Gunnison County, Colorado, USA, has used strategic planning to accomplish a plethora of goals, including:

• The electrification of all county government buildings.
• The use of geothermal and solar to heat and cool the construction of new workforce housing units owned and entitled by county.
• Receipt of the largest grant-funded awards in its state for infrastructure and housing.
• Managing resources from outdoor recreation and tourism.
• Addressing basic needs of community through the local health coalition.

At the center of this success is having a disciplined process. Experts John Cattles and Cathie Pagano walked through the process in their session, How Small Communities Accomplish Audacious Goals: Gunnison County Uses Strategic Planning to Achieve Big Results, at ICMA's Local Government Reimagined Conference in Denver, Colorado, USA. 

They recommend this easy-to-use guide that will help you build a successful strategy to achieve your goals:

1. Form an agenda. This will grab public and political attention.
2. Formulate a plan. Consolidate political desires into strategic goals.
3. Develop your policy.
4. Implement and Check Capacity. Assign responsibility at staff level and budget accordingly.
5. Measure, evaluate and communicate.
6. Adapt and repeat.

Following these six steps will allow you to develop a surefire way to accomplish your objectives for the betterment of your community.

About the Presenters

John Cattles currently serves as the Assistant County Manager of Operations and Sustainability and the Sustainable Operations Director at Gunnison County. He is responsible for achieving environmental sustainability goals, including greenhouse gas reduction initiatives. 

Cathie Pagano is an accomplished manager and leader committed to solving complex challenges in service to the collective good through collaboration, and visionary, service-oriented leadership. Ms. Pagano has a clear breadth and depth of knowledge of the intersection of community and economic development, protection of quality of life, public policy and the role of government, private, and nonprofit sectors to achieve targeted outcomes.