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Culture, Economy, Community: A Cultural Plan for Chatham-Kent
Jointly funded by
Municipality of Chatham-Kent
Community Futures Development Corporation of Chatham-Kent
Federal Department of Cultural Arts and Heritage
To view the complete document visit chatham-kent.ca
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Municipality of Chatham-Kent
• Amalgamated in 1998• 23 incorporated towns, villages and townships
into one• 256 elected officials to 18• Second largest municipal land mass – 2,494 sq.
kilometres, 105 kms x 72 kms, 12th largest in Canada
• One hour from Windsor, Sarnia and London• 56 internal business units, not including PUC
and C-K Energy• Inventory of 825 bridges, 15,000 plus culverts
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Boring or BeautifulIts Authentic
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• Our mission: We work in partnership with business, all levels of government and the community at the large, to actively promote, encourage and facilitate community economic development in Chatham-Kent
• Federally funded by Industry Canada, Fed Nor• Serving rural communities of less than 40,000
population• 61 CFDC’s in Ontario (5 are Native)
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Decision to EmbarkStrategic Planning –
CFDC’s mandated by Industry Canada to do strategic planning. Initial consultation with Board identified Culture/Tourism and Agriculture as a projected focus of community economic development activities
The Discovery - Municipal Cultural Forums
The Promotion – Cultural planning makes economic sense for a community in transition – focus on quality of life and development will follow as a logical outcome
Grant opportunity – ‘go for it!’ – NOTE: Council would not have pursued the Cultural Mapping process without partnership funding
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Why Now in C-K
• After 10 years with great progress in meeting infrastructure needs i.e. roads, water, sewer, energy, bridges – limited dollars spent on quality of life issues
• Loss of local community identity and pride• 2 logos, no branding, no common identity• Post amalgamation - need to come together for
a common goal• Culture is a unifier• Economic Development issues (Smokestacks! Perceived
Union mentality)
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Initial Challenges
• Grant approval came before Council’s strategic planning sessions
• Buy in from the bottom up, management not convinced
• Budget concerns override strategic priorities• Many ‘don’t get it!’ – not only cultural planning
but strategic planning• Breaking down the silos difficult, internal and
community wide
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The Difference of our Cultural Mapping Project
• Had to be concrete, focus on ‘economy’
• Second consultant, Steven Thorne, assessed C-K for cultural tourism opportunities
• “Culture-nomics” – Culture Led Economic Development
• Completed Mapping and a comprehensive Cultural Masterplan
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Challenges of the Process
• More staff time required than anticipated• IT/GIS department not included in the
onset • Volunteer vs. staff, who is going to be
responsible in the long term to implement• Buy in from senior management and Ec
Dev• Leadership• Concept not truly understood by majority
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Desired Outcomes
• Solve Identity, branding, signage • Tourism strategy, Steven Thorne, implement ideas for
market development of tourist opportunities • Develop a culture of thinking strategically and implement
accordingly, proactive vs. reactive • Establish a non-political mechanism for Communities to
work together while maintaining their individuality • Create solid partnerships between business, the not-for-
profit sector and funding partners to build a community movement to implement Cultural Plan
• Recognition from Economic Development Department that Cultural development is economic development
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Create C-K3 Part Program
• Create C-K Consortium
• 5 Cultural Action Teams – CATs
• Create C-K Strategic Summit
Design your organization to fit your individual needs
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Ongoing Challenges
• Leadership - keeping momentum • Beaurocracy – governments move too
slowly for the volunteer sector• Politics – keeping focussed on the big
picture • Resources – continued financial support
for staff (based on a political budget process)
• Perception of Culture – ‘elitism’ vs. ‘culture-nomics’
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“Low Hanging Fruit’
• ‘ArtSpace’ -new artist co-op in downtown Chatham, joint partnership of Thames Art Gallery, CFDC, a local entrepreneur and artist’s
• ‘Tecumseh Parkway’ – a 1812 legacy project
• ‘Promised Land’ – a 5 year, 5 million dollar research project on Black History
• Heritage Tax relief bylaw; Church inventory• Ridgetown Rejuvenation Committee • Capital Theatre funding secure • Signage strategy – consultant hired• CATS – organized and active
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If I had to do it all over again….
• Formed a strong cross departmental team i.e. Oakville
• Worked harder on educating Council• Appointed members to interim committee prior to
the end of the project i.e.. Oxford• Found corporate partners in the beginning• Had a communication person (volunteer or staff)
educating and promoting the concept • Had Ec-Dev firmly on side before going forward
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Recession = Opportunity
• Acting strategically, using a Cultural Masterplan, municipalities have an opportunity to ‘re-tool’ their economic base
• “Quality of life is good economics, focus on the real fundamentals that make your community attractive to corporations.” Dr. Mark Partridge, Swank Professor in Rural-Urban Policy, Ohio State University
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Thank you
Anne [email protected]
Chair, Community Futures DevelopmentCorporation of Chatham-Kent
Councillor, Ward 6, ChathamMunicipality of Chatham-Kent
519-676-4333