Welcome toHuron County-WideEconomic Development Strategic Planning Project

Session 1

Agenda – Session 1• Introductions• Overview of Huron County-wide Economic Development

Strategic Planning Train-the-Trainer Project and Process• Strategic Planning Framework• Stage I: Preparation for Strategic Planning• Stage II: Vision Exercise• Stage III: Environmental Scan – SWOT and/or PESTO• Date of Next Sessions• Wrap-up

Introductions

We’d like to meet you….–Your name–The organization(s) you represent

Introduction to Strategic PlanningStrategic planning is a process that helps groups work towards a desired future, by focusing energy and resources on shared goals. It helps groups to assess and adjust strategic direction in response to changing environments. This presentation will introduce a framework to help you as a committee create a strategic plan for Morris Turnberry.

Strategic planning is a process. It involves getting input from many individuals, the municipality, business owners and community members. It provides the opportunity to incorporate new ideas and approaches. It is only as good as the creative and thoughtful insight and meaningful conversations of the participants involved.

What does economic development mean?

What does economic development mean to you?

Economic DevelopmentCommonly people consider the definition of economic development to be vaguely related to business attraction, industrial growth, home building, or some type of construction within your country, metropolitan area, municipality or small town.

Some people as talk about job creation.

To be precise, the definition of economic development should be a net gain of money flow, called an "economic base", into the community.

How do YOU fit into this plan?Strategic Planning Committee

Each municipality within Huron county is engaging stakeholders, municipal partners, and community partners who will work through the strategic planning process. This group will meet after each core teams training session. This committee will be responsible for establishing the vision, analyzing economic development data, providing input into the environmental scan, setting goals and performance measures, as well as developing the implementation plan.

Project & Process Overview

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OMAFRA Municipal Partners

Community Stakeholders

Municipal Core

Teams

Collective Impact

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County-wide Approach Common Agenda Open and Continuous Communication Mutually Reinforcing Activities Shared Measurement Backbone Support

Common AgendaShared MeasurementMutually Reinforcing ActivitiesContinuous CommunicationBackbone Support

Using Data

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Informed decisions Competitive advantage Building on current information (studies,

reports, research) Using OMAFRA’s Analyst Tool & Data Local intelligence to ground-proof the

data, key stakeholder interviews

Project Activities and Goals Activities of the Program:Each Municipal Partner will have:

– experienced an economic development strategic planning process– a completed economic development strategic plan– Trained volunteers (Core Team) to lead and maintain the strategic

plan process

Goals of the Program:Municipal Partners will build their organization and community capacity by:

– Increasing the number of volunteers trained to do strategic planning

– Increasing the leadership skills of their volunteers– Increasing collaboration between Municipal Partners and

Community Partners– Developing a network for support

Municipal Partner

Community Partners

Strategic Planning

Committee

Core Team

Roles & Responsibilities

Core Team• Facilitators of the Strategic Planning process• Provides leadership about how the process

will be delivered in their municipality• Coordinates activities throughout the process Strategic Planning Committee• A group of key stakeholders, Municipal

Partners, and Community Partners that will provide input, develop the strategic plan and support implementation.

• This group will be selected with input from the Core Team and Municipal Partner.

Community Partners• Economic development organizations,

businesses, industry stakeholders who can provide information and ideas for the plan.

Municipal Partner• Has overarching responsibility for the

process, through to the approval of the final strategic plan.

OMAFRA• Provides training and support for Core Teams

and Municipal Partners through the process

OMAFRA

Let’s Begin….

Ground Rules for Working Together

What is Strategic Planning

• Strategic Planning is a process that helps groups work towards a desired future, by focusing energy and resources on shared goals.

• It helps organizations to assess and adjust strategic direction in response to changing environments.

• This resource will introduce a framework to help you create a strategic plan.

Strategic Plan

• It is a formally written document that guides a group’s decision making process toward achieving desired goals that align with their mission and vision statements.

• It also helps in allocating resources (volunteer, staff, monetary, infrastructure, etc.) and prioritizing actions.

• A strategic plan is referred to for operational

decisions and is updated regularly.

A Process

• Strategic planning is a PROCESS.

• It involves getting input from many individuals and many levels of the organization. It provides the opportunity to incorporate new ideas and approaches.

• It is only as good as the creative and thoughtful insight and meaningful conversations on the participants involved.

Strategic Planning is a Process that:• Examines where your group is now, where you want it to be,

and how you are going to get there• Involves your community or group in visioning your preferred

future• Steers your group in a focused direction for future success• Allows proactive thinking beyond your current activities and

traditions• Deals with change positively by responding to it effectively• Sets priorities for action that are reflective of all aspects of your

group• Establishes clear outcomes for measuring success

What are the Benefits?

What are the benefits?

Strategic Planning and the subsequent implementation of the plan will assist a group to:• Establish a shared vision, mission and goals. • Establish clear, realistic goals and objectives that are

consistent with the vision and mission of the group• Clarify or redefine your group’s role and your target group(s)• Helps board, staff and volunteers have a shared

understanding and common language• Gain commitment and bring your group together to work on

common goals

What are the benefits?

• Effectively communicating your focus and needs with various stakeholders

• Reducing the need for having to make repetitive decisions

• Deal positively with the change• Address critical issues your group is facing• Find innovative ways to achieve goals• Measure success and progress by creating clear

outcomes for measurement• Focus its goals to use resources efficiently and

effectively

Tips for a successful process

Gaining Commitment To Strategic Planning

• Strategic planning requires a significant investment of time and energy. Groups will also have to overcome barriers raised by comments such as: "a lack of time", "things are changing too fast", "we're doing okay now", etc.

• A visible commitment from top leadership is required for effective strategic planning.

Tips for a successful process

Bottom-up Approach

• Group participation using consensus creates true ownership of your strategic plan. This means those implementing the plan are also creating the plan.

• This is based on the well-known bottom-up approach—a large number of people working together to identify goals and actions that affect their group. The benefit of such an approach is that those who need to carry out the plan will advocate for its implementation.

Tips for a successful process

Develop a Consistent Framework and Terminology

• Building a common understanding of terminology is fundamental to working together.

• When a group involved in a strategic planning exercise understands and agrees on the terms and the process, they are likely to be more successful.

• New trends in strategic planning use terminology such as outputs, outcomes, performance measures, baselines and targets.

Strategic Planning Framework

Questions or Comments

Stage I: Preparation

Taking some time to prepare for the planning process will help to ensure that the process goes smoothly, and that the expectations of participants are aligned with the group’s requirements.

Presentation to the Strategic Planning Committee

• Core Team present a DRAFT Plan for the Project in your municipality

• Suggested meeting dates and locations

• Budget for meetings and supplies• Other information for the Strategic

Planning Committee

Ask for input from the Strategic Planning Committee

Stage II: Develop a Vision and Mission

The second stage in the strategic planning process involves developing or confirming the group’s mission and vision statements.

Vision

• A vision statement provides direction to the group. • It should provide a clear and compelling picture of

the future if the group is successful in implementing their plan.

• It can be a desired end state that makes sense to work toward.

Vision

A vision statement can be used to

• motivate the group,• prioritize use of limited

resources, as well as• keep decisions and

discussions on-track.

Overall Mission Statement for this Project

To provide leadership and direction for economic development in Morris-

Turnberry

Examples of Vision Statements Economic Development

Greater Halifax • As the economic engine for the region, Halifax is a truly international

city where people learn, work, easily start and grow a business, capitalize on ideas and live within a diverse, vibrant, and sustainable community.

GREY COUNTY IS “OPEN FOR BUSINESS”• As a direct result of open and transparent communication, real

collaboration and true partnerships, Grey County, together with municipal and community partners, will be fully engaged and working together to continually create a positive environment where businesses and investors have the information, the resources and the support needed to succeed.

Questions?

Vision Statement – Exercise1. Complete one of the following two exercises with your group:2. Take 5 minutes to individually work on the exercise. Quiet thinking time.

Postcard from the FuturePicture yourself flying over the community or your organization in a hot air balloon in 5 years. What would you see if your wishes for the group came true? What would your postcard look like?

Activity:Individually on a sheet of paper, write down or draw a picture of: What it is that you see? What has changed? What are the things we did that made a difference? (5 minutes)

  

Vision Statement – Exercise….continuedNext Step….. (15 minutes)3. In small groups, share your results with each other. Each group should select what they feel are the top 3 words, concepts or ideas that are the most important.4. Each idea is written on a large post-it note, one idea per

note.

5. Put all post-it notes on a flipchart(s).

Report back

• What were the themes or common ideas from the group?

Vision Statement – Exercise….continuedNext Step…. (15 – 20 minutes)6. Look for clusters of ideas or themes.7. Identify the 2 – 4 strongest keywords and themes identified about

the organization.8. With this collection of key words or themes, the group can draft a

vision statement.

Note: The Core Team may take on the task of drafting the vision statement from the words/themes identified by the group.

2. Conduct an Environmental Scan

• There are many types of assessments to choose from for your group’s strategic planning process during the analysis stage.

• It is recommended that the group conduct the following two assessments:

PESTO and SWOTThis group will be using SWOT

SWOT Analysis

A SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis is a group exercise that examines the groups’ situation.

• The results provide a basis for identifying critical issues that will impact your group’s strategic plan.

• SWOT distinguishes between internal factors (the 'strengths' and 'weaknesses' of a group) and external factors (the group’s 'opportunities' and 'threats').  

• Tip: Remember to consider your municipality’s existing assets ie. physical, human/social, financial when doing the exercise.

SWOT

For a SWOT analysis to be effective, it is important to focus on how the four different aspects will impact the group’s vision.

By evaluating current conditions using a SWOT analysis, a group is better positioned to effectively set goals and define strategies.

SWOT

S Strengths are positive internal aspects of the group that can contribute to achieving the group’s vision.Example: We have hard working volunteers.

W Weaknesses are negative internal aspects of the group that can hinder the group from meeting the group’s vision.Example: The Board is slow in making critical decisions.

O Opportunities are positive aspects, circumstances or trends external to the group with the potential to contribute to successful achievement of the group’s vision.Example: There is a new group that we could build a partnership with.

T Threats are negative aspects, circumstances or trends external to the group with the potential to hinder the successful realization of the vision.Example: Aging population / declining attendance at community events.

Exercise – Environmental Scanning

1. Have the participants work individually on the SWOT /PESTO worksheet * to generate 3-5 ideas on the different categories.

2. Break the large group into smaller groups of 3-5 people.3. Work through each part of the PESTO or SWOT.

Brainstorming answers rather than debating them.4. Write your answers on flipchart for everyone in the group to

see.5. You have 10 minutes to do this.6. Report back: Each group will report back to the total group.

* Note: Appendix D in the Strategic Planning Resource Manual

Report Back SWOT

Insights from the SWOT

• How can we utilize our strengths to capitalize on the opportunities?

• How can we use our strengths to mitigate each weakness?

• Can any of the opportunities identified offset the identified threats?

• What will have the biggest impact?

Questions

Schedule for Strategic Planning Committee

Date of next Strategic Planning Committee Meeting– Thursday October 1– Thursday October 22– Thursday November 12

Thanks for your participation….At the end of this project, our municipality will have successfully participated in a strategic planning process and we will have an economic development strategic plan!

Thank you!