Neighbourhood Action Strategy (NAS) - Annual Update (CM11007(C)) (City Wide)
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TO: Mayor and Members WARD(S) AFFECTED: CITY WIDE General Issues Committee COMMITTEE DATE: October 2, 2013 SUBJECT/REPORT NO: Neighbourhood Action Strategy (NAS) - Annual Update (CM11007(c)) (City Wide) SUBMITTED BY: PREPARED BY: Joe-Anne Priel Paul Johnson 905-546-2424 ext. 5598 General Manager Suzanne Brown 905-546-2424 ext. 4711 Community & Emergency Services Colin McMullan 905-546-2424 ext. 3538 Department Lisa Zinkewich 905-546-2424 ext. 2297 SIGNATURE: Council Direction: Not applicable Information: As a result of the Neighbourhood Action Strategy (NAS), the community has presented for endorsement to the General Issues Committee, Neighbourhood Action Plans (NAPs) for 8 of the 11 priority neighbourhoods that were identified by Council on June 15, 2011 as part of the City’s Neighbourhood Action Strategy (Report CM11007). The three remaining NAPs will be completed by the end of 2014. Included in the eight endorsed NAPs are 315 Actions. Since the endorsement of the first NAPs in September of 2012, the neighbourhoods have reported that: 137 of the Actions are underway (43%); 9 are complete (3%); and 24 (8%) are completed, but reoccurring. Implementation of many of the actions identified as priorities by each of the neighbourhoods is well underway and momentum continues to grow, with various partnerships between residents, city staff and other service providers continuing to expand. A key objective for the NAS is the “horizontal integration” of existing and new city services and supports to neighbourhoods across City departments and to date, from the City, approximately, 160 City staff have been involved, representing all City Departments, in the planning stages and through to action implementation. The significance of the number of City staff involved in the NAS is not only the number (which has grown by 40% over the past year), but rather how staff are collaborating and OUR Vision: To be the best place in Canada to raise a child, promote innovation, engage citizens and provide diverse economic opportunities. OUR Mission: WE provide quality public service that contribute to a healthy, safe and prosperous community, in a sustainable manner. OUR Values: Accountability, Cost Consciousness, Equity, Excellence, Honesty, Innovation, Leadership, Respect and Teamwork. SUBJECT: Neighbourhood Action Strategy (NAS) - Annual Update (CM11007(c)) (City Wide) - Page 2 of 5 integrating their work within the priority neighbourhoods and with other partners to achieve success and leverage resources. The framework of the NAS promotes the effective and efficient delivery of service at a neighbourhood level, in addition to creating stronger working relationships with residents and key stakeholders in the neighbourhoods. Broader policy and cross-neighbourhood initiatives have also been developed to address key social determinants of health like income, education, housing and job skills training in the neighbourhoods and the NAS continues to be strongly supported and funded by the Hamilton Community Foundation (HCF) and Hamilton Best Start through their continued support of the Community Development Workers. The City of Hamilton’s Neighbourhood Action Strategy Office (NASO) provides the organizational oversight and coordination support to all of the components of the Neighbourhood Action Strategy; from planning through to implementation, to the community development work, partnership initiatives and evaluation. The NASO also oversees the $2M earmarked to support the City’s Neighbourhood Action Strategy (October 2010). To date, the City has committed $360,000 from this fund, which has leveraged $2.6 million in direct investments from external sources, a 7:1 return on City investment. The majority of the City’s investment (70%) has been directed to projects identified through the Neighbourhood Action Plans. A total of $250,000 has been allocated to projects to date. Projects that have been funded include (but are not limited to): Capital improvements to the Eva Rothwell Resource Centre (Keith) Summer Camp programming (Stinson) Start-up Soccer program (Beasley) Community Networker Project (McQuesten) Neighbourhood Home Improvement Project (all neighbourhoods) Urban Agriculture Environmental Scan (all neighbourhoods) Development of a community garden (Keith) McLaren Park Outreach to Diverse Communities (Beasley) Community Development and planning support to diverse communities (Riverdale) The City also invested: $24,000 toward the development of the neighbourhood action plans; and, $86,000 to partner with McMaster University for a longitudinal study to be carried out in all neighbourhoods. The initial investment into the longitudinal study has leveraged significant new evaluation funding ($1.1 million from McMaster University and University of Toronto) and has allowed a comprehensive evaluation framework to be implemented. In addition to the direct leveraging that the City has achieved to date (7:1), significant community investments have also occurred in support of the neighbourhood action OUR Vision: To be the best place in Canada to raise a child, promote innovation, engage citizens and provide diverse economic opportunities. OUR Mission: WE provide quality public service that contribute to a healthy, safe and prosperous community, in a sustainable manner. OUR Values: Accountability, Cost Consciousness, Equity, Excellence, Honesty, Innovation, Leadership, Respect and Teamwork. SUBJECT: Neighbourhood Action Strategy (NAS) - Annual Update (CM11007(c)) (City Wide) - Page 3 of 5 plans and City Departments have aligned investments to support neighbourhood action plans where appropriate. Significant investments through Ward Capital Reserves have also occurred. Community agencies have sought funding to support action items in the neighbourhood plans and other major institutions have aligned some of their activities to support neighbourhoods. It is important to note that as the Neighbourhood Action Strategy develops there are emerging policy discussions occurring that will further engage Council in supporting neighbourhoods. A cross-departmental staff group is exploring ways to decrease barriers to resident engagement and community building by eliminating or covering some of the cost associated with neighbourhood events on city owned land. In partnership with residents, a University of Toronto professor and her students and city staff, an urban agriculture environmental scan was written and presented to senior management, resulting in an agreement to include urban agriculture as a permitted use within the Official Plan, during the next review process, and to support a pilot project in the McQuesten neighbourhood. The urban agriculture policy discussion grew out of the desire of residents to increase the availability of nutritious food, create opportunities for neighbourhood engagement as well as educational opportunities for children and youth, and to build job-ready skill-sets. These changes to policies and procedures at the City showcase the City’s commitment to working differently to help neighbourhoods reach their full potential. The evaluation of the NAS, a priority since its inception, is also well underway with the development of a comprehensive, multi-level strategy to monitor progress, help us learn from our successes and challenges and ultimately, assess the impacts on residents living in our neighbourhoods. The Social Planning Research Council (SPRC), McMaster University and the University of Toronto lead the main components of the evaluation, which include: 1) A survey that asks residents (at two-year intervals) about the health and well-being of themselves and the neighbourhoods in which they live; 2) On-going monitoring of neighbourhood level indicators to assess changes over time; 3) An in-depth study to assess the impacts of community development workers supporting the neighbourhoods in their work; and 4) An evaluation to assess the implementation of the neighbourhood plans. Much of this work is being funded through grants obtained from outside agencies (i.e., Ministry of Health and Long-term Care, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, The Hamilton Community Foundation and the United Way) and is not being paid for directly by the City itself. Appendix A to report CM11007(c) provides a more detailed summary of the evaluation component of the Neighbourhood Action Strategy, while Appendix B & OUR Vision: To be the best place in Canada to raise a child, promote innovation, engage citizens and provide diverse economic opportunities. OUR Mission: WE provide quality public service that contribute to a healthy, safe and prosperous community, in a sustainable manner. OUR Values: Accountability, Cost Consciousness, Equity, Excellence, Honesty, Innovation, Leadership, Respect and Teamwork. SUBJECT: Neighbourhood Action Strategy (NAS) - Annual Update (CM11007(c)) (City Wide) - Page 4 of 5 Appendix C to report CM11007(c) illustrate the preliminary baseline information from two of the priority neighbourhoods Stinson and Stipley (a neighbourhood in the Stadium Precinct which is also part of the South Sherman neighbourhood). As the many actions within the neighbourhood plans begin to unfold, communication plays an increasing important role in the on-going success of the Neighbourhood Action Strategy. To facilitate greater communication between the neighbourhoods and the City, the NASO has developed a quarterly newsletter which provides information on Neighbourhood Action Plan planning and implementation efforts, funding & investments,