As Canada faces the challenges of accommodating a growing and aging population, addressing the climate crisis, journeying on the path towards reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples, and working to reverse systemic inequities, planners are at the intersection of potential solutions. With the intention and commitment to foster positive change in communities across Canada, CIP rolled out a new five-year Strategic Plan–1,835 Days of Impact–on July 7, 2022. Today, we celebrate the first year of action and impact guided by the Strategic Plan!
Like many things, the development of the new Strategic Plan pivoted in 2020, as CIP adjusted to the realities of the COVID-19 pandemic. Two years later, the Institute released not only a new strategic direction, but also adopted a refreshed Mission, Vision, and set of Values to help guide our path forward from here.
The Values guide CIP’s actions and remind us to approach our work in a creative, courageous, and agile way, taking focused action, and ensuring respect and inclusion for all.
CIP’s Strategic Priorities
There were difficult choices to make, with many important issues facing planners and the profession; however, the strategic plan introduced three strategic priorities that inform the basis of CIP’s activity:
Integrated Action on Complex Issues signifies CIP’s priority to strengthen the advocacy efforts of three action issues: Climate Change, Healthy Communities, and Housing.
For Integrated Action on Complex Issues, we envision success as:
- Planners bringing solutions to the table – representation of planners in the projects shaping and promoting planning initiatives at a national level
- A stronger voice on key issues – ensuring planners’ perspectives are being shared as experts on these priority issues
- Collaboration within the planning community – CIP’s work on climate change, healthy communities, and housing is recognized as impactful and influences the work of others within the profession, including regulatory bodies (PTIAs, and others);
- Providing capacity-strengthening resources for planners to act on climate change, healthy communities, and housing
More Equitable Planning, Together acknowledges that while historically planning practices have been part of the problem, we are continuing our journey in Reconciliation and Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI), in order to be part of the solution. CIP supports a Canadian planning profession that is genuinely representative of the society in which it works.
For More Equitable Planning, Together, we envision success as:
- Supporting the implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada: Calls to Action, and recommendations of the National Inquiry into Mission and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls
- Implementation of CIP’s Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Roadmap and continuing to meet the goals of the 50-30 Challenge
- Improvement from the results of the 2021 Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Insights Survey, including key metrics, such as diversity of the profession, inclusive climate, and members’ assessment of CIP’s commitment to action and progress
- Providing resources and supporting capacity development initiatives on reconciliation and EDI to members
Career Support for Life helps to ensure there’s resourcing available for planners throughout their professional lifecycle, and support the diverse needs of our members so they can have long, effective, satisfying careers.
For Career Support for Life, we envision success as:
- Becoming the go-to place for practitioner career development, including the CIP National Job Board, CPL HUB, and a resource center with access to a wide range of publications and training tools
- Developing and implementing a new education strategy, including new planning competencies and the necessary soft skills for success
CIP works on behalf of over 8,000 diverse planning professionals and has supported Canada’s planning community since 1919. CIP respectfully acknowledges that our office is located on the unceded territory of the Anishinaabe Algonquin Nation. CIP values the ongoing stewardship of all First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples.
* The above long-term aspirations are those found in CIP’s national policies for Climate Change, Healthy Communities, Planning Practice and Reconciliation, and the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Roadmap. The actions committed to by CIP in these documents guide the operational activities for implementation of the Strategic Plan.