Strategic Planning Report

Inn From the Cold April 2011

Prepared by Arnica Rowan & Kyla Jackson Cross Country Consultants arnica@crosscountryconsultants.ca

Project Objectives
Board Objectives Move from being reactive towards a proactive, strategic approach. Develop a niche for IFTC. Ensure all board members are on the same page, and moving in the same direction. Make good use of the boards time. Taras Objectives Define IFTCs niche within the communitys service network. Develop a specific directional plan. Team Objectives Confirm the vision, mission and values alignment with the provincial / local assessment. Hear from IFTCs primary stakeholders and incorporate their feedback in a meaningful way into the plan. Lead a board discussion about Inns current position within the fabric social services offered in Kelowna, and the currently supported provincial philosophies for caring for the homeless. Revisit and assess previous strategic goals; complete a set of strategic goals for the next 1, 3, 5 years. Create tactical objectives and timelines necessary to meet those goals. Progress Yes Complete Yes Yes Complete Complete Yes

Yes Complete In Progress

Process
For IFTC, we completed a fairly extensive stakeholder consultation and environmental assessment research project within a month and a half time-frame. Research Provincial Directions. We conducted an extensive search of provincial documents related to homelessness to better understand the provincial mandates in place. Additional internet databases were used to clarify language used and to compare National and North American directions. Regional Direction. A recently prepared Stakeholder Review was obtained from the Regional District to best inform the regional priorities and strategies. The City of Kelowna website was used to supplement this information. Best practices. We conducted an internet and journal article survey of homelessness strategies and organizations covered recently in the media and which have received recent awards. Coordinator and board member interviews. We sat down with two board members and the coordinator, to understand the organizational structure and processes, as well as the strategic needs of the organization.

Stakeholder Consultation Volunteer meeting. We attended and recorded a volunteer stakeholder meeting with seven volunteers. Interviewed an additional volunteer at IFTC.

Guest Interviews. We spend an evening interviewing and recording guests in group and individual settings at IFTC. Staff Survey and Comments. We analyzed annual evaluation comments and the responses to a three question survey which were compiled by the coordinator. Each stakeholder process included the following three questions: 1. When you walk through the doors of IFTC five years from now, what do you see? 2. The board is considering permanent housing. How do you feel about this? 3. What do you love about IFTC?

Analysis
Through the strategic planning process, we have come to know more about the homelessness sector and the wonderful IFTC organization. The following analytical results created the foundation for the strategic planning process. Strong mission and vision. IFTC has a robust mission and vision which not only function well for the organization, but are also reflective of the values enacted by the organization.n Consistent positive feedback from each stakeholder group demonstrated the success of IFTCs mission: IFTCs great staff and volunteers, the respect and accessibility for guests, and the communal space and caring atmosphere. Key priorities from volunteers, staff and guests included: a greater variety of housing, extending availability of hours and seasons, staff with more background for higher needs guests, empowering guests to contribute, consequences for abusive behavior, non-emergency supportive housing, and expanded programming.

Recommendations
Upon completion of the project, we would like to offer the following recommendations to the board for consideration: Continue to support the strong and dedicated staff IFTC has, and the direction that the organization is heading. We share the concern with the board that the fantastic and devoted IFTC staff could easily burn out, especially with several large projects over the next five years. We recommend that the board takes a hands-on approach to ramping up the non-operational projects, and forms sub-committees around each project. It is also important to be clear which components of the projects are to be completed or supported by staff, and which are board projects. Create objectives for each project / goal. Each of the strategic goals is based on a major direction or project that the board plans to pursue. We recommend that the board should have one meeting for each of the four goals, to construct or approve objectives, or steps towards reaching those goals. We have included the boards discussion on each goal as well as process recommendations which may help the board project sub-committees form specific objectives for each project.