Town of Cochrane Strategic Plan – Final Report October 2014
6.0 Proposed Strategic Directions
A strategic plan’s individual projects are often organized by themes, sometimes called Strategic
Pillars or Directions. These categories are the major, high-level business strategies on which the
organization will focus over the term of the plan.
Each strategic direction:
• Represents an area in which the community must excel to achieve its medium- to longterm goals.
• Should closely align with the Mission Statement.
• Must address major issues identified during the situation analysis or community
assessment.
Developing strategic directions involves considering
not only the opportunities and potential projects
identified, but also the SWOT analysis,
environmental scan, and best practices in
community development. These directions also
reflect deliberate strategic decisions made by the
Steering Committee.
A Strategic Plan should help community leaders
understand not only “what’s in” but also “what’s
out.” One of the challenges many smaller
communities have is that resources become spread
too thin as they feel obligated to pursue each new
opportunity that emerges.
A Strategic Plan should help
community leaders understand
not only “what’s in” but also
“what’s out.” This facilitates
the best use of finite
resources, prevents burn-out,
and limits distractions from the
mission, vision and goals.
It’s essential to establish key priority areas so that municipal staff and community partners are
focusing their efforts on complementary projects that build and support one another.
Based on our analysis of community input, resources, environmental trends and best practices in
community development, we suggest five key directions in Cochrane’s Strategic Plan (Figure 6.1):
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Strengthen the business community.
Grow the agricultural sector.
Leverage transportation assets.
Promote Cochrane as a great place to live.
Maintain tourism infrastructure.
36