A Progress Association For The Future…
Reflecting on the changing needs of the Hartley Valley, the 2016 HDPA Committee started a strategic planning journey. We used an internationally recognised methodology called Design Thinking. It was suited to our needs because it is:
- people driven and inclusive of the whole community
- flexible in its approach, allowing tailoring to the community
- sets out to avoid solutions and focus on clarification of issues
- transparent and rigorous in conclusions
- ongoing therefore allows for continued input from the community
The Design Thinking Process
The following diagram illustrates three phases that the Committee has gone through. It is critical to understand that this process is ongoing and continues to depend upon involvement and input from the whole community.
What We Did & What We Found
A broad overview of how the HDPA approached our Design Thinking strategic planning process, is summarised as follows . More detailed description of the exercises and outputs of each step can be found in the attached documents.
1/4
Outputs:
what-is-most-important; timeline
2/4
Outputs:
http://www.hartleyvalley.org.au/survey/
3/4
Outputs:
4/4
Outputs:
See next section – ‘The Road Ahead’
The Road Ahead
The Design Thinking journey for the HDPA clarified that there are multiple focus areas for the Association and the Committee moving forwards. This can be summarised under five key headings:
1. SOCIAL ENGAGEMENT – organising and holding social events & functions;
2. ADVOCACY – taking a proactive role on critical issues impacting local residents effectively acting as the ‘voice of the Hartley Valley’;
3. PHYSICAL PRESENCE – progressively upgrading facilities and amenities at the Historic Hartley School and Hall site;
4. COLLABORATION – work alongside other like-minded local community groups in bringing about a coordinated approach for the benefit of the local community; and,
5. INFORMATION SHARING – providing timely and relevant information to residents through our website, Facebook page and newsletter.
In summary, this process concluded with the new guiding statement that the HDPA’s role in the Hartley Valley is to:
‘promote the advancement of the Hartley Valley through social engagement, championing local issues, being proactive with Government and keeping the community informed’.
