In early 2009, Mayor Gregor Robertson formed the Greenest City Action Team (GCAT) to determine how Vancouver can become the greenest city in the world by 2020. Local experts in: Climate protection Transportation Land use Green energy Food security Finance Biodiversity Economic development Environmental health
The Bright Green Future Report laid out the ground work for the Action Plan, including ten long term goals
Greenest City Timeline Phase 1 Phase 2 Phase 3 Talk Green to Us Greenest City Action Team Internal Working Groups External Advisory Committees Talk Green Vancouver Greenest City Action Plan Implementation A Bright Green Future Report Draft Greenest City Action Plan Feb 2009 Feb 2010 June 2010 Oct 2010 Dec 2010 Jan 2011 Spring 2011 Spring 2011 GCAT tasked with creating greenest city vision and quick starts Council Adopts Ten Long-Term Goals, directs staff to create implementation report Talk Green to Us launches at Pecha Kucha (Phase 1 public consultation) Working Groups established External Advisory Committees formed Ideas Slam, Open House, Phase 1 consultation closes Working Groups finish draft Greenest City Action Plan Talk Green Vancouver launches (Phase 2 public consultation) 2020 Targets approved by Council (Jan 20, 2011) Final Action Plan goes to Council for approval Implementation continues
Public input/dialogue EAC EAC EAC EAC EAC Local Food Clean Air Clean Water Zero Waste Lighter Footprint Green Economy GC2020 Steering Committee (Working Group Chairs) Green Buildings Access to Nature Climate Leadership Green Mobility EAC EAC EAC EAC EAC
deeper engagement
To get the word out: 11,800 video views 900 direct mail Advertising reach
Events: Over 3,700 people at live events
o Educate & communicate recommended actions o Collect feedback on the draft plan and gauge level of support o Reflect back public comments o Build support for, and ownership in, the final plan o Get/keep stakeholders and staff engaged for implementation o Set expectations o Broaden reach o Model a different kind of City-led public engagement process
Phase two engagement methods Co-hosted/organized workshops, dialogues and events Presentations Webinars DIY consultations Unconference (including Wiki and webinar) Student involvement, collaboration (SFU Undergraduate Semester in Dialogue, John Oliver Secondary, UBC scholars) Multicultural Roundtables Internal staff engagement Illustrated videos Online, social media tools
Sought advice Worked with community groups and local leaders Translated illustrated videos Engaged ethnic media (talk shows, print and radio ads) Co-organized multicultural community roundtables
Greenest City Camp
What did we find out?
35,000+ people have participated 9,000+ people with a high level of engagement Phase 1+2 Public Engagement Activities Metric Number of unique ideas from P1 online forum 726 Number of registered users from P1 and P2 online forums 3,414 Number of votes from P1 online forum 28,026 Number of comments from P1 & P2 online forums 2,262 Number of visitors to websites 35,979 Number of cities visiting website 1,600+ Number of people on our mailing list (as of June 1, 2011) 2,358 Total video views (as of June 1, 2011) 25,940 Twitter followers (as of June 1, 2011) 4,514 Facebook fans (as of June 1, 2011) 2,298 In person outreach at events (P1 & P2) 6,045 Direct mail (letters to community organisations) ~1,200
Innovative use of methods Collaborating with other organisations Two-way dialogue and transparent discussion Connecting online and in person events
Hard to determine who we were engaging Ideas vs. feedback Need for coordinated City engagement Time intensive, requires responsive staff Need for a social media policy
Start with a vision Set ambitious targets Develop the plan with an integrated, crossdepartmental approach (break down silos) Engage residents in a forward-looking vision Find quick wins to kick off implementation Work with networks of networks Test new methods of engagement
We ve completed 80% of the priority actions in the original GCAP report. This summer we will be finalizing a plan for the next set of actions. This summer we will launch a Greenest City refresh with a focus on storytelling