Richmond Hill Recognized for Its Strategic Plan

RICHMOND HILL –The Town of Richmond Hill was awarded honorable recognition by the Association for Strategic Planning for its Strategic Plan. Recognized in the Government, non-profit or academic organization category, Richmond Hill is only the second Canadian municipality to be recognized in the 10 years the award has been granted.

The Richard Goodman Strategic Planning Award honours excellence in strategic planning. It aims to promote an ongoing commitment of the highest merit in strategic planning, strives to fuel originality during the course of strategic planning and gives credit to organizations pioneering a new strategic practice.

“This is a great honour and also not the first time we have been recognized for the work we undertook in developing our Strategic Plan,” said Mayor Dave Barrow. “These special awards recognize not only the hard work of Town staff and Council, but also acknowledge the community itself and the people who participated.”

The Strategic Plan, which focuses on the goals and aspirations of the people, provides a long-term vision and direction for the Town by stating: “Richmond Hill, where people come together to build our community”. The plan clearly articulates a mission, vision, goals, outcomes and strategies that respect the balance between people, the environment and the economy, while also inspiring change.

“The community engagement process was forward thinking for many reasons,” said Mayor Barrow. “It was unique. The consultation methods stressed the importance of the Town going to residents for their opinions rather than waiting for residents to come to us.”

Over 2,000 people were consulted during the People Plan Strategic Plan process. Online surveys, community forums, social media, ethnic forums, youth contests, email blasts, event launches, summits, community roundtables, brand and marketing materials were some of the consultation mediums that were employed. Other original ideas used to develop the Strategic Plan were the use of appreciative inquiry and emergent strategy, the commitment of Council and staff and the use of an integrated approach to conduct the public consultation for both a Strategic Plan and an Official Plan simultaneously.

For a copy of the Strategic Plan, Annual Report and Implementation Plan updates, visit Richmondhill.ca/StrategicPlan.

The Richard Goodman Strategic Planning Award was named after Richard Alan Goodman, an expert in organization strategy and innovation. He was a professor of management at UCLA Anderson School of Management for 37 years. As an industry expert to the governments of Spain, Israel and the United States, Goodman was a trusted advisor to many clients. A member of the Board of Directors for the Association for Strategic Planning, he was integral in the creation of the annual award.