IDAHO RURALIST E-bulletin from the Idaho Rural Partnership

News from the Idaho Rural Partnership (IRP): Sept. 2018 v2

Visit our website

Welcome to IRP's e-bulletin, The Idaho Ruralist. Thanks to Battelle Energy Alliance, Operator of Idaho National Laboratory for their generous support of this publication.

We hope you find The Idaho Ruralist of value, wherever you live and work.

Although you may opt out of this newsletter via the "unsubscribe" option at the end of this issue, we hope you stay tuned!

Have questions or ideas to share? Let us know!

Let Us Know!

In This Issue:

Community-based strategic planning
A profile of IRP Administrative Assistant Vickie Winkel
IRP sponsorship opportunities

Ideas into Action:

Community-based Strategic Planning

Many communities recognize community reviews as a foundation for creating a strategic or community action plan. In this issue of The Idaho Ruralist, we explore some strategic planning best practices and resources.

We often hear comments like this from leaders and residents participating in community reviews:

“90% of the volunteer work gets done by the same 10 people.”
“We need to get more people involved.”
“We have different individuals and groups going in different directions.”
“We have lots of ideas, but are not sure what to do next.”
“We need funding.”

Sound familiar?

A thoughtful strategic (or action) planning process helps communities and organizations respond to the concerns above. Done properly, strategic plans:

Establish broad-based agreement on a preferred vision of the future
Focus limited time and resources on the most important action(s)
Engage more people in community projects
Attract funding and other resources to the community

Five Stages of Strategic Planning

While there are numerable approaches to strategic planning, the process commonly includes the following steps:

Step 1: Gather and analyze information to develop a common understanding of the current internal and external dynamics impacting the community and organization both now and in the future. This step can include, for example, conducting a survey and reviewing data to identify trends.

Step 2: Clarify the community or organization’s vision of its preferred future. In the case of organizations, this steps also includes clarification of mission (i.e. What do we do or what do we want to change? In service to what or whom? Why?

Step 3: Develop and prioritize goals and strategies. This stage also includes the identification of needed resources and partnerships. This is the step that results in the production of a strategic plan document.

Step 4: Complete tasks associated with the high priority strategies. This is the “action” part of action planning. This stage should clearly identify who is doing what and by when in order to ensure accountability and maintain momentum.

Step 5: Monitoring and evaluation to document progress, anticipate unforeseen challenges, and consider mid-course corrections.

Strategic Planning Resources

Asset-based community development builds on the skills of local residents, the power of local associations and institutions to build stronger communities. Example resource: Asset-Based Community Development Institute at DePaul University ( https://resources.depaul.edu/abcd-institute/Pages/default.aspx )

Appreciative Inquiry is a community and organizational development approach based on a premise that applying the qualities or factors that contributed to past successes will lead a community in a much more positive direction than focusing on past efforts that failed to achieve their potential. More information: https://appreciativeinquiry.champlain.edu/

WealthWorks is a strategic planning approach that identifies opportunities in a region and engages a wide range of partners in turning those opportunities into results that build wealth. More information: https://www.wealthworks.org/ .

Stronger Economies Together Stronger (SET) was launched by USDA Rural Development in 2009 as a way to strengthen the capacity of communities and counties in rural America to work together in developing and implementing an economic development blueprint that strategically builds on their current and emerging economic strengths. More information: https://www.rd.usda.gov/about-rd/initiatives/stronger-economies-together .

The Community Capitals Framework offers communities a way to analyze community changes. The Framework encourages communities to think systemically about strategies and projects, offering insights into additional indicators of success as well as potential areas of support. More information: https://s3.wp.wsu.edu/uploads/sites/2063/2015/07/REM.CommCaps.pdf .

Real-time Strategic Planning offers organizations a more nimble, fluid approach to strategic planning that helps them identify and respond to unanticipated opportunities and challenges as they arise. Traditional strategic planning processes, in contrast, are more limiting because they focus on identifying strategies appropriate at a fixed point in time. More information: The Nonprofit Strategy Revolution: Real-time Strategic Planning in a Rapid-Response World by David La Piana ( https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4850384-the-nonprofit-strategy-revolution )

All of the specific frameworks described above share some common principles. These include:

Identify strengths and assets and build from there.
Involve a broad cross-section of the community or organization in the process
The ability to develop collaborations among communities and organizations is becoming an increasingly important predictor of success.
The vision and the means or methods to achieve it are equally important. A plan that has one, but not the other, will not be successful.

Fruitland, Phones, and Finances

Q and A with IRP Administrative Assistant Vickie Winkel

Describe some of your duties as the IRP Administrative Assistant

I work three days a week. Sometimes my job feels like herding cats. In a nutshell, I manage our financial accounting and reporting to make sure we’re pinching every penny, take minutes for meetings, distribute information to board members and other partners, and complete research, writing, and other tasks in support of the board and executive director.

Where did you grow up?

Fruitland, ID. Go Grizzlies! New Plymouth was our biggest sports rival; I believe this remains the case. My sister and her family still live in Fruitland.

How has Fruitland changed since your youth?

It’s grown a lot. A lot of orchards have been removed. It’s kind of disappointing.

What kinds of jobs have you had prior to IRP?

In high school, I weeded sugar beets and picked fruit. Later, I worked in packing sheds, a cannery, and the A & W.

After graduation, I became a long distance telephone operator, then moved to Boise shortly thereafter. I “retired” after 34 years with the phone company. In 2003 I became the Secretary of the House Agricultural Affairs Committee and served for four legislative sessions. I began working for the Idaho Rural Partnership in 2004 while continuing to serve as the Committee’s Secretary for a few years.

What do you enjoy about being an important part of IRP?

Helping rural communities like Fruitland better themselves.

What’s your favorite rural area in Idaho?

I’ve always loved the fruit and wine country of the Sunnyslope area in southern Canyon County.

What do you like to do outside of work?

I keep pretty busy between yardwork around the house, making and selling my crochet wares at local craft bazaars, and walking my border collie Zorra.

Business Sponsorship Opportunities: Show Your Support for Rural Idaho!

Thank you IHFA! IRP Board Members and staff would like to thank Idaho Housing and Finance Association (IHFA) for their sponsorship check delivered at our August Board Meeting in Arco, Idaho. "We challenged IRP board members to match the donation," said IHFA's Erik Kingston, "They went even further, tripling the impact of our donation."

Kingston adds that involvement with IRP supports IHFA's mission to 'improve lives and strengthen Idaho communities by expanding housing opportunities, build self-sufficiency, and foster economic development.'

Learn more about Business Sponsorship Opportunities at https://lnkd.in/eRUhEFE

We leverage each dollar through volunteers and in-kind donations to cultivate a stronger future, and we gratefully acknowledge our sponsors during community reviews, in our print and digital media.

Click here to learn how your business can be part of rural Idaho's success story!

Thanks to our long-term sponsors!

Thanks also to Idaho Department of Labor for donating office space and to the Idaho Housing and Finance Association for ongoing support of The Idaho Ruralist e-bulletin and other outreach materials.

Idaho Rural Partnership

1090 E. Watertower St., Suite 100

Meridian, Idaho 83642-8441

208-332-1730 (office)