Strategic Plan Frequently Asked Questions

Why does Saanich need a Strategic Plan?

It is about focus. The Saanich Vision tells us where we are supposed to go, but not how to get there. Each of us at Saanich know why we are here to serve the people but we all need to agree on how: what specific objectives do we need to achieve our Vision? The Strategic Plan, our strategy, will help to focus all our energies on what is most important, and provide direction to each employee on how individual jobs contribute to the Vision.

The Strategic Plan is an important first step in establishing a clear roadmap to accomplish our Vision. It will provide framework to report meaningful performance results, satisfy Community Charter requirements, and clearly indicate to the citizens the progress we have made towards achieving the Saanich Vision.

How was the Strategic Plan developed?

The foundation of the Strategic Plan rests on the Saanich Vision 2025, a vision adopted by Council after extensive public consultation. To convert the broad strokes of the Saanich Vision into more specific strategic themes and objectives, the Municipality committed to an input and review process involving these Saanich stakeholders:

• Citizens - Saanich collected citizen input on the community's vision, values and priorities through a comprehensive Citizen Survey and a series of focus groups involving residents, businesses and other community organizations.
• Council - Building on information from the Citizen Survey and an environmental scan of existing municipal strategic documents like the Saanich General Plan, the Parks and Recreation Master Plan and others, Council identified six strategic themes, as well as some key objectives.
• Municipal Staff - Guided by priorities defined by Council and citizens, municipal staff worked intensively over a period of six months to develop and refine the strategic themes, objectives, priority initiatives and measures needed to complete the Strategic Plan. Over fifty staff were involved in this process, with many others participating in additional research and review activities.

How will the Strategic Plan improve public accountability?

The Strategic Plan provides a quick visual representation of our strategy, and serves as a management tool for addressing and reporting on a balanced set of priorities and measures. It will provide balanced, focused, step-by-step direction on what is most important for us to do, and allow us to measure our progress and results in detail.

The Strategic Plan contains detailed strategic measures and targets that allow us to not only report on what we are accomplishing in the long term (called "results" measures) but also on what we are doing in the short and medium term (called "progress" measures). Measures focus on specific initiatives, as well as monitor progress towards groups of initiatives or objectives, and ultimately, long term outcomes.

Measures are a powerful tool in driving desired behavior. Measures provide direction to staff about what they need to accomplish to support the organization's strategy. Citizens, Council and management can use strategic measures to evaluate the organization's progress towards achieving strategic objectives, and to understand the Municipality's contributions to improving the community.

Community involvement in and public accountability through the Strategic Plan will happen in four ways:

1. triennial public opinion surveys and focus groups;
2. three formal discussions per year with advisory committees on Strategic Plan direction monitoring and reporting;
3. the financial plan process; and
4. an annual Corporate Performance Report, as required by the Community Charter, Section 98 (objectives and measures reporting requirements).

What happens next?

The Strategic Plan is an evolving plan for accomplishing our Vision. It is a living document. The Plan will change over the next year in response to budgetary restrictions, departmental planning processes and newly emerging challenges. Developing our strategy to reach the Saanich Vision will necessarily involve additional planning processes designed to more systematically identify components of major themes and the complex interactions between them. The Strategic Plan sets the stage for more comprehensive planning necessary to define a more complete strategy.

After the Strategic Plan is approved, the Municipality will begin developing Departmental Plans that link to, and support, the Strategic Plan. Departmental Plans will outline how each department intends to contribute to the organization's progress towards its strategic themes and objectives, and ultimately, the Saanich Vision. Since the Strategic Plan does not represent every important service delivered, these departmental scorecards will also include initiatives and projects that are part of "running the business".

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