An Executive Summary of the 2017 Strategic Planning Sessions

“Where do we go from here?”

An Executive Summary of the 2017 Strategic Planning Sessions

The Snowmobilers Association of Nova Scotia (SANS) Executive and Board of Directors decided in 2016 that it was time to create a new Strategic Plan. The last one was started in 2010.

Diane Wooden, Human Resource Consulting was hired to lead SANS through the process. The Planning Team which consisted of the Executive, two former Presidents and SANS staff met with Diane in February and decided to schedule two sessions to develop the plan.

The first session in April was a full day with over 70 attending from within SANS clubs, the Nova Scotia Youth Snowmobilers, representatives from government departments, non-club members and a representative from another provincial snowmobile federation. The day was structured so that everyone had an opportunity to share an example of their best time with SANS and their hopes and wishes for SANS in the future. The participants had an opportunity to vote on their top three hopes/wishes for SANS. These votes were tallied and the items were grouped under themes. At the end of this session, participants were very positive about their participation in the day’s activities. They enjoyed meeting and getting to know other people and they appreciated the opportunity to contribute their thoughts.

For the second session in May, SANS reps were invited back to review not only what was said the first day and also how they were grouped under themes. The participants then chose the theme that meant the most to them. They worked as a group to clarify the goal and develop the strategies and action plans to realize the goal. Each group presented their work to the larger group at the end of the day.

The goals that were identified are:

·  In collaboration with other partners and stakeholders, users have trails across the province - north/south and east/west - great trails, with access to services that promote tourism. (Trail Maintenance and Development)

·  SANS Clubs have replaced all of the old groomers (and drags) with new or newer groomers in all 4 zones by 2027 and a strategy in place to replace all groomers in a timely manner. (Trail Grooming)

·  By 2023 all riders on SANS managed trails will have trail permits; permit sales have increased. (Trail Permits)

·  Public trust and respect for SANS has increased. Building relationships within and for SANS is seen as important. Succession planning is no longer seen as a challenge. (Building Capacity)

·  SANS members enjoy better communication amongst themselves and with other stakeholders. Clubs and members have access to educational and training programs. (Education/Training/Communication)

Late in May the Planning Team again met with Diane to review the work completed to date and to determine how to move forward in all of these areas. Fortunately, we already have two SANS Committees working on three of the five themes. It was agreed to expand their mandate so that now the Permit Review Committee will address the Trail Permit goals and the Trail Committee’s mandate will now encompass Trail Grooming and Trail Maintenance and Development goals.

For the remaining two themes, it was concluded that only one new committee was needed as these two themes are closely related. It was decided that the President would approach those who worked on those two themes to invite them to serve on the Building Capacity and Improving Communications Committee. The response to the invitation was very positive.

The intention is to have the work plans carry SANS 5-10 years into the future with a mandatory review to be held in five years’ time. Should the Planning Committee conclude that one of these goals has been successfully reached and SANS has capacity for a new goal; the notes from the 2017 session will be reviewed to identify what was next on the participant’s priority list.

If you are interested in reading the detailed strategies and action plans that have been developed, you will find them on our SANS website as the groups complete their workplans. www.snowmobilersns.com

Thank you to each and every one of you for your participation in this process. The Executive and the Board of Directors is very encouraged by the huge number of participants and their commitment to SANS future success.

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