Strategic Plan 2008 - 2011 ~ Castlemaine Community House Inc.
Our Mission
Castlemaine Community House is a community owned resource that provides space, support and opportunities for learning, sharing, creativity and coming together.
In September 2007 the Committee of Management, staff and volunteers for Castlemaine Community House met over the course of one weekend to share ideas and visions and to develop a strategic plan for the period of 2008-2010.
Two versions of the Strategic Plan have been prepared and adopted by the Committee of Management; a Strategic Plan Summary and a Committee of Management working document.
The main purpose of the Summary is to inform community of the vision, strategic directions, goals and strategies to be pursued by the Castlemaine Community House over the course of the next three years. The working document is the full version of the Strategic Plan. It also includes measurable outcomes, actions and responsibilities. The working document will provide a reference point against which we will regularly review and measure our progress.
One of the key observations that emerged from reflections on the previous strategic plan (2004-2007) was that the dream of a purpose-built community house within the boundaries of the Castlemaine Central Business District had, over the three year period, limited the amount of energy and resources available for other projects. Whilst the dream of a permanent home continues to be a significant vision for the Committee of Management, it was decided that the new strategic plan (2008-2011) should reflect a broader set of goals that would each fundamentally move us towards this dream without compromising our key values or work.
Our Vision
Our vision is for a creative, dynamic and connected community. This is a vision that also encompasses values established in the previous strategic plan (2004-2007) such as cultural diversity, environmental and social sustainability, and accessibility.
Key Result Areas
- Our strategic plan has five key result areas - accommodation, community participation, marketing and promotion, funding and governance. Each of the goals associated with these result areas is designed to strengthen our ability to achieve our vision.
Accommodation
- Our goals in terms of accommodation are twofold; firstly to resolve our interim accommodation needs and secondly to secure a permanent home for Castlemaine Community House. Our strategies reflect the understanding that we need to broaden our approach to accommodation needs by engaging the community, strengthening our relationship with the Mount Alexander Shire Council and conducting research into rental options and the viability of land-purchase.
Community Participation
- Whilst we move towards these accommodation goals, community participation remains central to our vision and core business. Our goal in this area is therefore to increase community participation by strengthening and documenting our membership base, providing greater support for volunteers and ‘reaching out’ into the community through participation and representation in a range of community networks.
Marketing & Promotion
- We also aim to raise the profile of Castlemaine Community House generally and to encourage greater awareness of our work within the community. These goals are reflected in the key result area of marketing and promotion which includes raising the visibility of Castlemaine Community House through the use of marketing materials, reinvigoration of the newsletter and establishment of a working group to oversee other related projects.
Funding
- Funding has been identified as a key result area and the Strategic Plan for 2008-2011. Our first goal in this area is to attract funding from a wide range of sources. The second goal, to increase core funding hours for staffing of Castlemaine Community House, emerged out of the understanding that there is a pressing need for more staff hours to undertake and manage the core business of Castlemaine Community House.
Governance
- Our final goals relate to governance, reflecting a need to strengthen our direction, firstly by aligning our constitution to reflect our values and activities and, secondly, by using the completed strategic plan effectively as a guiding tool for our work over the three year period.
In summary, our intention is to build on the capacity of Castlemaine Community House to foster strong community bonds and relationships and to thus contribute to a community that is resilient, robust and sustainable. We feel that we are in a very strong position to achieve these goals. We have a strong, effective Committee of Management, are responsive to community needs, host a range of wonderful community choirs, offer a wide range of courses and have a record of engaging in community initiated projects - just a few of our achievements to date…………..
We are looking forward to the next three years and believe that the new strategic plan will provide an excellent map to guide us towards achieving our vision.