Development of the Integrated Action Plan of the Municipality of Rawdon, QC

The Municipality of Rawdon wishes to develop an integrated action plan to achieve its strategic Vision 2030 and build on a strong foundation of sustainable development. The vision was established in 2015 to meet the municipality's challenges, i.e. location in a rural area characterized by vacation and recreational activities, an ageing population and relocation of employment outside the region. The action plan aims to identify priority actions and set an implementation schedule, according to the human, financial, material and technical resources available. It will cover a variety of sectors, including energy use, transport planning, land use, promotion of good agricultural practices, water management, waste and raising citizen awareness on these issues. It is based on several existing plans and policies, including the Sustainable Development Policy, the Healthy Lifestyle Policy, the Environmental Committee Action Plan and the Revised Land Use and Development Plan. The process will involve several steps incorporating the principles of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and triple bottom line. The municipality has set up a strategic committee, composed of members of the municipal administration and representatives of key actors of the territory to follow up on the activities. The municipality also plans to set up thematic committees composed of elected officials, employees and citizens responsible for identifying priority issues, actions and targets to achieve the Vision 2030. All committees will be accompanied by experienced consultants who will draft the action plan. It will be subsequently presented to citizens to receive their comments before approval by the Municipal Council. Throughout the implementation, committee members will be invited to provide input and feedback on projects underway or starting. Furthermore, the implementation and monitoring of various activities will be facilitated by a computer application provided with a management dashboard. This application will also produce a report to provide regular information to elected officials and citizens. The Integrated Action Plan will cover five years, after which it will be revised and enhanced, with a view to continuous improvement, until the vision is achieved, in 2030. To further its development, the municipality plans to join the Québec Network of Healthy Towns and Villages to exchange, transfer expertise and learn from the experience of other municipalities that have implemented innovative practices. Rawdon's experience will also be the subject of a "Business Case" article to be proposed to academia, for use in university programs and for distribution to members of Québec Municipal, the web-based daily newspaper of the municipal world in Québec. (Project description from original funding application)