Starting
a CCP
Do you or your community want to begin a Comprehensive Community Planning process? Are you wondering where to start? This section will provide you with tools to support you throughout the pre-planning stage.
Pre-Planning : GATHERING
THE KEY INGREDIENTS
Pre-planning is the first stage of CCP. Pre-planning is usually completed in 6 to 12 months. This stage allows you to gather the key ingredients that will facilitate your planning process. During this period, you collectively lay the foundation of the CCP process.
The experience of communities across Turtle Island teaches us that there are seven key ingredients to CCP. They don’t all need to be assembled before you begin, but they will all be essential at some point during the planning process.
Click on each element to explore the tools and resources we have for you :
- Accessing the necessary funds and resources
- Creating a planning team and a citizen committee
- Developing an inclusive communication and engagement strategy
- Getting a clear commitment from elected officials to support the CCP
- Facilitating the participation of citizens and members
- Gathering support from your local administration and organizations
USING A STRENGTH-BASED approach
During the pre-planning stage, we suggest that you discuss the seven key ingredients as a group, using a strength-based approach. What are your strengths? What issues do you face? How can your strengths help you to overcome these challenges?
Making time to reflect together will help guide your collective work and lay a solid foundation for the next steps in the process.
In the words of Karonhiénhawe Linda Delormier, CCP Mentor from Kahnawà:ke: “You have to know where you came from and where you are to know where you are going.”
This worksheet, adapted from the Nishnawbe Aski Development Fund’s CCP Toolkit, provides an opportunity to assess your situation and build a game plan.
Why reflect as a group? Over time, we’ve learned that…
- Starting CCP as a team helps establish a solid collective foundation. From the outset, CCP will rest on a group rather than on one person.
- Identifying strengths and finding together how to overcome challenges generates ideas, fosters creativity and encourages thinking outside the box.
- Making the effort to come together and listen to diverse perspectives means applying important CCP values: respect, humility, courage, honesty, etc.
Are you looking
for extra support?
We regularly facilitate meetings with elected officials, directors, managers, employees and citizens who are looking to start a CCP in their community. You choose the location and format, and we explore together how to keep your project moving, at your own pace. Does this resonate? If so, please let us know!
INITIAL RESEARCH :
EXPLORING TOGETHER
WHEN STARTING THE PRE-PLANNING STAGE, WE SUGGEST THAT YOU EXPLORE THESE QUESTIONS AS A GROUP :
WHAT
What does “comprehensive community planning” mean to you and your community?
HOW
How can you carry out a CCP process in your community?
WHY
Why do you want to have a comprehensive community plan?
This initial research generally extends over 2 to 3 months, and mainly involves the CCP Coordinator and the planning team. By becoming familiar with the concept of CCP, they will be well prepared to inform citizens and answer their questions. They will also be equipped to guide community discussions and develop a collective understanding of CCP.
Are you looking to get a general idea of the methodology for creating a plan? We recommend taking a look at the following content and references :
Do you prefer to learn from real-life examples or by listening to the CCP story of a neighbouring Nation? Then here are some options for you :
- Participate in the CCP Circle
- Contact a CCP Coordinator from another First Nation
- Discover the CCP stories available in the FIRST NATIONS CCP section
Are you a visual person who needs to see what a community plan looks like? Here are some examples created by First Nations in our region and elsewhere.
Akwesasne
Essipit (in French only)
Listuguj
Animbiigoo Zaagi’igan Anishinaabek
Penticton
Skidegate
Westbank
CCP : THE JOY
OF LEARNING
Joy and curiosity are essential components of a CCP process.
Why joy? Because humans learn best through play!
Why curiosity? Because there are always new perspectives, new people, and new ideas to integrate into the community planning process. Curiosity will invite you to keep expanding your knowledge.
So, what would you like to learn about CCP? What questions might your children, parents, siblings, grandchildren, colleagues, bosses or neighbours ask about CCP? What surprises you, fascinates you, or makes you laugh?
To get the conversation started, we’ve provided some initial questions. We invite your to print them out, to play with them as a group, and to create your own questions. Why not discuss them while walking by the water? Exploring new mental territory also means giving yourself the freedom to do things differently. Who says you have to plan indoors?
- What do the words community, comprehensive and planning mean to you?
- What words would you use to talk about CCP in the language(s) of your community?
- If you had to explain CCP to a child, what would you say?
- What values or principles are important to your community?
- What does a community planning process look like (objectives, main steps, activities, etc.)?
- What does a community plan look like (main sections, examples of themes, etc.)?
- Why do you and your community want to have a community plan?
- What are some benefits and challenges of planning with your community?
- What methods and activities would be best suited to your community?
- What plans already exist or are in development?
Developing A GOOD
WORK PLAN
Right from the start, we encourage you to develop a work plan that covers the entire pre-planning stage and the main components of the planning stage. Your plan can be fleshed out along the way, but having an overview will allow you to better plan the resources needed and avoid getting lost along the way.
At a minimum, your plan should clarify: your objectives, and the tasks required to achieve them; who is responsible for what; the order and schedule for completing the tasks; a clear definition of what is expected for each task or activity; and a space to assess progress for each activity. You can add other useful information, such as the collaborators or partners involved, necessary materials, task locations, and so on.
There are many ways to create your work plan. A really good plan is realistic and takes into account…
- The resources at your disposal
- Your community’s pace and ways
- Other major ongoing processes, such as strategic planning, urban planning, or land use planning
- The need for flexibility, so it can adapt to unforeseen events
THIS PLAN IS A KEY WORKING TOOL, SO MAKE SURE IT'S CLEAR AND USEFUL TO YOUR TEAM!
PLANNING VISION
In planning, the concept of vision is essential. The vision clarifies why we are doing CCP and how CCP creates meaning for our community. It also represents our destination, showing us how the world will be different once planning is complete.
By placing your vision at the core of your work plan, you make sure that this vision will guide you throughout the community planning process. In difficult times, your vision will remind you why you chose to take this CCP path.
Here is an example from the Essipit Innus First Nation’ CCP process :
“The idea emerged, at the dawn of the 2020s, to better coordinate sectoral directions by carrying out a comprehensive exercise. It was an opportunity to confirm our values; to update our community vision; to coordinate future development by identifying the community’s priorities for the government’s major action areas; and, finally, to define which approach to take. This process was also launched with a desire to :
- Know the dreams and aspirations of our members.
- Ensure alignment between the administration’s work and our members’ needs.
- Channel and optimize the energy invested in projects and programs implemented for the community.
- Innovate in our community practices and encourage collective accountability.”
Source : Essipit Innus First Nation Council (2022)
2022-2025 Comprehensive Community Planning – Final report. Page 24.
Which WORK PLAN
MODEL SHOULD I USE?
There are many work plan models out there. We offer a few suggestions, based on our experience with CCP and inspired by existing tools.
Visual
Are you a visual person? Consider drawing your plan, on paper or on a computer, and let creativity guide you. Visual tools are useful for illustrating the connections between activities, and help us avoid being too linear in our planning. Online tools like Canva, Miro, and other software are readily available and inexpensive.
Detail-oriented
Do you like to break work down into small tasks? Consider using an Excel spreadsheet or online tools like Planner or Trello. You will be able to see at a glance all the actions to be carried out.
Process-oriented
Do you like to know in what order tasks should be completed? A linear or cyclical timeline, or even a Gantt chart, could be useful to you.
All-in-one
Do you prefer all-in-one solutions? There are different types of project management software that offer integrated work planning, monitoring, scheduling, and budgeting functions. As an example, we invite you to explore the CCP Planner.
Creating a work plan that respects your community’s pace also means taking into account seasonal activities and gatherings. When we adapt the planning cycle to people, we facilitate their participation while promoting a feeling of harmony with the land. Following the seasons helps us remember that CCP, much like nature, is cyclical.