Warden Smith responds

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Thank you for your email.

Council has focused on creating a welcoming space where residents can share their ideas, connect with one another and talk directly with us and our consultant.  Although we still feel you will receive the most meaningful and more in-depth information by attending a session, we have provided responses to your questions below. When you read these responses, it’s important to keep in mind that this is not a research study looking for statistical significance. Instead, this process is about building community.

Sincerely,

Warden Penny Smith

Q1. How was the Strategic Planning Session promoted?
The sessions are being promoted widely through social media, the municipal website, local newspapers, local radio and through partnerships with local organizations. We are also leaving physical posters in various locations, such as community halls, throughout the Municipality.

Q2. How is the effectiveness of the advertising evaluated?
We monitor social media engagement levels, feedback from residents like you, and survey participation to see if outreach is reaching different parts of the community. Where we notice gaps, we adjust our outreach accordingly.

Q3. Have any “big ideas” already been identified?
At this stage, no final “big ideas” or priorities have been decided. What has been done so far is a current state and a PESTLE analysis (looking at political, economic, social, technological, legal and environmental factors) with Council and municipal staff. This early step helped identify upcoming needs and challenges that are likely to require investments of time, energy, and money — things like maintaining infrastructure, adapting to regulatory changes or responding to demographic shifts.

These are not decisions or priorities on their own; rather, they are context-setting tools, and we will share key insights from these conversations during the sessions. They help ensure that when residents share their ideas, those ideas can be considered alongside the external factors and practical realities that the Municipality must navigate.

Q4. What mechanism exists for residents to indicate whether the process is on track?
Residents can provide feedback at community sessions and by contacting their respective Councillor. 

Q5. How will divergent opinions be reconciled, and by whom?
All feedback will be documented. Council, with support from staff and our consultant, will review input and ensure that the final plan reflects shared themes and balances different perspectives.

Q6. Who is responsible for producing the final plan, and what process will be followed?
Council and Municipal Leadership are leading this process with the support of Davis Pier Consulting. 

Q7. How will public input be gathered and recorded?
Input will be written down by facilitators and attendees during sessions.

Q8. Will the input be anonymized and made public in a timely manner?
Yes.  

Q9. What are the anticipated outcomes of this consultation?
The main outcome is a community-informed Strategic Plan that reflects residents’ priorities combined with other factors, including staff resources, funding opportunities, financial resources, existing ongoing multi-year projects, etc.

Q10. How will success be measured?
We know people’s time is valuable, so we’re keeping things simple. Instead of running extra surveys or complicated evaluations, we’ll measure success in a few easy ways:

• Observing participation: Not just how many people attend, but whether the room includes a variety of voices and perspectives.
• Capturing input: Making sure every idea is written down so residents can see their contributions reflected later.
• Quick feedback opportunities: At the end of each session, we’ll provide a simple way for participants to leave a short note about how the session felt — whether it was welcoming, useful and worth their time.

Q11. Is there a documented process for tracking and evaluating public input?
Yes. Please see answer to question 12 for more details.

Q12. Who is responsible for assessing the feedback?
All feedback gathered from surveys and in-person sessions will be compiled and analyzed together by the project team (Council, municipal staff working with Davis Pier Consulting).

The purpose of this analysis isn’t to judge or rank individual comments, but to look for themes, patterns and priorities that emerge across the community. The draft plan will be informed by the summarized engagement themes, leading practices in strategic planning, important outside factors, the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and key federal and provincial strategies.

Q13. Will the results be subject to public discussion?
Yes.

Q14. How will public agreement with the final plan be determined? Before Council approves the draft plan, it will be shared with the community for review, ensuring residents can see how their input shaped the strategy before adoption.

Q15. What measures are in place to mitigate the risk of relying on a self-selecting sample?
We recognize that open consultation can sometimes mean hearing more from people who are already highly engaged. To address this, we’ve taken deliberate steps to broaden participation.

We’ve partnered with local organizations, engaged schools and used multiple outreach methods. We are also offering diverse engagement mechanisms to meet different needs, including:

• Online and paper-based surveys
• Photo activities for youth
• Drawing activities for children
• In-person community gatherings held at several locations and times to accommodate different schedules

These activities have been designed with input from community organizations to help ensure the process is inclusive and accessible.

Q16. How was the target population defined?
Since the Strategic Plan is meant to reflect the needs, priorities and aspirations of all residents, the target population is all residents of the Municipality of Shelburne.

Q17. What is the sampling method?
Since this is an open consultation process (not a research project), everyone is welcome to participate.

Q18. How was the sample size determined?
There is no fixed sample size. The goal is to hear from as many residents as possible.

Q19. How will data collection be standardized to prevent bias?
We’ve built in several safeguards:

• Neutral facilitation: All table facilitators will be trained to ask open, non-leading questions and to record comments exactly as participants say them, without interpretation in the moment.
• Multiple formats, same structure: By offering online surveys, paper surveys, workshops and creative activities for youth and children, we allow people to contribute in different ways. Behind the scenes, however, all responses are analyzed using the same approach.
• Transparency and verification: The draft plan will be shared with residents.

Q20. Is there a documented process for the methodology?
Yes. The process is publicly available and outlined on our website.