7. Review:
..........
Improving Your Action Plan
The Coordinating Committee's remaining tasks are: to evaluate the success of the Community Action Plan, find new partners, recommend additional activities that would further promote environmental stewardship, and revise the Action Plan as required. The two requirements are:
Step 1...........
Monitor and Evaluate the Plan's Success
The coordinating committee should
review the community's progress as necessary in order to identify
new areas in need of special attention. Refer back to the
characteristics, goals, and objectives of a CAP listed in the
"What is a Community Action Plan" section.
If you held a community campaign, hold a workshop at the end to review the results. If you ran into problems, or you discovered limits to what can be achieved through voluntary action, use the workshop as an opportunity to develop recommendations for government, corporate, non-governmental, and individual actions that would make it easier for people to contribute to a healthier environment.
Highlight your successes. The Coordinating Committee or municipality can give out annual awards to groups, businesses, and individuals who have played a key role in implementing a project under the Action Plan, and to those projects that are particularly successful.
Step 2...........
Review and Revise the Plan as Required
Every two years or so, the Action
Plan should be revised in order to keep it current. The first
revision can be a streamlined version of the CAP process, asking
each group to update their activities. The streamlined revision
can be accomplished in two to three months.
There are several reasons to revisit your CAP on a regular basis:
As your community moves ahead with its CAP activities, its priorities will change. In addressing one issue, another may become apparent.
Government policies or programs may change, or new information may become available, requiring your community to address other issues, or use different approaches.
New programs may be developed in the private sector which will affect your community's priorities.
In expending effort in specific projects, it is easy to lose sight of overall goals and strategies. As you move toward your goals, you may discover more effective approaches which will need to be reflected in the CAP.
For many issues, achieving measurable differences in habits and perceptions will require reinforcing the long-term commitment of CAP participants.
Plan to hold additional public workshops every four or five years in order to conduct a thorough assessment of the plan and identify any new priorities.
Step 3........... Keep
In Touch
The GreenONTARIO internet site will endeavour to keep an up-to-date list
of community coordinators across the province. If your community
has an environmental coordinator, coordinating committee, or any
community-wide environmental initiative, let us know
. We'll include a listing in our directory of community
contacts.
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