/comfortable setting etc). Take pictures of the focus groups and other public meetings. Confirm attendance (if possible) and follow up with non-attendees. Make sure they provide their comments by email or (at the very least) go to the On-line Survey. Preferable to use a tag team approach for the focus groups – one person to lead and one to maintain flipcharts to record comments.

Official Community Plan Relevant documents Previous strategies and LITERATURE REVIEW Official Community Plan Relevant documents Previous strategies and Community Vision Gedoff – Literature review is an important step…. Both in the preparation stage and during the Strategic Planning process. Relevant Documents may be suggested by the Project Team or Municipal staff. Community Vision – is detailed in the next slide.

VISION - COMMUNITY VALUES A clear and concise statement that communicates the overall desired future of a community and reflects the community’s values. The vision can also be used to articulate the community’s overall economic goals * Geoff – Quoted directly from the Strategic Planning Toolkit. *Strategic Planning Toolkit Gold River

Strategic Assessment Areas GOLD RIVER Strategic Assessment Areas Governance Image Business Retention and Expansion (BR&E) Business Attraction Downtown Waterfront Partnerships Kathy - Example from the Gold River Strategy Gold River

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PLANNING PROCESS IMPLEMENTATION OF ACTION STEPS GOLD RIVER ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PLANNING PROCESS IMPLEMENTATION OF ACTION STEPS Steps to Success Resources Required Cost Human Resources Required Timelines Kathy - This process was used for Gold River and is taken from the Toolkit (with minor adaptation). Next slide is a screen shot of a page from the Strategy to demonstrate what the Action Steps looked like.

Kathy – Notice – Action Item Background detail Clearly delineated steps Resources Required Funding Sources Timelines Not shown in this example is ‘Evaluation’ – showing what success looks like.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY GOLD RIVER ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY NEXT STEPS 1. Prioritized goals and their implementation will be approved by Council annually and carried out on a project by project basis utilizing appropriate contractors. 2. Contractors would provide working support and professional guidance to the Economic Development Committee. 3. Action items identified and prioritized will be over-seen by the Economic Development Committee and results reported back to Council. Kathy - Simple overall “next Steps’ from the Gold River Strategy.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY LESSONS LEARNED It doesn’t need to be a ‘Mega Strategy’. Fit the plan to the community. Take Pictures Communicate often – with the Project Team and the Community. Respond quickly to questions or comments. Don’t skimp during the community consultation stage. (Take as long as it needs to do the job properly) Geoff and Kathy – Lessons learned – It doesn’t need to be a ‘Mega Strategy’. Fit the plan to the community. Take Pictures – can’t emphasize this enough. It’s easy to forget. Communicate often – with the Project Team and the Community. Respond quickly to questions or comments. Don’t skimp during the community consultation stage. (Take as long as it needs to do the job properly) Take Pictures – well we can emphasize this again. It’s great for a record for Council and for the final report and other Power Point Presentations.

STRATEGIC PLANNING FOR Economic development Thank you Kathy Lachman – FLNRORD & Geoff Millar - G. MILLAR & Associates Geoff and Kathy – Thank you