Introduction: City of Kitchener Strategic Plan

City of Kitchener Community Vision

City of Kitchener Corporate Mission

The City of Kitchener Strategic Plan builds on our past and takes the interests of future generations to heart. It unites the focus and activity of city government and citizens over the next two decades toward building and maintaining a healthy and sustainable city for future generations.

For the next 20 years, this plan will be the city’s single, comprehensive strategy – our touchstone for directing the work of city government, guiding and bringing clarity to our decisions, and sustaining and supporting the development of our community.

• View the City of Kitchener Strategic Plan document
• View the City of Kitchener Strategic Plan executive summary

As the subtitle of the plan reflects, this strategy is about “a different future for city government and public service.” A different future with a sharpened focus on continuous improvement; building community trust and appreciation; providing valued and accessible services and excellent customer service, and engaging and informing citizens about decisions.

You will find that the strategy has the community’s shared priorities at its heart, and it builds on the strong foundations of the city’s workforce and the corporate systems that support service and program delivery. This ensures that, as a city government, we can always be successful in delivering results in the key areas that citizens believe are critical to our community’s health and vitality.

It’s one thing to have community priorities, a vision, or a mission statement like those identified within this strategic plan, but if those things are to be achieved –  they must be accompanied by deliberate planning efforts to move the organization and the community toward them.

This requires clearly defined goals, proactive strategies, committed leadership, and effective management. Above all, it requires managing the forces of change. Those forces include changing community demographics, new provincial and federal legislation, fiscal constraints, changing economic conditions, emerging technologies, and many other influences on our program and service delivery efforts.

High performing organizations – high performing cities – learn to anticipate and adapt to these changes by creating value for those they serve and motivation and meaning for those who are serving.

The best tool for accomplishing these overarching objectives – is a strategic plan like The City of Kitchener Strategic Plan.