Community Observation and Engagement Overview

In order for the final Cultural Master Plan to reflect Canmore’s development as a cultural and artistic hub, primary research began with community observation and engagement. Using an inter-cultural planning approach and an Indigenous engagement framework, a series of activities was undertaken to engage the community. These included stakeholder interviews; focus group sessions; getting feedback from staff, Council, and community members; priority-setting workshops; a public survey; and talking circles.

Over 1,000 community members were engaged virtually or in person providing us with in-depth and meaningful responses to our questions. Individually and collectively, participants proposed strategies and actions to elevate the role of culture, support all forms of cultural expression, and ensure that cultural activities are accessible to everyone.

An online community-wide survey posted in English and French garnered 592 responses. Stakeholder interview sessions and talking circles took place from March, 2019 through July, 2019.

The ‘What We Heard Report’, available under separate cover, outlines the detailed findings from the public survey and the listening sessions that were part of the community engagement process in Phase 1. Where applicable, findings from the report are highlighted in the Cultural Master Plan.

Using a design-thinking approach, three public sessions were held to present the ‘What We Heard Report’. Following the presentation, participants formed small groups to generate ideas for action and address concerns associated with the priorities. Participants explored what the town could start, stop, or continue doing to support culture. Findings from this phase established the strategic directions and proposed actions that the Cultural Master Plan will focus on over the next 10 years.

A workshop with Town Council was held in July to test the strategic directions against participant-generated ideas on challenges, opportunities, and actions to better support culture. In March, 2020, a second workshop with Council and the Advisory Committee was held to review a draft of the plan.

The quantitative and qualitative results of this phase were then processed in a three-tier coding system. The review and research phase focused on the priorities identified by the community and validates the recommendations that bridged the input from the public and the cultural sector with recent thinking on how to advance culture and cultural planning implementation.