Upper Valley Lake Sunapee Regional Planning Commission

Strategic Planning

The Upper Valley Lake Sunapee Regional Planning Commission is embarking on a strategic planning process to better respond to the needs of the region and develop services that can help build the capacity of the organization to be able to respond to changing land use and municipal issues.  The Commission created the Strategic Planning Commission on August 15, 2007.  A small group of Commissioners have been working diligently to create a strategic direction for the organization over the past year. 

Strategic Planning Committee Members

Nancy Marashio, Chair- Newbury
Jim Taylor- Plainfield
Bernie Folta- Claremont
John Tuthill- Acworth
Bill Dietrich- Hanover
Larry LeClair- Lebanon

Brief History

The first Strategic Planning meeting took place on October 9, 2007 and Nancy Marashio was elected Chair.  Chritine Walker, Executive Director provided research that had been conducted in preparation for the meeting and the Committee quickly determined to plan a mini-retreat to engage the Commissioners as a way to begin the process.  On February 20, 2008, with the assistance of Deb Maes of the University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension Service (http://extension.unh.edu), the Commission members engaged in a two hour process of determining what external issues will be essential to the vitality and long-term success of the organization.  Since then, the Commission has participated in the TCC Group's online Core Capacity Assessment Tool, which allows organizations to analyze its four core capacities in addition to its organizational culture.  The Core Capacity Tool was developed with the support of the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation in collaboration with the New Hampshire Center for Nonprofits  (www.nhnonprofits.org).

In order to better identify what the regional needs are, the Committee felt it vital to hold some regional listening sessions, to take input from the communities the Commission serves.  To create a starting point for discussion, the Committee created a survey that was sent to the 27 communities within the region to better understand their issues.  Funding from the Corporate Fund of the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation was secured to support the strategic planning effort.  Five regional listening session were held in various areas and various time over a two week period in late September and early October.

Next Steps  

The Strategic Planning Committee will be providing an update and timetable at the Commission  meeting on December 10, 2008.  The Committee will solicit feedback from the Commission and start determining what internal mechanisms and strategies need to be put in place in order to carry forward the issues that are most important to the communities within the region. 

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