Project: Activating a Revitalization Plan for the Dundas-Sherbourne Neighbourhood

Team Assignment# 1: Five Page Briefing Note
Prepare the following: As a Planner in a municipality or provincial ministry, you have been asked to prepare a short (5 pages, single-spaced) Briefing Note on either of the two topics set out below. Building on class #1 discussions of “The Perfect Implementation Plan”, the note should contain:
• A SMART Problem/Purpose Statement
• Well-researched background (with citations)
• A creative implementation plan with SMART, numbered Recommendations
• A MECE Issue Tree (in Appendix

Project: Activating a Revitalization Plan for the Dundas-Sherbourne Neighbourhood

The Issue Tree (Outline of Plan)

SMART Problem Statement ? MECE Recommendations ? SMART Implementation Plan

What Needs to be Delivered

• Proposed revitalization plan for Dan Harrison
• Plan for acquiring 214-230 Sherbourne Street
• Full-scale community engagement process
• These may become 3-point plan

Task 1: SMART Problem/Purpose Statement

• SMART
  • Specific, not general
  • Measurable
  • Action-oriented
  • Relevant to the issue
  • Time-bound
• Example: To reduce bird deaths associated with high buildings by 70% within 5 years by updating bird safety guidelines.
• To do:
  • Make sure it doesn’t turn into a sales piece for my recommendations – must remain neutral
  • Give a hint of where money/resources will come from 

Task 2: Background Research

• How did we get here?
  • Decision history
• Key considerations
  • Focuses on 3 things to tackle in recommendations (3-point plan)
  • Describe, in full sentences, our plan
• Shape of the problem
• Other relevant policies
• History of Dan Harrison complex and 214-230 Sherbourne
• To do:
  • Do not make it terribly long
  • Challenges here must align with rule of three in plan

Task 3: MECE Issue Tree

• 3 recommendations
• Mutually Exclusive, Comprehensively Exhaustive
• Two dimensions:
  • Mutually Exclusive: each heading cannot overlap; must deal with separate issues
  • Comprehensively Exhaustive: must address the problem statement in a comprehensive and exhaustive manner; will we address the problem statement? – address minimum 80% of the problem

Task 4: SMART Recommendations

• Must be numbered and smart
• Recommendation 1:
  • 3 sub-points
  • Timeframe, resources, funding
• Recommendation 2:
  • 3 sub-points
  • Timeframe, resources, funding
• Recommendation 3:
  • 3 sub-points
  • Timeframe, resources, funding 
• Take these off the right-hand side of the issue tree