Our Brampton…Our Future Gaining Acceptance for Brampton’s New Official Plan
Work Sample for Accreditation Canadian Public Relations Society
Submitted by Donna Kell, Manager of Public Affairs City of Burlington
April 1, 2008
Our Brampton…Our Future—Gaining Acceptance for Brampton’s New Official Plan
Table of Contents
Executive Summary…………………………………..…………………………….…….2 Background…………………………………………………………………………………3
Charting the course for land use Lessons from Oakville Preserving and enhancing reputation
Research………………………………………………………………….…………………4
Environics poll findings Interviews and review of growth management initiatives Review of city’s strategic plan Research of other municipalities Defining the audiences
Analysis……………………………………………………….…………….……………….6
Brainstorm with colleagues Use of SWOT information Focus testing Benchmark survey Objectives
Communication………………………….………………………………………………….8
Key messages Tactics Launch Stakeholder sessions Brampton Day Continuous feedback
Evaluation…………………………………………….……………………………..……….9
Achieving success Final words
Appendix A
Media Relations Communication Samples
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Our Brampton…Our Future—Gaining Acceptance for Brampton’s New Official Plan
Executive Summary (478 words)
Background I was approached by the Commissioner of Planning, Design and Development of the City of Brampton, Ontario, in late 2004 to communicate the development of a new official plan. The communication portion of the project was launched in February 2005 and was completed in August 2007. This department was one of my clients. I reported directly to the Commissioner of Economic Development and Public Relations who played an advisory role in this project. I had no communication support staff but had access to the city’s design team and web team. During the public consultation phase of the project, I worked with the planning project manager to identify the need for a facilitator for stakeholder sessions. Based on my communication plan which included a pre and post-campaign survey and marketing materials, the client provided a capital budget of $165,000 for the duration of the project. Research and analysis I led research on this project, determining how other Ontario communities communicated their official plan reviews, which are mandatory under the Ontario Planning Act. I learned that Oakville, Ontario, had reached a crisis level in communicating growth to its citizens—a crisis that caused upheaval at the staff and political levels leading into the 2003 municipal election. I worked with an outside consultant to conduct a survey of Brampton residents to determine how they viewed planning and growth management in the city. I asked how people preferred to receive planning information. Direct mail was a top preference and became a key tactic. I identified different demographic groups and tested campaign slogans that led to the choice of Our Brampton…Our Future. Communication I worked with a specially-formed committee consisting of the planning team, senior managers in planning and several members of Brampton City Council, developing a communication plan and getting their approval. I recommended and implemented the use of a variety of tools, including: program branding; selection of consistent spokespeople; Mayor’s Town Hall meetings; multiple stakeholder workshops; direct mail newsletter; mobile signs; media relations; internal communications; municipal relations; newspaper advertising, bus shelter advertising; radio advertising; and web information. I also initiated the creation of a customized e-mail address ourfuture@brampton.ca I developed and analyzed evaluation forms for use at the town hall meetings, determining if we needed to change course with advertising or direct mail. Evaluation Stakeholder sessions produced substantial numbers and created ambassadors for our campaign. The city council chambers were standing room only (more than 200 people) for the two Mayor’s Town Hall meetings and the tone became increasingly positive and supportive. The post-campaign survey showed that the city maintained its planning profile despite a 33 per cent growth rate in Brampton. The Our Brampton…Our Future team was nominated for a City of Brampton Award of Excellence. The city was short-listed to receive an international award for town planning at the 2007 World Leadership Awards in London, England.
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Our Brampton…Our Future—Gaining Acceptance for Brampton’s New Official Plan
WORK SAMPLE (2,500 words) Background
From 2001 to 2007, I was a Senior Communications Associate with the City of Brampton, a city of 434,000 people located in the Greater Toronto Area with an annual budget of $330 million and a workforce of 5,000. For most of this project, I was responsible for developing communication plans for some high-profile client groups. I had access to a skilled in-house design team, a production team and outside consultants but no direct reports. Charting the course for land use In late 2004, the city was reworking its official plan, charting the course for land use in the city for the next 20 years. Under the Ontario Planning Act, a municipality must review its official plan every five years to address changing planning, economic, social and cultural conditions. Brampton had experienced significant pressure from high growth levels in previous years and was predicting a population growth to 700,000 in 2031 from about 330,000 in 2002. Lessons from Oakville Brampton’s planning commissioner had witnessed the negative impact of growth at both the political and administrative levels in the Town of Oakville southwest of Brampton. Perceived unbridled growth without adequate programs, services and protection of green space became an election issue for Oakville in 2003. In his election campaign, mayoral opponent Rob Burton said then-Mayor Ann Mulvale had failed to practise sound planning. Following a ballot recount to confirm a 28-vote margin, Mayor Mulvale remained mayor, but the town’s planning department experienced significant turnover. Mayor Mulvale lost her seat to Mr. Burton in Oakville’s 2006 municipal election. Preserving and enhancing reputation Brampton’s rapid growth and the resultant impact on infrastructure posed a threat to the city. To preserve and enhance its reputation, Brampton needed to inform audiences that the city practises sound planning techniques and invites public participation into the planning process. Census Canada data released in 2007 listed Brampton’s population as 433,806 people in 2006, a 33.3 per cent population increase from 2001 to 2006, making it one of Canada’s fastest growing cities. As Brampton grew, pressure on its reputation as a well-planned city also grew. Brampton needed public acceptance of its new official plan Our Brampton…Our Future, a strategy developed with—and supported by—public participation.
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Our Brampton…Our Future—Gaining Acceptance for Brampton’s New Official Plan
Research
I met with senior staff in Planning, Design and Development and with the Commissioner of Economic Development and Public Relations to begin to shape the communication plan. I also began working with the official plan review’s project manager. My research included: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Environics poll findings Interviews and review of growth management initiatives Review of city’s strategic plan Research of other municipalities; and Defining the audiences.
1. Environics poll findings I reviewed three years of annual Environics poll findings related to residents’ views of city services. People were concerned with roads and transportation, planning and a category called “over-development.” The findings reflected taxpayer support for services but did not explore residents’ perceptions of planning and growth management issues. 2. Interviews and review of growth management initiatives Speaking with senior planners, including the Commissioner of Planning, Design and Development, helped clarify the issues and provide a basis for key messaging. I learned that the city must be proactive during rapid growth, anticipating demands for residential, commercial and industrial land while balancing the need for recreation and leisure land and protecting heritage and natural features. I noted that the city had shown foresight in program development, including Acceleride; the Bramwest Secondary Plan; the Comprehensive Zoning Bylaw 2004; the Flower City Strategy; the Growth Management Program; Pathways; and the Transit and Transportation Master Plan. 3. Review of city’s strategic plan I reviewed the city’s strategic plan to ensure communication was aligned with it, using the six pillars of the strategic plan to shape key messages and confirm audiences: Modern Transportation Systems Managing Growth Protecting our Environment; Enhancing our Community A Dynamic and Prosperous Economy Community Lifestyle; and Excellence in Local Government
4. Research of other municipalities I searched province-wide for municipalities that had branded their official plans. My search yielded only the Blueprint Oakville materials. I contacted Oakville to request a copy of their plan. The communications team said they did not have a plan assembled in one place. It became evident that Brampton’s official plan communication plan would become a prototype.
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Our Brampton…Our Future—Gaining Acceptance for Brampton’s New Official Plan 5. Defining the audiences Through research, I determined that audiences for the official plan communication would be diverse with varying degrees of interest in the process. Residents did not traditionally attend planning meetings but could be encouraged to participate in a variety of ways. The official plan review targeted heritage; business lands; residential development; and green space. Therefore, the most highly-engaged groups would be heritage groups; businesses; developers; environmentalists; other levels of government and urban planners. City staff, particularly those who lived and worked in Brampton, were also considered a key audience. To convey the city’s messages and to reach municipal and planning peers, I identified local and GTA media; business media; municipal publications such as Municipal World and Municipal Matters; and planning publications such as the popular Novae Res Urbis (NRU) based in Toronto as audiences.
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Our Brampton…Our Future—Gaining Acceptance for Brampton’s New Official Plan
Analysis
The planning team anticipated adoption of the city’s official plan in the first quarter of 2006 by Brampton City Council and later that year by the upper-tier government, the Region of Peel. I suggested communication should include an information phase during the first quarter of 2005; an engagement phase for the remainder of the year; and an evaluation phase in 2006. Senior planners accepted this approach. Brainstorm with colleagues I hosted a brainstorming session to solicit ideas and gain buy-in from my colleagues. I included communication advisors, members of the design team, events co-ordinators and the manager of community relations. Here, using SWOT analysis, are key discussion points from our meeting:
STRENGTHS
Positive existing relationships with media Many great initiatives exist to support official plan City already engaged in growth management initiatives
WEAKNESSES
Web is a key vehicle but currently is confusing— difficult to navigate Several city identifiers already exist—could create too much noise
OPPORTUNITIES
Use existing communication vehicles Develop branding strategy/identifier Suggest brand can endure after official plan is approved to promote public participation Use tactics, such as bus shelter advertising, available at reasonable rate
THREATS
Little information about new official plan Quick start-up required Negative perception of planning in Brampton
Use of SWOT information I used the SWOT exercise to assist with the communication plan. During the development of this initiative, we were successful in overcoming web challenges and persuaded the commissioner responsible for communications to consider fewer city identifiers for various programs. The other SWOT points were incorporated into the communication plan. Focus testing To prepare for the branding of the yet-unnamed program, I developed five draft names and shared them with members of the growth management steering committee which included city councillors. The committee liked the proposed Your Brampton…Your Future but modified it to Our Brampton…Our Future. Armed with buy-in, I presented the top three names to staff and then to a seniors’ advisory committee; a youth advisory committee; and the Brampton Board of Trade for review by their members. Our Brampton…Our Future was the top choice of all groups.
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Our Brampton…Our Future—Gaining Acceptance for Brampton’s New Official Plan
Benchmark survey I worked with a consultant and senior planners to develop and conduct a telephone survey of Brampton residents to determine how they viewed planning and growth management. We also asked how residents preferred to receive planning information. Survey results established a benchmark for the perception of growth management and showed direct mail was the top way people wished to receive planning information. Objectives I worked to develop objectives to measure the success of the communication plan, specifically:
1. To attract at least 100 people to each Mayor’s Town Hall meeting. 2. To attract a group of diverse stakeholders to each stakeholder session, representing the business, environmental, heritage, development and government partners. 3. To receive supportive media coverage both locally and in municipal and planning media. 4. To have at 60 per cent of those surveyed recognize Our Brampton…Our Future following the official plan review process. 5. To maintain the city’s reputation for growth management and planning during the period of unprecedented growth from 2005 to 2007. 6. To develop and brand planning and growth management in the City of Brampton and use that brand equity to create a familiar product to the community. 7. To be recognized as a leader among peers for excellence in growth management and municipal planning. 8. To keep staff informed and engaged during the official plan review process.
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Our Brampton…Our Future—Gaining Acceptance for Brampton’s New Official Plan
Communication
With the research, analysis, audiences and objectives developed, I wrote the communication plan. The plan was divided into three phases—the information, engagement and evaluation phases—and included a $165,000 budget. The plan aimed to engage Brampton’s citizens, businesses and stakeholder groups in the planning process to acquire feedback into, and a sense of ownership of, the new official plan. Two-way communication with key groups was recommended to continue beyond the official plan review process. The communication plan quickly won the approval of the growth management steering committee. Key Messages Key messages focused on Brampton’s growth and allowing residents to build their kind of Brampton—to have their say. It discussed initiatives already in place and referenced the city’s proactive planning to prepare for the provincial Places to Grow and Greenbelt legislations which would affect how and where Brampton grows. Tactics I worked with the web and graphic design teams to create a variety of paper and electronic tactics that supported the key messaging developed in the plan. We overcame web challenges through a corporate redesign of the city’s site. I recommended and implemented the use of a variety of tools, including: program branding; selection of consistent spokespeople; Mayor’s Town Hall meetings; multiple stakeholder workshops; direct mail newsletter; mobile signs; media relations; internal communications; municipal relations; newspaper advertising, bus shelter advertising; and radio advertising. I initiated a customized e-mail address ourfuture@brampton.ca and developed and analyzed evaluation forms distributed at the town hall and stakeholder meetings. Launch The launch included media relations and took place as part of the first Mayor’s Town Hall meeting attended by a capacity crowd at City Hall. A post-session survey showed that more than 90 per cent of people of all Brampton postal codes liked the meeting location and most heard about the meeting through advertisements or editorial coverage in the local newspaper the Brampton Guardian. Stakeholder sessions I attended stakeholder sessions organized by the official plan project manager. I provided consultation regarding invitees and drafted a personalized invitation letter sent to key stakeholders. I recommended that a professional facilitator lead the stakeholder sessions. We followed sessions with a thank you letter and encouraged participants to attend Mayor’s Town Hall meetings or subsequent workshops. Brampton Day I worked with the city’s events co-ordinator to theme Brampton Day with its thousands of attendants. Councillors cut a cake with the Our Brampton…Our Future identifier, staff wore branded T-shirts and the giveaway was a “live strong” bracelet with the Our Brampton…Our Future theme. Continuous feedback Throughout the communication implementation, we surveyed focus groups and participants at town hall meetings, stakeholder sessions and statutory public meetings. I scanned media clippings to determine if key messages were being repeated.
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Our Brampton…Our Future—Gaining Acceptance for Brampton’s New Official Plan
Evaluation
To capture how Planning, Design and Development interprets the success of Our Brampton…Our Future, I will quote from the project manager: “Thousands of people participated in the program and some events have made record attendance, attesting to the success of the communication strategy. The input received has provided a valuable contribution to the formulation of the new Official Plan which represents a collective vision that has garnered community-wide support.” Achieving Success The official plan was adopted by the City of Brampton in fall 2006 and approved by the Region of Peel in January 2008. Despite the delay, we were able to continue the momentum of the Our Brampton…Our Future communication. The campaign was within budget, and I fully met seven of the eight objectives defined earlier in this submission:
Objective
1. To attract at least 100 people to each Mayor’s town hall meeting and greaterthan-usual numbers to statutory meetings. To attract a group of diverse stakeholders to each stakeholder session, representing the business, environmental, heritage, development and government partners.
Achieved?
Yes. Capacity crowds (consistently 200 or more) at City Hall for 2 Mayor’s Town Hall meetings. More than 100 attendees at statutory public meetings. Yes. Each stakeholder session attracted a diverse group of people, including members of the Sierra Club environmental group; major local developers; conservation authority representatives; City and Regional Councillors; staff, other levels of government and heritage groups.
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To receive supportive media coverage both locally and in municipal and planning media.
Yes. Brampton Guardian and Brampton Business Times were strongly supportive of Our Brampton…Our Future repeating the campaign’s key messages and recognizing Brampton for proactive growth management. Novae Res Urbis reported on Brampton’s growth management initiatives and echoed the Sierra Club’s support for the city’s official plan.
4.
To have at 60 per cent of those surveyed recognize Our Brampton…Our Future following the official plan review process. To maintain the city’s reputation for growth management and planning during the period of unprecedented growth (2005 to 2007). To brand growth management in Brampton and use that brand equity to create a familiar product to the community. To be recognized as a leader among peers for excellence in growth management and municipal planning. To keep staff informed and engaged during the official plan review process.
Yes and no. Less than expected at 40 per cent recognition (a possible result of population infusion over the 2.5 years). When asked what this meant to them, respondents indicated the brand means a bright future. Yes. There was no decline in public trust during the 2.5 years between the launch of Our Brampton…Our Future and the telephone survey of mid-2007. The tone of support grew between the 2005 and 2006 Mayor’s Town Hall. Yes. Our Brampton…Our Future is being used to support the city’s position on Places to Grow communication and is synonymous with public participation. Yes. The City of Brampton was nominated for a World Leadership Award in Town Planning with a focus on communication in the submission. Brampton was one of three finalists and the only North American city in the category. Yes. Planning and Corporate Communications were nominated for a corporate excellence award in part for ensuring staff were informed of Our Brampton…Our Future and invited to participate.
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Our Brampton…Our Future—Gaining Acceptance for Brampton’s New Official Plan Final words Our Brampton…Our Future has set a standard for public participation in Brampton. The city maintained and enhanced its reputation, built lasting relationships and was recognized by its peers for excellence in planning. The planning department has flourished on the world stage, Mayor Susan Fennell was re-elected in 2006 with her greatest majority yet and the people of Brampton were active participants in charting the course of their city’s future.
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