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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCAO-09-004 - CofK Strategic Plani ..~.._ - - ,~`~~~ 1 (~ffi~: REPORT Report To: Mayor Carl Zehr and Members of Council Date of Meeting: Submitted By: Prepared By: Ward(s~ Involved: Date of Report: Report No.: January 26, 2009 Carla Ladd Carla Ladd All January 21, 2009 CAO-09-004 Subject: City of Kitchener Strategic Plan - Presentation to Council RECOMMENDATION: For Information BACKGROUND: A strategic plan for the City has been under development since 2001. The plan was built in component parts starting with the Corporate Plan (2002) -the strategy for our business systems, the Healthy Community Plan (2006) -the identification of the community's long term priorities and the People Plan (2008) -our strategy for supporting staff. While seven years may seem like a prolonged period of time in which to develop a strategic plan, the process to build the plan was inclusive of Council, staff and the community and the result is a rich vision and comprehensive long term strategy which serves all interests and strongly positions the city for the future. The plan represents the culmination of work towards achieving Council's vision fora "Different Future for City Government and Public Service". REPORT: The plan has, at its heart, six community priorities which were identified through both quantitative (Environics Survey) and qualitative (Who are you Kitchener?} research. These six priorities were then fleshed out in a Plan for a Healthy Kitchener created by a citizen's working group under the umbrella of Compass Kitchener. The six priorities are: Quality of Life Leadership and Community Engagement Diversity Dynamic Downtown Development Environment There are two critical foundations which underpin the plan -people (People Plan) and business systems (Efficient and Effective Government) -without which, we could not bring the plan to life. The recently released and newest component of the strategic plan, `People Plan', is the strategy that supports the city's workforce so that they can continue to be successful in delivering services to the community. Based on employee input, this part of the plan outlines the city's workplace culture and the five strategic directions that will ensure we make progress towards achieving that culture: A Culture of Learning A Culture of Safety and Wellbeing A Culture of Inclusion A Culture of Appreciation and Fun A Culture of Community Stewardship The people plan is intended to ensure that Kitchener will continue to be a dynamic Canadian municipal leader that is able to build its future on the ideas and innovations of some of the best and brightest talent. Finally, Efficient and Effective Government embodies strategies around our corporate systems. First developed under the Corporate Plan in 2002, this foundational area has grown to ensure that we have the business systems and processes in place to support our staff in advancing the communities priorities and delivering high quality services. Several corporate systems and their strategic priorities have been identified in the plan: Financial Management Information Technology Customer Service Communications Public Policy Leadership The focus of Efficient and Effective Government is to strengthen the performance and accountability of municipal government in Kitchener. FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS: The structure of the Strategic Plan is such that all city initiatives are to be aligned with the priorities and directions outlined in the plan -these initiatives will be identified on an annual basis in Departmental Business Plans. The City's annual business planning cycle is intended to provide a process in which to review annual work plans across the corporation and align annual budgets to those plans. COMMUNICATIONS: Formal roll-out of the City's Strategic Plan will be undertaken to all staff on January 29, 2009 at varying times throughout the day. Each staff will receive a copy of the executive summary of the Strategic Plan and the full plan as well as all its associated appendices will be posted on the City's website. Copies of the both the full Strategic Plan as well as the Executive Summary will be available to the public on request. CONCLUSION: The City of Kitchener Strategic Plan represents the first comprehensive strategic plan in the City's history. For the next 20 years, this plan will be our touchstone for directing the work of city government, guiding and bringing clarity to our decisions, and sustaining and supporting the development of our community. Stemming from Council's interest in creating a "Different Future for City Government and Public Service", this plan seeks to create the kind of organization they envisioned -one that has a sharpened focus on continuous improvement; building community trust and appreciation; providing valued and accessible services and excellent customer service, and engaging and informing citizens about decisions. Carla Ladd CAO Note: Copies of the City of Kitchener Strategic Plan to be provided to City Council on Monday, January 26t" at the Special Council Strategy Session.