Judy Brownoff came to speak to our class a few weeks ago and although I found her sweater a little distracting, she was an excellent speaker. Judy is a municipal counsellor of Saanich, the municipality I spoke of in one of my very first blogs. It was super exciting to have her there because I know about a lot of what Saanich is doing on the sustainable community front.
One of Judy’s main points was the Saanich Official Community Plan, or OCP. This was a huge document which had outlines many of the principles of community engagement that we have been discussing in class. Although their approach was slightly different than ours, the main idea was the same. The OCP followed 10 general guidelines:
1. Understand the needs, values and concerns of decision makers & stakeholders
2. Manage expectations & Keep people informed
3. Get people involved early
4. Meaningful input, various ways
5. Plan for the unexpected.
6. Open to varied ideas & opinions
7. Deal with facts & perceptions
8. Surveys as a policy tool
9. The value of focus groups
10. Continual tending of the process
(Brownoff, Personal Communication, 2009)
I really enjoyed her outlook on community and that nothing can happen within a community without informing and involving people.
Counsellor Brownoff then proceeded to explain Saanich’s plan for a new wastewater treatment facility and had us do an exercise on how to influence change and peoples thoughts on this development. She actually involved us, and wrote down our suggestions. She seemed genuinely interested in what we had to say, it wasn’t just to keep us occupied. You could tell she was really gunho about how to get the community to focus their mind and ideas on this important project.
From all this, I learned that there actually are communities out there that are involved, and do want to participate and have their opinion heard. I bet that people in Saanich don’t put junk into their neighbours blue bins on recycling day.
One of Judy’s main points was the Saanich Official Community Plan, or OCP. This was a huge document which had outlines many of the principles of community engagement that we have been discussing in class. Although their approach was slightly different than ours, the main idea was the same. The OCP followed 10 general guidelines:
1. Understand the needs, values and concerns of decision makers & stakeholders
2. Manage expectations & Keep people informed
3. Get people involved early
4. Meaningful input, various ways
5. Plan for the unexpected.
6. Open to varied ideas & opinions
7. Deal with facts & perceptions
8. Surveys as a policy tool
9. The value of focus groups
10. Continual tending of the process
(Brownoff, Personal Communication, 2009)
I really enjoyed her outlook on community and that nothing can happen within a community without informing and involving people.
Counsellor Brownoff then proceeded to explain Saanich’s plan for a new wastewater treatment facility and had us do an exercise on how to influence change and peoples thoughts on this development. She actually involved us, and wrote down our suggestions. She seemed genuinely interested in what we had to say, it wasn’t just to keep us occupied. You could tell she was really gunho about how to get the community to focus their mind and ideas on this important project.
From all this, I learned that there actually are communities out there that are involved, and do want to participate and have their opinion heard. I bet that people in Saanich don’t put junk into their neighbours blue bins on recycling day.
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