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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCAO-14-010 - Community Engagement StrategyKi Staff Report (A O° Office REPORT TO: Council DATE OF MEETING: April 14, 2014 wvmkitchener ca SUBMITTED BY: Laurie Majcher, Manager, Strategy & Business Planning 519- 741 -2200 Ext. 7817 PREPARED BY: Laurie Majcher, Manager, Strategy & Business Planning 519- 741 -2200 Ext. 7817 WARD(S) INVOLVED: All DATE OF REPORT: April 9, 2014 REPORT NO: CAO -14 -010 SUBJECT: Strategic Plan Community Engagement Strategy RECOMMENDATION: For discussion. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Compass Kitchener will be inviting citizens from across the city to participate in a community engagement campaign starting April 24th. The purpose of the campaign, which will be branded "Your Kitchener Your Say ", is to follow -up on the results of the Environics survey that was conducted late last year. Input from this process, along with the results of the environmental scan, will inform the work of both staff and Council next spring as goals and strategies for the City of Kitchener 2015 -2018 Strategic Plan are established. Community engagement activities and events will take place from the end of April to mid -June. There will be ten different ways citizens can get involved in the process, including small group face -to -face discussions, paper questionnaires that can be dropped off, and online surveys and discussion forums. Events will be promoted on the City of Kitchener website, through newspaper and possibly radio ads, posters, and information will be provided at open house sessions throughout the campaign. BACKGROUND: The process of engaging the community, members of council and city staff in setting the direction of the City for 2015 — 2018 is well underway in preparation for the next term of Council. There are four phases to the City of Kitchener's strategic planning process that will unfold over the next 15 months, including: Phase 1 - Community Assessment, Phase 2 - Environmental Scan, Phase 3 - Strategic Options, and Phase 4 - Confirmation of Direction. This process is expected to result in an innovative and practical strategic plan for the City of Kitchener that is valued by the community, achievable by the organization, and relevant for City Council. Once the plan is approved, work will begin to ensure the business plans across the organization fully support the achievement of the strategic goals and they will continue to be monitored to manage progress on approved strategies. Work began on the Community Assessment phase of the process in October 2013. Compass Kitchener engaged a statistically representative sample of the community in a survey to capture an objective citizen perspective on the priorities for the future. Environics Research Group was 1 -1 Ki Staff Report (A O4 Office wvmkitchener ca retained by the City to work with the advisory committee in the design of the survey questions, execute the survey and report on the results. A telephone survey of 1,002 citizens, including 100 cell phone surveys, was completed between November 26th and December 10th of 2013. The survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 % at a 95% confidence level. The results of the survey provide a current pulse on the community as well as important insights for the development of a strategic plan that will align with the views, opinions and wants of residents. The results of the Environics survey were presented to Planning and Strategic Initiatives Committee on February 3, 2014 for discussion, Report number CAO- 014 -001. A summary of key findings from the survey are as follows: • 87% rate the quality of life in the City of Kitchener as good or excellent • 82% feel that they get good value for their tax dollars • 61 % would support a tax increase at the rate of inflation in order to maintain services Strategic Priorities 69% of residents feel that the following ten key priority areas cover all of the important issues or areas of focus for the City of Kitchener: 1. Accountability 3. Environment 5. Growth Management & Development 7. Developing Downtown 9. Diversity 2. Economic Development 4. Transportation 6. Community Engagement 8. Recreation & Leisure Services 10. Arts & Culture The majority of residents feel that accountability, economic development, the environment and transportation should be the top priorities for the next four years. These four areas of strategic focus have the broadest impact on all residents, and represent the most basic foundations of quality of life as they relate to local government. Accountability • 74% identified accountability as a top priority. • 74% are satisfied with the City of Kitchener government • 61 % feel that the Kitchener government is on the right track • 47% of residents feel that the City should design new ways for residents to ask questions and tell the City what they think to improve transparency Economic Development • 73% identified economic development as a top priority. • 81% feel that the Kitchener economy is staying about the same or getting weaker. • 10% noted unemployment and poor job market as the single most important local issue. The Environment • 71 % identified the environment as a top priority. • 84% said preserving Kitchener's natural areas is a top priority for the environment. • 60% said promoting sustainable development is also a top priority for the environment. • 17% said lots of parks and open spaces was the most appealing thing about the city 1 -2 Ki Staff Report (A O4 Office Transportation wvmkitchener ca • 55% identified transportation as a top priority. • 69% said that road maintenance and paving should be a top priority for transportation. • 69% said improving road safety should be a top priority. • 33% noted transportation and transit issues as the single most important local issue. The remaining six areas of focus are confirmed as priorities by more than 77% of residents, and between 23% and 49% of residents consider them to be top priorities. These areas of City responsibility do not typically have as broad an impact on the majority of the population relative to those noted above. However, City responsibilities for growth management, downtown development, recreation and leisure services, arts and culture, diversity and community engagement are important contributors to the overall quality of life in the City of Kitchener and are highly valued by those segments of the population that have come to expect the opportunities the city provides in these areas. While the primary focus of the strategic planning process will be on the top four priority areas listed above, the process will continue to explore the expectations of the community in all ten priority areas. As goals and strategies are developed for the next term of council the relative importance of each, as priorities for the future within the community as a whole, will be taken into account. REPORT: The results of the recent Environics survey provided a high level view of community priorities in broad areas of City responsibility. There are limitations to the insights a survey can provide, particularly when it comes to the more detailed information required to develop a strategic plan. Those details are best gleaned by using the survey as a starting point for extensive qualitative research and comprehensive community consultation. Qualitative research adds value to the research process as it allows open -ended exploration of issues in citizens' own voices. It provides a greater understanding of issues, levels of awareness and expectations that are not yet fully revealed in the early stages of development. Opportunities to Participate The focus of community discussion will be around the following six strategic themes: Accountability & Good Governance; Jobs, Growth & Prosperity; Caring for Our Environment; Getting around Kitchener; Safe & Active Neighbourhoods; and, Community Engagement & Inclusion. The themes have been structured to ensure all ten priority areas are covered, with the primary focus on those the majority of residents consider a top priority. Community engagement activities and events will take place from the end of April to mid June. There will be ten different ways citizens can get involved in the process: Attend one of 12 Open House Session where citizens can find out more information, share their comments and respond to a series of short surveys, one for each strategic theme; 2. Participate in one of seven community workshops held across the city in May to provide their input and ideas on any of the six strategic themes; 3. Participate in weekly one -hour ` themed' community workshops at City Hall in the Rotunda every Thursday from 12 -1 p.m. or from 5 -6 p.m. over a six week period for a focused discussion on specific areas of interest; 1 -3 Staff Report ER (A O`5 Office wvmkitchener ca 4. Pick up a workbook at City Hall or any community centre, fill it out and drop it off before the end of June. 5. Download a workbook from the City's webpage, fill it out and email it back. 6. Host a community discussion with neighbours or community group using the `workshop in a box', fill in the workbook and drop it off before the end of June. 7. Participate on -line through a series of themed surveys and discussion forums. 8. Share ideas on Facebook and Twitter 9. Email comments and ideas to Yoursay @Kitchener. ca 10. Call the dedicated campaign line to share comments and ideas. Offering the community a variety of different ways that they can be involved encourages everyone to have their views included and feel like they are part of the process of planning for the future. The questions to be used to generate public input build on the foundation laid by the initial community survey, and work to find commonalities and highlight key differences between citizen opinions. Open House Format The planned open houses will take place every Saturday morning at the Kitchener Market from late April to the end of May. In addition, an open house will run for a couple of hours prior to each of the seven structured community workshop discussions. There will be information display stations for each of the strategic themes set up at every open house, providing relevant context that will help to generate interest and inform citizen input throughout the process. Key pieces of information that will be provided include: a summary of the Environics survey results related to that theme; an explanation of the role of the City vs. the Region of Waterloo or the Province; existing City strategies or initiatives and some fast facts about the work the City does in each area. Compass Kitchener volunteers and staff will be available to answer questions and, perhaps more importantly, capture the insights and input provided by attendees. Citizens will have the option to complete short surveys either online or on paper forms related to each of the six strategic themes. Members of council are also encouraged to attend. The open house format provides value to the process in three specific ways: 1. It allows those who don't have the ability to spend an entire evening at an event to participate and ask questions; 2. It recognizes that for many, public speaking of the sort that may be required during the workshop discussions is a frightening proposition. Put differently, it allows for one -on- one dialogue on issues; and 3. It spreads out total foot traffic so as to minimize potential logistical challenges for the workshops. i�AI Staff Report R (A O`5 Office wvmkitchener ca Community Workshop Format Community workshops are open public conversations held at community centres throughout the city, at the Kitchener Market and City Hall. These workshops are open to all citizens, and will be advertised well in advance to ensure citizens are informed. They provide an opportunity for engaged citizens — including those who were not contacted via the random sample survey — to contribute to the process. The sessions will last approximately one to two hours, and are structured by a discussion guide. Each session begins with a brief overview of the survey findings before moving on to a more focused discussion about what participants view as the priorities for the City. It will be important at this stage for the facilitator to clarify at the opening of the workshop that the purpose of these sessions to share ideas with one another and provide direction to the City about what is important for the future, it is not an open Q and A. An open Q and A would shift focus from the objective and make it very difficult to focus discussions on specific topic areas. In their opening remarks, the facilitator will make clear that any specific questions to members of council or the mayor — or any other general question — should be dealt with one -on -one away from the main event. Each table will be dedicated to a specific topic. The facilitator will instruct participants as to what topics are being addressed at various tables and ask participants to go to those tables. They will be given the opportunity to switch tables at the mid -point of the workshop if they want to discuss more than one area of focus. Each table will have a facilitator to lead the discussion, as well as recorder to take notes. Compass Kitchener volunteers will take on these roles as their schedules allow, and staff will provide additional support. Citizens will be asked what they see as the priorities for the city, but also to consider how their priority areas would fit in with those of other citizens and within a limited City budget. Discussions will be managed using a facilitator guide with three to four questions to keep the conversations focussed and for recording notes. Weekly one -hour themed workshops held at City Hall in the Rotunda will have a similar format, but only one of the strategic themes will be discussed each week. Sessions will be shorter and scheduled for noon and 5:00 p.m. to encourage Kitchener citizens that work downtown to share their views on as many strategic themes as interest them. The Role of Council The council members will be invited to provide a brief introduction to each of the workshops to let participants know that Council values their input, provided the location of the workshop is not taking place within the Councillor's ward. The strategic themes are city -wide in nature and need to be approached with that in mind. Having a city councillor open up the discussion on these topics outside the boundaries of his or her own ward will reinforce the message that we are talking about what is in the best interest of the community as a whole, and not ward specific issues. It will be important to avoid the perception that these community workshops are opportunities for political candidates to campaign for the next municipal election. The Mayor and members of council are encouraged to stay and listen to the discussions, if their schedules allow. Hearing the views and ideas of citizens first hand will help to build a shared understanding as the strategic planning process moves forward. 1 -5 Ki Staff Report (A O4 Office wvmkitdhener ca Dates & Location of Events The following dates and locations have been confirmed for open houses, community workshops and themed community workshops. One additional Community Workshop will be scheduled: Date Location Time Event April 261h Kitchener Market 7 -1 Open House May 1St Rotunda — City Hall 12 -1 & 5 -6 Themed Session: CARING FOR OUR ENVIRONMENT May 3rd Kitchener Market 7 -1 Open House May 6th Country Hills C.C. 5 -7 Open House 7 -9 Community Workshop May 8th Victoria Hills C.C. 5 -7 Open House 7 -9 Community Workshop May 8th Rotunda — City Hall 12 -1 & 5 -6 Themed Session GETTING AROUND KITCHENER May 10th Kitchener Market 7 -1 Open House May 13th Forest Heights Lib. 5 -7 Open House 7 -9 Community Workshop May 14th Breithaupt C.C. 5 -7 Open House 7 -9 Community workshop May 15th Centreville C.C. 5 -7 Open House 7 -9 Community Workshop May 15th Rotunda — City Hall 12 -1 & 5 -6 Themed Session JOBS, GROWTH & PROSPERITY May 17th Kitchener Market 7 -1 Open House May 22nd Rotunda — City Hall 12 -1 & 5 -6 Themed Session SAFE & ACTIVE NEIGHBOURHOODS May 24th Kitchener Market 7 -1 Open House May 29th Rotunda — City Hall 12 -1 & 5 -6 Themed Session ACCOUNTABILITY & GOOD GOVERNANCE May 31St Kitchener Market 2 - 4* Community Workshop June 12th* Rotunda — City Hall 12 -1 & 5 -6 Themed Session COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT & INCLUSION * Tentative - To be confirmed 1 -6 Staff Report R (A O`5 Office wvmkitchener ca Awareness and Promotion The promotion campaign for the community consultation process will be branded "Your Kitchener Your Say ". The campaign will begin with a media advisory and the launch of the Your Kitchener Your Say webpage and online engagement options on or about April 24tH Newspaper and possibly radio advertisements will promote events throughout the process. Posters and brochures will be displayed at all City facilities, and high traffic locations across the city, where permitted. Facebook and Twitter will be used to keep people informed and engaged in the process. Additional options for promotion are still being finalized. Report on Results All of the input that is received from the various engagement events and activities will be compiled and reviewed by Compass Kitchener, with staff support. The results will be summarized around each of the strategic themes and key messages will be identified. Compass Kitchener will prepare a report for Council in September on Community Priorities and Strategic Directions. This report will complete the first phase of the strategic planning process, the Community Assessment, and represents the starting point for further work on the strategic plan. This information, along with the results of the environmental scan, will be essential input into the work of both staff and Council next spring to establish goals and strategies for the City of Kitchener 2015 -2018 Strategic Plan. ALIGNMENT WITH CITY OF KITCHENER STRATEGIC PLAN: The work of Integrated Planning and the Strategic Planning Process is aligned with the following Strategic Priorities: Leadership & Engagement - Promote informed decisions that last; Organizational Governance - Integrated Strategy and Action; A Culture of Inclusion - People Support What They Help Create; Culture of Accountability - We All Own This Plan, and We're Clear. FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS: The estimated cost of implementing the Strategic Plan Community Engagement strategy is approximately $12,000. These costs will be funded from the existing Compass Kitchener budget for community engagement activities. COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT: Collaborate — the objectives of the community engagement process for the strategic plan are: to inform the public about the process and what we have learned so far from the community survey, to gather public input into priorities for the future direction of the city; encourage citizens to work together with their neighbours to clarify the priorities and future direction for the City. 1 -7 Staff Report I ; t R (AOJ Office ACKNOWLEDGED BY: Jeff Willmer, CAO wvww:kitchener ca 1