Power of Partnerships

29 February - Brockville

A Workshop associated with the Frontenac Arch Biosphere Annual General Meeting

The United Counties of Leeds-Grenville are preparing to embark on their Integrated Community Sustainability Planning.  While the initial start date of this planning exercise was to have been fall, 2010, delays in preparing Requests for Proposals to engage consultants began to push the start of planning into the time period for the municipal elections. As a result, the ICSP start is delayed until spring, 2011.

In August 2009, the Frontenac Arch Biosphere organized a workshop for mayors of this region, to introduce the mayors to Integrated Community Sustainability Planning, and to ask them to consider collaboration, rather than to conduct the planning, a requirement, individually.  A collaboration would cost each municipality a fraction of the expense of individual approaches, and would as well ensure that consideration of needs extended across municipal boundary lines. The collaborative approach was selected.

The Biosphere works toward integrating the several community interests into the ICSP, and to ensure insofar as is possible that in particular the region’s natural and cultural heritage, and all indicators that touch upon heritage, are given fair and thorough discussion, and included in strategies for sustainable community development.

Results of the fall 2010 municipal election saw four of the region’s mayors replaced by new persons, and there was as well considerable turnover in Councillors.  Most of the new faces are not familiar with Integrated Community Sustainability Planning, and were not privy to the discussions that brought about the collaborative planning approach. Therefore, it was determined that the Biosphere’s Annual General Meeting date, at the end of January 2011, which was one full month into the current municipal four year term, was appropriate timing for a “refresher” on the content and potential of the ICSP.

The objective was to attempt to draw as many municipal leaders and as many organizations that represent the four pillars of sustainability, to a common venue.  In a presentation - panel format, both group types would benefit from speakers that could explore successful (content and process) ICSPs in Canada; understand successful working relationships between municipal leaders and community organizations; and hear of a particularly successful ICSP completed in the Biosphere.

A total of 72 persons attended the session. Ten participants were municipal leaders, two were members of federal and provincial legislature, and the remainder represented the desired cross-section of the community. The considerable dialogue generated did focus on the interaction of municipalities and their communities.  There was broad agreement that the United Counties would be better prepared for the upcoming ICSP, with strategic contributions from the community.