This phase involved the project initiation and background work being undertaken by staff to prepare for the project.

This phase focuses on raising awareness in the community about the project and gathering diverse perspectives to inform the final plan.

Staff Surveys

In April City of Fitchburg staff across all departments shared their feedback with our consultants on how their department operations could improve and how the City can best prepare to serve community needs in the future.

One-on-One Interviews with Elected Officials and Department Heads

Elected officials and department heads were invited to participate in 30-minute one-on-one interviews with our consultants to share their perspective as leaders. Individuals shared what was working well and what could be improved within the City of Fitchburg.

Focus Groups

Community members were invited to attend a series of focus groups facilitated by our consultant. These gave individuals an opportunity to engage in a dialogue about areas where they'd like to see City services enhanced.

Resident Survey

A resident survey was released in English and Spanish in May. This survey asks a variety of questions about community needs, resident sentiments and prioritization of future City services.

In-Person Engagement Opportunities

See the right-hand side bar to find in-person events to attend and participate in the strategic plan!

Review of City Reports

A comprehensive review of all City reports adopted within the last five years was completed by our consultant. All of these plans can be accessed on the righthand sidebar under the Resource header.

Phase 2 of the strategic planning process focuses on bringing all of the data together to identify areas for improvement and to establish a short-term vision and mission for the organization.

Mission, Vision, and Values Workshop

Elected officials, department heads, and City staff members are invited to participate in 90-minute Mission, Vision, and Values workshops. These workshops challenge participants to measure how well-practiced the adopted City core values are lived each day, to define a 5-year vision for the community, and to frame a mission for the strategic plan.

SWOT Analysis

A Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) Analysis will be released that highlights areas and direction for future improvements within the community and within the City government of Fitchburg.

Strategic Outcomes Workshops

Elected officials, department heads, and City staff members are invited to participate in 2-hour Strategic Outcomes workshops. These workshops challenge participants to identify a future-state of where they'd like to be by 2029 on external community issues and internal operational issues, as well as to identify action steps of how to reach that future-state.

Prioritization of Outcomes and Action Steps

The City of Fitchburg Strategic Planning Committee (composed of City staff) takes the many outcomes and action steps developed in the two Strategic Outcomes Workshops and prioritizes them across the next five years. This helps to balance the workload over the next five years and to better inform budgetary needs to support plan implementation.

The final phase of the strategic planning process includes review and adoption of the draft plan.

Community Feedback

The strategic plan draft will be shared with the public in August. Community members will have an opportunity to share feedback on the strategic plan.

City Council Presentation

Our consultant team will present the draft strategic plan to City Council in August. At this time, final edits and requests will be made to the plan.

Implementation Training

Our consultant will train City department heads in best practices for implementation of the plan. This will include discussing how to update or edit the plan as needs arise, how to engage team members around the plan, and how to speak in a common language about plan outcomes.