Keeping people safe & well

 

NCLB Coordinators' guide

Sustainability

 

A specific strategy focused on the continuation of NCLB efforts in any site must be integrated in the NCLB strategy itself. Given the tremendous levels of collaboration that have been formed, it is important to keep the momentum going and not become totally dependent upon one funding source to continue the neighbourhood level strategy development and implementation process.

In the context of NCLB, sustainability focuses on the continuation of the strategy development and implementation process. Key efforts to be sustained include:

•          Communication with residents and service agencies;
•          Coordination among various partnering agencies;
•          Community engagement and social mobilization activities;
•          Reinvestment in neighbourhoods.

This section will address why sustainability strategies are so important to NCLB sites and what your responsibilities are as a NCLB Coordinator in helping to sustain the NCLB efforts in your community.

Section Objectives

1. Explore steps required in developing a transition strategy in the neighbourhood where transformation takes place and the community gets into a routine of annual re-assessment, readjustment, planning and implementation process;
2. Learn how to attract, identify and use resources (leveraging);
3. Understand how to sustain the NCLB strategic planning process and maintain collaborations.

What do we try to sustain?

It is critical for the Site Coordinator to continuously reinforce to Steering Committee members and other community stakeholders that NCLB is not a program, but a strategy. The NCLB Coordinators must help educate community leaders to understand that NCLB promotes a comprehensive strategy development process.  This process brings together key resources from various agencies, the City, community organizations, other service providers, and community residents to collectively address the issues impacting the quality of life in the NCLB site.  While funds from various agencies may be invested to support some programming activities under different core components, NCLB should not be viewed as a program itself.  Therefore, since NCLB is not a program, the emphasis should be placed on strategy development and implementation process.

The following measures should be taken to achieve the goal of sustaining the NCLB strategic planning and coordination process:

Sustaining the NCLB Strategic Planning Process

1. Keep the communities involved and engaged;
2. Keep the service providers involved and motivated with the effectiveness of their service delivery in collaboration and coordination with one another and the community directly;
3. Provide all stakeholders with the NCLB organizational structure and how it fits in the City of Ottawa’s Community Development Framework (CDF) and keep it up to date and available at all times;
4. Encourage ongoing and open dialogue aimed at institutionalizing the strategy in the designated neighbourhoods;
5. Involve and motivate residents and stakeholders thoroughly with the Strategy;
6. Build a vested interest in continuing the strategy; 
7. Develop capacity among all stakeholders and partners.

How can I help leverage additional resources for the site?

NCLB coordinators must work with the Steering Committee to aggressively attract and identify new resources to support the strategy development process and resultant community action plans in participating neighbourhoods. In addition to looking for new resources, the NCLB Coordinator must work with the Steering Committee to ensure that existing resources are sufficiently optimized and leveraged.  The following tasks are often associated with attracting new resources and maximizing existing resources:

1. Make a solid case for the resources required through proper participatory assessment of the community needs;
2. Apply for collaboration grants after prioritizing community needs and making them part of the neighbourhood level development plan;
3. Create an asset inventory and revisit it frequently;
4. Create and strengthen partnerships with other service  providers;
5. Get acquainted with funders and understand their funding priorities;
6. Identify gaps in service.

What is the role of the NCLB Coordinator in developing a transition strategy?

While the NCLB Coordinator should concentrate on helping the Steering
Committee develop and implement a sustainability strategy, a change may be needed in the current operating structure and coordination mechanism of the NCLB.  It depends on the organizations involved and taking the lead. A CHRC may like to incorporate the NCLB approach into its existing community development work.

In other situations, organizations serving the community will agree to become more involved in leading a particular component of the strategy.  Infrastructures that appear similar to NCLB may exist and incorporate the philosophy of NCLB into their daily operations.  While there are no specific requirements associated with developing a transition strategy in the communities which make substantial progress, the following provides some details for consideration:

1. - Know who in the community will benefit from the transition plan from the high level focus of the Steering Committee to simply monitoring progress on the established strategy development process in the neighbourhood;
2. Document all evaluations and successes; 
3. Develop a continuation strategy without the extensive presence of the NCLB Coordinator in the neighbourhood;
4. Train the community to take the lead on re-assessments, re-evaluation, monitoring, re-adjustment and development of new Action Plans. They will become advocates for securing other resources and continuing the strategy development process.
5. Pass on what you know as a coordinator.

Summary
Sustainability of the NCLB Strategy should be one of the major concerns of the NCLB coordinators and they should begin early in the implementation phase. It is important to consider all four components of the strategy that need to be sustained --- not just one part.

One of the unique features of NCLB is the composition and diversity of the Steering Committee.  Continuation of the strategy development process helps to ensure that service providers at all levels will remain engaged with each other and the community in collectively addressing social, physical, service and economic needs in the community.

Understanding what sustainability is and how other NCLB sites have addressed this issue will help the NCLB coordinators move forward. 

It is important to remember that multiple resources are available to support the implementation of the strategy. Don’t get bogged down in only looking for grants or attempting to duplicate existing programs. Increased collaborations are an ideal tactic to use as part of the overall sustainability strategy. 

The program stability that the CDF support provides from the beginning enables the NCLB coordinators to develop relationships and to create structures that will ensure continued commitment of resources to the target site.

 

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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