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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2.B. Anne Carroll-Carroll, Frank & Associates Carroll, ~~~~~ Visioning and Strategic Planning Consulting Services for the City of Shakopee 15 April 2004 Carroll, ~~~~@ Saint PE),ul, MN 55116 Phone: 651-690-9162 Fax: 651-690-9156 carrfran@uswest.net 15 April 2004 Mark McNeill City Administrator City ofShakopee 1?9 Holmes Street South Shakopee,~ 55379 Dear Mr. McNeill Thank you for the opportunity to submit this proposal to Shakopee for visioning and strategic planning services. I am impressed that Shakopee is willing to take such a proactive look at the future of your community - it bodes well for your ability to engage a diverse group of stakeholders in an. authentic process, make creative and legitimate decisions, and truly make a difference for Shakopee. The attached proposal reflects our commitmentto a joint process designthat responds to $hakopee's unique needs. We offer an initial understanding of the challenges and opportunities Shakopee is facing, followed by an overview of our customized, inclusive, and consensus-based approach. We've included a preliminary scope of work and deliverables that provide direction based on our extensive experience and current understanding of your situation. We close with the requisite information on fee structure, qualifications, project experience, and client references. This is an exciting initiative, Mark, and we look forward to the opportunity to talk with you and council members about this effort later in April. Until then, please contact me with questions of any kind (651- 690-9162 or carrfran@qwest.net), and thanks again. Sincerely, ~~ Anne R. Carroll TABLE OF CONTENTS Understanding.......... .......... '.~""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" ...................... 1 Approach......................................................................................................................... ............................. 1 Preliminary Scope of Work and Deliverables ............. .................................... ............ ........; ....~....... .......... 2 Develop. Scope and Launch Project .... .................... ............... ............ .......... ...... ..............~..;.... ......... ...... 2 Identify Stakeholders and Perform Initial Analyses ............................................................................... 3 Create "Live" Issues and Search for Solutions .......................................................................................4 Formulate Vision and Plans.................................................................................................................... 6 Monitor, Evaluate, and Evolve............ ~.................... ........;............. ~.......... .................................. ............ 7 Fee Structure ....... .......................... ........ ........ ............. .................. .............................. .............. ..... .............. 8 Background, Experience, and Client References..............................;....................... ~................................. 9 Qualifications of Project Manager .......... ............. ..... ..............;............ ................ ......... ................ .......... 9 Selected List of Projects. ...... ....... .,. ........ ........ ................ ...... ...... ... ..... ....... ...... ............................... ... ...... 9 Client References.................. ..................... .......... ........ .......... ................ ..................................... .......... 11 / . ~ Understanding Shakopee is facing the fascinating "problem" of being a stable, healthy community that is so attractive to both long-time residents and newcomers that rapid growth threatens to outpace your ability to responsibly plan for it. It is often the case in such situations that the urgent supercedes the important, and communities risk either overreacting or letting others make decisions for them. Shakopee is in rare company with your decision to pause briefly and take stock of the strengths you have and the challenges and tremendous opportunities you face, and create a community vision and plan for a future that you choose. This visioning and strategic planning process will address the wide range of perspectives and dimensions of your community. An increasing number of Russian, Latino, and Hmong residents, as well as "migrants" from the Twin Cities' urban core are mixing with other newcomers to paint a different picture of Shakopee, and generate tough questions about public services, education, housing,. and water and sewer services. Over 12% of the students in your schools come from homes where English is not the first language - a significant increase students and languages in a very short time that is creating new d(~mands on early childhood, K-12, and adult learning. People initially taking "pro-growth" or "no- growth" positions are further exploring the challenges and finding that neither scenario addresses your rich opportunities or complex needs. Major employers and neighboring communities are pushing and pulling in multiple directions. Demands for park and recreation opportunities are increasing along with serious environmental challenges, yet specific interests vary widely and the funding conundrum . routinely brings planning to a halt. Changing transportation and transit structures, and shifting demands on other infrastructure have moved faster than local government, businesses, and residents can respond. Regulatory entities, business investors, seniors, environmentalists, and farmers; long-time residents, newcomers, youth, entrepreneurs, boosters, local elected/appointed offiCials and staff; faith communities, educators, employers and employees, nonprofits.and not-for-profits, important interest groups, the volunteer sector, the media... The list of stakeholders goes on and on, and everyone has an essential stake in the future of this wonderful community. The question is therefore not whether,. but rather how to best engage them in this critical visioning and strategic planning work, and how to ensure a successful and durable implementation that flexes to meet your evolving needs. Approach Before discussing details, it is important to make clear that our. firm is committed to alegitimate, authentic, and ethical process that engages stakeholders in a consensus-based visioning/strategic planning and decision-making process that yields a substantive, durable, and "live" framework to help shape a positive future for Shakopee.We'repleased your RFP reflects a similar commitment, and believe Shakopee is well-positioned for a successful effort. We also think it helps to clarify how we see our role: We see our job as helping Shakopee create aplan and framework that works for you. This is not our process, our plan; our vision, or our implementation - it is, and always must be, yours. You are the experts, you have the knowledge, you have the stake in your community's future, and you and your successors must own this work. Weare the "guides on the sides," with extra energy and process design expertise to jump-start this effort, a clear vision of how to keep an initiative focused and moving, deep knowledge of how to respectfully engage stakeholders with diverse interests and tremendous talent, and decades of experience helping groups reach consensus and learn how to move forward successfully. Carroll, Page 1 8J:'ral1ck MyX.lnH~ Finally, please know up front that we are proposing athoroughly customized approach. We do not come in offering a process that we've carried to dozens of other communities, simply changing the city name for each proposal. You're committed to a real visioning and strategic planning effort that will excite and energize your community and make a long-term difference. We make that identical commitment.W e therefore work very closely with you at every step to jointly design a powerful, flexible, and successful visioning and strategic planning process that meets your needs. Current research in strategic planning and public involvement shows that academic theories can take very different forms when applied in " practice; those of us who both teach and consult in these fields have learned this well, and bring the best of both toour work with each unique client. Preliminary Scope of Work and Oeliverables We understand that you expect this to be.an 18-24 month effort, and this appears to bea reasonable schedule to generate a rich, consensus..based vision, and get solid implementation under way. As the tasks will involve a variety of people and each will be specifically scheduled, we can assure our availability over that time period. As mentioned in the Approach above, we will jointly design the detailed process with you. The information below provides a basic framework for your consideration. Develop Scope and Launch Proiect Although your proposal is detailed and we'll learn more during theinterview process, it's critical that we meet early with key internal leaders to frame the initial project objectives and scope. . For this project, the initial leadership team is likely to include the Shakopee project manager (presumably Mark McNeill), key elected officials, and a few others we jointly identify. It is possible that we will jointly decide to create a Steering Committee, composed of people from city government and the community who would play long-term leadership and oversight roles. . The Steering Committee or equivalent will also needto think through some early communications strategies and-identify partners to help launch and maintain energy around this. effort. We also recommend you consider some "branding" ideas and look at this visioning/strategic planning effort as akin to a community-wide campaign. While this is serious work, itmustalso generate broad ~ community excitement and legitimacy, andwill benefitfrom an appealing name and a common set of representative symbols and images. This can be done simply and inexpensively using either internal or pro bono local resources, and will yield measurable benefits. . It is critical to identify and engage strategic. champions. These are typically diverse community leaders from traditional and nontraditional arenas who lend credibility to the work, open doors, smooth the occasional ruffled feathers, and generally help buoy the initiative at the community level and beyond. Deliverables: Specific deliverables will be identified and formally agreed upon as the process develops, but may include project scope; process design; membership, description, and role of Steering Committee or equivalent; initial communications options and partners; branding ideas and initial decisions; proposed champions; documentation of follow-up contacts and agreements to participate; next steps; and so on. Key additional participants: In. addition to our firm and others we formally bring in, this phase would require active support from the Shakopee project manager and designated staff, Steering Committee/ equivalent members, and initial champions. . Cllrroll, Page 2 ._. ....... - 8J!~H1Ck (:-" ~:. A~9)(AUI(>); Evaluation: As with the deliverables, evaluation mechanisms will be agreed upon for each phase as it takes final form. For example, if we jointly decidedto pursue the process ideas noted above, you should expect to see some "buzz" beginning fairly quickly within city hall and among the champions. This might take the form of small articles in employee or city newsletters, press release(s) from the city council/mayor, some interest from the Shakopee Valley News, and perhaps some initial communications from champions to the communities/stakeholders with whom they are affiliated. - Timing: Assuming we begin per the dates in your RFP, this could be done in May 2004. Identify Stakeholders and Perform Initial Analyses We listed some typical stakeholders earlier, but in a community wish such diversity ofinterests, priorities, age, race, income, language, tenure, gender, education, power, etc., we must identify the full range of internal and external stakeholder groups to enable us all to see the community innew ways. . With the advice and guidance of Steering Committee members and others, we will convene some stakeholder representatives to identify other groups, find out who is missing (and then add them), and do some thoughtful stakeholder analyses that may utilize tools such as power and interest grids, stakeholder influence diagrams, and so on. . We may ask the council/mayor to help us engage selected advisory board and commission members in this early step to gather stakeholder information as well as build awareness, rapport, and support. The council/mayor may also wish to host a simple public stakeholder identification and analysis activity that we would facilitate as part of a regular Tuesdaymeeting or at a special time.This could help highlighttheirleadership of and commitment to this initiative, and could be used as part of the early communications strategy. . We will also prepare selected communications with the community...,. Shakopee is a "big, small town," and news of all kinds travels fast. Individuals, groups, - and probably some advocates will begin asking questions, seeking opportunities to participate, and possibly questioning thecity's motives. We'll help ensure that what's being talked about feels, and is, open, inclusive, broadly participative, and exciting, and promises lots of places and spaces for people to engage in substantive and meaningful ways throughout the process. Deliverables: Probable deliverables include initial joint process design; stakeholder descriptions and contact information; analyses;. communications materials; issues that begin to emerge for further discussion; jointly agreed-upon details for next steps; - and so on. Key additional participants: Stakeholder representatives, as well as leadership by Steering Committee members, council/mayor, and the initial set of champions to support and facilitate our work in the community. While leadership's involvement is crucial, it should not be particularly time-consuming. Evaluation: As stakeholder groups beginto be contacted and selected representatives engaged in the effort, you should see the initiative continue to take shape,bepublicly recognized, and gamer attention in the community. Timing: Early summer 2004. CU:f(~L Page 3 8!lra.nck M<VX:.ltl<-S Create "Live" Issues and Search for Solutions Traditional strategic planning theory posits a linear and sequential issue creation process: define the - process, gather information, identify solutions, establish measures, select options, and move forward with a plan. In practice, issue creation begins when stakeholders put forward solutions, typically without clear and agreed-upon definitions of the problems that the solutions are meant to solve. For example, a group will come together to discuss Shakopee's future and people will say, "We have to create more safe recreation alternatives for youth," or, "Our downtown business properties need to be revitalized." Since we live in the real world of practice, we willjointly design the process around howpeople think in practice, not in theory. And while we will make sure these great ideas are documented, respected, and carried forward, we will also clearly understand them for what they are: solutions in search of one or more problems that must be broadly agreed upon prior to proceeding. [Please also note that itis too early in the process to try and formulate a "community vision" at thispoint. Visioning opportunities will emerge following this phase and will then have deep substance, rich meaning,. broad ownership, and assured durability.) . To identify legitimate issues that may eventually gain a place on the public agenda, we begin by working closely with the Steering Committee, selected elected and appointed officials, and champions to frame questions to ask the community. These will be based on their deep community connections and knowledge. Note that we will be seeking abroad range of possible issues/problems and solutions in this phase, not consensus or closure. . We. will jointly devise sensitive and respectful ways of hearing and listening to Shakopee's many voices, andwill partner and coordinate with the many stakeholder groups to design andJacilitate community conversations, focus groups, vigorous dialogue, and open and clear opportunities for communication. We will make special efforts to connect with underrepresented communities, communities of color and language, new immigrants, seniors, and others. In addition, with approximately 30% ofthe community 19 and under, wewill actively engage youth throughout this process; in addition to formal activities, it might be fun to organize a parallel youth-centered effort with the local public and parochial schools that could be framed in August and September and launched in the fall. . There will be a.combination of new events, activities within others' scheduled gatherings, and facilitated discussions in collaboration with organizational, institutional, and community partners. We will work with stakeholders on logistics, provide lead or co-facilitation, arrange interpreters and translators, and prepare all documentation. We can also provide training and.support for stakeholder groups to conduct their own conversations, to encourage deeper and broader participation. . We will work with the Steering Committee, champions, and local partners to expand communications. We would continue providing information about the initiative (events, activities, opportunities), and add broader mechanisms for community input. These could take the form of a project-specific email address, website that may include ablog, special city voicemail box, special meetings, targeted interviews, and so on. . It may also be useful during this phase to consider field trips, open houses, or special events to explore the dimensionality of problems and issues that emerge from the community conversations. If carefully thought through and managed, these can be useful with issues that are complex, conflict- ridden, unique to particular groups, and so on. They can also be tightly tailored to special communities or stakeholder groups, or combined with other activities or events to attract targeted participants. . As the process moves forward, we will document, compile, and communicate the input that emerges. .,carroll, Page 4 - ,: 8!lra.nck ~ .:\~: ~~~.X-~l<li:'.~ "Live" issues will emerge from this rich set of conversations, along with some tangible and strategic candi date-solutions. . As we will have done. throughout the process to date, we will work closely with the Steering Committee to jointly determine how best to explore the possible solutions that emerge, push back and forth to seek common understandings on problems, and begin the serious community work of identifying real solutions. . We may recommend workshops with the Steering Committee, city council/mayor, champions, and key stakeholder representatives. We will begin by engaging key stakeholders to present and discuss community findings on possible issues and solutions. The formal group will then move forward using facilitated idea management tools and techniques such as oval mapping to identify some major publicissues and a broad range of strategic solutions. This will lay the groundwork for community visioning and detailed implementation planning. . Highlights will be broadly communicated with the community, and ongoing opportunities for participation will be jointly identified. Deliverables: Typical deliverables include process design; documentation of outreach, logistics, events, and participants; detailed stakeholder input on solutions, problems, ideas, concerns, and issues; communications materials; input; strategic workshop results; and details for next steps. Key additional participants: This step is dynamic and iterative as issues and solutions are framed, shaped, and reshaped. In addition to all community participants who will be involved, the Steering Committee or equivalent may be expanded to become more broadly representative to provide better guidance and oversight. Members are likely to offer contact information or assistance in forging partnerships, and may choose to participate in some of these events. Either we or Shakopee may choose to bring in additional facilitators; interpreters or translators; individuals with technical or professional background or expertise; and so on. We would expect to rely on Shakopee's strong volunteer community, and this. could also provide opportunities for local youth to gain some leadership experience; we could also involve graduate students in landscape architecture, environmental and civil engineering, planning and public policy, and so on. Evaluation: You could expect some community consensus to begin tangibly emerging, especially in the community-decision maker workshops noted above. Through the leadership. of the Steering. Committee, champions, and partners, media coverage and project-specific communications should be active and well-established by this point. You could expect a reasonable level of general community discussion, and various stakeholder groups, organizations, and institutions should be doing some of their own communications. Ourfirm and project leaders should also be regularly communicating with key community people to check the pulse at street level and identify misunderstandings and process mistakes so we can make mid-course corrections. Timing: Creating issues and searchingfor solutions may last into early 2005 in order to engage representative stakeholders while maintaining project momentum. This work will continue to be revisited and refined throughout the project. As you might expect at this point in our proposal, we must become even less detailed. As each step depends on the previous work that we have yet to jointly design and implement, we do not wish to be presumptuous. On the other hand, we understand that you need some legitimate substance, so we will offer suggestions and options that will demonstrate our ability to actively and responsibly guide Shako pee through the critical next steps. Carroll, Page 5 &r'al1ck AU9X-1A1(':; , Formulate Vision and Plans By this point in the process, we are assuming that we've led project leaders andkey stakeholder representatives through a structured yet responsive process to gather and analyze broad and deep community input, and formulate critical issues/problems and some general solution strategies. These lay the crucial foundation for a community vision, from - which you can formulate. goals, strategies, and action plans to achieve that vision. . A strategic choice you will have to make at this point is who will articulate the vision. Without making a recommendation, from previous experience we suspect that some combination of city and community leadership may choose to formally draft Shakopee's vision statement. Under any circumstances, it will be based on the rich perspectives, input, and ideas from the community conversations, and we will ensure that connections to that work are transparent to both participants and the community at large. . This articulation process is likely to be done in more than one workshop using an appropriate consensus-based process. The group will need to articulate the key components of a vision, and then begin extending their thinking deeply into the strategic planning dimensions that support the vision. At your discretion, it would probably be useful at this point to reengage technical and professional experts to address implementation details (see more on this below). You may wish to do some community vetting during the process, or certainly upon conclusion; presuming active city council involvement, either existing or supplemental public meeting structures would work fine for that. Once a legitimate vision is in place based on broad community consensus, you are ready to begin the fun work of generating the details and moving more tangible work forward. . An oval mapping process in one or more intense and high-powered workshops is well suitedto developing the goals, strategies, and initial action steps necessary to implement the vision.. This could begin with a single small- to mid-sized group that includes key decision makers, champions, and implementation leaders representative of key stakeholder interests, or with several groups working concurrently with different facilitators who we would then bring together to reach full- group consensus. This work, too, is building directly on the foundation of community input plus the vision, and we will keep the conversation clearly connected to that context. . We would probably conduct a deeper stakeholder analysis at this point by working with a leadership team to identify stakeholder positions on issues vs. stakeholder importance, and diagram stakeholder influence to analyze positions and roles of key stakeholders on the defined issues and problems. This allows us to assess stakeholder support and opposition on keyissues, identify potential threats, and seek opportunities to build coalitions. From there, we would probably manage or conduct multiple sessions to detail community-level stakeholder commitments to specific tasks, timelines, responsibilities, interrelationships, and resources. . With your approval, wide varieties of expertise would be factored into this phase to address issues such as changing demographics; planning, zoning, and infrastructure; parks and recreation; community and economic development; housing; public finance; architecture and landscape architecture; and so on. This would be provided by the.public sector, local private.and nonprofit in- kind contributions, various partners, volunteers of all kinds, our firm and associated colleagues, and grad students. . Implementation priorities can be established any number of ways, but we expect that you will have substantial guidance on this from the initial community discussions. And when there's broad and deep ownership of challenges, vision, and reasonable implementation strategies and actions, . Carml!, Page 6 " 'J: 8!;ral1ck l'< ~~ . M9:XJlll\':) . / resources tend to converge by themselves, be more easily targeted, or be found from new sources- because a positive and exciting future is appealing, attractive, and rewarding. . Various communications.mechanisms will be much better established at this point,. and most will continue to be employed. Special events maybe organized around the community's new vision and a summary or "tag" line will presumably be incorporated into city-generated paper and electronic materials, and may show up in other forms such as signs, banners, and other materials related to community identity; it may also be picked up in some way by key stakeholders. Information on goals, strategies, and actions will be publicized in various formats, and all participating stakeholder groups and partners will be highlighted and celebrated.. We will also jointly devise some ongoing communications strategies to cost-effectively keep the community informed about and maintain energy around progress, as well as encourage continued participation. Deliverables: Deliverables are likely to include process design; vision-setting prep materials and decision documentation; process and documentation for goals, strategies, and action steps; information on priorities and resources; communications materials; next steps; and so forth. Key additional participants: Local elected and appointed officials, champions, stakeholder representatives, experts, partners, and others take active roles in this phase in a variety of ways and at different times. The Steering Committee will continue to provide oversight and support tohelp integrate everything smoothly. Evaluation: This wiII take multiple forms, particularly in relation to the energy, excitement, and quality of worktl1rough this phase. You should expect to see strong stakeholder response and engagement, as well as resources of all kinds being aligned and newly identified. Ownership should be obviously broad- based, and while champions will continue to play important roles, new and shared leadership will have emerged. Timing: With so many players and a sincere commitment to success, this work must proceed with energy but also appropriate depth, deliberation, and substance. This is likely to last for most of 2005. Monitor, Evaluate, and Evolve This is by far the hardest phase, yet the most important. We can feel the excitement, the energy, and the movement by now. We can see coalitions forming, decisions being made, work beginning. The community is more vibrant, together, and positive. So why worry when everything's cool? Because it won 'tstay that way, of course, unless you regularly monitor, evaluate, and update your plans so they evolve to reflect the changing realities of your dynamic community. . We will work with you to develop structures to formally monitor and evaluate progress against the goals and toward the vision. These must have internal and external components, be measurable, engage the community, allow vigorous dialogue, and be openly communicated. . This work must also be woven tightly into all documentation, reporting, and the various forms of accounting that is done both within government and in the community; this will help leaders hold each other accountable. . We will help develop incentives and consequences to support progress, as well as opportunities to publicly celebrate both grand-scale and small successes. . Finally, we'll help design methods to weave feedback and change loops for both public and community implementation into routine structures such as regular councillboard/commission meetings, local rp.~dia, intraorganizational communications, and decision-making structures. Carroll, Page 7 Franck (St~\.!.~)(,~alti . We will use a variety of small group and individual techniques to jointly devise these mechanisms, and document all steps. We also have the option to involve one or more of our Twin Cities colleagues who are nationally known evaluation experts; given the detail that we will have available by then they may be able to offer some cost-effective and timely guidance that could strengthen the efficacy of this phase; as with other outside experts, this would be at your discretion. Deliverables:These will probably include recommended monitoring, evaluation,. and change structures; documented decisions; communications materials; and so forth. Key additional participants: Steering Committee members, champions, partners, and local leaders all play critical, though not time-consuming, roles. - Evaluation: It's hard to describe an evaluation of an evaluation, but in this case the deliverables will speak for themselves. You should also expect to see and hear the fruits of this work being incorporated into what people say and do at all levels. Timing: This will begin near the end of the previous phase, probably fall 2005, and continue forever. Fee Structure As this visioning and strategic planning process will be jointly developed over time, firm costs obviously cannot be determined. We can provide the. following clear framework, however, so that you will be comfortable with the costs. Our commitment to supporting your visioning and strategic planning process ensures that you are in control from start to finish. As we jointly develop and document the details of each step, we will determine and document responsibilities and costs, and make necessary adjustments in response to your budget. Remember, also, that this process is made real by large numbers of people from throughout the community, most of whom will participate in small and no-cost ways. We havealso proposed actively engaging local champions, partners, volunteers, youth, and grad students, for whom costs would be minimal. As the professional and accountable "guides on the sides;' our tasks and costs will be jointly estimated for each step, completely transparent, formally documented, and therefore among the easiest to manage. We understand that Shakopee has currently budgeted $50,000 to coverconsultant work on the visioning/strategic planning project, as well as potential technical and professional services for implementation. We do not know the time period for that figure, but would expect costs for our time for the first year (through late spring 2005) to be no more than $25-30,000; if the project proceeds as . sketched out above, the bulk of our time-consuming work should be done by then and costs through the restof2005 should be reasonable. The vast majority of our work will be provided by owner and firm principal, Anne Carroll, billed at $IOO/hour. The costs above include any paid interpreters and grad students with whom we may contract if we jointly decide they would be helpful. (We do not bill separately for routine expenses such as local travel, phone, fax, and so on.) Other technical or professional services will be at your discretion, including professional facilitators who may be necessary if we decide to ()()ndu()t multiple, formal, concurrent public involvement sessions. And . . . . - It Carroll, Page 8 '.:..8!'ranck ~;>> -. A.$~X.lllf\'$ -<<1'- note that while we deeply appreciate the regular time of public employees and participating community volunteers, we are assuming those are not being tracked as hard costs. Expenses associated with public participation may include food, materials, space fees, mailings, transportation (such as for field trips), and so on. You may also incur expenses for some of the routine communications mechanisms you select. We will try and get much of this provided or donated by the city, partners, champions, and community members as part of the local investment in this initiative, so expect those costs to be manageable. Background, Experience, and Client References Qualifications of Proiect Manager , Since 1985when she founded Carroll, Franck & Associates (CF&A), Anne Carroll has provided a variety of consulting services to public, private, and nonprofit organizations, including the following: . Public Involvement and Strategic Planning: Designing, developing, and delivering decision- making, strategic planning, team-building, information-gathering, and group process consulting services to address a variety of needs and challenges. . Training and Teaching: Designing, developing, and delivering workshops, training sessions, and graduate-level jnstruction on strategic planning, diversity in public participation, technical writing and communications, and decision making. . Communications: Writing and editing educational and technical publications, papers for presentation, research and policy reports, formal memoranda, manuals, studies, regulatory documents, analyses, facility plans, style manuals, marketing materials, software manuals~ instruction books, and training materials. MS..Carroll received a Master of Planning in public affairs from the Humphrey Institute at the University of Minnesota in. 1983, with a concentration in policy process and decision making. She received a Bachelor of Arts in American Studies and English from the same university in 1978 (Phi Beta Kappa). She is a present and past board and committee member of various professional, educational, and nonprofit organizations, and currently serves as an elected member of the St. Paul Board of Education where she and her colleagues oversee a budget of$560 million, 7,000 staff, and43,000 students in the largest district in the state. CurrentSBE, ESB, or WBE certifications include City of Minneapolis, Hennepin County, and subsidiary agencies; City of St. Paul, Ramsey County, and St. Paul Public Schools; and Minnesota Department of Administration which includes. state and regional agencies and the University of Minnesota. Eligible for certification by most other government entities. Selected.. List of Proiects Strategic Planning and Group Facilitation Diverse Public Involvement: Designed, developed, and conducted day-long training program in "Affirmative Design -- Inclusive Public Participation in Diverse Communities" for advanced professionals. Client: International Association for Public Participation (May 2004). Building Inclusive Communities: Providing project design and consulting for an agency's statewide effort to build inclusive communities in cities experiencing growing impacts of immigration and racial diversity. Client: League qf ~/1jffi1esota Cities. . Cm:roll, Page 9 L : . Fra.ntk ,. . . 8t"'.x",,,, l~ ,. : - o. Public Involvement and Strategic Planning: Designing and implementing public involvement and communications plan for alternative strategies to meet regional transportation needs. Client: Minnesota Department of Transportation, Office of Innovative Construction Initiatives. Participatory Management and Public Involvement: Designed new structure and project content, and teach semester-long graduate course at the Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs. Taught asa professional development seminar, the course focuses on designing authentic and legitimate public involvement processes, and culminates in a six-week design project based on a current major public policy issue. Community Involvement and Decision Making: Designed an unusually inclusive community-focused process to prepare recommendations for site redevelopment of blighted property. Included members from strategic community groups, as well as from all city and county agencies with regulatory and decision-making authority. Reached consensus on neighborhood- and culturally-sensitive recommendation. Client: Hennepin County Taxpayer Services, Minneapolis, ~. Process Evaluation, Design and Visioning Recommendations: Evaluated Hennepin County's countywide continuum of care processes through interviews, process and results analysis, and comprehensive recommendations. The process recommendations are shaping major visioning work with senior staff and County Board members, and ongoing decision making processes. Client: Hennepin County Community Works, Housing, and Transit, Minneapolis,MN. Public Involvement and Decision Making: Design and conduct rigorous annual public involvement effort for Hennepin County's HUD homelessness continuum of care selection and ranking process. This diverse group from professionals to homeless people determines criteria and selects recipients for millionsinHUD support for homeless people. Client: Hennepin County Community Works, Housing, and Transit, Minneapolis,~. Community Facilitation: Conducted neighborhood input sessions as community members considered various housing and retail development proposals within the context of the community housing and arts plans. Client: Northeast (Minneapolis) Community Development Corporation. Fieldbook on Participatory Management and Public Involvement: Jointlyresearched, developed, co-taught, and produced comprehensive fieldbook for statewide program and graduate-level course on this topic with nationally known strategic planning author John Bryson. Includes strategies and approaches to legitimate and meaningful policy change within a complex and often highly political environment. Client: University of Minnesota Extension Service and the Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs, Minneapolis. Strategic Planning, Facilitation and Decision Making: Designed and facilitated workshops and large andsma.l1 group meetings, site council workshops, and decision-making sessions to address education needs, concerns, alternatives, and directions. Client: St. Paul Public Schools. Strategic Planning and Goal-Setting: Designed and facilitated workshop for board of nonprofit focused on preventing child abuse. New and long-standing board members developed goals and strategies, and created and explored alternative delivery methods. Client: Center for Child Abuse Prevention, Minneapolis,~. Needs Assessment and Prioritization: Designed and facilitated workshops with professional, operations, and maintenance staff of public facility facing significant expansion needs. Half-day to day-long workshops involved 15-45 staff members from many disciplines and all levels, and included appointed officials. Developed long-term community communications plan. Client: Urbana- Champaign Sanitary District and CTE Engineers, Chicago. Decision-Making and Information-Gathering Sessions: Facilitated community task force meetings, public information meetipgs (70-165 attendees), neighborhood meetings, and evaluation and decision-making workshops for the public, Metropolitan Council members, staff, and consultants to select site for majgr regional W'l~t~w~ter treatment facility. Client:.Metropolitan Council Environmental Services, St. Paul, ~. I' Carroll, Page 10 h..':. Franck .":': 8(A"x""" Site Planning: Facilitated workshops for Metropolitan Council members and community groups to site WWTP facility; helped develop public and Metropolitan Council communication and education strategies for plant and interceptor siting; and edited technical memoranda and presentation materials. Client: Metropolitan Council Environmental Services. Communications, Research, and Marketing f Impact Management Study: Conducted international literature review, researched, evaluated, and wrote study of the impacts of wastewater treatment plants and other public facilities on neighborhoods; considered types of impacts, impact management options, implem~ntation techniques, and public process issues. Client: Metropolitan Council, St. Paul,~. Communications Program: Developed preliminary community communications program for multiyear CSO program management effort; wrote and edited technical documents; developed publication design standards and style manual for external and internal documents. Client: City of Spokane, WA and CTE Engineers, Chicago, IL. Quarterly Publications: Outlined, interviewed content experts, wrote, and coordinated publishing for two quarterly engineering publications as part of multiyear effort to enhance client and employee communications. Combined national circulation over6,000. Client: CTE,Chicago, IL. Photography: Photographed children from around the world to illustrate their varied faces and feelings. Photographed public facilities within communities to document their design and proximity to residential properties. Photographed transit routing equipment. Clients: Children's Trust Fund, St. Paul, ~; Metropolitan Council Environmental Services, St.Paul,~; Metropolitan Council Transit Services, Minneapolis,. ~. Facility Plans: Wrote and edited WWTP and water facility plans and environmental documents for various municipalities. Client: Metropolitan Council. Information Systems Consulting: Assessed needs, prepared bid specifications, analyzed proposals, selected vendors and systems, negotiated contracts, and facilitated implementation of citywide, integrated information management systems. These projects involved entire city staffs (50-210 people), City Councils, Boards and Commissions, and citizens' groups throughout each multiyear project. Groups were facilitated through the decision making and implementation processes on a consensus basis using various small- and large-group techniques. Client References . Mark Hendrickson, Chuck Ballentine, or Patrick Connoy, Hennepin County Housing, Community Works, andTransit,612-348-2199 . Jim Reynolds, Snyder and Associates (formerly CTE Engineers), 515~964-2021 x 2557 . John.Doan, MnDOT Office of Innovative Construction Initiatives,.65 1-284-3605 . Jeff Strand, Hennepin County Taxpayer Services, 612-348-7870 . Beth Carlson, Minnesota Department of Natura1 Resources, 651-296-9228 . Sarah Dirksen, League of Minnesota Cities, 651-215-4036 . John Bryson, Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs, 612-625-5888 ., C1l{roll, Page 11 .. . &'l"'<ll1ck . i;.. &'S'X-1al\~ . . . ... * CITY OF SHAKOPEE S CONllvlUNITY PRIDE SINCE 1857 REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS strat plan rfp 2004.doc I .. .~ ~ REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL CITY OF SHAKOPEE, MINNESOTA Visioning / Strategic Planning Facilitation Services I. Introduction The City of Shakopee is requesting proposals from qualified firms to conduct a visioning and strategic planning process to guide Shakopee into the future. Shakopee has reached a pivotal point in its history with a growing population, a changing economic base, and rising citizen expectations. A key motivating factor in creating this strategic plan is to positively influence the direction and momentum of both growth and change to ensure that Shakopee remains an attractive place to live, work, and play, as well as a community that preserves those essential values that make it an attractive place. II. Background The City of Shakopee is a suburb within the Twin Cities / Minneapolis - St. Paul area facing significant growth challenges. For much of its existence, Shakopee was a freestanding center for growth in a predominantly agricultural area of the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area. Shakopee continues to 'provide an element of small town character and high quality of life, making it a very attractive location for residents and businesses, and increasing the opportunity for and challenges oflong-term growth. Shakopee is one of Minnesota's first incorporated cities and has evolved from a trading center to a regional entertainment center. Shakopee is also a major employment center as a result of having the state's largest business / industrial park, and is one of the fastest growing communities in the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area. The city provides small town character and high quality of life within the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area making it a very attractive location for residents and businesses alike, thereby increasing the opportunity for and challenges of long-term growth. As a result, Shakopee faces continued significant growth challenges. The City projects a population of 40,653 (with current corporate boundaries), by the year 2020, which is a 100 percent increase over the 2000 Census population of20,568. The 1990 Census reported a population of 11,739. The number of housing units has increased from 4,340 in 1990 Census to 7,805 in the 2000 Census (a 72 percent increase). In undertaking this strategic planning project, the City Council understands the need to carefully plan for growth and develop specific goals and objectives to direct the City's decision-making and future actions to ensure that the qu.a1ity of life and character of the City are enhanced in the process. strat plan rfp 2004.doc 2 ,. ~ .. Objectives of Strategic Planning The City Council wants the strategic planning process to provide an opportunity for community discussion about the future, a framework to guide allocation of City resources, and a means to identify goals and track progress. The strategic planning process will assist in A.) Identification of and response to critical issues, which determine Shakopee's future quality oflife B.) Ensuring that the City gives adequate attention and response to critical issues C.) Ensuring a coordinated approach to major issues across all departments, and achieving greater focus of resources D.) Providing a clear framework for evaluation of City efforts, assuring accountability to all of Shakopee's citizens E.) Recognizing that the City's efforts, including undertaking and successfully implementing a number of new projects and programs, has to be prioritized III. Scope of Services The purpose ofthis visioning / strategic planning process will be to: A.) Develop a clear and compelling vision for the community; B.) Identify community or organizational strengths, challenges and opportunities; C.) Establish consensus through identifying and prioritizing community issues and concerns; D.) Successfully planning for the future through developing goals, objectives, strategies and action plans to address the identified issues and concerns; and E.) Create a vision / strategic plan document that will serve as a framework for decision- making and the allocation of limited resources to achieve the goals set forth by the community. The strategic plan will be a "working" document to be revised on a regular basis. The firm should have substantial experience in assisting communities in the facilitation of the visioning / strategic planning process, knowing and proposing many techniques (nominal group technique, force field analysis, etc.) that can help to make the process move more quickly and effectively. The firm should also act as a "referee" on issues that are subject to disagreement within the community, and when a particular course of action within the process may benefit some members ofthe community more so than another. In addition to strategic planning, the firm should also have expertise in the fields of urban / city planning, community planning, zoning, economic development, real estate development and landscape architecture. The firm should keep the participants focused on what should be strat plan rfp 2004.doc 3 .. accomplished, and caution participants about and steer them away from potential missteps. The firm should bring to the project state-of-the-art knowledge of how to bring about the end results ~ that the participants prefer. Great emphasis is placed on the last item above--the firm must provide expertise as to what specific implementation steps must be followed to accomplish the desired vision. The services provided by the facilitator should include, but are not limited to, the following: 1.) Preparing a plan to involve the community in the visioning /strategic planning process 2.) Assist in motivating the community to become involved in the process 3.) Educate the community on how the process works; explain the process and answer questions 4.) Defining, assembling and presenting appropriate visioning / strategic planning questions 5.) Arrange, conduct and moderate meetings/sessions 6.) Facilitate: a.) Brainstorming b.) Consensus building c.) Identification of priorities d.) Identification and analysis of goals e.) Identification of strategic action 7.) Recommend strategies / tasks (that may not be identified by participants) to achieve identified goals 8.) Assemble the input received from the community-The "community" from which input will be sought is intended to include residents and property owners from Shakopee, but also adjacent townships and cities. A diverse representation ofthe community will be sought-homeowners, renters, business people, and education, religion, athletic interests. 9.) Document and distribute the shared vision/strategic plan 10.) The document should: a.) Contain the views of the participants b.) Define a specific course of action to reach the vision 11.) Facilitate the public presentation of the completed visioning/strategic planning document 12.) Conduct implementation follow-up meetings The firm is encouraged to be creative in assisting the community through the visioning / strategic planning process. As noted above, the services that should be offered are not limited to the above list. The list is merely outlining a basic scope of services. strat plan rfp 2004.doc 4 . (, ., ..- IV. Content of RFP A. Title page (name, address, phone, contact person, date) B. Table of contents C. Statement of the proposal (work, timetable, availability) D. Consultant's profile/history, experience and client references E. Total Fee to be charged and method of payment F. Other pertinent information V. Proposal Evaluations The evaluation of the submitted RFP's will be based upon responses to the following: . How does the respondent propose to establish a Vision Statement? . Once the Vision Statement is established, how will specific issues be identified that must be addressed in order to achieve the Vision? . How will the respondent develop a consensus on the priorities of the issues identified? . Once the issues have been_prioritized, how will the respondent propose to establish the goals, objectives, and strategies necessary to resolve those issues? . How will the goals, objectives and strategies be incorporated into a workable Action Plan? . Does the respondent propose a schedule and/or method for]egularly updating the Action Plan? . What are the respondent's fees, and the anticipated schedule to complete? VI. Timetable The timetable for the selection process is as follows: April 15, 2004: Proposals opened / reviewed April 27, 2004: Interviews May 4, 2004: Recommendation to City Council; selection decision made. strat plan rfp 2004.doc 5 . .- . ., IV. Instructions to Proposers Ten (10) copies of the proposal must be in writing and must be received by: 10:00 a.m. on Thursday, April 15, 2004. All proposals, questions and correspondence should be directed to: Mark McNeill City Administrator City of Shakopee 129 Holmes Street South Shakopee, ~ 55379 Phone: (952) 496-9662 Fax: (952) 233-3801 E-Mail: mmcneill@ci.shakopee.mn.us In order to ensure a fair review and selection process, consultants submitting proposals are prohibited from contacting any other city staff or council members regarding these proposals, unless directed by the City Administrator. Changes or clarifications: Any new information that is relevant to the RFP will be sent to those parties who received the initial RFP solicitation, or any other parties who requested the RFP or otherwise subsequently identified themselves to the City of Shakopee, not later than five business days prior to the April 15th submittal date. Requests for clarifications received after that date will not be considered, unless of a nature that will not disadvantage other potential proposers. strat plan rfp 2004.doc 6