Kitchen Table Conversations- Town of Gravenhurst Strategic Planning

A Facilitator’s Guide to “Kitchen Table Conversations”1 Engaging Gravenhurst residents where they live!!!

This Guide includes a framework as well as some tips and techniques to allow you to host a productive Kitchen Table Conversation about the Town of Gravenhurst’s New Strategic Plan. Using the framework and the techniques that are outlined in this document will allow you to share experiences and opinions in a meaningful way. The new Strategic Plan is about the future of the Town of Gravenhurst. Thinking about what is possible is the first step to realizing a vision – our vision for a sustainable community.

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A Planning Solutions Inc. Publications 2015. All Rights Reserved.

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Welcome to the Kitchen Table Conversation Guide!!!

The Town of Gravenhurst is developing a new Strategic Plan. The Strategic Plan will focus on the future of Gravenhurst. It will be developed with the community and it will reflect our collective ideas about what the future holds and where we should focus our efforts. It is important for us to hear from you but we can’t be everywhere and so we are hoping that with your help, you might inspire kitchen table dialogues with your family, your friends, your neighbours, your coworkers and colleagues and moreover, that you will share your great ideas with us.

What Is A Kitchen Table Conversation?

A Kitchen Table Conversation is an informal and engaging way to reach out and connect with your family, friends, neighbours and people in your social network. It is a conversation that can occur around your kitchen table or in your living room, family room, at a local restaurant, community centre or other meeting place. It is a meeting that you host and it is held at a location and at a time that is convenient. You decide who will attend and where and when your kitchen table conversation will take place. We have developed an individual Community Survey and invite you to share your individual thoughts about the future of the Town of Gravenhurst and what you believe needs to be a key focus for the Township moving forward. If you are interested, you can access our Community Survey through the following weblink: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/JY8VGHN In addition to our individual Community Survey, there will be a number of large Community meetings that will be held to discuss the future of the Town of Gravenhurst. The first Community Meeting is being held on July 18th at the Centennial Arena in the Terry Fox room.

Information about this meeting and subsequent community meetings will be posted on our website.

Perhaps you don’t have access to a computer. Perhaps you can’t attend the first Community Meeting on July 18th. Perhaps you are looking for other ways of sharing your ideas and perhaps you are looking to have a conversation with those who are part of your own social network.

Perhaps you feel strongly about an issue that you believe should be part of the Strategic Plan.

For any of these reasons – and more – this Guide is for you!

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This Guide is to provide you with some tools, tips and techniques to host your own conversation and to allow you to generate your own ideas for the Strategic Plan.

Kitchen Table Conversations…As Easy As 1, 2, 3…4 Hosting your own kitchen table conversation is as easy as 1, 2, 3…4

1. Decide Who To Invite 2. Create a Positive Environment 3. Have a Conversation About Things That Matter…Follow the Key Questions included in this Guide 4. Share Your Wisdom & Your Great Ideas!

1. Decide Who To Invite   

Develop a list of 6-12 participants who you feel would be interested in contributing to an interesting conversation about the future of the Town of Gravenhurst and who may have a range of experiences and opinions Decide on a time, date and location that will work for your group of invitees Extend an invitation – by phone, by email or by regular mail.

2. Create a Positive Environment  Usually, kitchen table conversations last 90 minutes in total.  Make sure everyone introduces themselves.  Ask one of the participants to be a Timekeeper – to keep your group on task and on time.

Ask someone else to be the Scribe and to keep track of the great ideas that your group generates.  You may find that as the Kitchen Table Conversation Host, that you are the Timekeeper, Scribe and Facilitator. If you are facilitating, your role is to energize the group, encourage all to participate and to build on the ideas of others and to accurately capture the ideas that come forward.

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3. Have a Meaningful Conversation It is important to stay on topic and on time.

Generating ideas and brainstorming necessitates valuing the opinions of all participants. The following questions have been developed to assist you in having a meaningful conversation about the Town of Gravenhurst’s future.         

What are some of the best things about living in Gravenhurst?

What would you like the Town of Gravenhurst to look like in 10, 15, 20 years? Would it be different from today and if so how?

What sustainable vision do we have for our Town? What would we change? What would we add?

If we were describing our ideal vision of our community to a complete stranger, what would we say?

Where should we focus our efforts? What should we be focusing on in the next four years?

What action do we need to take to make sure we achieve this vision of ours? What needs to change?

What action does Council need to take? How might we help?

What can we do?

What specific opportunities do we need to take advantage of?

Any other ideas or thoughts that we haven’t shared or discussed?

When you have had an opportunity to discuss all seven questions, have the facilitator summarize the highlights of the conversation – what are the ‘nuggets of knowledge’ that you have generated? What are the key points that you want to share with others?

4. Share Your Great Ideas Using the template included in this Guide, record your main ideas. To have your input incorporated please deliver, mail, fax or email your completed template by the end of August 2015 to either: Karen Wianecki Director of Practice Planning Solutions Inc. Fax: (905) 428-6113 Email: karen.wianecki@sympatic.ca 4|Page

Marta Proctor Town of Gravenhurst 3-5 Pineridge Gate P1P 1Z3 Fax: 1-855-687-3412 Email: marta.proctor@gravenhurst.ca

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Capture Your Great Ideas!!!

Date of Our Kitchen Table Conversation: Who We Are… (Optional) First and Last Name

Contact Information (Phone, Email, Address)

Scribe: Participants:

Key Questions What are some of the best things about living in Gravenhurst?

What sustainable vision do we have for our Town? What would we change? What would we add?

If we were describing our ideal vision of our community to a complete stranger, what would we say?

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Our Thoughts…

Key Questions Where should we focus our efforts? What should we be focusing on in the next four years?

What action do we need to take to make sure we achieve this vision of ours? What needs to change?

What action does Council need to 7|Page

Our Thoughts‌

Key Questions take? How might we help? What can we do?

What specific opportunities do we need to take advantage of?

Any other ideas or thoughts that we haven’t shared or discussed?

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Our Thoughts‌

My Notes:

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