Appendix 1. Strategic Context

Vision, Mission and Values

Vision:

The Ministry envisions safe, sustainable, livable and healthy communities, where:

• individuals take responsibility for their future and are self-reliant;
• immigrants, Aboriginal people, seniors and women can realize their full potential;
• racism is eliminated and cultural diversity is valued;
• safety systems and the physical infrastructure assure high quality of life;
• government programs and services are responsive and readily accessible; and
• individuals and families can participate in lifelong learning.

Mission:

The Ministry builds stronger communities for all British Columbians through partnerships.

Values:

• focus on clients;
• create beneficial partnership opportunities;
• use resources wisely;
• treat employees and clients fairly and equitably; and
• create a culture of accountability, innovation and excellence.

Internal Vision:

The Ministry's committed, skilled employees thrive in a dynamic and supportive work environment, where they are able to deliver the highest service quality and value. The Ministry promotes innovation, learning and results.

Planning Context

Given the Ministry's wide range of responsibilities, many issues — both general and specific — affect the planning context.

Planning Influences Internal to the Ministry

Strengths

• The Community Charter establishes the legislative framework for local governments to become more accountable and responsive to their communities.
• The great diversity of the Ministry's programs means that lessons learned by one program can be shared with others, maximizing opportunities for continuous improvement.
• Staff have strong capacity for policy and legislative development.
• Contracts with service providers are managed through results-based contracting, thereby achieving value for money.

Challenges

• Expanded use of third party service delivery increases reliance on contracted agencies to assess and monitor clients' changing needs.
• The aging workforce creates greater competition for skilled employees and greater pressure on the Ministry to be an attractive place to work.

Planning Influences External to the Ministry

The BC economy grew 1.7 per cent in 2003, slower than the 2.7 per cent expected at the time of last year's budget, according to BC's independent economic forecast council. The Council now expects growth in BC's economy to pick up to 2.9 per cent in 2004. Further information on the BC outlook may be found in the Budget and Three Year Fiscal Plan released with the budget.

Opportunities

• A range of social and economic opportunities will stem from the work leading up to the 2010 Olympic Games.
• Maximizing opportunities for partnerships with other like-minded agencies could create significant benefits for ministry clients by expanding the range of services available to achieve government objectives.
• By developing a community-centred approach, the Ministry will be able to enhance integrated program delivery at the regional level.
• Deregulation and the trend to harmonization of codes and standards are expected to benefit BC's industries and businesses. Moreover, BC is emerging as a leader in developing objective-based codes and standards.

Challenges

• The move to greater local autonomy means less provincial control over issues where the ultimate accountability remains with the Province as represented by the Ministry.
• Shifts in demographics are outside the Ministry's control, but heavily influence service demand and resource allocation. The 2001 census highlights the overwhelming shift in population growth from rural to urban areas. Between 1996 and 2001, population growth in Greater Vancouver was 8.5 per cent as compared to 0.4 per cent in the rest of BC.
• Consumers may perceive the move by government to objective-based codes and standards as an abdication of provincial regulatory responsibility.
• The shift from direct program delivery to the use of third party service providers creates a requirement for greater capacity on the part of service providers.
• The public has increasingly greater expectations for access to electronic services by government.

Highlights of Strategic Shifts and Changes from the Previous Service Plan

As a result of the Core Services Review, the Ministry is working towards the following strategic shifts:

• from prescriptive regulation to objective-based codes and standards;
• from direct delivery of programs and services by provincial government employees, to delivery by communities and third parties;
• from provincial control to local autonomy; and
• from unfocused funding to performance-based funding.

Changes from Previous Plan

There are six significant changes to this year's plan:

1. The goal associated with the Olympic Games is now omitted. The Olympic Bid was successful and a new Olympic Games Secretariat has been established within the Ministry of Small Business and Economic Development. The Sport and Physical Activity and Cultural Services branches also have moved to the Ministry of Small Business and Economic Development and their goal and objectives have been omitted from this plan.
2. Safety Engineering Services, responsible for public safety as it relates to regulated products and processes, will become the independent BC Safety Authority in 2004. Responsibility for policy issues related to regulated products and processes will remain the purview of the Ministry.
3. The Housing and Building Policy Department has been combined with the Safety and Standards Department to form the Housing, Building and Safety Department, with the corresponding core business of Housing, Building and Safety.
4. The Heritage Branch has been moved to the Local Government Department.
5. The Vancouver Agreement Branch has been moved to the Aboriginal, Multicultural and Immigration Department.
6. Responsibility for cross-ministry coordination of seniors' issues and for related policy has been transferred to the Ministry.

Compared to last year's service plan, performance targets are now aligned with their respective objectives. Although every effort has been made to provide one key performance target per objective, in reality it is often necessary to draw on more than one measure to reflect progress towards a particular objective. Additionally, some planning context information is provided with each goal to set the stage for the objectives and strategies associated with that goal.

Consistency with Government's Strategic Plan

1. Government Goal: Strong and vibrant provincial economy.

Corresponding Ministry of Community, Aboriginal and Women's Services objectives:

• Local governments are able to effectively exercise broader authority in the context of enhanced accountability to citizens;
• The housing market thrives;
• Accelerated settlement of immigrants allows them to realize their full potential and contribute to the economy; and
• The contribution of immigrants and temporary residents to the BC economy is expanded.

2. Government Goal: Supportive social infrastructure.

Corresponding Ministry of Community, Aboriginal and Women's Services objectives:

• The most vulnerable British Columbians are housed;
• Women experiencing abuse receive emergency shelter and counselling;
• Government is enabled to make informed decisions on issues that affect women and seniors;
• More child care spaces are available;
• Low income families are better able to meet the cost of child care;
• Government is enabled to make informed decisions on issues that affect child care services;
• Vancouver's core neighbourhoods are revitalized and community capacity and social infrastructure are strengthened;
• Aboriginal people and communities participate more in British Columbia's society and economy; and
• Aboriginal communities and organizations are strengthened through language and culture preservation and increased ability to deliver culturally responsive programs and services.

3. Government Goal: Safe, healthy communities and a sustainable environment.

Corresponding Ministry of Community, Aboriginal and Women's Services objectives:

• Communities are able to provide safe drinking water and appropriate sewage treatment;
• Local government systems are efficient and effective;
• Public libraries are able to provide accessible service on an equitable basis to all British Columbians;
• British Columbia has a modern building regulatory system for safe, healthy, and accessible buildings; and
• Local governments are able to deliver effective fire prevention and safety services for their communities.