NVCA’s 2014-2018 Strategic Plan Approved

News release from the NVCA Oct 3 2013
The Board of Directors of the Nottawasaga Valley Conservation Authority has approved the NVCA’s 2014-2018 Strategic Plan.
The five-year plan was developed over the past year with input from staff, board members and more than 100 stakeholders from the community and key interest groups.
“We would like to express our gratitude to everyone who was involved in the long and thorough process of putting together this plan,” says Wayne Wilson, CAO/Secretary-Treasurer of the NVCA. “This was a true community collaboration, with input coming from the agricultural, environmental and development communities, as well as private landowners and other residents of the watershed.”
The process of developing the strategic plan began with taking a close look at the NVCA’s vision, mission and guiding principles.
Nina Bifolchi, Chair of the NVCA Board of Directors, says that the staff and board worked together to draft a new strategic direction for the NVCA to reflect the changing needs of the watershed.
“We felt that in order to start the planning process on the best footing, we needed to take a fresh and unbiased look at how we see ourselves and what our goals are, and make sure that they reflect the needs that are the most pressing in our watershed today. We hired Planning Solutions Inc., a consulting firm with expertise in Conservation Authority strategic planning, to assist us in developing this new strategic vision.
“Our vision of ‘Conserving our Healthy Waters’ has served us well for many years, but it needed to be updated to reflect a more informed public and greater awareness and concern for environmental issues,” Bifolchi explains. “Our new vision was designed to achieve that, as were the other elements of the plan.”
The NVCA’s new vision – ‘Innovative watershed management supporting a healthy environment, communities and lifestyles’  – is just one piece of the revised plan, which is available for download at nvca.on.ca, or can be requested in hard copy by calling 705-424-1479.
The plan lays out the Conservation Authority’s strategic direction under three overarching themes. The first – Protect, Enhance and Restore – deals with the key business of protecting life and property from natural hazards and promoting a healthy, sustainable watershed. The second – Learn and Discover – addresses ways in which the Authority will continue to promote the watershed while seeking new knowledge and sharing information. The third – Connect – looks at ways in which the NVCA can expands its connections with people in the watershed, and lead, partner and collaborate with other organizations.
The Nottawasaga Valley Conservation Authority is a public agency dedicated to the preservation of a healthy environment through specialized programs to protect, conserve and enhance water, wetlands, forests and lands. Its mission is “Working together to lead, promote, support and inspire innovative watershed management”.