Seats at the Table: Broad Participation in Strategic Planning

June 8, 2010 By
From Marv, our Founder and CEO –

 

Last year we posted an entry to this blog about our friends in Pinal County, AZ. The County Manager, Terry Doolittle, and the three Pinal County Commissioners had involved all of the County’s elected officials in the development of the County Strategic Plan.

 

At that time, Terry was the only County Manager we had worked with who had successfully involved all of the elected officials in developing the Plan. What we’ve seen most frequently over the years is that the County Commissioners and County Manager would develop the Strategic Plan; this has been a successful strategy in so many places. However, Terry did not want the Strategic Planning process to perpetuate a divide between the Commissioners, the agencies who report to them, and the other elected officials. We were very impressed that Pinal had pulled it off – successfully.

 

Well, now we can add another success story. Jesse Smith, the County Manager in Montrose County, Colorado, has done it as well. He involved not only the three County Commissioners but also the Sheriff, other elected officials AND his department heads in the development of the Strategic Plan. Recently in Montrose, William Aaron, our Chief of Consulting Services and Innovation, and I facilitated the largest group we’ve ever worked with – more than 25 participants – in developing the Montrose County Strategic Plan. The Plan is built on extensive public input gathered in every geographic area of this large western US County, as well as input from all the elected officials and department heads. The Plan includes Issues facing residents, Priorities and measurable Strategic Results.

 

Montrose is set to take the next steps to develop Department Strategic Business Plans aligned to the County Strategic Plan, a Performance-Based Budget, and align Employee Performance to operational and strategic plans.

 

Congratulations to both Montrose County, CO and Pinal County, AZ for successfully involving the public and all elected decision makers in developing their County-wide Strategic Plans. This just may make it on our list of criteria for best managed County governments!
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Weidner Partners with CFI Group for Citizen Surveys

April 14, 2010 By

We’re pleased to announce that we’ve formed a strategic partnership with CFI Group, one of the nation’s leading citizen/customer survey organizations.

CFI Group created the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), the only standardized measure of customer satisfaction in the U.S. economy, which is used by more than 200 companies in 40 industries. The ACSI is also the federal government’s standard measure of customer satisfaction and is used by more than 70 federal agencies. CFI Group is widely recognized as a global leader in both measuring customer satisfaction and understanding how to improve it.
Using the cause-and-effect science of the ACSI, CFI Group helps government organizations better understand the needs of their constituents, citizens, and stakeholders. Their tools identify the key drivers of citizen satisfaction and dissatisfaction and pinpoint where agencies or local governments should invest first in order to deliver the most value to their customers. By applying the science of satisfaction, government agencies at all levels are able to better allocate scarce resources for maximum effectiveness and improve the quality of life for citizens.

 

We believe CFI Group offers a superior and affordable approach to gathering information from your citizens that will help set priorities for funds and provide key insights into performance. For more information about CFI Group and what they offer, contact our Chief of Consulting Services and Innovation, William Aaron, at waaron@weidnerinc.com. You can also check out their website at http://www.cfigroup.com/.
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