Keeping people safe & well

 

NCLB Coordinators' Guide

Strategy Development and Implementation

 

The heart of NCLB is the Strategy.  It is important that NCLB coordinators spend time reviewing this document as it serves as a guide for the site’s plan of action.  The Strategy should represent a comprehensive plan for improving the quality of life for residents in the community.

Once the Community Actions Plans have been developed and approved, it becomes the responsibility of the Steering Committee, subcommittees and the NCLB Coordinator to work together to implement these successfully. 

We need to keep in mind that most strategies are designed to achieve goals and objectives over a three to five year period. However, short term plans are needed so that activities can be carried out and the work done evaluated for course correction if necessary.

The following section will focus on helping the coordinators understand how to develop and implement annual Action plans for the designated neighbourhoods. Furthermore, the coordinators will learn the importance of being informed about the local site’s timelines, reporting requirements, convening meetings, and collecting necessary data.

There may be a temptation within the site to treat NCLB as a program. It is a Strategy!!  The Coordinators’ task is to help move the NCLB site forward through the delivery of programs and services offered by the collaborating partners in order to achieve the goals and objectives.

What is the NCLB Coordinator’s role in supporting the community assessment process?

Section Objectives:
--  Overcoming obstacles associated with the site’s strategy;
--  Supporting strategy implementation;
--  Understanding the community assessment process.

The community assessment process should be a continuous process that helps to measure the effectiveness of the goals and objectives of the site’s strategy in addressing the needs of the community.  This section will address key components of the community assessment process that should involve the Site Coordinator.  It also offers tips to ensure this phase will be compatible with the activities of other groups in the community.

Identification of Realistic Boundaries

The coordinators need to begin with obtaining the University of Ottawa community profiles for the designated neighbourhoods. Secondly they should link boundaries to what community members perceive as their neighbourhoods and other identifiable sources for tracking. In the case of Ottawa Community Housing (OCH) units, the boundaries of the neighbourhoods are quite clear. In other cases it could be a street or combination of streets with somewhat equal distance from a meeting place without any major physical barrier such as a highway or river.

Collection and Analysis of Demographic Data

The University of Ottawa has done this work by gathering updated census information on 89 neighbourhoods in Ottawa. Information about residents, such as income levels, unemployment, poverty, and housing etc, is available. The NCLB coordinators need to make these community profiles more local with rich information from the residents.

Identification and confirmation of top physical, service and social problems, including crime problems, is part of the assessment phase. 

There is a need to look for trends in certain problems or crimes.  

Identification of additional unmet needs

1. Continuously work with community residents to identify unmet needs;
2. Compare findings from residents with secondary data sources.

Signs of Economic Revitalization

1. Coordinate with local economic development agencies to track planned economic and housing development projects within site;
2. Work with small businesses in the area to assess and encourage additional revitalization efforts.

What is the role of the NCLB Coordinator in implementing the strategy?

It must be clear by now that the implementation of the strategy involves the collaboration of organizations on a number of tasks and community-wide activities.  The NCLB Coordinator’s role is to coordinate and facilitate the creation of these collaborations to achieve the goals and objectives in the strategy.  Central to the implementation process are the regular Steering Committee meetings.  These meetings provide Steering Committee members with the opportunity to review and analyze progress reports relative to the four components of the strategy – social, physical, economic and service.

The Steering Committee meetings also provide community residents and other interested stakeholders with the opportunity to hear about the progress of the overall strategy and offer recommendations for improvements. 

Lastly, the Steering Committee meetings provide opportunities for individuals and agencies to develop and nurture relationships.

Given the significance of these meetings, the NCLB Coordinator’s role is to ensure the meetings run smoothly and that the Steering Committee receives all of the necessary reports and other relevant information to make informed decisions. Here are some tips for convening meetings, to ensure community involvement from the neighbourhood as well as the collection of critical data to be used for evaluation purposes.

Convening Meetings

1. Report progress;
2. Take minutes;
3. Schedule meeting times appropriate to the audience;
4. Prepare agendas in advance;
5. Staff the meeting;
6. Bring pertinent information referenced  in the meeting agenda, be prepared with relevant documents referenced in prior meeting minutes; 
7. Facilitate the meeting;
8. Identify outcomes and purposes for the meeting; ensure group participation by providing information to the members well ahead of the meeting. Other techniques to use include flip charts, ice breaker exercises, and brainstorming sections; keep the meeting on schedule by reaching consensus and moving forward.

Collecting Site Data to Support Development of Neighbourhood Level Plans and Implementation

1.  Identify data collection needs and purposes based on expected reporting requirements, program and project development, and assessment;
2. Conduct community surveys, focus group discussions, meet with partners, prepare inventory of resources and collect data from various resources;
3. Update existing data; 
4. Organize community engagement work, community canvassing, focus groups, and asset mapping.

Assisting with Strategy Progress at the Neighbourhood Level

1. Assist community members with the development of realistic goals;
2. Standardize a process for information sharing; assign Steering Committee members tasks that include timelines, people responsible for tasks, and local site reporting requirements;
3. Develop internal monitoring and reporting processes that include timelines, task status, and reporting requirements;
4. Identify the appropriate groups and individuals in the community able to fulfil the assigned purpose.

Evaluating the Strategy

1. Set success indicators in the activities identified in the community action plans;
2. Develop measurable outcomes for goals;
3. Develop a plan for conducting an evaluation of strategy according to the NCLB evaluation matrix, and coordinate with a third party evaluator if possible;
4. Assist with the collection of data for analysis;
5. Work with Steering Committee to address feedback from the evaluation;
6. Utilize data from evaluation in preparing progress reports.

What should the NCLB Coordinator do if the strategy for the site is encountering obstacles or needs to be amended or revisited?

While the Community Action Plan for each neighbourhood is expected to be used as a roadmap for the community and the Site Coordinator, Steering Committee and the various sub-committees, the NCLB Coordinator may encounter some obstacles. These obstacles can hamper the progress toward achieving the goals and objectives in the Action Plans. 

The next few steps describe what a NCLB coordinator should do if the site begins to experience some implementation-related challenges.

Encountering Obstacles Along the Way

1.  Discuss with Steering Committee, CHRC’s Program Manager, or the CDF Coordinator;
2. Encourage the development of an ad hoc subcommittee to address the obstacle;
3. Utilize the four C’s: Communication, Collaboration, Cooperation, and Coordination as tools to overcome the obstacle;
4. Record actions taken.

Amending and Revisiting Local Strategies

1. Review established timelines and reporting schedules to coordinate opportunities of strategy measurement;
2. Remind and facilitate Steering Committee members to review strategy progress toward the goals and objectives in each neighbourhood;
3. Assist the Steering Committee with proper submission of amendments to the community action plans, budget changes, and technical/service assistance requests to various partners.

Summary

NCLB coordinators should be able to convene, support, and facilitate strategy development meetings that lead to developing neighbourhood level plans, data collection processes, as well as assist the Steering Committee with measuring the overall strategy progress. In further support of strategy development and implementation, NCLB coordinators should bring together subcommittees and ad hoc committees to review timelines, reporting schedules, and achievement of goals and objectives.

 

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Centre de Sante Communautaire du Sud Est D'Ottawa

Contact: Abid Jan Tel./ Tél: (613) 737-5115 Ext. 2403  Fax/Télé: (613) 739-8199

NCLB matters because neighbourhoods matter