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LIFE SKILLS ASSOCIATES LLCTraining and Consulting in Organizational Development and EffectivenessDeanne Shapiro, President141 Ballard DriveWest Hartford, CT 06119(860) 236-0238, fax: (860) [email protected]

AMERICAN PUBLIC WORKS ASSOCIATIONNEW ENGLAND CHAPTER

STRATEGIC PLANNING MEETING FLIP CHART NOTES AND INITIAL DRAFT STRATEGIC GOAL ACTION PLANS

NOVEMBER 19, 2013 2013 Life Skills Associates LLC

mailto:[email protected]

MEETING GOALS

1. Reach consensus on the four overarching Strategic Plan goals.

2. Complete objectives for each Strategic Plan goal (objectives = reasonable targets for the first year of the Strategic Plan).

3. Identify the next steps in the Strategic Planning process.

© 2013 Life Skills Associates LLC APWA New England Chapter December 2013 Page 1

GOAL AREA 1: PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENTAND KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT

No further additions – shown on pages 6-9 of this document as developed by the Professional Development work group and incorporated into

Strategic Goal Action Plan by the meeting facilitator.


GOAL AREA 2: AWARENESS/RECOGNITIONOF PUBLIC WORKS

External Education (of the general public)o Focus on the value of public works "as a "quality of life" issue for communities

o Develop the "value proposition" or "business case" for public works support

o Develop an "elevator speech" to promote the value of public works

o Identify target audience(s) and key messages for each

o Determine who should communicate to which audience(s)

o Relate public works to municipal Master Plans and infrastructure issues

o Position communication about public works "above the fold" positively and pro-actively

o Use/leverage marketing and social media, including blogging, other media and interfaces

o Make what we do visible and understood in a positive light: goal-directed communication

o Get there first - school-level education

o "Imagine life without public works"

o Examine/use resources from National and other chapters

o Realize that awareness doesn't equal recognition

o Increase awareness in other non-member communities

Internal Education (within the public works field)o Enhance/expand internal understanding of the field and the public works

profession in general within the field

o Develop elevator speech

o Enhance professional appearance of people and equipment

o Respect for and pride in the profession

o Increase awareness of the value of the American Public Works Association and Association membership


GOAL AREA 3: DEVELOPMENT OF YOUNG PROFESSIONALS

o Build support for Young Professionals

o Diversity

o Breadth and depth of focus

o Outreach to other schools with engineering curricula

o Involve foremen and mechanics

o Get support of managers, directors, and municipalities to send Young Professionals to events

o Mentoring

o Discounts for Young Professionals and for members sponsoring Young Professionals

o National Student Toolkit


GOAL AREA 4: MEMBERSHIP DEVELOPMENT AND RETENTION

o Define current and potential audience(s) for membership development

o Increase number of current members

o Engage current and new members in active organizational participation

o Develop new organizational leaders: Executive Committee, other standing and ad hoc committees

o Enhance communication with members

o Reach out to municipalities that are not AWPA members

o Diversify beyond the current "circle" of membership: Outreach to diverse demographics and types of constituencies, e.g. human resources, transportation, utilities, public safety, planning, emergency management

o Use Young Professionals as outreach ambassadors - include in rosters

o Look at agency membership format

o Focus on member retention

o Municipalities could include membership as part of the hiring process

o Increase awareness of the value of Association education and credentialing programs

o Focus on the value of Association membership for current and potential members

o Develop "road show" programs to decentralize Association programs

o Explore National AWPA resources for membership development

o Explore categories of membership; review National dues structure

o Identify barriers to membership and what we're not doing


Strategic Initiative: Professional Development and Knowledge Management

Goal 1: Provide the basis for ongoing knowledge management through a continuum of training and educational opportunities for all levels of public works professionals, from line-level supervisors, to mid-level managers, as well as public works executives.

Objective 1: Continue to collaborate with Norwich University in offering an online training institute focusing on the mid-level manager (PWM).

Strategy By Whom By When How Measured Progress/Status

a. Replicate the requirements of a three-credit undergraduate work.

b. Seek undergraduate credit for the NEPWL.




Objective 2: Explore collaboration with federal and state training agencies to offer residential training for first-level supervisors (PWS).


a. Partner with, endorse, and submit application for approval of a Public Works Supervisor (PWS) Institute with the Connecticut Technology Transfer (T2) Center.




Objective 3: Coordinate with APWA, Norwich University and UNO to offer public works executives (PWE) a cost-competitive online training option that is substantially less costly than graduate studies. [This would not replace the current graduate-studies approach for PWE credentialing. If members desire to pursue graduate work in order to also fulfill PWE credentialing, that option would remain. But a lower-cost educational alternative should be available for PWE credentialing if graduate work is not in the long-term plans for the applicant.]




Goal 1: Provide the basis for ongoing knowledge management through a continuum of training and educational opportunities for all levels of public works professionals, from line-level supervisors to mid-level manager, as well as public works executives.

Objective 4: Coordinate with public works organizations and stakeholders for support, advice, and use of the information in professional training.


a. Provide value for those who complete such training, such as enhanced opportunity for advancement and increased responsibilities.

b. Encourage graduates of all chapter professional development to make presentations to chapter members and stakeholders in the community in order to broaden knowledge of public works best practices.

Strategic Initiative: Awareness and Recognition of Public Works


Goal 2: Communicate, educate, and inform the public regarding issues and matters related to the Public Works field to enhance understanding of what Public Works does and why it makes a positive difference.

Objective1: Increase public understanding about the importance of Public Works in maintaining and improving the quality of community life for residents and businesses by providing information, frameworks, and tools all Public Works professionals can use to educate the public about the value of Public Works.


a. Develop the "value proposition" or "business case" for public support of Public Works.

b. Develop a compelling "elevator speech" to communicate a consistent message about the value of Public Works to community life (e.g. an "imagine life without Public Works" message).

c. Develop a cohesive marketing strategy, including social media, blogging, and other media and interfaces, with identified target audiences and messages to improve public recognition of Public Works.

d. Increase awareness of Public Works in communities that do not belong to the Association.




Objective1: Increase public understanding about the importance of Public Works in maintaining and improving the quality of community life for residents and business by providing information, frameworks, and tools all Public Works professionals can use to educate the public about the value of Public Works.


e. Communicate the relationship between Public Works and municipal Master Plans and infrastructure issues.

f. Develop materials to educate school children about Public Works.

g. Examine and use National and other chapter resources for public education.

..




Objective 2: Enhance and expand understanding of the Public Work field and profession in general within the field.


a. Develop an "elevator speech" for internal communication within the field about Public Works and its value.

b. Develop approaches to reinforce respect for and pride in the Public Works profession, including a focus on professional appearance and the maintenance/appearance of equipment.

c. Increase awareness of the value of the American Public Works Association and of Association membership.


Strategic Initiative: Development and Engagement of Young Professionals

Goal 3: Empower Young Professionals in the Public Works field (vendor, consultant & public) to make the Public Works career path and interaction with the American Public Works Association relevant to their career, professional, and personal lives.

Objective 1: Develop and provide a broad range of supports and tools to strengthen the diversity and active involvement of Young Professionals in the Public Works field and in the Association.


a. Establish a presence in local universities, e.g. Northeastern Event Mid-February 2014/introduction of APWA and Public Works.

b. Develop outreach approaches to other schools with engineering curricula.

c. Provide discounts for Young Professionals and for members sponsoring Young Professionals.

d. Explore mentoring programs, the National Student Toolkit, and other resources to support Young Professionals.




Objective 1: Develop and provide a broad range of supports and tools to strengthen the diversity and active involvement of Young Professionals in the Public Works field and in the Association.


e. Seek the support of managers, directors, and municipalities to send Young Professionals to events.

f. Expand outreach to involve foremen and mechanics.



Goal 3: Empower Young Professionals in the Public Works field (vendor, consultant and public) to make the Public Works career path and interaction with the American Public Works Association relevant to their career, professional, and personal lives.

Objective 2: Leverage the existing membership to spread the word about the Young Professionals Group.


a. Use the National Public Works Week Luncheon as a vehicle to engage Young Professionals and to "spread the word" about Young Professionals.

b. Make the Luncheon a joint event and encourage attendees to bring a Young Professional with them.

c. Consider possible additional discounts for Young Professionals.

d. Make this the objective for the event Chapter-wide.




Objective 3: Host two Young Professionals educational and social events: a) an "organizational behavior" topic; b) a training session for foreman/mechanics.



Strategic Initiative: Development and Retention of an Engaged Membership

Goal 4: Engage current and potential new Association members in active organizational participation in the activities and operations of the Chapter.

Objective 1: Develop and present a compelling case for the value of active membership and participation n the New England Chapter locally and the American Public Works Association from a national perspective.


a. Provide everyone associated with the Public Works profession and their reporting Communities and Organizations with quantifiable value added measures that justify their involvement in Chapter locally and the Association nationally.

b. Increase awareness of the value of Association education and credentialing programs.

c. Develop "road show" programs to decentralize Association programs and showcase the value of Association membership.




Objective 1: Develop and present a compelling case for the value of active membership and participation n the New England Chapter locally and the American Public Works Association from a national perspective.


d. Examine membership categories and the National dues structure as possible approaches to communicate the value of membership.

e. Explore National APWA resources for membership development.

f. Identify barriers to membership and possible untried approaches for membership development and retention.




Objective 2: Increase the number, diversity, active engagement, and retention of Chapter members.


a. Define current and potential audience(s) for membership development.

b. Diversify beyond the current "circle" of membership outreach to diverse demographics and types of constituencies, e.g. human resources, transportation, utilities, public safety, planning, emergency management.

c. Reach out to municipalities that are not AWPA members.

d. Use Young Professionals as outreach ambassador - include in rosters.






e. Increase awareness of the value of Association education and credentialing programs.

f. Enhance communication approaches with members.

g. Develop and implement approaches for member retention.

h. Re-examine the agency membership format, e.g. municipalities including Chapter membership as part of their hiring process.

i. Develop new organizational leaders: e.g. Executive Committee, other standing and ad hoc committees.






j. Explore National APWA resources for membership development.

k. Explore categories of membership; review National dues structure.

l. Identify barriers to membership and untried membership development and retention strategies.


RECOMMENDED NEXT STEPS

1. Review and complete Goal Action Plans for Year 1 of the Strategic Plan.

2. Review the current Chapter mission statement and determine if any revision is needed.

3. Consider development of a Chapter vision description delineating the 3-5 year "desired future" for the Chapter.

4. Develop plans for communicating the Strategic Plan goals and objectives, and as appropriate (if completed) the revised mission statement and the new vision description, to Chapter members.


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