Process

Steering or Advisory Group
This is an appropriate and potentially powerful moment to recruit the cross-sectoral leadership group that will provide strategic guidance and input in subsequent phases of the planning process. There are inevitably logical and necessary members representing key local institutions or agencies (see below). However, the community forum also provides an opportunity to identify individuals capable and interested in playing a leadership role but who may not have been known or appreciated in advance of the forum.

In general, the following membership in the steering/advisory group is critical to success: council, municipal staff (culture staff and one or more key staff from other departments), cultural sector (arts, heritage, libraries, and commercial cultural businesses), the business community, key community sector groups (such as the United Way, local Community Foundations, etc.) and post-secondary institutions.

Community Assessment
The next phase of the project is the critical next step in preparing a portrait or ‘picture’ of the City. Here we assemble and document information on current conditions and needs in Hamilton, conditions and needs for which cultural resources are potentially valuable assets and tools. There are two parts to this assessment and portrait.This statistical portrait (drawing on Statistics Canada data) will address a range of issues including (but not limited to) the following.

• Population Growth
• Age 
• mmigration and Diversity
• Education
• Income
• Employment 
• Cultural Employment – in the creative and cultural industries
• Tourism Visitation Statistics

Statistics across this range of issues are consolidated into a summary report.

The second facet of the Community Assessment is the analysis of existing municipal plans and policies. This could include (but not be limited to) things such as:

• Overarching Municipal Visions and Strategic Plans
• Official Plans
• Economic Development Strategies
• Capital Infrastructure Plans and Budgets
• Environmental Strategies
• Heritage plans (and bylaws)

Cultural Resource Mapping
From our experience there are three critical outcomes needed from a first phase of cultural resource mapping:

1. ‘Baseline’ mapping – to build a solid baseline of information, based on clear data categories and protocols and integrated with municipal GIS platforms that establishes the foundation or baseline on which to build a sustainable mapping system;
2. Partnership Framework – to establish a partnerships agreement linking the municipality with those key business and community partners needed to sustain and deepen mapping over time.
3. Longer range plan - to establish a longer term vision and set of goals to continue mapping through the partnerships.