Winnipeg took a leadership role in re-writing its approach to planning and inviting the community into a frank and open conversation about what that might look like.This required securing the necessary resources to plan effectively, do background research that had been lacking before, and engage an energized, creative and diverse planning team. It meant being bold enough to diverge from long-standing processes, use the initiative Winnipeg was granted, and invent a new role for planning and planners in Winnipeg – to lead rather than follow; to be the best practice, rather than pursue it.
Winnipeg was entrusted us to be leaders – to manage and execute a ‘home-grown’ planning process and development plan under the mentorship and guidance of respected experts in their fields. Winnipeg's mission was to restore trust and create a sense of ownership in the plan amongst our citizens, politicians, developers and stakeholder agencies through significant and meaningful engagement from the outset.
To that end, Winnipeg's direction was to deliver a process to express a vision for the city. The plan provided:
- A sustainable framework (social, environmental and economic)
- A call to action
- A policy foundation for decision-making
- A dynamic process for delivery
Enter . . . SpeakUpWinnipeg: Winnipeg’s public engagement process. A major component of the process was SpeakUpWinnipeg.com, a blog-based website serving as the interactive hub for information sharing and conversation with and among citizens. This innovative new consultation tool featured a host of blog topics, video stories, questions of the day, and reference materials, all designed to generate informed opinions from a wide cross-section of Winnipeggers directly via the site, and through the most popular social media applications.
In addition to the project website, Winnipeg sought input through roundtables, focused neighbourhood conversations, stakeholder workshops, speaking engagements, community interaction and major public events. The planning exercise also benefited from the mobilization of over 120 members of the City of Winnipeg Public Service. The tentacles of the plan truly reach all operational areas of the organization at the most senior levels and will profoundly influence the way service is delivered for years to come.
