2.0 Strategic Planning Process Overview

An outline of the various phases involved in formulating the Strategic Economic Plan (SEP) for the town of Bishop’s Falls, in chronological order, is as follows:

Phase I: Early Consultation

Informal consultation to determine the major issues which were raised by the project proposal, the level of public interest, the most likely participants, and the key individuals who will represent them.

Interviews with community leaders - Community leaders were interviewed to provided a general overview of the major issues in the town and priorities that should be adopted for further economic development.

Key agency meetings - Consultation with ten regional key agency representatives was conducted to produce a broader perspective of what the strategic planning process should involve and the techniques that should be used.

Community survey - A survey was distributed to every household in the community to acquire insight on what residents believed were the strengths and weaknesses of the town were and the priorities that need to be addressed.

Phase II: Evaluation of Existing SEPs

Reviewed SEPs from regions and communities across the province to determine important content and format.

Reviewed the EVEDC Strategic Economic Plan - Analyzed the sector focus, issues that were addressed in the SEP and the format.

Reviewed the Schooner Regional Development Corporation (SRDC) - Analyzed the sector focus, issues that were addressed in the SEP and the format.

Reviewed “Gateway to the New Millennium” - Analyzed the publication produced by the Grand Falls-Windsor task force on economic development paying close attention to research activities, content and format.

Reviewed “Changing Strategies” - Analyzed the publication produced by the Mount Pearl task force on economic development paying close attention to research activities, content and format.

Phase III: Sector Strategy Research

It was determined that the Bishop’s Falls SEP would focus on tourism, manufacturing, youth, IT and retail. A review of the provincial and regional strategies in these sectors was conducted to ensure the Bishop’s Falls sector strategies remained in line with the direction of the province and region.

Reviewed Provincial Sector Strategies - An analysis was conducted on the provincial sector strategies for manufacturing (Economic Recovery Commission), tourism (Department of Tourism, Culture and Recreation) and information technology (Operation Online).

Reviewed the Exploits Valley Economic Development Corporation’s (EVEDC) Sector Strategies- An analysis was conducted on the strategies for manufacturing, tourism, IT and youth enclosed in the EVEDC strategic economic plan.

Phase IV: Drafted Vision Statement

Used research findings to draft a vision to provide the basis for long term direction, common cause and community action.

Sample visions - Devised five sample vision statements using community meeting notes, survey results and secondary data.

Vision Statement Workshop - Industrial Committee evaluated sample visions at vision statement workshop.

Tentative vision statement - Formed a vision statement using workshop suggestions.

Phase V: Devised Sector Strategies

Devised sector strategies using workshop and interview discussions of strengths, weaknesses and priorities pertaining to each sector. The following is a list of workshops, interviews and general participants (see Appendix A):

• Tourism Workshop - Tour operators, members of the town council and the public.
• Youth Workshop - Youth, professionals involved with youth, members of the town council and members of the public.
• Manufacturing Workshop - Manufacturers, members of the town council and members of the public.
• Information Technology - Students and professionals involved in this sector.
• Retail Survey - Eleven retail industry representatives were interviewed in a format identical to the sector workshops.

  Phase VI: Sector Strategy Feedback

  Distributed tentative sector strategies to workshop participants and key stakeholders.

  Mailed sector strategy drafts, accompanied by a memo asking recipients:

  • does the strategy reflect what the group was saying at the workshop?
  • are the initiatives, goals, objectives and targets realistic and can they be implemented?
  • are there any other initiatives that you would like to see in the strategy?

  Phase VII: Final Draft Presentation

  A tentative final draft of the SEP was drawn up and evaluated by a group of stakeholders within the Exploits region.

  1.0 Community Background | 2.0 Strategic Planning Process Overview | 3.0 Vision Statement | 4.0 Sector Strategies | 5.0 SEP Auditing Procedures | 6.0 Implementation Schedule