Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutCSD-06-038 - Culture Plan II Implentation Strategies ) R Community Services Report To: Date of Meeting: Submitted By: Prepared By: Community Services Committee March 27, 2006 Erina Harris, Arts & Culture Facilitator Ward(s) Involved: Date of Report: Report No.: Subject: Erina Harris, Arts & Culture Facilitator (Ext. 2912), Cheryl York, Arts and Culture Coordinator (Ext. 3381) All March 13, 2006 CSD-06-038 CUL TUREPLAN II IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGIES RECOMMENDATION: That the CulturePlan II Focus Projects be endorsed as the 2006-2008 implementation strategy for CulturePlan II as developed with CulturePlan II Implementation Teams; and further, That staff investigate the feasibility of making application to the Ministry of Canadian Heritage Cultural Capitals Canada Program. BACKGROUND: From January 2004 - May 2005 the CulturePlan II public consultation and community-building process engaged almost one thousand representatives in the identification of 61 recommendations and 10 priorities for the advancement of integrated arts and culture in the city. The recommendations address needs related to sustainability, fostering community synergies, cultural tourism and marketing and building upon authentic community identity through: programming, diversity, strategic planning, economic development/investment, marketing, integration and training. The purpose of this report is to outline and seek endorsement for the three-year CulturePlan II Implementation Strategy consisting of three Focus Projects, as a methodology to activate the Plan recommendations; and to request approval for staff to continue to study the feasibility of a community-wide application to the Cultural Capitals of Canada Program. Report No. CSD-06-038 Page 2 REPORT: Overall Proaress to date Council endorsed CulturePlan II in principle in June 2005. In October 2005 the Community Services Department hired an Arts and Culture Coordinator to manage the expanding Culture portfolio at the City (as per CSD-05-081). Culture staff members have completed a comprehensive preliminary work-planning exercise to allocate staff resources to the existing portfolio and have proposed a two-year work-plan which includes a review of existing programs, policies and Plan recommendations. This work-plan exercise identified the finite capacity of staff resources. This also led to the identification of three "emerging" Focus Projects. In January 2005, staff facilitated the creation of dynamic Internal/City and External CulturePlan II Implementation Teams) to serve as interdepartmental and community-wide ambassadors in the representation and implementation of CulturePlan II and related Focus Projects (as per report CSD-05-091). Opportunitv/Emeraina Focus Proiects CulturePlan II contains a set of 61 recommendations. In collaboration with the Teams and with ongoing participation from the Arts and Culture Advisory Committee and the Public Art Working Group, staff have identified three emerging "Focus Projects". These three emerging Focus Projects, now defined, represent an Implementation Strategy which, in addition to the current Culture portfolio, will enact more than 600/0 of the CulturePlan II recommendations. They serve to focus the community and staff in 'doable' projects that address the issues of financial sustainability and the capacity of the community to continue to provide the programs and services inherent to Kitchener. They incubate opportunities for community convergences and place making while focusing attention on the development of Kitchener's authentic identity while positioning us within the cultural tourism industry as a region of interest. Two out of three emerging Focus Projects have already been approved by Council and interface directly with current community and City priorities and investments. Focus Projects and Significance: FOCUS PROJECT SIGNIFICANCE (1) City of Kitchener Community Investment Strategy Financial Sustainability and Community Capacity (2) Arts and Culture Cluster Development/Scoping Community synergies and convergence: Exercise place-making; economic development (3) Cultural Capitals of Canada feasibility :potential Authentic community identity; cultural for application tourism Report No. CSD-06-038 Page 3 1) Community Investment Strategy CulturePlan II input identified investment as one of the most critical requirements for the stability, sustainability and acceleration of cultural development and diversity in the City. Plan recommendations cite the need to improve the level and methods of support through City programs to the cultural sector, as directly linked to the social and economic health of the community. As per CSD-05-164, the Community Investment Strategy is proactive response to CulturePlan II input and to the longstanding recommendations from the City's Arts and Culture Advisory Committee. The City of Kitchener Community Services Department will conduct a comprehensive review of the current public Grant program which supports community organizations including arts and culture initiatives, neighbourhood community development and athletics. Public input will be an asset. This process will identify the diversity of present and future community-wide investment requirements, towards matching community needs and building capacity in a sustainable manner. The review will address the effectiveness and gaps of the current Grant system. The final Strategy will propose a variety of innovative funding methods tailored to an updated inventory of community needs and resources. In addition, the Strategy will present revised measurements of success for funding systems, and related criteria. The Terms of Reference for this project are being developed and will be presented to the Community Services Committee in the spring of 2006. It is anticipated that the project will take sixteen months to complete. 2) Arts and Culture Cluster Development/Scoping Exercise To foster Downtown revitalization and the City's Arts and Culture Cluster Strategy, the City of Kitchener Economic Development, as supported by the Community Services Department, will conduct a preliminary review assessing the potential for strategic investment in cultural clusters and emerging Districts, as based on our current cultural and economic infrastructure in Kitchener. The Terms of Reference for a scoping exercise are being developed towards assessing the evolving cultural clusters and districts in its relationship to the arts community. The assessment will provide information and an introductory inventory of cultural assets to assist staff to better understand the viability and requirements for fostering an Arts and Culture Cluster (as per CAO- 05-173). Public input will be an imperative. The scoping exercise supports numerous recommendations in CulturePlan II including the need to accelerate strategic support to local artists and culture in the Downtown. District/Cluster development have the potential to strengthen the entire community. Economic benefits and the advancement of the cultural profile of the city will be critical to the attraction of future residents, students, workers and private developers. It is anticipated that this scoping exercise will be conducted in the spring-summer 2006. 3) Cultural Capitals of Canada Since 2002, the Department of Canadian Heritage has presented this program with the mandate to promote arts and culture in Canadian municipalities, through recognition of excellence and support for special celebratory cultural activities. This program awards the designation of "Cultural Capital" to the competition winners, as well as a financial award (maximum limit of 2 million dollars as funding up to 750/0 of the winning project budget). Canadian municipalities can apply for an award, either individually or as partners in a joint project. The City of Kitchener is Report No. CSD-06-038 Page 4 eligible to apply within the category of "cities over 125,000 population." Applicants to the program must present an exceptional application including a schedule of activities that "celebrates" and "builds legacy" for the community through arts and cultural activities. Application deadlines are as follows: October 15, 2006 deadline for awards to be distributed in 2009 March 15 2007, deadline for awards to be distributed in 2010 October 15 2007 deadline for awards to be distributed in 2011 Early discussions in the arts community have elicited widespread interest and support for the development of a community-wide program for this application. The Arts and Culture Advisory Committee passed a unanimous motion in its regular meeting on March 14, 2006, "To endorse the potential significance of the Cultural Capitals of Canada Program; and to recommend that Council approve that staff study the feasibility of an application to the Program." Senior Management is in discussion with staff in neighbouring Cities and at the Region to determine the levels of interest in this program. If approved by Council, staff will work with the community to facilitate the selection of a model for developing a community vision for this program application, as based in the CulturePlan II content and additional public input representing the needs of community-wide stakeholders and participants. The community itself would be called upon to develop this vision. The visioning process in and of itself would embody community networking and region-wide visioning that was strongly recommended as a priority throughout CulturePlan II. A detailed report will be brought to Council to identify the key program activities planned for the application and the funds required, in addition to identifying the level of investment and leadership to be contributed by the numerous project partners. An ambitious, community-based proposal presents the unique opportunity to celebrate and further develop our local cultural identity and arts community, in tandem with community-wide investment. Community members consulted to date have recommended that whether or not the designation is awarded to this community in the end, the program of activities would be significant to our future and would merit funding and implementation nonetheless. It has been suggested that a program could be developed so that in the absence of the program award, the Program could be modified and integrated into community-wide programming. This will be assessed by staff. The relationships and vision built in the process of creating the application will represent major collaboration and a refined community vision. Summary These three emerging Focus Projects, now defined, represent an Implementation Strategy which, if implemented in addition to the current Culture portfolio, will enact more than 600/0 of the CulturePlan II recommendations. They serve to focus the community and staff in 'doable' projects that address the issues of financial sustainability and the capacity of the community to continue to provide the programs and services inherent to Kitchener. They incubate opportunities for community convergences and place making while focusing attention on the development of Kitchener's authentic identity while positioning us within the cultural tourism industry as a region of interest. Report No. CSD-06-038 Page 5 FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS: Culture Plan II Team Any costs incurred for the support of the Teams will be funded through the $10,000 CulturePlan II funding envelope approved in the 2006 budget deliberations (631323). Community Investment Strategy As per CSD-05-164, project costs of $85,000 will be derived from the 2006 Leisure Facilities Masterplan Capital Envelope. Arts and Culture Cluster Development/Scoping Exercise The project cost of approximately $20,000 will be funded through the Economic Development Investment Fund (EDIF). Cultural Capitals of Canada The proposed feasibility assessment could be conducted by either City staff or by an external agency. Incidental costs arising in 2006 (or consultation/facilitation services if required) will be funded through the CulturePlan II funding envelope (631323). COMMUNICATIONS: A comprehensive communication strategy has been employed during the research and development of the three emerging Focus Projects. This process has involved interdepartmental City staff and managers, the Arts and Culture Advisory Committee, the Public Art Working Group, the CulturePlan II Internal and External Teams, as well as the City of Waterloo Cultural Development Committee. In addition, a Public Update and Input Session was held on March 22 in the Rotunda, to which representatives from City Standing Committees and all participants in the CulturePlan II were invited to attend. Public consultation is at the heart of the successful development and implementation of each of these Focus Projects, in keeping with the legacy of community involvement represented by CulturePlan I and CulturePlan II. CONCLUSION: The three proposed Focus Projects have the potential to be powerful catalysts for the implementation of CulturePlan II recommendations, in addition to their direct impact on related Corporate initiatives, investments and values. If endorsed by Council, the continuation of research and development required for a Cultural Capitals of Canada application will accelerate dynamic community development as per CulturePlan II. The application curriculum would be advanced by the eventual receipt of the award, yet in the event that the designation were not awarded, the process would still merit activation in the community, due to the significance of the productive community visioning process and program it will encompass. Erina Harris Facilitator Arts and Culture Cheryl York Coordinator, Arts and Culture AP